Summary4 min read

Your Daily Real Estate Podcast with Tristan Ahumada

Episode 662: Stop Saying “Just Checking In”
Date: September 22, 2025
Host: Tristan Ahumada

Episode Overview

In this concise yet impactful episode, Tristan Ahumada challenges real estate professionals to rethink how they connect with clients and contacts. Rather than sending generic "just checking in" messages, Tristan encourages a more genuine, thoughtful, and context-aware approach. He lays out a five-step system (inspired by friend and client Diane Stone) that helps agents reach out in a way that's authentic, offers real value, and builds stronger relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem with “Just Checking In”

Tristan stresses that simply saying “I’m just checking in” is impersonal and ineffective.
The how and why of reaching out matter; tonality and relevance are crucial.
Quote:

“It's not just calling up people and touching base with them. It's not about reaching out to people to just check in. I'm just checking in with you—no, that's, that's, that's not good.” (Tristan, 00:16)

2. Five Steps for Meaningful Connection

Step 1: Read the Room (00:59)

Stay aware of what's happening locally, nationally, or in your sphere—be it news, weather, or local events.
Use tools (like ChatGPT or Grok) to automate gathering this info.
Write a "mood note" for yourself to summarize the general sentiment (worry, joy, excitement, etc.).
Quote:

“Read the room. Because those things allow you to better connect with the people you're going to reach out to.” (Tristan, 01:41)

Step 2: Decide Who to Contact and How (02:33)

Organize outreach by priority groups (active clients, recent clients, small business owners, etc.).
Pick the channel that fits—usually text or a quick call.
Use personalized, informal openers (example from Diane Stone: “Howdy, stranger. What's new in your world?”).
Quote:

“See that? It gives the character of who you are, the tonality. And it's by text, easy. They'll respond. And they're not a stranger. It's fun, right?” (Tristan, 03:14)

Step 3: Reach Out with Care (03:36)

Be specific when referencing recent events or circumstances.
Show empathy and make it clear it’s not a sales call.
Example outreach:

“Hey, Joe, thinking of you after the fire. How are you doing today? Let me know if you want to talk. I'm right here for you.”
Quote:

“Make sure that it's specific. … If you're calling, 'Hey, Joe, I'm calling to check in on you. Not to sell you anything. How are you feeling about the fire?’” (Tristan, 04:01)

Step 4: Deliver One Helpful Item Fast (04:29)

Use AI or your own resources to deliver immediate, relevant value—like a local vendor list or a resource sheet.
The goal: show you’re there to help, not just talk.
Follow up with a thank you note or a thoughtful message after your conversation.
Quote:

“If you can help out, great. If you can't. But you listened to that conversation and it could leave it open for you to give something else, right?” (Tristan, 04:49)

Step 5: Log and Follow Up in Your CRM (05:08)

Record date, channel, and—importantly—the contact's mood.
Tristan's team has logged moods since 2016, using stickers and a simple mood circle (happy, sad, angry, etc.).
Use this to personalize future outreach and ensure you’re showing up when it matters.
Quote:

“Record the date, the channel, the mood. … This is how we know the last time we talked to them they were happy, sad, mad, angry, excited, disappointed.” (Tristan, 05:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On authenticity:

“People will connect with you based on how you reach out and the words that you use.” (Tristan, 00:22)
On listening:

“If it's a phone call, then make sure that you're listening. Because sometimes these conversations take a long time.” (Tristan, 03:45)
On timely follow-up:

“You can't text somebody and then not respond for like two hours. Set time to do this.” (Tristan, 03:57)
On boundaries:

“What are your guardrails? I put mine—no politics, no fear tactics. Respect privacy and refer legal or medical needs to the right person or people or pros.” (Tristan, 06:29)

Additional Tips

Tristan offers to share his outreach Google Doc—contact him via Instagram for details.
Reminder to subscribe to the newsletter for more insights.

Episode Structure with Timestamps

[00:00] Introduction: The importance of how you reach out
[00:59] Step 1: Reading the room and leveraging AI for trend awareness
[02:33] Step 2: Prioritizing and personalizing who/when to contact
[03:36] Step 3: Sample scripts and the importance of empathy
[04:29] Step 4: Providing quick, tailored value after outreach
[05:08] Step 5: Logging outreach, mood tracking, and ongoing engagement
[06:29] Tristan’s personal outreach guardrails

