They Loved You. They Hired Someone Else.

GROW WITH LIBERTAS & EXP REALTY

Phil has sold homes in Grand Rapids for sixteen years. A while back he drove past a house he'd sold to a young family. He'd gotten them through three inspections and a rate lock that almost expired. There was a sign in the yard with another agent's name on it.

He called the wife, trying not to sound hurt. "Oh, Phil," she said. "We figured you'd retired. My cousin's friend posts about houses every day, so we just called her."

Phil hadn't done anything wrong. He'd just gone quiet for about seven years. And he has a lot of company.

Mostly because they forget you or assume you're out of the business. According to NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 91% of buyers would use their agent again or recommend them, yet only 18% of repeat buyers actually went back to the same agent. Sellers stay in their homes about 11 years now, a record.

When Phil added it up, he had about 900 people who'd bought, sold or sent him business. He'd talked to maybe 60 of them in the past year. And most sellers only interview one agent, so if you're not the first name they think of, you don't even get the appointment.

Don't skip the people who say they're never moving again. Their coworkers, neighbors, kids and friends will move, and they'll send them to the agent they still hear from.

Grant closed 26 homes outside Phoenix last year, more than half from his brokerage's lead program. The brokerage's app handled the texts and closing anniversaries. When he switched offices, all he got to take was names and emails. "Half my past clients don't even have my cell number," he said.

Give every past client your personal cell and ask if it's OK to keep in touch. Grant moved everyone into a CRM he controlled and sent each one a quick personal video. About 90 people wrote back.

Let your system flag them. Tony in Tucson set up AI to flag past clients who looked up their home value on his website, clicked on bigger or smaller homes, or hit seven years in their house. In week three, it flagged a couple he'd sold a three-bedroom to nine years earlier. They'd checked their value twice in five days and clicked on four four-bedroom homes.

The AI had an email ready. Tony picked up the phone instead. "Funny you'd call," the wife said. "We were going to call you this weekend." He listed their home at $465,000, sold it in nine days and sold them the bigger house. In 90 days, the system flagged 31 people worth a call, and three turned into listing appointments.

Home-value tools like Homebot can alert you when a past client opens their home-value report or starts browsing listings, and CRMs like Follow Up Boss and Lofty can flag the same activity on your own website. It only works for clients who get your reports or use your site, since nobody can see what they search on Zillow. Sign every past client up for a monthly home-value report, and when an alert comes in, call that day.

Before that, Tony's 2,300 contacts got a monthly newsletter that one in ten opened. "I knew it was a graveyard," he said.

Phil's rule is that every touch should be something a friend in real estate would send. Most of his past clients hear from him four times a year: a January note on what their home is worth, an update on a road project on their street, a handwritten card on their move-in anniversary and an invitation to his pie pickup before Thanksgiving. When a hailstorm hit two neighborhoods where he'd sold a lot of homes, those clients got a note the next day on documenting roof damage, plus three roofers his clients liked. Two of those replies turned into listing conversations.

A year later, Phil had personally talked to more than 300 of his 900 people, and his past-client deals went from one to five. "I didn't pitch anything," he said. "I just showed up on the right day."

Two rules: never let your system reach out about a death, divorce, health issue or money problem the client didn't tell you about. And get written permission before sending marketing texts or robocalls, including AI voices. Check current FCC rules with your broker.

For brokers: When an agent leaves your office, make sure their past clients get a call from someone who stayed.

How often should a real estate agent contact past clients?
At least four meaningful touches a year, plus a call when something relevant happens, such as a home-value alert, a local issue or a move-in anniversary.

What percentage of buyers use the same agent again?
NAR's 2025 Profile found that although 91% of buyers would use or recommend their agent, only 18% of repeat buyers went back to the same agent.

How long do homeowners stay in their homes?
About 11 years, a record high, according to NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

What tools help agents stay in touch with past clients?
A CRM you control, monthly home-value reports with activity alerts, and personal calls, cards and videos.

Listen to the full conversation on Real Estate Coaching Radio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-estate-past-clients-why-they-hire-another-agent/id849772346?i=1000792372576

Tim and Julie Harris are America's most recognized real estate coaches, bestselling authors, and the voices behind Real Estate Coaching Radio, the nation's #1 daily podcast for real estate professionals. With decades of hands-on experience and a track record of helping thousands of agents achieve breakthrough success, Tim and Julie deliver real-world strategies that actually work. Whether you're looking to scale your business, sharpen your skills, or simply stay ahead of the market, their insights are your competitive edge.

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