Many years ago, I found myself staring longingly at my computer screen, while my nearly lifeless database glared back at me. It was once a bright, active database, pulsing with new business opportunities. Now, all those years of work detailing my client’s contact information and histories, merely a Zombie database– data in its most useless format. Stale. This story doesn’t end there, it ends when I learned you can resurrect a dead database.
When I was keeping in touch and following up with my database, business was great. Then, I stopped. I was too busy to write messages and send emails, and I didn’t have time to keep track of everything. Something had to give. I wasn’t a database analyst, I was a real estate agent! I sold houses and helped people navigate real estate transactions—not run computer systems. It all got to be too much.
Highest and Best, It Was Not
I live by a quote that I recite frequently to various people, including my clients— “If it isn’t the highest and best use of your time, you should outsource it.” As it turns out, my inability to heed my own wisdom was killing my database, and in turn my entire real estate career. On heavy weeks, I was spending at least 20 hours on lead nurturing, and 10 on the light weeks. There had to be a better way to nurture the leads in my database.
When I listed this incredible house for nearly $2 million, I had no choice but to choose between it or my database. I had to focus my efforts and limited free time on marketing and networking for that listing. Soon, I had rationalized skipping a week of message writing (which quickly turned into two weeks, then, before I knew it, TWO YEARS had gone by). My business was in that database, and now that database was dead and gone.
Or so I thought. Companies kept trying to sell me mailing lists, marketing funnels, and other things I didn’t know anything about—a landing page? Is that like the landing on a staircase? I didn’t get it or why would those things bring any value to me. I had ALL these contacts, people I know or knew, but did they even remember who I am? A mailing list is worthless until you realize it isn’t about sending just any email—it’s about crafting messages that resonate with your database.
I had worked long and hard to establish relationships with the people in my database. They weren’t just names and contact information – they were people who mattered to me. Many of those people also trusted me – they sought me out for my expertise. I mattered to them and they mattered to me.
Why did I let it die!! WHY!!!
You can’t resurrect a dead database can you, Google? “Can you resurrect a dead real estate database?” There it was; the answer to my dreams and the end of my nightmare. As I read “One incredible secret that will have people asking to join your email list…” I was inspired, and hopeful. To be able to have that kind of response and magic in my database was amazing. The answer was Happy Grasshopper.
I had to wonder, were they some sort of necromancer, bringing the dead back to life? Or some other magical mysterious insect? As I scrolled down the Happy Grasshopper home page, I had epiphany after epiphany… where had they been the last few years of my business! Testimonial after testimonial of real estate agents just like me, living their true career – because Happy Grasshopper brought life back to their database. I sleuthed around and found a webinar on the HG blog, with my friend Ben Kinney, so I registered and watched it. That motivated me—Ben always motivates me.
I kept sorting through the website until I found the secret link, “Take the Assessment” – so I did. Oh my goodness, it was right there in front of me – how much money was in my database ready for me to work it. I called Happy Grasshopper right away, and the CEO Dan Stewart, got on the phone with me – ME on the phone with the CEO. He cared, he listened, and then he told me they could help me. Help me he did, along with his entire team of database wizards.
A few weeks later I sent out my first group of re-engagement messages, which included emails, texts, and handwritten note cards (that I didn’t have to physically write myself, just type the message!). I was immediately back in touch with seven old clients and prospects, which over the next year led to five new listings, two buy sides, and two referrals to buyers from the new messaging that Happy Grasshopper created for me.
Hidden in my database: $120,500 in GCI. You can resurrect a dead database.
The total value of sales for those five listings and four buy sides was just over $4mil, which equated to $120,500 in gross commission. It was all right there in my zombie database, about to go to another real estate agent who hadn’t let their database die. I couldn’t wait to see what the next year would bring, and it didn’t disappoint – every year was better than the one before as long as I just took a few minutes a week to feed and nurture my database..
I am so happy I found Happy Grasshopper. They resurrected my database and saved my business. I guarantee you will have the same experience with Happy Grasshopper that I did—likely better because I was ok with doing very well. I have friends who use HG and have done INSANELY well. Are you ready to break out of the mundane and into the next level of real estate?
Shocktober is our month of Tales from the Database Crypt. Join us for special webinar events.
No, we aren’t necromancers, we are just database wizards. At Happy Grasshopper we just get it, and we help you get it all back. Join our chief wizard, Dan Stewart, for a special webinar on October 27, seats are limited so reserve yours now! Of course, we will record it so if you can’t make it, sign up and we’ll be sure to send you the link. We’ll let you in on some very special sauce we’ve been brewing in the company cauldron (I promise, no eyes of newt or anything icky like that, and it isn’t cabbage soup).
If you are ready to find out how much money is hiding in your zombie database, just take this assessment and then let’s get you seriously happy and seriously profitable. You work too hard to not be happy. And yes Virginia, you can resurrect a dead database.
Full disclosure: The story is true, names haven’t been changed to protect the guilty of database neglect. I believe in the power of the process, and the database, so much now that recently began working for Happy Grasshopper. When Dan took my call at Happy Grasshopper it wasn’t because I had known him through the “RE.net” for over 5 years, it was because that is who he is and what he does – he truly cares, and wants to help everyone become “Seriously Happy” (so much so, he wrote a book about it, so look for that coming soon, soon in book time can be a year).