Acknowledgment: Thank you to REALTOR® Steve Sofka for sharing his brilliant client retention and referral generating system with the Agent Inner Circle® Community!

A great way to start the year out with new clients is to make meaningful contact with all of the people you worked with in the previous year. The “Tax Helper System” helps you go the extra mile for your past clients making a positive impact that leads to repeat business and referrals, and it goes beyond a simple thank you (which every agent does and your clients already expect). This system can be used to do something unexpected for your clients — saving them time and fortifying your relationship as their trusted expert in Real Estate.

When a transaction is completed, most clients just file away their closing documents and forget all about them. You can be of great service by sending each side of the transaction a courtesy copy of their closing statement at the beginning of the following year, so they’ll have it conveniently ready for tax preparation. This not only frames you as an organized professional, it saves them time digging through files looking for information for their accountant.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use the Tax Helper System to generate some goodwill and referrals from your past transactions:

STEP 1: Make Extra Copies of Each Closing Statement

Every time you close an escrow…whether you are representing the buyer OR seller…make 2 copies of the HUD-1 Every time you close an escrow, whether you are representing the buyer or the seller, make 2 copies of the Closing Statement – one for each side.

STEP 2: Package Copies with a Personal Letter

Put each statement in an envelope along with a copy of a personal letter. Your letter should mention what you are including and why, plus a personal sentiment of appreciation for the opportunity to work with them.

STEP 3: Address & Apply Postage

Address each envelope to the correlating clients. It’s really important to make sure you use the client’s NEW address, and have the appropriate postage on the envelope!

Side Note: By putting the postage on as you go, it eliminates the need to pay one big lump sum for postage – as long as you use the Forever Stamps that work even when postage prices go up.

STEP 4: Mail Them Off

Place the envelopes in a box (or filing cabinet) and collect them all year long. Sometime between January and March, take out your box with all of the addressed and stamped envelopes that you’ve accumulated throughout the year, and send them off through a mailbox or at the post office!

STEP 5: Make Some Calls (SCRIPT)

Now comes the fun part! Wait 3 to 4 days after you mail out your packages and then start calling each of the clients you just mailed to. As always, you should tailor these scripts to your own business, but your conversation should go something like this:

1. Introduction: “Hi John, a few days ago, I put a package in the mail to you and I was just following up to see if it arrived yet.”
2. Reinforce Your Purpose: “You got it… that’s great! I’ve heard from so many clients about not being able to find that paperwork… so I like to send it out to save you some time and it’s just one more way to say ‘thanks’ for working with me.”
3. Transition to Referrals: “It was a pleasure working with you and I find other great clients come from my past clients. Do you know anyone else that’s considering buying a home or selling their home soon?”

Follow Up Plan

You will be amazed by the responses (and referrals) you can generate from your thoughtfulness! The Tax Helper System is one way to stay top of mind and make meaningful connections with potential clients – and you may even be surprised to receive referrals after the fact – but reaching out once a year will only produce a fraction of the business you could be generating from each of these clients.

In reality, you need to offer value on a monthly basis to stay connected with just about anyone these days – nothing does this better than the personal newsletter service from Service For Life! If you’re wondering what the best part of the service is… there are honestly too many benefits to choose from, but the fact that you have hundreds of FREE bonus resources (like a pre-written Tax Helper letter!!) to go along with a fresh-faced newsletter every single month, certainly tops the list. Check out the incredible Service For Life! marketing system that generates a consistent flow of referrals from your existing clients and starts as low as $75 a month!