How to Get More Real Estate Referrals Using Your CRM and Past Clients

Emily Snodgrass (00:00)
And you can do exactly sometimes exactly how they say to work their system or exactly how to work their leads. And it may not be beneficial. Currently with mine, it’s not beneficial.

So that’s where I’m looking at, okay, paying for a whole lot of internet leads isn’t really making me the money. But if I took that time and that money, because it’s costing a lot, to focus just on my database, my past clients, how much more that’s gonna be more beneficial for my time and my money. So just learning how to re steward your resources and your time is gonna make you successful.

Dylan Silver (02:07)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today we’re joined by Emily Snodgrass, an associate broker in Georgia, an agent coach and mentor with Coldwell Banker Kinard Realty. And she spent more than 13 years helping families buy and sell homes throughout North Georgia. Emily, thanks for joining us here today.

Emily Snodgrass (02:26)
Thank you for having me.

Dylan Silver (02:26)
Now as a coach and mentor, especially to new agents, what are some foundational things that newer agents should get right right off the bat, especially if they want to be successful in their first year as a new agent?

Emily Snodgrass (02:41)
Thank you for asking that. I think that they need to find someone within their office that is going to mentor them and show them kind of in their local area how to find information and how to find people that they can service. Also, one of the biggest parts and one of the biggest things that I ask people that I start to coach is write down 25 people you would never want to lose touch with. So I build your database with that.

And then also there’s a great list of like 150 ways to grow your database and just being able to list those types of people and just kind of reach out to them and say, Hey, I just got my real estate license. How can I service you?

Dylan Silver (03:19)
Now you have been able to build a business that is at this point able to flourish off of repeat and referrals. And I was talking to you this in the green room. That’s where every agent wants to get to. For folks who are trying to mine their sphere and maybe feeling like I I have my spheres run dry, I can’t, you know, find people in my sphere, my sphere isn’t where it needs to be. Do you think that there’s any specific strategies or follow up techniques that they should alter or adjust?

Emily Snodgrass (03:44)
think just continuously staying in contact with your sphere of influence and your past and your past clients, updating them every once in a while on their value. And also something I’ve recently started doing is just sending them like as I look through the MLS every morning. If something was listed or various times during the day, if something gets listed in their neighborhood, just sending it to them, even if it’s four houses down, they may have seen the sign yesterday, but they may not have seen what it listed for today.

Dylan Silver (04:11)
And so yeah, having that ability to stay in front of people, even with information that you think, hey, they may have this, it’s another touch point and it enables you to stay in contact with people that you might otherwise lose touch with, right?

Emily Snodgrass (04:23)
Correct, yeah.

Dylan Silver (04:24)
Now, when we talk about mentoring new agents, there’s so many honestly established agents as well, there’s so much information, it can kind of feel like i overload. How do you recommend folks navigate this? You know, especially when people can be getting information from from books, from their real estate school, from their brokerage, you know, online, etcetera.

Emily Snodgrass (05:31)
I typically just tell my people that I coach, focus on three things. Focus on either three things, like three types of of clients that you want to service. like one of my clients right now that I well, one of my coaching clients that I have, they just got their license, but they’re like super focused on veterans. He’s not a veteran himself, but he just really, really wants to hone in on veterans. And then another one of my coaching clients, she’s a retired teacher and

She is just going to focus on retiring teachers and going to community events that involves an alumna association kind of like things that involve retired teachers.

Dylan Silver (06:09)
Now that ideal client profile, if you will, you mentioned a retired teacher. She’s identified her niche. Hey, I want to work with teachers and and retired teachers. Once people start finding their niche, right, is there certain marketing that has to change? You know, are should they be always saying when they’re online or or when they’re networking, I’m specifically for, you know, retired teachers or veterans, or is this something that can be a little bit more subtle?