Takeaway

Rather than a superficial “just checking in,” Tristan urges real estate professionals to engage in authentic, context-driven communication that demonstrates genuine care. By following this five-step method, agents can deepen relationships, provide real value, and nurture trust with their clients and community.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
Let's talk about connecting with people by simply asking how you're doing. But it's all in how you do it. It's not just calling up people and touching base with them. It's not about reaching out to people to just check in. I'm just checking in with you. No, that's, that's, that's not good. I need you to have the right tonality, the right approach or reason to reach out to people, because people will connect with you based on how you reach out and the words that you use. And I've broken it down for you in five simple things. This, in fact, is an idea that my friend and coaching group, coaching client, and she just jumped in as an ambassador for a brilliant tribe. Diane, Diane Stone out of Texas. She came to me and said, hey, I'm testing this out. I'm like, that's a really good idea. So let's go into this, the five. What is this? Five steps to be able to make sure that you are paying attention to what's going around, what's happening around you in your area, in the nation, wherever you're from, to be able to connect better with the people that you're reaching out to. I'm Tristan. This is your daily real estate. It's a podcast. It's a show, five minutes to ten minutes every single day that has to do with your business so you can grow, you can scale, you can actually do better. So with that, here they are, one through five. Number one, read the room. Check local news, city alerts and scheduled up and schedule updates. Scan your social feed stories and DMs to see who's affected or speaking out. Write a short mood note for you. This is for you in plain words, like what's going on? Is it worry, grief, happiness, excited? What, what I want to know. Read the room. Because those things allow you to better connect with the people you're going to reach out to. Now I have a hack for this. I have ChatGPT and Grok. That's X, that's their AI. I have both of them. I have two different tasks set up right every, every day, middle of the day, end of the day, I forgot what time. I have so many tasks set up on those two. But I have grok scan social daily on X and give me the trending things for the last eight hours. I do that one in the afternoon, late afternoon. And then for ChatGPT, I have it. Send me the real estate news that are trending and you can have it do any, any type of News that's trending, right? You could even have it pulled from TikTok, I'm pretty sure. Or Instagram, but you need to be able to do something with it. For me, it's just so I understand what's happening. I'm reading the room. It's number one. Number two, decide who to contact and how. Order active clients, recent clients, warm sphere, small business owners, seniors, single parents, families, past clients. I don't care. Whoever you're trying to target. Right? And the channel can be pretty easy. Text or a quick call. The point is, you're reaching out my friend Diane. And I'm doing this because I remember Diane just sent me a message, and it was a great message. She said this. She said, this is how I'm reaching out to people today, Tristan. And she said it's super simple. Says, howdy, Howdy, stranger. Which they're not strangers, they're her friends. What's new in your world? That's it. See that? It gives the character of who you are, the tonality. And it's by text, easy. They'll respond. And they're not a stranger. It's fun, right? But how's your world? Because she's been paying attention to what's happening, right? And she's beginning a great response. So pay attention. You can either address it, you could be more vague, but you're going to decide who to contact and how the goal to check in. And if it's a phone call, then make sure that you're listening. Because sometimes these conversations take a long time. And if it's a text, make sure that you're reading them and responding promptly. You can't text somebody and then not respond for like two hours. Set time to do this. Number three, reach out with care. Check out the example I have here. And if you need this, message me on Instagram and I'll send it over to you. It says, text. Hey, Joe, thinking of you after whatever happened. Right after the fire. I know we had. We. We have fires here all the time. Right. And it's nuts. Oh, and there have been earthquakes, too, so I might be like, hey, Joe, thinking about you after the fire. How are you doing today? Let me know if you want to talk. I'm right here for you. I know the fires are pretty scary. Whatever, just tweak it. Make sure that it's specific. Right? That's very specific. You can do like Diane's, which was a little bit more open. If you're calling, hey, Joe, I'm calling to check in on you. Not to sell you anything. How are you feeling about the fire? About whatever your area about the flood. Man, it's snowing hard. Just checking in on you. Everything good? Different, right? Different tonality. Pay attention to those. Number four deliver one helpful item fast. Here's where I use ChatGPT to tailor one page item like local resource list, vendor or vendor directory. Simple market note depending on the conversation. If you can help out, great. If you can't. But you listened to that conversation and it could leave it open for you to give something else, right? A handwritten note, at least a simple text to say thank you. That was a great conversation. I appreciate you. There's a lot of opportunity. You just have to be listening. Number five Log and follow up in your CRM record the date, the channel, the mood. The mood, right? We don't ever log in the mood. What was the mood? How are they feeling? And we've been logging in mood for a long time. 2016 we've been longing mood in our CRM. This is how we know the last time we talked to them they were happy, sad, mad, angry, excited, disappointed, what and have a list of moods. I have a little circle. I know you're not watching if you are. Great. I have a little circle. It's a sticker and that gives me. I'm always looking at this. It gives me six moods. Disgust, sadness, happy, surprised, fear, angry and then they get broken down into more. But it's the emotional or guess it's a mood. It's a circle, mood, mood, circle or whatever it's called. You can find it online and weekly review replies. Update your resource kit and keep your help sent rate at 100% here. So make sure that you're connecting with people fully. Alright. And here are the things that I would avoid personally, but you don't have to because I've seen some other people do great on these. This is just what I do. You can decide what you do. What are your guardrails? I put mine no politics, no fear tactics. Respect privacy and refer legal or medical needs to the right person or people or pros. Anyway, with that, if you need this Google Doc to expand on it for yourself, go ahead and ask for it on Instagram. If not, thank you for listening. Subscribe to my newsletter it's somewhere in the description here. It goes out every Friday, 5:30pM Pacific, 8:30pM Eastern. Have an awesome day everybody.