Jennifer Egbert never talks about real estate in a phone call. Wait? What. Well, she never talks about real estate when she is reaching out to people in her sphere to check in with them. The PorchLight Group agent talked with First CEO Mike Schneider about how to engage prospects without being “salesy”.

Here are a few highlights:

• Be consistent. Make notes, make calls and host events regularly.
• Don’t hesitate to reach out to people you haven’t talked with recently. But just focus on connecting, not selling your services.
• Clean up your CRM. “You don't need 7,000 people in your database. You need 200 really good people. And then you need to nurture those 200 people and you will have more business than you can imagine.”

“I mean, I think people want you to be straightforward. I'm not real salesy, I'm just me. I happen to like people. You know? So I think there's nothing wrong with striking up a conversation with anybody unless you've had a huge falling out.” - Jennifer Egbert

Rather read it? Check out the transcript here.

Mike Schneider: I'm with Jennifer Egbert who is with PorchLight Group in Boulder, Colorado and I'm already jealous because I love to ski.

‍Jennifer Egbert: It's awesome. We're near skiing but we're not a ski town.

Mike Schneider: Tell us a little bit about how you got into real estate. And kind of the arc of your career. I'm curious. You know, take people through where you're at today.

Jennifer Egbert: So I was kind of that person, jack of all trades, master of nothing. I went to college on and off for a long time -- I kept dropping out. I paid my way through college. So, it was one of those things where I was like 28 and was working in high-end retail, loved my clientele. I was actually working two jobs. I was working in high-end retail and then waiting tables at night.

Mike Schneider: Okay. Yep.

Jennifer Egbert: And one thing that I noticed is that the days that I worked, the same people kept coming back. And I was like, "This is so cool. I actually have a clientele." And so I was having a reliable income because I had connection-based jobs.

Mike Schneider: Sure.

Jennifer Egbert: But, I couldn't be shopgirl forever. I was getting close to 30 and I lived in this college town and I didn't want to do that. I had a friend and she was an assistant to a broker in town and I just always knew that she had kind of created a lifestyle. She was making a great income and I looked at what's a job that I could do? I'm probably not going to graduate from college, so what's a job that I could do that offered a clientele but I also could make a living?

Mike Schneider: Sure.

Jennifer Egbert: And so I talked to her about it for a long time and just decided to get my license.

Mike Schneider: Wow. Well, clearly the way you got into it jives with a lot of the way we view the industry which is, it really is based on relationships and having that long-term relationship.

Jennifer Egbert: It's people. Yeah.

Mike Schneider: I'd love to hear some example of how you run your business on relationships. You said a clientele, which I think is a great way to view it, but what does that look like? How do you run your business on relationships?

Jennifer Egbert: So, my whole business and PorchLight Group, in general, is a relationship-based brokerage.

Mike Schneider: Okay.

Jennifer Egbert: That's what we strive for. So the systems that I have in place have always been -- and I've done a lot of Ninja Selling education as well.

Mike Schneider: Okay.

Jennifer Egbert: And that is, again, based on relationships. The systems are a big part of it. You know, how do you actually stay in the flow with these people?

Mike Schneider: Sure.

Jennifer Egbert: I have a certain number of phone calls that I do a day. I do a certain number of notecards a day. I try to hold client events quarterly.

Mike Schneider: Okay.

Jennifer Egbert: Our company actually, they're amazing. They do things like, "We rented the whole back two rows of Red Rock and since you're one of our top producers, here are 10 free tickets. Invite your 10 clients that you want to invite, and we'll give them a ride up there. We'll let them party, and we'll bring them home."

Mike Schneider: Great.

Jennifer Egbert: So, they do great stuff like, after inspection we send out a box as a "Congratulations, you made it through inspection."

Mike Schneider: Yep.

Jennifer Egbert: And it's got a tape gun. It's got labels. It's got a marker cause now you can start packing.

Mike Schneider: Yep. Very Cool.

Jennifer Egbert: So, I think all those details that are really high-touch, high-value is a big part of it.

Mike Schneider: And you mentioned an interesting thing that we've heard a lot which is staying in the flow. What do you do? What are some sparks of conversation if you've gotten out of the flow? So someone you sold a house to three years ago. You just didn't stay in touch. You know, how do you re-engage?

Jennifer Egbert: I call them up and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry I've lost contact with you."

Mike Schneider: Yes, you're just up front?

Jennifer Egbert: Yeah. Totally. Totally. I mean, I think people want you to be straightforward. I'm not real salesy, I'm just me. I happen to like people. You know? So I think there's nothing wrong with striking up a conversation with anybody unless you've had a huge falling out.

Mike Schneider: Sure. So, if I'm that past client, you'll just call me up and you'll say--

Jennifer Egbert: Yeah. "Hey, how are you? I haven't talked to you in forever. We need a date."

Mike Schneider: Yeah. We need a date.

Jennifer Egbert: Yeah. And then get it on the books.

Mike Schneider: Let's, get back into a relationship.

Jennifer Egbert: 100%.

Mike Schneider: Great. And so you're not talking about real estate?

Jennifer Egbert: Yeah. I never talk about real estate on a phone call.

Mike Schneider: That's great. I think that's important. I'm with you. What's your best pro tip--you mentioned Ninja Selling, all these things.

Mike Schneider: But, you've been doing it for a long time. I'm sure you have some tips and tricks. What's your best tip in terms of your managing your people or your relationships? Like, what's something that you found that you do?

Jennifer Egbert: I mean, systems are key. Having your CRM in working order, to me, is the most important thing. We would be naive to think otherwise.  

Mike Schneider: Yeah. So clean it up? Is that what that means? What would you be telling an agent that's trying to get more relationally?

Jennifer Egbert: Absolutely. You don't need 7,000 people in your database. You need 200 really good people. And then you need to nurture those 200 people and you will have more business than you can imagine.

Mike Schneider: There's a great pro tip. Well, thank you for being on. I really appreciate your time.

Jennifer Egbert: Yeah, no problem. Thanks for having me.