Step 1
Set the schedule when the seller signs
Agree on two things at the listing appointment: a written report on fixed dates, such as every week or mid-month and month-end, and a call the same day something changes, such as an offer, a price conversation, or feedback that matters. Put both in your first email after the signing, so the seller has the promise in writing.
You do
- Agreeing on the schedule with the seller
Hand off
- The first email, with the report dates and what each report covers
Step 2
Put every date in writing
Each time you set a date with a seller, such as an open house, a showing window, or a launch, send one short email that states the weekday and the date. It takes a minute. Later, when someone remembers it differently, the email answers the question instead of your memory.
You do
- Setting the date with the seller
Hand off
- A short confirmation email with the weekday and the date
Step 3
Build each report from the listing's record
A good report covers what happened since the last one, what changed, and what comes next: the showings, the feedback, the online activity, and any change to price, photos, or remarks. Build it from the listing's team channel and email threads, not from memory, so nothing your team heard goes missing.
You do
- Reading each report before it goes out, and the advice in it
Hand off
- Drafting each report from the listing's channel and email threads
Step 4
Under contract, update at each deadline
Once the contract is signed, the schedule follows the contract. Tell your client what passed, what comes next, and by when, at each deadline: the inspection period, the appraisal, the financing, and the closing. A client who knows the next date doesn't need to call and ask.
You do
- Explaining what each deadline means for your client
Hand off
- Listing the dates and deadlines from the signed contract
- Checking the status with the title company or the lender
Step 5
Call first when the news is hard
A price change, a low appraisal, or a buyer who walks away is a call, not an email. Call the same day, then send a short written recap of what you discussed and what happens next. When the talk is about price, bring the seller's net at the new number.
You do
- The call
Hand off
- The written recap after the call
- A seller net sheet at the new price
Set it up once
Send Reddy this message once, in your own words. Reddy saves it as a playbook and follows it each time that work comes up. You can read and change it in the Workspace.
When I set a date with a seller, such as an open house or a launch, draft a short email to the seller that states the weekday and the date. When I ask for seller reports, draft a progress report for each of my active listings from that listing's Slack channel and the email threads since the last report.
Where Reddy fits
Reddy writes each seller email and progress report as a draft in your own mailbox, and you send it. Ask it what was said about a date, and it searches your email for the record. Send it a signed contract, and it lists the Effective Date, the Closing Date, and the deadlines it finds, and files the contract with that client's record.
It can call the title company or the lender for a status, after you approve the purpose of the call and its questions. It doesn't call your clients, and it doesn't put dates on a calendar. The calls with your clients, and the hard news, stay with you.
Questions agents ask
How often should a realtor update a seller?
Agree on it when the seller signs: a written report on fixed dates, such as every week or twice a month, and a call the same day something changes, such as an offer, a price conversation, or feedback that matters.
What should a seller update include?
What happened since the last update, what changed, and what comes next: the showings, the feedback, the online activity, and any change to price, photos, or remarks. Build it from the listing's record, not from memory.
How often should a realtor update a client under contract?
At each deadline in the contract: the inspection period, the appraisal, the financing, and the closing. Say what passed, what comes next, and by when, so your client knows the next date without calling.
Should seller updates be by email or by phone?
Both. Hard news goes by phone first. The report, and every date you set, goes in writing, so you and the seller have the same record.
What if a seller remembers a date differently than I do?
Show them the email. That's why every date you set goes out in a short email with the weekday and the date. Reddy can search your email and find the message, with the date and time it was sent.