Emily Snodgrass (06:37)
I think it can be subtle subtle, but I also think that, you know, you can be, I guess you can say a little aggressive with it. like my retired teacher, coaching client. I just tell her I was to say, you know, that you are focused on helping retired teachers just like yourself, you know, either move up or, you know, downsize in house depending on lifestyle changes.

Dylan Silver (06:57)
Now, one of the challenging things is we have to go where we find our clients, right? And so if you you’re trying to help retired teachers, you might have to think, okay, well, where are retired teachers? How do I reach them? Does this sometimes require us to maybe go to different types of opportunities? And it might not be physical, but it might be different, you know, online spaces or or, you know, different luncheons, et cetera, than we might normally think of when we associate real estate.

Emily Snodgrass (07:26)
Correct, yes. I tell my clients that you’re not gonna get business sitting at home. So you need to go where the ideal your niche is where those people are hanging out. You know, if it’s the veterans association stuff, the teacher association things, I said you just gotta be there and just learn how to service them and give them the information without being pushy or salsy.

Dylan Silver (07:48)
Now we were talking in the green room. I know that you’re also going to be very soon a broker in several other states. How did this come about?

Emily Snodgrass (07:55)
I had an opportunity. I had been at another franchise for five years. and I went back to Coldwell Banker, the manager and the broker there, Mike, and said, Hey, I want to step into leadership. I feel like I’ve had enough experience and this is how I want to service people other than just selling houses to people and properties. And so it was mentioned, hey, would you get, you know, broker’s license in other places and I said, Why not? So here I am just doing all the school.

Dylan Silver (08:29)
That’s right. I mean it right under the fire. When when we talk about building teams, right, one of the challenging things, especially as folks who who have teams underneath them or brokerages underneath them, is you know, you put so much into people and sometimes you hate to see it, but sometimes people leave, right? And that’s kind of a part of the business. But how how can team leaders and how can you know brokerage owners look at retention maybe a little bit differently to help keep people around?

Emily Snodgrass (08:57)
So I’ve actually had this happen to me. I know we didn’t talk about this in the green room. I used to have a team. and one of the girls decided to leave my team. She was my lead buyer’s agent and also let her list let her list properties. She just grew, she kind of outgrew what she wanted to do, and she also wanted to build something for herself. And she’s one of my really, really good friends. Like we were just texting last night. And you know, it ju it happens, you know, like I’ve outgrown other places as well.

But I think that what I did wrong and not being able to retain her is that I was investing in the wrong places and the wrong things versus investing more into my team and even into myself as in growing my own skills and how to manage and run a team and possibly even one day of brokerage under what I’m currently doing. that, you know, you get so almost distracted with so many other things that you really have to keep it simple, but like invest in the people that you have and invest in yourself to continue that growth and keep that retention.

Dylan Silver (10:36)
Yeah, I mean at the end of the day it’s human capital, right? That that r runs real estate teams and brokerages. And so that retention piece is so critical. And it can be challenging and discouraging when things like that happen. You hope to stay on good terms like you have with your friend. but but it can also be people, you know, and and as realtors, we both know this, you know, it’s simply a number of a commission percentage. And you’re like, man, I can’t believe they’re leaving over you know that small of a thing. They’ve done so much business with us. It’s not always grass is greener on the other side though, right? Because you could go somewhere else thinking I’m gonna have this same success but truly part of your growth was in some ways through osmosis if you will right it’s through that proximity to other high performers at your previous location I think sometimes that gets lost right we we sometimes have this grasses greener perspective

Emily Snodgrass (11:25)
Yeah. I think that can always be I think people we get in a rut and then so we get an opportunity sometimes and it’s like, the graph is gonna be greener over here. But truly, and I feel that every real estate agent can be successful wherever they decide to hang their license at. It just depends on how much work you’re willing to do. I feel like you should be, you know, with other people in your office and don’t think of it as competition because you can learn from them. I have been doing this for 14 years.

