The below originally appeared as an email shared by Jonathan Ruiz with his fellow agents at The Agency.
For an agent – or anyone – there is almost nothing more likely to guarantee your success than keeping your word. Conversely, by not keeping your promises, you ensure your own career mediocrity, or worse – people won’t trust you, will not rely on you – and your career growth will be stunted because high-level executives and clients gravitate toward those who actually get things done.
To that end, you need an effective follow up system.
If I tell someone I am going to call them two weeks in the future, I immediately put it on my calendar for the day I said I would call and add a “Reminder.” I also include a brief note in the “Notes” section in case there is anything I specifically need to remember – an area they were asking about, a price range, a specific house, etc.
Also, when you say you are going to “get right back” to someone with a piece of information that they’ve asked for – an answer to a question, or anything else – DO IT.
Example: You are on the phone with a client, who asks you a question about a listing. You say, “I will get right back to you.”
Instead of becoming distracted and going on to other business, make your very next phone call about finding that answer. If you get the answer, call the client back with the information. If you don’t get the answer, call the client back and tell him or her that it’s going to take longer than you thought to get the information and let them know when you will get back to them. If you then need an extra reminder to complete that communication, you might take a big yellow post it and put it on your computer screen (or somewhere else where it gets your attention) so that nothing falls through the cracks.
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