Jimmy Mackin, CEO of Curayator, recently put out a Tweet that started with, “Accountability = Profitability. At this point, I think I can call him my good friend.

Notice how he highlighted having notes and next steps documented inside your CRM?

I found this to be enlightening because there are so many agents out there that say, “I know what I need to do in my head,” or “I don’t need to use the CRM,” or “I don’t need to do these things.” And typically, that leads to money leaks in their business. 

They’re not closing enough business. They’re not seeing the follow up pay off. Or there’s just no communication—because they totally forget about what to do with these leads they worked hard to generate. 

The nature of leads—self-generated, paid leads, your network, the people you know—doesn’t matter. There has to be a follow up plan with the next steps and notes in the CRM. If everyone implemented this right now into their lead care program, it would make a massive difference in their business. 

It’s the Big Four System. You’ve probably heard this (or something similar) from your CRM—the Big Four Lead Care System. It’s really simple—let’s break it down below. 

Step One: Log the notes and log the communication in the CRM

The first step is to input notes of what you discussed in each communication with the prospect, with the consumer, or with the client. Unheard of, right? Mind-blowing. 

It’s so basic and yet extremely effective because when you document the notes—whether they have to do with why they want to be on this side of town, their kids’ names, their spouse’s name, or what they said and why they called—having those extra pieces of information will help you develop a relationship with this person and build rapport. 

Then you can come back to it the second time you talk to them and constantly remind them of the conversation that you had. 

Step Two: Check the status / category

Most CRMs have different statuses, and they’re based on when they’re going to transact. So, are they 0-90 days from transacting? Are they 3-6 months? Are they 6-12 months? Are they a year-plus? Is there a condition that’s going to cause them not to transact? 

Whatever it is, have your system set up so you know exactly what all the categories mean. And use the appropriate category. Because when I see a hot lead, which falls into that 90-days-or-less category, I’ve got a higher sense of urgency in my head that I need to meet with them, I need to talk to them, I need to get in communication with these folks—versus the watch lead. 

With the watch lead, if I miss it on Monday, I can call them Tuesday, and it probably won’t cost me business. It could, don’t get me wrong, but it probably won’t. 

That’s why you’ve got to categorize them properly. Because the beginning of each day should start with calling your hottest leads first, your people that are closest to an appointment, closest to transacting, so that you’re their top-of-mind communication. Because we know most realtors don’t follow up nearly enough. 

Step Three: Get them on a property drip

If it’s a seller, send them home sales activity in their neighborhood and their municipality. If they’re a buyer, send them properties they may be interested in buying. 

I covered this in last week’s Agent Hacks, so go back and go a little deeper on how to set up the property drip. Everyone should be on a property drip. That’s what sellers and buyers care about. As much as you might think they like talking to you, they really care about what home they’re going to buy or what they can sell their home for. 

So, give them that data in a professional way. 

Step Four: Set the next follow up

When are you going to be talking to them next? When is the follow up set for? And how are you going to be following up? 

Most CRMs will tell you what kind of follow up is best for a particular client or prospect:

  • Text follow up
  • Phone call
  • Personal (one-on-one) video

They can also help remind you that you have an appointment scheduled with a certain prospect or client at a certain time. 

So, schedule the next follow up in your CRM. You’re never going to remember all this stuff. It’s impossible. If you use your brain to organize how you’re going to follow up with your business, you’re either going to have a very limited capacity for how many people you can actually work with, or you’re just going to forget important details. 

Neither one of those works for me. I want to have a big-volume business. Most people have big goals. So, use the system that’s going to set you up for that. 

Bonus hack and recap

The bonus hack here is if they say, “Call me in two weeks,” cut that in half. Go down to a week. That’s the move every single time in these situations. 

So, let’s review: 

  1. Log the communication—get those notes into your CRM
  2. Check the status or the category—make sure it’s the appropriate one
  3. Put them on a property drip
  4. Set the next follow up. 

Do that with every single lead, stay accountable to yourself, keep yourself organized, and let the system work for you. 

Just as James Clear says in the book, Atomic Habits, you fall to the level of your systems. You never rise to the level of your goals. 

This is keeping you supported with a system that’s going to eliminate the money leaks with all the hard work you’re already putting in by door knocking, circle dialing, and paying for leads (that’s check equity, not sweat equity). With all the things you do to generate a lead, there’s a lot of money, time, and sweat involved. The leaks happen in the follow up process. 

The Big Four System is a system that will support you in hitting your goals every single day.