The Follow-Up Message That Actually Gets a Response

There is a message sitting in nearly every agent's drafts folder right now.

"Just checking in to see how you are doing!"

It feels thoughtful. It almost never gets a response.

Here is why, and it comes down to language most agents have never been taught to notice.

Why "Just Checking In" Fails Before It Even Starts

The word "just" does something quiet and damaging. It tells the person on the other end that this message, and by extension this relationship, is small. Minor. Not quite worth the full weight of a real reason to reach out. Nobody consciously registers that. But everybody feels it.

And "is this a good time" is worse than it sounds. If it were not a good time, the person would not have answered or responded in the first place. Asking the question hands them a door and practically invites them to walk through it. It manufactures the exact objection it is trying to avoid.

Both phrases share the same flaw. They open the conversation with nothing for the other person to respond to. No reason. No specific thread. Just an empty gesture that asks for engagement without offering any.

The Structure That Replaces It

One of the techniques inside Exactly What to Say® is built specifically for this moment. It is called Opening-Fact-Question, and it is designed to be rejection-free from the very first word.

It works in three deliberate steps.

The Opening is simple and friendly. Nothing clever, nothing scripted. Just a natural, familiar greeting that identifies who is calling or writing without ceremony.

The Fact is a simple, mutually agreeable detail the other person already knows to be true. Something specific enough that their internal voice responds with an automatic yes. It does not need to be significant. It only needs to be real.

The Question is easy to answer. Low effort, low pressure, genuinely curious. Something anyone could respond to in a single sentence without having to think too hard about it.

Put together, that is the entire follow-up. No checking in. No is this a good time. Just a warm opening, a true fact that proves the relationship is real, and a question anyone could answer with ease.

Here is what Opening-Fact-Question sounds like in practice:

"Hi, it's Chris from Keller Williams. The last time we talked, you mentioned your son was finishing up his first season of travel baseball. How did the season end up going?"

The opening is warm and immediate. The fact is something the client knows is true and feels recognized by. The question takes ten seconds to answer and naturally opens the door to a real conversation.

Why This Structure Works When Nothing Else Does

A generic check-in puts the entire burden of the conversation on the recipient. They have to invent a reason to respond. Most people will not do that work, even people who genuinely like the agent reaching out.

Opening-Fact-Question removes that burden entirely. The fact does the proving. It demonstrates the agent remembers something real, not just a name in a CRM. The question does the inviting. It gives the recipient something effortless to respond to.

This is exactly what one of the foundational cornerstones of Exactly What to Say® describes. The person asking the questions controls the conversation. Not the outcome. The conversation. A specific, easy question creates an opening that a vague check-in never can.

What This Sounds Like With Past Clients

Past clients are the highest-value relationship in this business. They already trust the agent. They already know the work. And the agents who generate consistent referral and repeat business are rarely doing more transactions than everyone else. They are staying genuinely present using exactly this kind of structure.

A few examples built entirely on Opening-Fact-Question:

"Hi, it's Chris from Keller Williams. I remember you mentioned wanting to repaint the kitchen once you settled in. Did you ever get around to it?"

"Hi, it's Chris. The last time we talked, your daughter was getting ready to start her first year of college. How is she settling in?"

"Hi, it's Chris. I drove past your street last week and thought about how excited you were the day you got the keys. How is everything going in the new place?"

None of these ask for anything. None of them check in. Each one proves a real memory and invites an easy, natural answer.

Building the Fact Into a System

The Fact is the piece that requires intention. It cannot be invented in the moment convincingly. It has to come from something genuinely remembered or noted.

After every closing, capture two or three details about the client that have nothing to do with the transaction itself. A trip being planned. A family milestone coming up. A hobby mentioned in passing. Revisit those notes periodically and let them become the Fact in a future Opening-Fact-Question message.

That single habit, applied consistently, replaces an entire library of generic templates with messages that feel like they came from someone who was actually paying attention. Because they were.

One Message Worth Sending This Week

Pick one past client who has not heard from anyone in a while. Recall one true, specific fact about them or their family.

Build the message in three steps. A simple, friendly opening. A fact they will silently agree with. A question that takes ten seconds to answer.

Call them. Then notice the difference, both in how they respond and in how the conversation that follows actually feels.

That is not a follow-up technique. That is a relationship, maintained the way relationships are actually built. One genuine, specific moment at a time.

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Chris Ruszkiewicz is an Exactly What to Say® Certified Guide and the founder of CMR Coaching & Consulting, a founding owner of a Keller Williams Realty office, and an Executive Business Coach with 32 years of experience in sales, negotiation, and leadership.