Most brokerages pour nearly all their marketing budget into finding new leads, while the past clients and old leads sitting in the CRM go quiet. That's expensive. Research consistently shows it costs about five times more to acquire a new customer than to keep or reactivate an existing one, and roughly 26% of customers targeted by a win-back campaign come back, often with higher lifetime value than before (Client WinBack Benchmark Study). For residential real estate, the math is even better: past sellers and buyers eventually list, move, upgrade, or refer friends, and most of them forget their agent within a year or two unless someone stays in touch. A win-back campaign is simply a structured effort to reconnect with those people, whether through calls, email, SMS, or direct mail, before they call the agent down the street. Below are five options for 2026, from done-for-you reactivation services to platforms your marketing team runs in-house.
#1 CallMyCustomers — One-time flat Campaign Setup fee based on list size (quoted at the free list review), plus Outreach Minutes at 9¢–21¢ per minute depending on monthly volume. Texts and emails are included in the campaign quote; no per-seat or software pricing.
CallMyCustomers is a done-for-you customer reactivation and retention service built for businesses that live on repeat revenue, and it fits residential brokerages well because the raw material it works from is exactly what brokers already have: a list of past clients, old quotes, and dormant contacts. The team reviews and segments your list by recency, then runs outreach on your behalf, with calls made by their team in your name and texts and emails sent under your brand. Nothing goes out until you approve every script, offer, and message, which matters in real estate where your personal reputation is the product. The workflow is straightforward: free list review first, then you pick a reason to reconnect (a market update, an anniversary of their closing, a home value check-in), then the campaign runs, replies route back into your booking process, and follow-ups keep you top of mind so clients never go dormant again. Win-back campaigns typically run two to four weeks, with replies often coming as soon as the first wave goes out. There's no software to buy or learn; it works from a CRM, spreadsheet, or point-of-sale list exactly as it is. Compliance is handled seriously: opt-outs are honored immediately, calling and texting regulations are followed, and the booking flow collects explicit consent. The company cites industry averages showing reactivating a customer is roughly 5x cheaper than acquiring one, and that about 60% of revenue often comes from repeat customers.
Pros
- Fully done-for-you, no software to learn or licenses to manage
- Free list review means you know the economics before spending a dollar
- Approval control protects your personal brand and voice
- Calls, texts, and emails bundled into one campaign quote
Cons
- Not a self-serve platform; you rely on their team to execute
- Outreach minutes are billed per minute, so large lists raise costs
- Best suited to US-based businesses
Best for: Brokerages and team leaders who want past-client reactivation handled for them without buying or learning new software, and who want final say on every message that goes out under their name.
#2 ActiveCampaign — Contact for pricing; a free trial is offered with no credit card required.
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform whose own guidance lays out a five-email win-back sequence: a simple hello email, an incentive email, a feedback request, a last-chance notice, and a final unsubscribe email. For a brokerage with an in-house marketing coordinator, that structure maps neatly onto past clients: the hello reminds them you exist, the incentive could be a free home valuation or seller consultation, the feedback email surfaces clients who had a poor experience, and the final emails clean your list so deliverability stays healthy. The platform's blog recommends sending the first win-back email about three months after a contact stops engaging, waiting roughly a month between messages, and segmenting your database by engagement level before targeting. It also notes that 45% of customers who receive a win-back email go on to open future emails, and that dollar-amount incentives tend to outperform percentage-off offers in studies of win-back campaigns. ActiveCampaign is a general-purpose tool rather than a real estate product, so you'll build the automations, write the copy, and manage the sequences yourself. The upside is flexibility and automation that runs continuously in the background once set up. The company offers a free trial with no credit card required for getting started.
Pros
- Clear, tested win-back sequence structure you can copy
- Automation runs continuously once configured
- Strong educational content on timing and segmentation
Cons
- Requires staff time to build and maintain campaigns
- Email-only focus in its win-back guidance; no done-for-you calling
- General-purpose tool, so real estate workflows need custom setup
Best for: Brokerages with an in-house marketer who want to build and own automated win-back email sequences.
#3 Klaviyo — Contact for pricing.
