How Realtors Get Referrals
Did you know that seasoned real estate agents claim that 61% of their annual business comes from repeat clients or referrals?!
It makes sense when you think about it. Past clients and people that are referred to you from someone that they trust are basically a done deal and they’re easier to work with because you don’t have to convince them to believe in your ability. Furthermore, it is always cheaper to earn business from a past client than it is to earn a new one.
With all of this in mind, it is no wonder that earning referrals is a top priority of top real estate agents across the globe.
Yes, some agents seem to be swimming in nonstop referrals from their database. However, if you are anything like most real estate agents, you could stand to grow your business by earning more referrals right now.
The problem is, you’re not exactly sure what specific actions you can take to start generating more referrals. Not to worry because in today’s post I’m going to share:
The reason behind why people refer you business
What to do as soon as you get a new referral
How to leverage one referral into dozens more
If you are ready for the referrals to start pouring in, then this post is for you!
What Makes People Refer You As A Realtor
Although it may sometimes feel that way, people don’t just refer you randomly.
They have a reason or reasons why they go out of their way to pad your pocket with a referral. The better that you understand that the more referrals you will earn.
It is human nature for people to want to refer others to “their guy” in any service; their mechanic, their doctor, their contractor, etc. You could put a post on Facebook right now asking for recommendations on any type of service provider and you will be bombarded with comments and messages of people referring “their guy” as the best.
However, in order for people to be compelled to make you “their guy” (or gal) when it comes to real estate, three conditions must be present:
They already know, like, and trust you.
They know or like the person requesting the referral or talking about real estate.
They have to think of you when someone asks for an agent or starts discussing real estate.
In order for a referral to happen, someone has to be involved in a conversation about real estate. Someone has to be talking about buying or selling a home and someone you know has to have you top-of-mind, to add you to the conversation.
But since most people know more than one real estate agent, the big question at hand is what makes them choose you over the other agents that they know?
The answer starts with you.
People are having these types of conversations in tons of different settings. They can happen anywhere at any time. If you want the people you know to automatically and eagerly refer you whenever they are in one of those conversations, you have to train your audience.
You have to make sure that your name becomes synonymous with real estate. The second someone in your audience hears or sees anything real estate related they should instantly think of you!
So how do you make sure that happens?
In addition to staying in regular contact with your database through calls or texts, you should create, publish, and push out original real estate content on a regular basis. The most basic and effective way of doing this is to generate or purchase original real estate blogs from a real estate writer like me which you can repurpose into more content then post them on social and include them in your weekly newsletters.
Constantly sharing valuable real estate content will not only remind your audience that you are a real estate agent, but it will show them that you are a trustworthy resource that deserves their referrals every time someone brings up buying or selling their house.
What You Should Do When Someone Refers You
What you do once someone is referred to you is the most important element of the entire process. In fact, what you do or don’t do will be the make or break point of whether you become the most referred real estate agent in town.
At the core of why people refer you is not just a sense of loyalty but their desire to solve a problem. Someone they know needs help buying or selling a house, and they are compelled to help them solve that problem. Whether they realize it or not, part of the reason they do that is they enjoy being acknowledged for their efforts.
The very first thing you should do the moment that someone refers you is call them up and genuinely thank them for not just thinking of you but actively referring you.
Think about it; if you gave someone else a referral you would expect them to call and thank you at the very least right?
Of course!
If you handed someone a referral that would be worth $6,000 at the very least you would expect to be acknowledged for your efforts to help that person get that check.
The better you treat the people that refer you business, the more referrals you can expect to get from that person. Here is what you should do from now on every single time you get a referral:
Make personal contact with referral;
Personally call back referring party and thank them;
Send a “Thank you” letter and $10 Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts/Gas Gift card to referring party and personalize it;
If referral closes, call to thank the referring party and update them on status;
Send party a $100 dinner gift certificate when referral closes; and
ACKNOWLEDGE THE REFERRAL ON FACEBOOK AND TAG THEM. This lets others know you are referral-based and you are appreciative of anyone who sends you their friends and family members for real estate assistance (the referring party should be one of your FACEBOOK friends).
If someone sends you multiple referrals or a particularly large one, I think you should take things one step further with a grand gesture of gratitude. My favorite is to send them a free vacation using AdvertisingBoost. AdvertisingBoost is this SUPER AWESOME company that will charge you a small monthly fee to be able to send prospects, clients, anyone you want free vacation stays at resorts in cities like Orlando, Vegas, and Cancun. They are NOT timeshares and there are no sales presentations.
Just imagine how excited you would be if someone gave you a free vacation as a thank you for referring them business?! You would probably also post pictures and videos to social media from your vacation. Imagine how impressed people will be if your referral partners post pics of their free vacation from you to social!
How To Leverage One Referral Into Many
Another way for you to acknowledge your referral partners in a powerful way is to thank them publically on social media and in your email newsletter.
The beauty of the public “thank you” is that other people are reminded that you are a real estate agent that is always happy and grateful to receive those referrals.
Make sure that when you do this on social media you are tagging the person that referred you, as well as, the person that they referred. This will ensure that the post shows up in the newsfeeds of the people that are following them and give you additional exposure.
I suggest making these posts both when you are first referred the new client, and after they close. You may even want to do it on the anniversary of the closing, making sure to always tag all of the relevant parties.
Growing Beyond Referrals
While referrals are a crucial part of any real estate agent’s business, they aren’t everything. You should still be actively working to grow your network and attract more of your ideal clients to you through inbound marketing in a strategic way. If you would like help putting together a strategy to earn more referrals and generate tons of new clients eager to hire you as their real estate agent, book a free strategy call with me here.
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