How Often Should Realtors Follow Up? (A Practical, Non-Annoying Guide)

Why This Question Is Asked Wrong

"How often should I follow up?" sounds like a math problem. But relationships don't work that way.

The real question isn't frequency. It's relevance. A perfectly-timed message after someone's closing anniversary feels thoughtful. The same message sent because "it's been 90 days" feels automated.

Most agents fail at follow-up not because they picked the wrong interval, but because they treated it like a scheduled task instead of a relationship checkpoint.

The 3 Phases of a Realtor Relationship

Client relationships move through phases. Your follow-up rhythm should change with them:

Phase 1: Active (0–90 Days Post-Close)

They just moved. They're settling in, discovering issues, meeting neighbors. This is high-context time. You're still fresh in their mind, and you have natural reasons to check in: "How's the new place?" or "Any surprises with the water heater?"

Best cadence: Weekly for the first month, then bi-weekly. Mix check-ins with useful content (local services, neighborhood tips).

Phase 2: Warm (3–12 Months Post-Close)

They're settled. The honeymoon phase is over. They're not thinking about real estate, but they remember you if prompted. This is where most agents disappear — and where staying visible pays off.

Best cadence: Monthly value touches (market updates, neighborhood news) + event-based triggers (closing anniversary, birthday, local market shifts).

Phase 3: Dormant (12+ Months)

The relationship is now in maintenance mode. They're not actively thinking about you, but a well-timed message can bring you back to mind when a referral opportunity appears.

Best cadence: Quarterly touchpoints tied to milestones (holidays, market reports, home value updates) + lifecycle triggers (job changes, growing families, empty nesters).

A Realistic Follow-Up Cadence

Here's a practical framework that balances presence without being pushy:

Remember: these are guidelines, not rules. A client who just had a baby or got a promotion might shift from dormant to warm overnight.

Why CRMs Fail at Cadence Enforcement

Most CRMs let you set follow-up intervals: "Contact every 30 days." But that's the problem.

Calendar-based follow-up ignores context. It generates tasks like "Follow up with Sarah" without telling you why. So you either skip it (because it feels random) or send a generic "just checking in" message (which gets ignored).

CRMs also require you to:

• Log interactions manually to keep the cadence accurate
• Open a separate app to see what's due
• Remember context from the last conversation

That's why scheduled follow-ups get skipped. The friction is higher than the perceived value.

Inbox-First Follow-Up

What if your follow-up system lived where you already work: your inbox?

Inbox-first means follow-up happens in the same place you read and send emails. No dashboard. No separate login. No manual data entry.

Here's how it works:

• Context extraction: Your email history already has closing dates, birthdays, and conversation threads. An inbox-first system reads it automatically.
• Trigger detection: Instead of "follow up in 30 days," the system surfaces moments that matter: closing anniversaries, birthdays, market changes.
• Draft generation: When a trigger fires, you get a draft message in your inbox with context pre-filled. Review, edit, send.

This turns follow-up from a separate workflow into part of your existing email routine.

A Starter Cadence You Can Use Today

If you want to implement a simple follow-up cadence right now, start here: