Following up on real estate leads without being annoying

[rosie_the_broker]

Hey guys, I've gotten poor feedback from three different buyer leads and clients that my managing broker and team leader looped me in on. Perhaps I'm being too aggressive?

Here was my initial email to one of the more promising buyer leads who wanted to see a specific listing she had already found herself after being looped in by my team leader (I forgot to copy my team on any of these emails by the way, for which I've already been reprimanded). My emails are in red, and the emails in green are the buyer client's. Names changed/redacted.

Hi Kate. My name is Rosie and I work with Charles. I would be happy to help you? What exactly are you looking for? Also what’s your phone number I can reach you so this way we can discuss further on the criteria you are looking for. What’s a good time to talk? Also, feel free to email me or call me at anytime

Hi Rosie, could I also see the property at 50 East 8th Street # 3U tomorrow after 5:30pm or Saturday between 10:30am-12pm? If there are any information about this property I should know, it would be great if you can let me know. If there are any Co-op rules, I would like to read them also. I am looking for flexible co-op that I can easily sublet after 1-2 years at the price range up to $400,000. This co-op seems to fit my need.

Hi Kate, I will find out more info for you. Lots of these co ops have rules on subletting that you have to live there for two years then you can rent for 2 years and then you have to live in it for another two years - so they can be strict. I’ll see what’s more flexible in other areas of the city, are you open to other areas as well??

Tomorrow is good for me after 5:30 pm for this one place. I’ll find out more info on it and get back to you on this one. What’s your phone number in case I need to reach you?

That’s why I am interested in this property. It’s unlimited subletting after 2 years. I am looking for that kind of flexibility. It also has to be parent purchase permitted for a child. It’s for my daughter who will be working in the city. I am interested in only midtown to downtown.

Hi Kate. Ok sounds good. I’ll see if I can gain access to place. There’s another co op for sale on 79th st upper east side for 670k? Have you been pre approved only for 400k? Just trying to see what your budget range is so this way I can send you others that could work for you? Are you looking for with how many bedrooms? Please send me your phone number so this way I can text you to confirm appointment.

I am interested in only up to $400k. I do not want to spend more than that for a studio.

Hi Kate, So this co op is not available for showings just yet. I will be getting confirmation as to when it will be available for showings. In the meantime, would you like for me to send you some listings of similar co ops in the area that could work for you and daughter?

Let me know,

As an update, this is what Kate emailed to my manager:

I don’t like judging people without meeting first, but I don’t like Rosa’s work style when I clearly stated my preferences. Is there anyone else?

What should I have done differently?

[aslan]

Wow, what went wrong there? From a quick glance, it seems like you bombarded the [former] client without bothering to even take the time to read her email responses to you. You didn't bother to heed her very basic search criteria it seems, and it sounds like you just sent her dozens of listings that you didn't bother to curate or pick out for her. No wonder she fired you.

I would make sure to copy your team leader, and forward all of that correspondence to your team leader. If the lead came from your team leader, it's actually their client and you were supposed to just help out and send some curated listing ideas. Not infuriate the client to the point of firing your entire team...

[rosie_the_broker]

Nothing went wrong, I sent her some other listings and she said she just wanted to see that one co op but unfortunately it’s not ready for showings until I get confirmation but I’ll forward.

She also was very reluctant to provide her phone number and never replied back to me when I asked her if she was pre approved?

But I’ll forward

I called the broker for this listing but he says to email him. Encause he will send a mass email to everyone letting know of when it can be shown.

[rosie_the_broker]

She wanted me to send her rules of the co op but I was not able to find anything on RLS or even on street easy for that one co op. Not sure what she’s talking about since I just sent her some other listings to give her options -

Oh well! You can’t please everyone!

[aslan]

You need to slow down, take your time and compose your emails properly. Since email is often the first impression you'll get with a potential client, you need to make sure you have perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation etc. Keep it short, sweet and to the point. Spend time picking out a few listings that truly fit exactly what they want, write a few sentences about each, and send it to them. That's called adding value. After adding value, you can ask a few questions to learn more about their search criteria at the end of the email. You learn as you go.

How many listings did you spam this buyer client with? By the way, I'm highly surprised this happened if she already found a listing on StreetEasy she wanted to go see. Weren't you simply supposed to schedule the appointment? How did this mess even happen!

[rosie_the_broker]

Here's the listings email I sent to her, along with 25 listing ideas (it was the max I could send through the RLS software we use). The ideas ranged from $20,000 in price to $399,000. I kept it under her range but looking back I realize now the $20,000 ideas were fractional ownership timeshare listings.

Dear Kate,

I found a few listings that I thought you'd be interested in - feel free to click through the links for more photos and information.

Be sure to let me know what you think! If you'd like to send feedback or request a viewing, you can submit a note on the form located on the right side of each listing.

All the Best,
Rosie

Here's the rest of the conversation. Again she's in green and I'm in red.

You do not have to send me any properties already on Streeteasy. I’ve already seen all of them. And they are not flexible in subleasing. I’m only looking for a co-op with a flexible sublease policy.

Ok no problem. The co op for this co op on 8th St unfortunately is not ready for showing yet. I will notify you once it’s ready for showings.

Please advise if you have a pre approval from lender as all this will be needed Incase you do like the place and want to place an offer.

Let me know if you have any questions,

And this is what she responded with when I kindly sent her the listing on StreetEasy which has maintenance, description etc.

I already have this info. I was looking for more detailed info like co-op rules.

To which I responded:

I also will need your phone number please. Just Incase something I can just text you? Is that ok?

[aslan]

Wow. I'm truly stunned all of this happened. All of this spam to this poor former client of your firm when all you were supposed to do was to schedule a showing for a listing she already found?

I bet you sent 25 listings because that's the max allowable to be sent on software like RealtyMX, OLR and Nestio right? You didn't even bother to click on any of them I'm guessing to see if they fit the buyer at all, and you certainly didn't bother checking with the listing agents on whether their sublet policy fit what the buyer was looking for.

If a buyer wanted spam, they can easily find it themselves. They can sign up for search alerts or just search on StreetEasy or NY Times themselves. Ideally you would have confirmed 3 or 4 ideas which are still available and had suitable sublet policies (by asking the listing agent) before sending them on. That would have added value. By spamming her and continuously asking for her cell you only served to annoy her. What a shame for your team. They didn't even have a chance to step in to stop you since you didn't bother to copy them on emails with their own client!