This answer applies 2 methods from the guide, led by one.
Close the loop and learn
Confirm the outcome, ask for feedback and choose one method to keep, change or investigate.
- 1Check whether the result met the client's confirmed need.
- 2Close or assign every remaining item.
- 3Ask for feedback and any referral or testimonial permission separately.
- 4Compare the promise with the outcome and record one learning decision.
Hold when: Service consent is not marketing consent. Do not manufacture a testimonial, referral or universal rule.
Read it in Broker Brain →Give advice the client can inspect
State the conclusion, evidence, uncertainty, alternatives and what would change the view.
Read it in Broker Brain →Why past clients forget you
After settlement or handover, the reason to talk ends. The agent moves on to the next deal, and the only thing the client hears is a newsletter about the market or a listing that has nothing to do with them.
The guide's ‘Close the loop and learn’ method starts earlier than most agents think: at handover, not on the first anniversary. A deal that ends with loose ends, an unanswered question or a rushed review request is the last thing the client remembers about you.
Close the loop before you keep in touch
Applied to a finished sale or purchase, the method's steps take one conversation and a few lines in your records.
- 01Within a month of settlement or handover, check whether the result met what they actually needed and whether anything is still outstanding.
- 02Close every open item, or give it an owner and a date: a missing key, a warranty, a meter reading, a question for the managing agent.
- 03Ask for feedback first. Ask for a review or a referral separately, once, and record their answer.
- 04Ask whether they would like to hear from you about their home from time to time, and record that answer too. Service consent is not marketing consent.
- 05Note one thing you would repeat or change on your next deal. That is the learning half of the method.
Keep every touch about their home
Nobody wants a market update. Everybody wants to know about their own place. The method's own question, whether another contact is genuinely useful, is the filter for every message.
- 01What has sold or been listed in their street or building, with the price if it is public and the date.
- 02What those sales suggest about their home, labelled as your view.
- 03If they bought to rent out: what similar homes are renting for, and when their lease is up.
- 04Dates that matter: the anniversary of the purchase, a fixed rate ending, a lease renewal.
- 05Fast, straight answers when they ask you something, even if there is no deal in it.
Give a view they can inspect, not a valuation
When you tell a past client what their home might be worth, the guide's ‘Give advice the client can inspect’ method applies. Lead with what the evidence supports, show the sales behind it with their dates, separate fact from your judgement, and say what would change the view, such as condition or a renovation you haven't seen. Use achieved prices, not asking prices.
Your opinion is not an independent valuation, and a past client deciding whether to refinance, sell or rent out may need one. Say so, and say who can give it.
An anniversary message in plain words: “Hi Anna, a year ago this week you got the keys to Rose Street. Two similar homes on your street have sold since. I've put what they went for next to yours, with my view of where yours sits and what it's based on, if you'd like to see it.”
A simple year, one record, and call the ones who reply
Plan it once and put the dates in your calendar or CRM, so it happens whether or not you are busy. Keep every past client in one list: the property, the dates, what they care about, whether they agreed to marketing, and a next date. A client with no next date is a client you will forget.
Send first, then call the people who reply, while they are interested. Ringing the whole database with a general update is how agents learn that people can't get off the phone fast enough.
- 01Within a month: close the loop, as above.
- 02Around three months: something useful and local, such as tradespeople you trust or a change in their area.
- 03On the anniversary: what has sold near them, with your view and the evidence behind it.
- 04When something sells nearby: one line, the price if it is public, and no pitch.
- 05Once a year: their options, whether to hold, rent out or sell, with the numbers, their sources and no pressure.
Give each client one place to come back to
Clients lose PDFs and forget which email had the figures. A single page per client, in your brand, with their property's details, the numbers with their sources and dates, and a way to ask you a question, gives them a reason to come back to you rather than search elsewhere.
What gets in the way
Assuming referrals and repeat business either happen or don't.
Close the loop at handover, then plan a few useful touches a year for every past client and put the dates in your calendar, so keeping in touch doesn't depend on remembering.
Calling past clients with a general market update.
One line about their own street or building, and one easy question. Then call the ones who reply.
Sending every past client the same broadcast of your new listings.
Write to each person about their home, one to one. A listing belongs in the message only when it matters to them.
Forgetting owners who had an appraisal but didn't list with you.
If they agreed to hear from you, treat them as past clients: every few months, send what has sold near them since, with the price if it is public.
Questions agents ask next
How often should I contact past clients?
A handful of times a year, each with a reason about them: a check-in after the move, the anniversary, sales nearby and an annual look at their options. Useful beats frequent.
What should I send a past client on their home anniversary?
What has sold near them since they bought, with the prices and dates, and your view of where their home sits, labelled as a view rather than a valuation. Two or three lines, an offer to send the details, and none of your listings.
Are newsletters worth it for past clients?
They are fine as background, but they aren't keeping in touch. A personal message about their own home is what they remember when they are ready to move.
Can I add past clients to my marketing list?
Ask first. Having been their agent doesn't mean they agreed to marketing. Record their answer, give an easy way to stop, and follow your market's rules.
How do I ask past clients for referrals without it being awkward?
Ask once, separately from asking for feedback, after you have been useful, and make it specific: “If anyone you know is thinking about selling in your area, I'd be glad to help.” Then go back to being useful.