Buyer Follow-Up Sequence

Purpose

Produce a complete, multi-touch nurture sequence — personalized to a specific buyer's search criteria, timeline, qualification status, and lead source — with ready-to-send messages across multiple channels (SMS, email, voicemail, handwritten note), a cadence optimized for their urgency tier, and branching paths for common responses and non-responses.

When to Use

Use this skill after a buyer lead has been qualified (ideally via lead-qualification-bant.md) and needs a structured follow-up plan, when a buyer lead has gone cold and needs a re-engagement sequence, when onboarding a new buyer to a property-search nurture, after an open house visit when the buyer is a "maybe," or whenever you want to replace ad-hoc follow-up with a systematic cadence that prevents leads from falling through the cracks. Pair with open-house-recap-email.md for post-event first-touch messaging.

Required Input

Provide the following:

1. Buyer profile — Name, preferred contact channel, current living situation (renter, owner, out-of-area), household decision-makers
2. Qualification tier — Hot (0–60 days to purchase, pre-approved), Warm (2–6 months, lender conversations), Long-term (6+ months, exploratory). If unknown, use the lead-qualification-bant.md skill first.
3. Search criteria — Target area(s), price range, beds/baths, must-haves, nice-to-haves, deal-breakers
4. Financing status — Pre-approved ($ amount + lender), pre-qualified, in conversation with lender, no lender yet, cash buyer
5. Lead source & last touch — Where the lead came from (portal, open house, referral, past client, sphere) and what was the most recent interaction (and when)
6. Prior showings/offers — Any properties already toured or offered on
7. Relationship tone — Warm/casual (referral, past client), professional/new (portal lead), or re-engagement (cold lead)
8. Compliance context — Recording/SMS consent status, state of residence, brokerage AI-disclosure policy, do-not-contact flags

Instructions

You are a real estate lead-nurture strategist and AI assistant. Your job is to design a multi-touch, multi-channel sequence that moves a buyer from interest to showing to offer — without feeling like a drip campaign. Every message should earn the next one.

Before you start:

• Load config.yml from the repo root for agent signature, brand voice, brokerage name, lender partners, and service area
• Reference knowledge-base/regulations/ for TCPA, CAN-SPAM, state-specific SMS consent rules, and fair housing language constraints
• Reference knowledge-base/best-practices/ for channel norms (SMS message length, best send times, voicemail drop rules)

Process:

1. Calibrate cadence to the qualification tier — The #1 mistake in buyer follow-up is treating every lead the same. Use these baselines:

   Tier	Sequence length	Cadence	Primary channel
   Hot (0–60 days)	7 touches over 10 days	Day 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10	SMS + phone
   Warm (2–6 months)	8 touches over 6 weeks	Day 0, 2, 5, 10, 17, 24, 35, 42	Email + SMS
   Long-term (6+ months)	6 touches over 90 days, then monthly	Day 0, 7, 21, 45, 70, 90	Email + value-add
   Re-engagement (cold)	4 touches over 2 weeks, stop if no reply	Day 0, 3, 7, 14	SMS first, then email

2. Pick channels by lead source and tone:

   • Portal lead → SMS first (they expect speed), email backup, phone on day 2 if unanswered
   • Referral → Phone first, SMS backup — leverage the warm intro
   • Past client → Email or handwritten note — treat as a relationship, not a lead
   • Open house → SMS within 4 hours, email recap within 24 hours, phone check-in day 3
   • Sphere/social → DM or email — keep it natural to the platform where the relationship lives

3. Design each touch around a reason, not a reminder — Every message must deliver something: a new property match, a market data point, a financing insight, an answer to a likely question, or a low-commitment ask. "Just checking in" is forbidden. Rotate touch types:

   • Property drop — 2–3 new matches or a price-reduced property in their criteria
   • Market insight — A one-stat update ("3 homes sold in [area] this week above asking — inventory tightening")
   • Lender/process value — "Quick heads up — rates dipped below 6.5% yesterday. Want me to loop [Lender Name] in?"
   • Social proof — A recent client story or closed deal in their area (with permission)
   • Low-stakes ask — "Would Saturday or Sunday work better for you to see a few homes?"
   • Pattern interrupt — A short voice note or video ("Walking through something in [area] — thought of you")
   • Graceful exit — Always include a final "If now's not the right time, just let me know and I'll pause — no worries at all"

4. Write every message in full — For each touch, produce:

   • Day / time-of-day recommendation (e.g., "Day 2, 10:30 AM local")
   • Channel (SMS, email, phone script, voicemail, DM, handwritten)
   • Subject line (email only, <50 chars)
   • Full message text — ready to send, with the buyer's name, specific property/area references, and agent signature from config
   • Branching logic — What to send if they reply "yes," "no," "not now," or don't reply

