How to Stay Top of Mind With Your Sphere All Year (Without It Becoming a Second Job)
Meagan O'Leary · Published · 6 min read
Your past clients like you. According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 91% of buyers said they would use their agent again or recommend them. Yet only 18% of repeat buyers in the same report went back to an agent they had worked with before. Referrals tell the same story: 43% of buyers found their agent through a friend, neighbor or relative.
That gap is rarely about service. It's about memory. Years pass between moves, and the agent who stayed in touch is the one who gets the call.
This guide covers how often to reach out, what to send, and a month-by-month plan you can start this week. It also shows how Grove, the real estate CRM from Elm Street Technology built for agents who grow through their sphere, handles the parts that don't need you personally.
Why do past clients forget their agent?
Most people only buy or sell a home every several years. In between, they get hundreds of messages a week, and an agent they liked three years ago slowly becomes "the agent we used, what was her name?"
At the same time, your sphere keeps growing. A database of a few hundred people becomes two thousand, and it no longer fits in your head. Good relationships go cold by accident: not from neglect, but from volume.
How often should you contact your sphere?
There's no single magic number, because not everyone in your sphere needs the same attention. Instead, think in three layers. Each one has a different job, and together they keep you present without wearing anyone out.
Monthly: something useful for everyone
Once a month, your whole sphere should hear from you. A newsletter with a local market note, a seasonal home tip or a neighborhood update is enough. The goal is simply that your name shows up, with something worth reading attached.
When it matters: personal moments
Birthdays, home anniversaries, a new baby, a kid heading to college. These moments are the most personal reasons to reach out, and they never feel like marketing. Keep the dates in one place so you never miss one.
Weekly: a short list of real conversations
Each week, pick a small group of people for a genuine one-to-one touch: a call, a text or a handwritten note. Prioritize past clients, people who refer you, and anyone showing signs they might be thinking about a move. Those referral sources matter most with newer buyers: in NAR's 2025 report, 49% of first-time buyers found their agent through a referral.
What should you send to stay top of mind?
The best touches give before they ask. If every message is "thinking of selling?", people stop opening them. Mix these four types instead:
- Local market notes. What homes are selling for in their neighborhood, in plain language.
- Homeowner help. Seasonal maintenance, an inspection guide for buyers, the reminder to change the clocks.
- Life moments. Birthdays, home anniversaries and congratulations.
- Thank-yous. A note every time someone sends you a referral, whether or not it closes.
A month-by-month plan for staying top of mind
Use this as a starting point. Each month has a natural reason to reach out, so you never have to invent one.
| Month | Theme | Touch idea |
|---|---|---|
| January | Fresh start | Last year's local market recap |
| February | Appreciation | A thank-you to everyone who referred you last year |
| March | Spring prep | Spring maintenance checklist; clocks spring forward |
| April | Spring market | What's selling nearby, and for how much |
| May | Moving season | A buyer's inspection guide to forward to friends |
| June | Summer | Local events and things to do this summer |
| July | Midyear | Midyear market check-in |
| August | Back to school | Personal notes to families with kids starting school |
| September | Fall prep | Fall home checklist |
| October | Seasonal | Fall back reminder with a few cold-weather tips |
| November | Gratitude | Thanksgiving thank-you to past clients |
| December | Year-end | Holiday greeting and a look ahead |
Layer personal moments on top all year, such as birthdays and home anniversaries, plus your weekly short list.
How do you make staying in touch a habit?
Plans fail when they depend on willpower. Therefore, make the daily part small and specific. Five personal touches a day is about 25 a week, or more than a thousand conversations a year. That's enough to reach every important relationship in a typical sphere, without blocking out whole afternoons.
Track the number, not the feeling. When you can see that you hit your goal four days out of five, the habit starts to hold on its own.
How Grove helps you stay top of mind with your sphere
Grove is built around the three layers above, so the background work happens without you and your personal time goes where it counts.
The monthly layer: a newsletter written for you
Every month, Grove writes a newsletter on your behalf and applies your branding: your name, headshot, contact details and colors. You can review and edit it before it goes out to your network.
The moments layer: ready-made emails
Grove includes a growing library of email templates for life's moments, including birthdays, a home inspection guide, a referral thank-you and seasonal notes like fall back. In addition, Grove's AI campaign builder helps you draft your own message when you have something specific to say.
The weekly layer: who to reach out to, and why
Each time you log in, Grove shows you the people who need your attention, with a reason for each. When you're not sure where to start, you can ask Ask Grove, the assistant built into Grove, a plain question like "who haven't I talked to in six months?" It answers from your own notes and history, and it can draft a personal check-in email for you to review.
Finally, Grove's goals let you set a daily touch number and track your pace, so the habit holds.
Key takeaways
- Past clients want to work with you again, but most don't, because time passes and they forget.
- Use three layers: something useful for everyone monthly, personal moments when they happen, and a short list of real conversations weekly.
- Give before you ask. Market notes, homeowner help, life moments and thank-yous keep people opening your emails.
- Keep the daily part small. Five touches a day adds up to more than a thousand conversations a year.
- Grove handles the background layers, with a branded monthly newsletter, ready-made templates and a daily list of who to reach out to.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stay top of mind with my sphere without being annoying?
Lead with value and keep the asks rare. A monthly email with something genuinely useful, plus personal notes for real moments, reads as thoughtful rather than salesy. Save "thinking of moving?" for one-to-one conversations where it fits naturally.
How many times a year should I contact past clients?
A good baseline is a monthly email, plus at least a few personal touches a year such as a birthday, a home anniversary and a holiday note. Your most connected past clients and referral sources deserve a call or note every quarter.
Is a monthly real estate newsletter worth it?
Yes, when it's useful and consistent. It keeps your name in front of your whole sphere every month, which no agent can do by phone alone. Grove writes yours for you each month and applies your branding, and you can review it before it sends.
What's the best way to remember clients' birthdays and home anniversaries?
Keep them in your CRM, not on sticky notes or in your head. In Grove, those dates live on each person's record, and ready-made templates make it quick to send a birthday or anniversary note when the day comes.
How many people should I contact each day?
Start small enough that you'll actually do it, such as five personal touches a day. Grove lets you set a daily touch goal and tracks your pace, so you can raise the number once the habit sticks.
Can a CRM help me stay top of mind with my sphere?
Yes, if it's built for sphere work. Grove handles the background layers for you, with a branded monthly newsletter and ready-made emails, and shows you who to reach out to personally each day. You can try it free for 15 days.