Klaviyo is an ecommerce-leaning CRM and email platform, but its win-back guidance is some of the most data-driven available, and the mechanics translate to a brokerage database. According to Klaviyo's 2026 Omnichannel Benchmark Report, the top 10% of win-back emails generate $1.60 in revenue per recipient, a figure worth knowing before you invest time in the channel. The platform treats win-back emails as automations that fire when a contact meets inactivity criteria, and because they run from the same system that holds customer data, personalization is largely automatic. Klaviyo's published best practices are directly useful for brokers: set your inactivity window around your typical repeat-business cycle (for real estate, often one to three years rather than months), use RFM analysis (recency, frequency, monetary value) to segment dormant contacts, and reference past behavior in each message, such as the home a client bought or the neighborhood they browsed. The company also highlights churn risk prediction, which lets you send a win-back message before a contact disengages completely. Each win-back email should include, per Klaviyo: an urgency-driven subject line, personalized references, an incentive, a clear call to action, and an unsubscribe option. Like ActiveCampaign, this is a build-it-yourself platform, so expect a setup project and ongoing management.
Pros
- Published benchmarks ($1.60 per recipient for top win-back emails) help you set expectations
- Churn prediction lets you act before contacts go fully dormant
- Personalization is built in when flows run from the same CRM
Cons
- Designed primarily for ecommerce; real estate use requires adaptation
- No calling or done-for-you execution
- Setup and flow design take dedicated staff time
Best for: Brokerages that want benchmark-backed, data-driven win-back automations and have someone to run the platform.
#4 Fello — Contact for pricing.
Fello is a real estate-specific platform aimed at exactly the problem this listicle describes: dormant contacts in your CRM who may be ready to transact. According to HousingWire's 2026 roundup of real estate marketing ideas, Fello's proprietary AI sifts through millions of data points to evaluate and score every lead in your CRM based on their likelihood of selling, then automatically creates and sends marketing campaigns via email and direct mail to spark conversations that turn into closed deals. That makes Fello a strong fit for the win-back use case in residential real estate specifically. Rather than treating every past client the same, the AI scoring helps you prioritize the dormant contacts most likely to sell in the next six months, which is the segmentation discipline every win-back guide recommends (the research on win-back campaigns consistently stresses targeting "winnable" segments rather than blasting everyone). The email and direct mail combination also addresses a real limitation of email-only win-back campaigns: HousingWire notes many lapsed contacts have stopped opening email, and direct mail can reach people digital channels miss. Because Fello is built for agents and brokerages, the campaigns it generates are framed around listing and selling rather than generic retail offers. You'll still need to respond to and work the conversations it starts, and pricing isn't published in the sources reviewed, so you'll need to contact the company for a quote.
Pros
- Real estate specific, so campaign framing fits listings and sales
- AI scoring focuses effort on contacts most likely to sell
- Email plus direct mail covers contacts who ignore email
Cons
- Pricing not publicly listed
- No phone outreach component in the reviewed research
- Campaign quality depends on the data in your CRM
Best for: Brokers and team leads who want AI-prioritized reactivation of their existing database with email and direct mail, without building campaigns manually.
#5 BombBomb — Contact for pricing.
BombBomb is a video messaging tool that HousingWire's 2026 real estate marketing guide highlights as a way to send personalized video text messages, a channel it notes has an open rate of about 98%. For win-back campaigns, video is a genuinely different approach: instead of another templated "we miss you" email, a past client gets a 30 to 60 second video from their actual agent, which HousingWire notes works best when it answers a specific client question or speaks to a real moment, like a market shift in their old neighborhood. The platform's recommended workflow is practical for brokers: pre-record answers to common buyer and seller questions so you can send them quickly, keep videos short, and end every video with a verbal call to action ("call me at 555-555-5555 with any questions"). HousingWire also notes you can send video texts to segments of your database, which is exactly how a win-back campaign should be targeted: by recency and relationship, not blasted to everyone. BombBomb is a tool rather than a service, so the outreach effort is yours. It pairs well with a CRM-driven win-back strategy where you segment past clients and record a short personal video for each high-value contact. Pricing isn't published in the sources reviewed, so contact the company for current plans.
