Relationship Marketing for Real Estate Agents — A Fresh Perspective
The very best marketing strategy in our opinion for new agents, or any agent for that matter, is to deepen your relationship with your contacts and turn your contacts into clients. Build and deepen your relationship with people you already know and who know you!
But you can’t assume that just because you have a license that they will automatically trust you with representing them in making decisions of what probably is their largest investment in their lives. You need to earn their trust before you do a deal with them. In this article, we will walk you through how real estate agents can build long lasting, trusted relationships, to transition your contacts into lifelong clients.
Why Relationship Marketing?
Imagine the card game Go Fish—but with a twist. Instead of playing with a single deck, you're using two decks of cards, totaling 104 cards, all laid face down on the table. These cards represent your contacts—potential clients in your real estate business.
Now, let’s bring in some statistics. According to NAR (National Association of Realtors), people move about once every 10 years. This means, for every 10 people (or cards), one will be moving in the next year.
With 100 cards on the table, 10 people are likely to move this year. For simplicity, let’s assume all 10 of these movers will sell and buy within the same neighborhood. That’s 20 real estate transactions—hidden under those cards, waiting to be discovered.
The Challenge
The first problem? You don’t know which cards represent the movers. Why? Because your relationships with these contacts aren’t deep enough. Without insight into their needs, timing, and intentions, you’re left guessing, you haven’t turned over the cards.
The Solution: Building Deeper Relationships
To uncover these opportunities, you need to turn contacts into clients. At RealOffice360, we define a client as someone you truly understand—someone whose real estate needs, financial position, and future goals you know in detail. This level of connection transforms your relationship from casual to meaningful. It also turns your marketing into a personalized and consistent value-driven effort.
RealOffice360 helps you achieve this by providing tools to gather insights on your contacts. This way, you can:
Know their real estate goals—when they plan to move, what they want in a new home, and how much they can afford.
Track key moments in their real estate cycle—ensuring you’re there when they need advice or action.
Stay top of mind—through personalized value and timely follow-ups.
Turning Over the Cards
Every time you connect deeply with a contact, it’s like turning over a card on the table. Now you can see their needs clearly. The more cards you turn over, the more opportunities you reveal.
Even then, keeping track of all the details—what each person needs and when—can be overwhelming. That’s where RealOffice360 steps in again. It organizes all your clients and their key details, reminding you of important dates and helping you maintain strong relationships without forgetting a single detail.
The Power of Relationship-Based Real Estate
I had written a business plan for my daughter, who had been in real estate for about a year. At the time, I had 30 years of experience in the industry, so I was closely observing her progress. I realized that she wasn’t the agent who wanted to compete to win a listing by going up against experienced agents who were seasoned at selling themselves. She didn’t enjoy boasting or making big claims, and didn’t love the process of having to sell herself to win a client. What she truly wanted was to help people. She was honest, trustworthy, and had a background in social justice —so she was incredibly knowledgeable, and her heart was in the right place. However, she wasn’t cutthroat like many of the top agents were. She wasn’t about to overpromise by saying she could sell a home faster or for more money than others, she wanted to service people and protect them through the home buying and selling processes.
Seeing this, I sat down and reflected on my career. I decided to write her a business plan, but it was more of a relationship plan. The idea was to help her build long-term relationships with clients before they ever decided to sell. The plan focused on earning trust, proving her knowledge, and being a consistent presence throughout the entire real estate cycle. At the heart of the plan was what we called a Home Investment Review.
The process was simple but powerful
Meet with clients
Understand their needs, wants, and wishes, and
Provide them valuable information which would help them manage their real estate investments
It wasn’t about selling—it was about helping. It was about earning, not winning their trust.
I presented this concept for the first time to my bookkeeper. After explaining how it worked, she was immediately interested and said, “This would be amazing. It would make my life so much easier! I don’t deal with real estate every day, so having someone knowledgeable I can trust would be a huge relief.” She even added, “But more than that, could your daughter do this for my mom? She calls me all the time with real estate questions, and I don’t have the answers. It would be great if she had someone she could rely on.”
It all started when my daughter Chloe met with Anne, our bookkeeper’s mom, to conduct what we now call a Home Investment Review. For the first time, Chloe took Anne through a simple but profound process: identifying her Wishes, Wants, and Needs.
During their conversation, Anne shared her needs with remarkable candor. “I need an ensuite off my bedroom,” she explained, laughing, “because I’m getting older and have to stumble down the hall at night to use the bathroom.” It was a moment of humor and connection as they joked about "TMI" (too much information), but it also revealed something important—Anne's living situation wasn’t working for her anymore.
Anne went on to express her wants: “I’d love a larger laundry room that I can close off. Right now, it’s just a closet off the living room in my small condo. It’s so embarrassing when I’m folding laundry on the dining room table and the doorbell rings!”
Finally, Chloe asked, “Is that everything?” That’s when Anne paused and said, “No, you forgot to ask me about my wish.” She hesitated for a moment, then shared, “I wish I could retire and move near my daughter so I can help her with my granddaughter.”