And almost 14 years. And I still learn from newer agents because they’re younger than me. And I learned from the older agents that have been doing it for a very long time. You can never stop learning in this business, whether or not you think you have it all or not, because everything is changing. And then plus also things can be so simple that you have to almost go to some of the older agents that are doing it in more simpler ways and just be like, my gosh, that That’s why they’ve been so successful for forty years is because they are doing it database driven, you know, the people that they know.

Dylan Silver (12:29)
Let’s talk about that a little bit. So I feel like there’s a number of not just realtors, but Folks from across the real estate landscape who kind of fall into one of two categories. You got folks who really mine follow-up in their CRM and they live out of their CRM. And then you kind of got folks who are successful, but you know, maybe solopreneurs and they’re kind of like cowboys or cowgirls, and they’re, you know, going based off of who the most recent text message is, who’s top of their mind, right? And they’re like, the CRM’s there, but I’m I’m not really using that. what what’s your approach? And then also what is the right place for a CRM?

Emily Snodgrass (13:04)
The right place for CRM is the one you’re gonna use and the one that’s gonna those kinds of things. I feel like you can buy the fanciest thing and it’s not gonna work for you, or you can buy the simplest thing and it can work for you. I focus a lot on my CRM and being in it, seeing who has been engaged on my website, who I have spoken to, who I haven’t spoken to in a while. I kind of have like I have a CRM that has tons and tons of leads and tons and tons of names in it.

And then I have literally a printout sheet of all my past clients, all the addresses I’ve ever sold, or majority of them, I I can be like, wait a minute, I think I sold a different house and it’s not on this list sometimes. So it’s like chicken scratch sand. because those are the people too sometimes where I’m like they kind people can get lost in a large CRM, I will tell you that. Yeah.

But that’s why I’m one reason why I like my simple list too. It’s literally just printed off the computer because then I can go through and check and say, yeah, I have talked to them, I have talked to them, or I need to talk to them or need to send them a handwritten note card or something like that.

Dylan Silver (14:00)
A mix of old school and new school. Nothing’s fallen through the tracks that way. I I want to pivot here and talk a little bit about North Georgia. I’m a fish out of water in this space. I was mentioning to you in the green room. We have a lot of guests that are in the Atlanta or Metro Atlanta, urban sprawl of Atlanta. But when we look at North Georgia, walk me through the the landscape. You know, what are some cities or towns that should be on my map, or where are people moving to? Where are investors buying property?

Emily Snodgrass (15:08)
So I kind of cover right now anything in Ringgold, Dalton, Chatsworth, and Calhoun. I’m actually headed to Calhoun in a little while. And a lot of people are moving to the Calhoun area in the Dalton area and even the Ringgold area, Ringgold, because it’s super close to Chattanooga. Dalton area because it’s between, you know, Chattanooga and Dalton, but yet it’s so close to Chattanooga. it’s just a small town. I mean, a lot of us all kind of feel the same, like together, like between Dalton and Chatsworth. It’s almost like it’s one town. and then Calhoun, of course, is south of us. But people are moving here because it’s affordable to live here. we have new construction and then we also have older homes as well that’s, you know, historic and this town has a lot of history. the main industry here is flooring. we have a large healthcare system and the school system as well.

Dylan Silver (15:58)
Let let’s talk a little bit about the new construction. as a Texas licensed realtor, it’s so much new construction, it’s it’s kind of unbelievable. There’s almost anywhere you turn, it’s either a subdivision going up or if not that, it’s multifamily housing or student housing, like 360 degrees. What does new construction look like out there?

Emily Snodgrass (16:16)
New construction here is we have the large nationwide builders here. They are building fairly large neighborhoods. we haven’t had any new construction like that ever really. I don’t feel like we’ve always had our our hometown builders build houses. Both of them build, you know, fantastic houses. I mean, they’re just going up everywhere, they’re always trying buy land and that kind of stuff.