Pros
- Text-message video format gets very high open rates
- Feels personal in a way templated email cannot
- Works alongside most CRMs for segmented outreach
Cons
- Requires you (or your agents) to record videos, which takes time
- No automation or done-for-you campaign execution in the reviewed research
- Pricing not publicly listed
Best for: Agents and brokers who want a personal, high-touch win-back channel and are willing to record videos themselves.
Win-back campaigns are the cheapest growth lever most brokerages ignore. The research is consistent: reactivating a past client costs about five times less than winning a new one, roughly 26% of targeted customers come back, and in real estate those returning clients often arrive with double the lifetime value because they already trust you. The right choice depends on your team. If you have marketing staff and want to own the process, ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo give you the automation frameworks. If you want real estate-specific AI scoring of your database, Fello is built for it. If you want a personal touch and don't mind being on camera, BombBomb works. And if you'd rather have the whole thing run for you, with every script approved before it goes out and replies routed straight into your booking process, start with CallMyCustomers. Their free list review shows you what your dormant list can produce before you spend a dollar, so the decision is based on your numbers, not a sales pitch. Your next listing is probably already in your CRM. Get your free list review at callmycustomers.com and find out.
Frequently asked questions
What is a customer win-back campaign for a real estate brokerage?
It's a structured effort to reconnect with past clients and dormant contacts in your database, people who bought or sold with you before but haven't engaged recently. Campaigns typically use calls, emails, texts, or direct mail with a reason to reconnect, such as a market update, a home value estimate, or the anniversary of their closing. The goal is to be the agent they call when they're ready to move again, or the one they refer friends to.
How long should I wait before targeting a past client with a win-back campaign?
Real estate has a long repeat cycle, so the usual 3-to-6-month email windows don't apply the way they do in retail. Most win-back guidance, including ActiveCampaign's and Klaviyo's, says to time outreach around your typical repeat-purchase cycle. For brokerages, that usually means staying in touch continuously after closing and treating contacts inactive for 12 to 24 months as prime win-back targets, since research suggests most customers forget a business within about 12 months.
Do win-back campaigns actually work in real estate?
The underlying data is strong across industries: the Client WinBack Benchmark Study found 26% of customers targeted by a win-back campaign return, often with double the lifetime value, and about 45% of people who receive a win-back email go on to open future communications. In real estate, the odds are arguably better because past clients already know and trust you, and nearly everyone eventually sells, buys again, or knows someone who will.
What makes CallMyCustomers different from running win-back campaigns myself?
CallMyCustomers is a done-for-you service rather than software. Their team makes the calls, sends the texts and emails in your name, and routes replies into your booking process, so there's no platform to buy or learn. You approve every script, offer, and message before anything goes out, which protects your personal brand. They also start with a free list review so you know your setup cost and what your list can produce before committing.
How much does a win-back campaign cost?
It varies by approach. CallMyCustomers charges a flat one-time Campaign Setup fee based on list size plus Outreach Minutes at 9 to 21 cents per minute depending on volume, with texts and emails included in the quote. ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Fello, and BombBomb don't publish pricing in the sources reviewed, so you'll need to contact them directly. The relevant comparison is cost per reactivated client, since reactivation is roughly five times cheaper than new-client acquisition.
Are there compliance concerns with win-back outreach?
Yes. Calling and texting past clients is governed by TCPA and related regulations, and text messaging requires proper consent (A2P 10DLC registration in practice). Opt-outs must be honored immediately. CallMyCustomers states it works only from lists of real customers, honors opt-outs immediately, follows all calling and texting regulations, and collects explicit consent in its booking flow. If you run campaigns in-house, make sure your email includes unsubscribe options and your texting complies with consent rules.
Should I offer an incentive to win back past clients?
In retail, discounts dominate win-back campaigns, but real estate works differently. A free home valuation, a seller consultation, or a genuinely useful market update for their neighborhood usually outperforms a cash discount, and it positions you as the expert rather than discounting your commission. Whichever approach you use, research on win-back campaigns consistently shows that personalization (referencing their actual transaction or neighborhood) matters more than the size of the offer.