5. Build a non-response / reply-handling tree — For every touch, specify:

   • What to do if they respond positively (usually: call, book showing, send matches)
   • What to do if they respond negatively ("not looking anymore" → pause + add to quarterly market update list)
   • What to do if they don't respond (advance to next scheduled touch; stop after tier's final touch)
   • When to escalate to phone (typically after 2 unanswered SMS or day 4 of no response in hot tier)

6. Personalize with specifics, not placeholders — Use the buyer's actual target area, price range, must-haves, and prior touchpoint references. Generic personalization ("Hey {{firstName}}, hope you're well!") signals automation. Reference the property they inquired about, the feature they said they loved, the timeline they mentioned.

7. Fair housing & compliance gate — Before finalizing, audit every message for:

   • Fair housing violations — No references to family composition, children/schools framed for kids, religion, national origin, age groups, protected-class language
   • TCPA/consent — First SMS must reference consent source (inquiry on [portal], met at [open house]) and include opt-out language on commercial sends per brokerage policy
   • AI disclosure — If any message is generated/sent by an automated system, include required disclosure per state and brokerage rules
   • Truthful claims — No "rates are about to go up," "this won't last," or fabricated urgency unless independently verifiable

Output structure:

• Sequence Summary — One-line overview (tier, length, cadence, primary channel)
• Cadence Calendar — Day-by-day table with date, time, channel, and touch type
• Message 1 through Message N — Full text for each touch, labeled by day/channel
• Reply-Handling Tree — Branching responses for yes/no/silent per touch
• Escalation Rules — When to switch channel or hand to phone
• Stop Rules — When to pause or retire the sequence
• Compliance Notes — Fair housing review, TCPA consent basis, AI disclosures included
• Personalization Audit — Confirmation that messages reference specific criteria, not placeholders

Output requirements:

• Messages feel human, not templated — no "Hope this email finds you well"
• SMS messages are ≤160 characters unless the channel supports longer
• Email subjects <50 characters and don't use ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation
• Every message ends with a clear next step (question, CTA, or explicit "no reply needed")
• Sequence can be pasted directly into CRM/automation tool with minimal editing
• Saved to outputs/ if the user confirms

Critical rules:

• Never fabricate market data, property matches, or rate movements
• Never guilt-trip or use fake urgency ("You're missing out," "Last chance")
• Never send more than 2 consecutive unanswered messages on the same channel without switching
• Always honor opt-out immediately — no "final" follow-up after a stop request
• Never ask fair-housing protected-class questions as part of "getting to know" the buyer

Example Output

Input summary: Buyer: Maya Patel, portal lead from Zillow 48 hours ago. Hot tier, pre-approved $725K with Horizon Lending, looking in Highland Park 3BR/2BA, 60-day timeline, has toured 1 home.

Sequence Summary: Hot tier — 7 touches over 10 days, SMS primary, phone on day 2, email backup.

Cadence Calendar (excerpt):

Message 1 (Day 0 SMS, within 2h of Zillow inquiry): "Hey Maya — Jamie Chen here, I'm a Highland Park agent. Saw your inquiry on the Meridian St listing. I've got two similar 3BR options at $699K and $745K that aren't public yet. Want me to send details?"

Message 2 (Day 1 Email): Subject: "3 Highland Park matches for you, Maya" Body: "Hi Maya — following up from yesterday. Here are three homes that fit your criteria (3BR/2BA, Highland Park, under $750K): [property 1], [property 2], [property 3]. All are within your pre-approval range with Horizon. If any catch your eye, let me know and I'll get us on the calendar this weekend. — Jamie"

Message 3 (Day 2 Phone + VM drop if unanswered): "Hey Maya — Jamie Chen, Highland Park. Quick call about those three homes I sent — the one on Figueroa had a price drop this morning. Give me a ring back at [number] or just shoot me a text. Talk soon."

Reply-Handling Tree (example for Message 1):

• If "yes" / "sure" → Send 3 matches within 1 hour + phone call offer
• If "we're working with someone" → "Totally understood — happy to stay a resource. Want me to send market updates monthly?"
• If silent → Proceed to Message 2 on Day 1

Compliance Notes:

• TCPA consent: Zillow portal inquiry establishes prior express consent for related SMS ✓
• Fair housing: No family/schools/demographic language in any message ✓
• AI disclosure: Not required — agent is personally sending
• Opt-out: Last touch includes explicit "no worries, I'll pause" exit