Your Fall and Winter Database Plan

Your Fall and Winter Database Plan

Do you feel that? The chill in the air? Well, we’re headquartered in Austin, Texas so we don’t feel it, but it is officially fall and that means pumpkin spice, changing leaves, and cleaning up your database.  

Just like there are seasons of the year, there are seasons in real estate. But, unlike nature, there are only three real estate seasons: fall, winter, and a combined spring/summer. While spring and summer typically see an explosion of real estate transactions, things tend to be a bit slower in the cooler months. Each of these seasons has its opportunities and challenges, but one thing is always constant in real estate. That’s your database, and how important it is to keep it in tip-top-shape.

Jason Abrams, head of Industry and Learning at Keller Williams, created a calendar to show how to tend to our databases year-round. Jason says that fall provides an opportunity to cleanup your database. Then, when winter rolls in, you can start to plant seeds that you will later harvest in the spring/summer.

Not every market is the same seasonally, however. Usually, more inventory means more transactions during the warmer months. But sometimes entire communities spend summers out of the country or at their lake houses. You may need to adjust your calendar accordingly. For the most part, though, you can count on business blooming in the spring/summer if you’ve done your work in the fall and winter.

And ’tis the season to get started on your fall and winter database management! Begin by time blocking an hour or so each week for you to focus on your database goals. Here are three tips for using the fall and winter to your advantage to ensure future success.

1. Decide what information you want to have for each person in your database, update your contacts, and check for accuracy.

When it comes to your database, there are a few must haves. This includes someone’s name, phone number, email address, and address. With this information, you know who you are talking to and how to contact them. Without it, you can’t get much done. So, these things are crucial when lead generating and adding to your database.

There are also “nice to haves” you can input for each contact. This includes things like birthdays, home anniversaries, and anything you can gather from the FORD conversation framework. Keep in mind that the more information you have about someone in your database, the more opportunities there are to reach out to them. This will keep you top-of-mind year-round. If you know someone’s important dates, what they are interested in, and what’s going on in their life, you can better serve them and show up in an impactful way.

And while you add to your database consistently throughout the year, use this time to make updates to contacts who have been in it for some time. Someone who was unmarried may now have a new last name. Another person may have gotten divorced and is now looking to downsize. The people in your database evolve and you want your database to keep up with them. Your database is only as good it is accurate.

2. Re-engage and fill in any gaps.

Chances are a lot of the contacts in your database aren’t complete. You may have someone’s phone number, but not their email. Or you have their address, but not their birthday. These are great opportunities to run re-engagement campaigns to fill in any gaps and see if people still want to hear from you.

If someone hasn’t opened your emails or responded to your texts in a while, it might be a good time to send them an “Is this goodbye?” message. This allows them a chance to re-engage if they still want to receive your outreach or to unsubscribe from your communication. You can also add a one-click button for them to fill in any holes you have in their contact information. A good way to encourage people to fill this out is by using a lead magnet. This means that when they give you details, you’ll share a benefit in exchange, like a free consultation or a personalized market report.

And even if you aren’t missing info from someone, winter is still the best time to renew relationships that you may not have purposefully maintained over the year. Think of all the natural touch points during these months. There’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, winter holidays, New Years, and more. No one thinks twice about receiving a gift, card, or most forms of outreach. Use it to your advantage.

3. Purge your list and find out who’s missing.

A purge takes things a step further than a re-engagement campaign. If a lead isn’t moving along your pipeline or engaging with you in any way, it may be time to remove them from your database. You also likely have contacts with incorrect information who aren’t receiving your communications at all. Some people may not be TCPA friendly anymore. Take this time to clean up your database and purge these contacts.

While deleting people from your database may seem counterintuitive, remember that spamming people who don’t want to hear from us can harm our business. We need to ensure we’re giving our resources and time to relationships that we can cultivate later. The last thing we want to do is put effort where it doesn’t belong and fail to be effective where it matters.

On the other side of the coin, there are probably people missing from your database, too. Create a list of everyone that should be in your database but isn’t. Those business cards that are lying at the bottom of your bag? Make sure you add them in. Then you can reach out to them to fill in missing information. And what about all those people you met in your new co-ed soccer league? Write down their names so you can start your outreach and collect their info.

When you perform this seasonal maintenance to your database, you’re making sure you get the most out of it. This will keep it running smoothly and help you reap the rewards of all your hard work.

What are some of your favorite tips for maintaining your database in the fall and winter? Let us know on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to check out our blog in between newsletters.