I've never been one for client events. Do not misunderstand; this was not a result of negligence. In reality, my business strategy for the year included many events that I had planned for each year. I consoled myself by using usual justifications for why the previous year's events had failed: I was too busy, I didn't have enough clients, I was worried about budgetary restrictions, the year got away from me, and I didn't have my CRM organized well enough to know who to invite.

I never missed a year of planning, but I only completed half of what I had planned. As my career developed, I realized that if my actions don't line up with my intentions, a barrier will stand in my way. Usually, this wall is only in my head, but aren't mental barriers the most difficult to scale?

We need to rethink what a client event looks like in real estate. It needs to be easier to achieve, less stressful, and more reliable. Let's first explore why real estate agent-hosted events can advance our professional trajectories before diving into the novel approach to these events.

In Real Estate, Should I Host Client Events?

A good question. There are numerous ways to maintain current connections with our database. So let's examine the most popular techniques in terms of their efficacy, difficulty, and scalability.

Phone calls are effective, but fewer individuals are choosing to converse on the phone. However, it is not scalable and requires work to get past the awkwardness of calling our clients.

Text/Email: Low effort, but we lose one of the voice's most crucial components of human engagement. This lessens efficiency. Additionally, email can be scaled quickly using email newsletters and CRMs, but if it isn't 1:1, its effectiveness drastically decreases.

Social media appears to need little work, but it's actually a cunning tool. Keep our attention focused, and it's great; let it wane, and it hurts our output. This strategy still has some flaws because it also presupposes that all of our clients use the platform where we are most engaged.

Cards that are handwritten are quite effective and need little to no work. Although this is a good choice, scalability is where it falls short.

Similar to cards, lunches, and coffees are efficient but need a greater level of work and are not scaleable.

What about events, then? Given that it's one of the few ways we can interact directly with our database and that it's naturally scalable, they have been shown to be effective.

But isn't there a problem here, too? How about your effort? It makes sense that two primary barriers for agents are effort and fear. But don't worry, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party (explained below) will alter the way you perceive client events.

Whatever the format of your annual follow-up is, you must frequently communicate with your database. The key to all of this is staying in touch, whether you use a 33 Touch strategy, complete the Rev Sprint, or master our 6-point annual follow-up strategy.

Why Don't The Majority Of Agents Host Events?

According to our research, the three main reasons why agents avoid client events are cost, complexity, and anxiety.

You will find suggestions for catered meals, renting out sizable spaces, and expensive gifts when looking up ideas for your client celebration. Events I've hosted have cost me well over $10,000. Smart agents question the effectiveness as the money grows. You need a positive ROI for any marketing campaign that costs $10,000 or more. Organizing a fancy party was another challenge for me because I was worried that my clients would think it was extravagant.

The logistics and specifics of the event come with this expenditure. Could you imagine organizing a catered BBQ for all your clients but running out of food? or realizing there will be precipitation at your event? The majority of real estate agent-hosted events are overly complicated, prohibitively expensive, or risky combinations of both, therefore it makes sense that we avoid these effective ways of reaching out to our database.

But anxiety, not money or logistics, was the most common roadblock. The voice and cloud in our heads warn that the event won't go well, that attendance will be low, or that your guests will be bored. Any event you host will force you out of your comfort zone, but isn't that where growth happens?

We enjoy production that other agents won't when we do actions others won't.

We all understand that we "should" be hosting events, but we value ignoring the event and reducing stress more than boosting output. We would host the event if the production were more important.

Is it really so easy? Is hosting the event just a matter of swallowing it up? Not quite. Our worry and resistance stem from our concern that no one will attend and the event would be a failure. If you had absolute certainty that your visitors would have a great time, you could be tempted to arrange these events frequently.

So how can we calm the fear using a tried-and-true event model, minimum preparation, and a defined framework? The 2-Hour Cocktail Party Formula can be applied.

Conclusion

Client events are a highly successful and scalable way for us to grow our network of contacts. But the difficulties we encounter are intricacy, worries about duration, logistics, and apprehension about the event. The 2-Hour Cocktail Party is a straightforward and effective method for handling client events that guarantees your guests will have a good time while saving you time, and money, and worry that the gathering will be a failure. Use this framework in your company right away.