refer a friend referral cartoon concept illustration
Referrals from friends, family, and neighbors continue to be the most important way that people find a real estate agent. This is especially true for first-time home buyers: according to Realtor.com, more than half of all first-time homebuyers found their real estate agent through a referral.
Referrals are the life blood of your business. Here are three great ways to make sure you’re getting the most out of your real estate referrals.
- Focus on feelings
Real estate transactions are complicated, often stressful procedures. Sellers worry about getting a good price for their home, and not having it sit on the market for too long. Buyers worry about finding the right home, and not overpaying. And they all rely on their real estate agent to resolve their worries.
There are two ways that people can give referrals: They can wait until someone asks, online or in person, if they know any real estate agents, at which point they’ll mention your name. Or there are the enthusiastic referrers, people who are so happy with your services that they can’t help but tell everyone they know. This group tends to focus on feelings: “He was great! Always available to answer any questions we had, and never made us feel silly for asking,” or “She just made the process so easy – it was such a relief!”
If you’re looking to boost your referral rate, focus on making people feel great about the process.
- Ask for the referral
The single best way to get a referral is to ask for one. Try to be as specific as possible:
- “Do you know anyone who is looking to grow their family, and might be in need of a larger house?”
- “Do you know any military families who currently own their own home?”
- “Do you have any friends who might be thinking about selling their home?”
Your clients won’t always be able to come up with names on the spot. Fortunately, that’s a great reason to follow up in a couple of weeks – and regularly thereafter – with real estate postcards that remind your past clients about your great service and appreciate for referrals.
- Don’t forget about recommendations
Even if your clients can’t come up with an idea for a referral right away, there is something very important they can do: put up reviews and recommendations of your services online. Whether it’s through Google, Yelp, Zillow, Facebook, or anywhere else, a good review helps new clients know that you’re a reliable, trustworthy professional.
Some agents have real estate business cards made up specifically for recommendation requests; others use real estate postcards, or send out an email, or even run a contest for reviews from past clients. The more reviews you have, the better you’ll look when prospective clients search for your name.