And I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think it’s a great thing in this area because it is really what I’ve told a lot of my clients is that, you know, you might be buying on buying something on a small piece of land. But if you buy this now, you live in it for four to five years, you’ll have equity in it. And then you can turn around and take that equity into buying that dream mini farm or something like that that you want in a few years, because you’re gonna have the equity into this that you can turn into a new property that is your dream home. And it’s It’s better to be doing that than to be paying rent and blowing all of that money or spending, you know, all that money in rent versus investing in your future.

Dylan Silver (17:14)
Right. I and w one of the the things that I think people often miss is you mentioned it. You’ll you’ll have some equity at some point. If you’re already thinking like an investor, you could use that equity. You could take out a HELOC or a HE loan and and put that towards a a another project. You know, one of the things speaking more about new construction, there’s some interesting price variance between what consists of new construction. You’ve got you know ultra lux new construction. and I I know what that price point is in Texas. But then you’ve also got markets where you have what seems to be almost affordable new construction. I don’t know what it’s like out there in North Georgia. What’s maybe the most cost effective, if you will, new construction home that you could get out there in your neck of the woods?

Emily Snodgrass (17:57)
You could get a I would call like a base model or base entry into a new construction house for about I believe they advertise what their s what their stuff about two thirty. Yeah. I mean it’s too up to about I I mean you can buy like smaller builders’ houses about three fifty to four hundred or so new construction stuff, but the majority of the larger the larger builders are building between two thirty and 360 I would go with. And you’re getting you’re getting twenty four hundred square feet at that top price at that top price.

Dylan Silver (18:28)
That I that’s a great great Are you also seeing in in that area of Georgia folks who may be not from Georgia originally but now looking at those homes because that’s cost effective, right? So if you’re coming from another market, that’s enticing, right?

Emily Snodgrass (18:52)
It is, yes. we especially during the housing boom of twenty and twenty one and that kind of stuff, we had a lot of people moving into this area that have sold their house in a different area and was able to pay cash for their for their homes here.

Dylan Silver (19:04)
as someone who coaches agents, but also as someone who’s got a lot of experience in in North Georgia, what do you recommend newer agents look at when they’re considering, you know, do I focus on new construction? Do I focus on pre-owned? Is there a specific way where I can maybe network with builders a little bit better? What’s your outlook on that?

Emily Snodgrass (19:22)
I say be bold and if you want to be a new construction or a new a new construction person for a builder, then then do it. Like just you know, invest your time and know that your rate of return will be there at some point. But just staying consistent with your follow-up of those builders to see, you know, what might be an opportunity for them. And also a good way to get in to get in with a builder. I would say it that way is to find them some land, even if it’s a couple pieces a couple of lots or if it’s a large piece of land or something like that and take it to him and say, Hey, I have this, I have this. Or but I also, you know, want to you know be the listing agent on these properties as well whenever you go, whenever you’ve de whenever you have developed the land and started building houses on it.

Dylan Silver (20:12)
there’s actually two thoughts that I had from that. First is the the land component. So you’ve taken land to builders. That’s a very interesting conversation. What what does that look like for ya?

Emily Snodgrass (20:21)
They’re normally like, wow, like I had no idea that land was even for sale. And I normally take it and say, hey, I went and talked to the owner of this land. He’s interested in selling. we’re either going to put it on the market or I’ve also wanted to bring it to you as well to see if you are interested in purchasing it before it goes on the market or as it’s going on the market. I’ve been part of the home builders association in the area before. So I’ve had, you know, conversations with builders and they’ve also been like, Hey, if you find something that, you know, like I can build a house on, let me know.

Dylan Silver (20:52)
I think that’s a huge opportunity, right? Sometimes people can overcomplicate these things by making it seem like, well, that’s only certain agents which are capable of these conversations. But if you know the person who owns the land, then you’re already, you know, halfway done. my my second thought was you mentioned, you know, being a listing agent for the builders. something that sometimes gets overlooked is, you know, there’s all this new construction happening and buyers may may go to I know this has happened to me. I’ll go to a community and there won’t be a a a rep, a corporate rep on site to show a property. So then I’m saying, Well, I’ll show this person the property, right? And so we can then be be buyers reps as we’re showing these new construction. And then the builders sometimes pay in many cases more than what’s expected. There’s bonuses involved. This is sometimes surprising because you think, Well, I have to be affiliated, I have to have a way in, but that’s not always the case.

