Transitioning from rentals to sales

[Jesse Fifield]

Best advice and resources for an experienced Boston rental agent making the jump to residential sales. Best way to manage previous rental clients? CRM recommendations? Any strategies would be appreciated!

[Rory Gill]

Don’t get too hung up on the choice of CRM.  Follow Up Boss is good or your brokerage may also offer a CRM system that integrates internally (be sure, though, that you own the contacts, not the brokerage).  Also, some marketing tools such as BombBomb have CRM-like capability.

Your time as a rental agent should have generated a very valuable list of past contacts.  Capture them in one place, then segment them.  For example, you probably have some student renters, perpetual renters, saving renters, happy landlords, and frustrated landlords in your list.  Develop a plan for each to re-engage them with helpful information.

If you’ve dropped the ball and let lots of time elapse without communication, engage the past clients with helpful information.  Good content could include as relevant: what you should be doing three months before your lease ends, how to save for a down payment, how to get your credit ready for a purchase, how to buy a home with student loan debt, what to do when you’re tired of being a landlord, etc.

Then, continue to provide this content over time.

Once you’ve put this systematic communication in place, then it’s time to work in more direct pitches to everyone on your list.

Good luck!