From Wish to Reality
At first, retirement seemed out of reach—after all, Chloe wasn’t a financial planner. But as they talked, Chloe learned that Anne’s condo in the city was worth significantly more than a similar one in the smaller town where her daughter lived. By selling her city condo and purchasing a home mortgage-free in the smaller town, Anne was able to retire—something she thought was impossible.
This wasn’t just a real estate transaction. It was a transformation. Anne didn’t need to work anymore because her job had been primarily to cover her mortgage. Now, she was able to focus on the things that truly mattered to her—her family and her time.
The Ripple Effect
The impact didn’t stop with Anne. Her daughter, deeply moved by the relationship-based approach Chloe used, became an advocate for the model. She even invested in RealOffice360, the online system Chloe used to manage her growing business. She wanted it to help others.
This wasn’t just about buying and selling homes—it was about changing lives. The process of understanding Anne’s wishes, wants, and needs became a cornerstone of Chloe’s real estate philosophy. By focusing on building relationships and bringing value to homeowners, Chloe was no longer competing with aggressive agents at the point of transaction. Instead, she built a business based entirely on trust and connection.
A Model for Success
The results were undeniable. That first Home Investment Review led to two closed deals within 60 days. But the true victory came on Anne’s possession date, when she stepped into her new condo and said, “I’ve put in my notice to retire!”
In that moment, the power of deeper connections with clients became crystal clear. Real estate wasn’t just about transactions—it was about understanding people’s dreams and helping them achieve them.
Anne wasn’t a random lead from the internet. She hadn’t reached out for help or even realized that retirement was within her grasp. Her wish became a reality because Chloe took the time to ask the right questions and listen deeply.
Manufactured Deals: The Power of Relationships
We call these manufactured deals—opportunities created not by algorithms or online leads, but through genuine relationships. These deals don’t just close transactions; they transform lives. By taking the time to know and understand clients on a deeper level, Chloe created a model that not only propelled her career but also inspired countless other agents to adopt a relationship-based approach to real estate.
Anne’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the impact we can have when we focus on people, not just properties. It’s a testament to the transformative potential of real estate done right.
Now let's look at the math again
Dunbar’s number is 150 people in your close social network, family and friends but in our scenario we are only counting 100 of them for easy math.
You have done your work, you have met with 100 of your 150 friends and relatives and turned them into clients by knowing their real estate wishes, wants and needs. You have also demonstrated your knowledge by going over their Home Investment Review with them. So now they are your clients to lose, you won’t have to compete with other agents when it comes time to sell because your clients will have no reason to interview any other agents. By delivering value before a home owner wants to sell, doing it consistently you build trust and reliability with them.
Back to the math
100 clients 10% of which statistically speaking will likely move each year
So 10 sells (another benefit of doing Home Investment Reviews yearly with your clients is they become very intune with the true value of their home. Because they are now very knowledgeable they are far less likely to have inflated expectations of price).
And again because you have such a deep relationship with your clients you will also help them buy back into the market. I realize some will be moving out of your market or moving into a retirement home but I want simple math here! And I am not counting the referrals you will get from your trusting happy clients. So 10 buy backs for a total of 20 transactions.
The median home price in the USA is $420,400 rounded to $400,000 again for simple math. The average commission is 5.32% and rounded down to 5%.
$400,000 x 5% = $20,000 in total commissions or $10,000 per side.
You have 10 sells and 10 buys for a total of 20 sides at $10,000 per side for a total of $200,000 in commissions in the Go Fish decks! That is $200,000 worth of commissions just amongst your immediate social network (statistically speaking). I will guarantee that number is wrong it will obviously fluctuate from year to year and be affected by a number of things, but it is a scientifically developed approximation of what your book of business is capable of achieving each and every year.
The statistics referenced are derived from several studies and theories
Average Number of People Known: Research by Tyler McCormick, a professor at the University of Washington, estimates that the average person knows approximately 611 individuals.
The Wall Street JournalDunbar's Number: Anthropologist Robin Dunbar proposed that humans can maintain stable social relationships with about 150 people.
WikipediaAverage Homeowner Tenure: According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the typical homeowner in the U.S. has a median tenure of 10 years before selling their home.
Real Estate Transactions and Commissions: The assumption that each client represents two transactions (a sale and a purchase) and an average commission of $10,000 per transaction is a generalization. Actual figures can vary based on market conditions, property values, and commission structures.
These sources provide the foundational data for the calculations and projections outlined above. As of the third quarter of 2024, the median sales price of houses sold in the United States is $420,400.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Real estate commission rates typically range between 5% and 6% of the home's sale price, with the national average around 5.32%.
This commission is usually split between the listing agent and the buyer's agent.
Applying the average commission rate of 5.32% to the median home price of $420,400 results in an average commission of approximately $22,360 per transaction.
Please note that commission rates can vary based on factors such as location, market conditions, and negotiations between the seller and the real estate agents.
Conclusion
This approach to relationship marketing isn’t about chasing leads—it’s about uncovering and nurturing the potential sitting right in front of you. RealOffice360 equips you to do this effortlessly, turning your contact list into a thriving network of loyal clients and repeat busines