Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching – so, have you decided how you’re going to share the love with your clients this year?

We all know that holidays are a great excuse to reach out to your sphere, but do you ever feel like your messages are getting lost or ignored? The bad news is…they probably are – BUT WAIT – you know I never leave you hanging like that!

Let’s look at this from a different perspective: you are the client. When was the last time you got a holiday message (mail, email or otherwise) that really struck you? The truth is, there’s a real trick to making these generic holiday messages work, and it has nothing to do with the way it looks, or how it is delivered.

Be Memorable

You don’t get remembered in life for being par for the course, or ordinary – you get remembered for being unique and extraordinary. These same rules apply to your business, and in particular, to your marketing strategies. So, when you invest time and effort into any follow up, make it count!

You don’t want to be reaching out to people just for the sake of staying top of mind – this won’t contribute to your bottom line. The whole purpose of making consistent contact with people is to generate a genuine connection with them… because connections grow into little buds of reciprocity, and reciprocity magnificently blooms into repeat business and referrals – seriously, there’s an actual science to it!

So, how do you create a genuine connection using a holiday like Valentine’s Day? Show your prospects and clients some love… after all, it is the reason for the season. 

Be Personal

One of the best ways to show some love and be memorable is to be personal. Think back about the gifts you’ve received throughout your life. Are the ones that stand out in your mind those personal gifts that someone put thought and time into? Of course they are! 

We all appreciate when someone takes time out of their day to think of us, even if it’s something small. I’ve seen agents have success with everything from personal text messages to more extravagant things like a 3-month wine club subscription.

But Alex… how could I possibly send wine or even personal text messages to my entire list??? 

Be Selective

You shouldn’t! The type of follow up we’re talking about will most likely get a response that starts a conversation. I don’t know about you, but I cap out between 30-50 real conversations a day, text or otherwise. What we’re talking about here isn’t intended for your entire list.

This is an opportunity to generate a high-value touch, which is a huge reciprocity builder, but can also require a much larger investment of your time. Reserve this strategy only for your most important clients. I’d say a good rule of thumb for this kind of campaign is to focus on the top 10-20% of your past clients, or people that send you referrals.

Tricks to Save Time

Just because you’re doing something personal, doesn’t mean you can’t save yourself some time. If you’re giving gifts, try to find some commonalities within what they like. If you’re going with text messages, they might all have similar components to them with a personalized part.

Below is a quick script to get you started, but you should tailor the content for each client so that the message is authentic to your relationship with them.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you love where you live! I still remember [ADD PERSONAL MEMORY] the day we closed. How have you liked [LOCATION] the town so far? Hope all is well.

Remember, your goal here is to start a conversation. You don’t have to ask for business right off the bat. Instead, you can work it into the discussion later on. After a real conversation it never hurts to say:

By the way, do you happen to know anyone who might be [LIFE CHANGE] getting married and looking for a home?

We’ve discussed this before but using specific life scenarios does a better job triggering referrals. Try to match the scenario to the people your contact might know to get the best results.

Nurture For Better Results

Reaching out to your clients like this is going to create some activity in your business, but you’ll have even better success when you’ve been reaching out routinely in a meaningful way. What I mean by this is that you’ve got to stay connected with these top clients and advocates of your business. 

A Valentine’s Campaign is a great way to nurture that bond between you and your contacts, but it’s not something you can do all the time… because it takes time. This is where automated marketing comes in handy, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to incorporate something that’s incredibly personal-looking each month, with content that your close contacts would actually be interested in receiving from you (hint: it’s not real estate content!).

This newsletter I recommend, that thousands of agents have had success with, helps bridge the gap between these ultra personal reach outs (like holidays and anniversaries), because it gets clients engaged with you in a personal way, and even reminds them to send you referrals each and every month. And what better time to let people know you’re going to be sharing something new and valuable with them, than when you’re reaching out this Valentine’s season to show the love!