The biggest barrier to AI in business isn’t technology, writes Kyle Crawford. This is a mental block that is silently damaging your database.
It’s not like I lost past clients to a better agent. You lost them through silence and the person who filled it.
Even if you were quiet, others didn’t.
Another agent’s drip campaign lands in a client’s inbox. The lender sent a note regarding the preferred agent. One bank dangled a rewards program if customers used an agent.
Everyone holding a client’s email address is competing for the relationship you assume you already have, and the agent who consistently shows up will maintain that relationship.
This is the uncomfortable part. There is a tool in front of you to help you show up, but most agents refuse to use it to do so.
How AI can change the equation
We are already living with AI. We talk to chatbots. When we call a business, AI answers. Just say “make a reservation for dinner tonight” into your cell phone and almost everything will be done over the phone.
But far too many agents are entrenched in the idea of building a system where AI knows a client’s birthday and automatically sends them a happy birthday message. We decide to allow the AI to write product descriptions or clean up spreadsheets, and we stop there. In that time, tools have advanced far beyond that, and so have our clients.
That’s the real hurdle. It’s not the technology, it’s the mental blocks we put up for ourselves.
Let me make my position clear. Without me, nothing will be communicated to the client. Either I’m prompting it, or I’ve created a whole system of reaching out to them.
But I won’t fool myself. As AI becomes more and more capable, we are getting very close to being able to use your voice and tone to speak to your clients on your behalf. That’s why it’s important to start now. Agents who learn these systems today will be the ones who are ready, rather than scrambling to catch up, when that day comes.
So where is that line?
For me it comes down to three things
First of all, everything that comes out of AI that includes my name is 100 percent hand-picked by me. Not common. It’s not the default voice that comes with the tool. my.
Then select one system and include it. It was easy to start with one platform and move to another. What didn’t change was the work underneath. Every chat I start, every prompt I create, every project I create contains instructions created for me and by me.
Third, test yourself first. When I build a project to send a message on a client’s birthday, I inject my voice and tone into the project and execute it myself before it reaches a single client.
No, I don’t think it’s necessary to disclose to clients that AI is involved any more than a professional would tell their boss that they used a writing assistant built into their email. I remember when Grammarly first came out and I couldn’t imagine working without it. Once again, the difference is that the tool can complete the entire task and not just correct your writing.
There was never a criterion of “Did a tool touch this?” The standard is “Is this good? Is this who I am?” If the answer is yes, job done.
Here’s why this isn’t just a technical conversation. It’s a business thing. Agents who refuse to use AI will continue to lose money slowly and quietly, just as you lose customers without realizing they have drifted.
If you’re an agent who dutifully writes handwritten notes, makes phone calls, and sends texts, this doesn’t apply to you. Just keep doing what you’re doing. But let’s be honest with each other. Most agents are not that consistent. Most customers go months without hearing from the agent who sold their home.
A few years ago, the basics were monthly newsletters and holiday email campaigns. That’s not enough if you want the database to remain a database.
If you use AI correctly, you can make your database your own and prevent it from being infiltrated by outside players who only have email addresses.
Purchase anniversary message. Market updates for specific regions. If someone sends you a referral, give them a quick thank you.
We made it to sound like you, so none of it sounds like a machine.
But it works because you’re using it to build deeper, more meaningful relationships, not to send more noise. A more authentic touch will generate more conversation. More conversations lead to more appointments and more referrals.
By itself, nothing happens. That’s what happens when you stop treating AI like a copywriter and start using it every day and letting it work for you.
The client you succumbed to silence has already received someone else’s birthday message. Make sure the following is yours.
Kyle Crawford is vice president of strategy at Century 21 New Millennium. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