Emily Snodgrass (21:43)
No. all these nation builders always have it to where, you know, the people that are the buyers that are buying their their homes, they have a place for us as buyers agents to work alongside their new their new home specialists that’s in their model homes and getting the deal done. Cause at the end of the day, the builder wants to build houses and sell them.

Dylan Silver (22:01)
I mean, that’s the name of game. Yeah. when we talk specifically, going back to an earlier point about CRMs and and technology, right? When we talk about the ways that people can sometimes try to, I don’t like reinvent the wheel because I do like innovation, but can sometimes have this shiny object syndrome, right? How do agents stay in front of that? How do you continue to both be inspired in what you do while also making sure that you’re, you know, crossing your T’s, dotting your I’s and consistent.

Emily Snodgrass (22:29)
I think just focus on building relationships consistently because everyone can sh just like you said, dangle something shiny in front of your face and promise you all these things and whether or not it works or not. And you can do exactly sometimes exactly how they say to work their system or exactly how to work their leads. And it may not be beneficial. Currently with mine, it’s not beneficial. So that’s where I’m looking at, okay, paying for a whole lot of internet leads isn’t really making me the money. But if I took that time and that money, because it’s costing a lot, to focus just on my database, my past clients, how much more that’s gonna be more beneficial for my time and my money. So just learning how to re steward your resources and your time is gonna make you successful.

Dylan Silver (23:17)
I don’t often talk about this with realtors and brokers because it’s a conversation that I think people take for granted, but it should be spoken more to, is what is the importance of lender relationships and not just a lender relationship, but really understanding what that process looks like from the client perspective.

Emily Snodgrass (23:35)
You should have three lenders that are your best friends. I mean you should be in constant contact with your preferred lenders, your favorite one and you know a few other ones. because things are always changing. You need to be able to grab that new buyer, grab that lender, put them in a group chat, and send them a message and say, Hey, lender, my buyer. Just spoke to them, they’re looking to achieve home ownership in the next couple of months. Let’s get them pre-approved. Like if you can’t have quick and easy conversations. And then also what I have also found is that lenders want to be my best friend. And they’re like, my gosh, send me your business. Send me your business. I’m like, okay. I’ll send them one. And that buyer doesn’t hear from that lender or whatever. And it’s just like, and I was talking to that lender, but you made me lose that buyer and you lost the loan. Like

Dylan Silver (24:25)
What are we doing?

Emily Snodgrass (24:26)
both lost, you know, opportunities and yeah, we may have lost one deal, but I also think about I lost that relationship with that person. not the lender. yeah, sometimes, but that buyer and then the relationships and the transactions that could have came from that buyer from people that they referral. Cause one r one transaction has at least three referrals in it within a lot within a couple of years. And that’s what I focus on.

Dylan Silver (25:43)
We are coming up on time here, Emily. Any new projects or activities that you’re working on these days or listings and and also anything you’d like to mention directly to our audience?

Emily Snodgrass (25:52)
Just continue to invest in yourself. hone on your skills. continue to just cultivate those relationships with people. Even if you’re brand new, like you just got your license yesterday. Like I said, make a list of the top 25 people you never want to lose touch with. And then also just work on like 150 people that you really do enjoy seeing and talking to and stuff like that. of course, always have new listings. And then, you know, I’m doing stuff in other states and stuff like that here soon. but yeah. So if you if you are an agent and you are looking for coaching, what’s absolutely love to have a conversation with you as well.

Dylan Silver (26:27)
Thank you so much for joining us here today. Thanks for your time.

Emily Snodgrass (26:30)
Thank you.