I hope you had a great weekend!  I had a fun weekend with some dear friends and clients from San Francisco who visited me here in Panama.  

And had a great conversation with a Collective member about how to handle listings that don’t sell and the conversation turned towards a mundane task when you DO sell.

Closing gifts.

This totally UNLEASHED listing agent wanted to know what the best closing gifts are for sales.

Sure, I told her, we give bottles of champagne and gorgeous hand notes and other incidental presents but there is one gift everyone has to give their sellers AND the buyers who buy your listings (even though they are not your clients).

Attention. 

It is CRITICAL that you follow up with your sellers and buyers of your listings and shower them with attention.

More than gifts and flowers and notes and whatever else you are doing with your sellers at closing, spending time with them showering them with attention, check-ins, updates about the neighborhood, referrals to contractors, etc is THE most important follow-up you can do.

I call and email my past sellers (and buyers) at least once every 3 months asking them if there is any referral to a contractor they need or to check in to see how they are doing.

Net result?  They keep you in mind for referrals.

You get referrals, you stay in the forefront of their mind and they know you think they are more than just a sale.  

You are a trusted advisor if real estate ever comes up for them again.

Not a bad thing, eh?