Developing a Referral-Based Business

One of your key responsibilities as a real estate agent is defining how you’ll communicate with others and how you’ll continue to acquire new clients. Like any other business owner, you must establish a reputation within your market that effectively communicates your vision. The key purpose of your marketing isn’t to make sales, it’s to acquire prospects. Then your regular business systems and processes should transition those prospects into clients, then eventually turning these clients into completed sales transactions.

The real estate business isn’t about selling properties, it’s about serving buyers, sellers, tenants, and landlords within the industry. You should try to focus less on finding that perfect house for your client and more on forming a meaningful connection. Houses will come and go, but you want to make sure that the relationship you’ve built and maintained is strong enough so that when they are ready to pull the trigger, you are the person they want to bring with them to the closing table. You also want to maintain that connection so that down the road when they want to sell the house that you sold them, they will want to use you again for that second transaction. You want to go for the long-term payoff versus the short-term gratification of just getting that sale.

A primary marketing strategy should be to generate a solid referral stream and to develop a business in which people in your network are regularly volunteering referrals. A way that you can accomplish this is by making your sphere of influence confident in you, your professionalism, and your competency in the real estate services you provide.

Here are guidelines on developing a referral-based business:

Provide exceptional service.

You will find in this industry and other industries alike, that reputation is everything when building a business. Exceptional service is so rare that it will make your interaction with your clients more memorable. When people receive exceptional service, they remember, and they will often tell their friends. 

Go beyond the expected.

Make every effort intentional. Every client has different expectations and needs. Listen to your client to find out what these are and how you can go above and beyond to meet them. Maybe it’s proactively texting a busy client new listings links because you know they don’t have time to search on their own or even check their email. Maybe this looks like changing your normal schedule to show your client listings in the late evening because you know it’s the only time when they can secure childcare. Either way, this is about understanding your client and doing what is best for them.

Continue relationships after closing.

Keep in contact with your past clients. You’d be surprised at how this will carry into your referral process in the future. Make contacting past clients a part of your daily routine. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture; the smallest interactions can aid in strengthening the connection you spent so much time establishing in the first place.

Be consistent.

Whatever form of marketing you choose to do, make sure that you are consistent with it. If your marketing is making calls, do it daily. If your marketing is sending post-cards in the mail, make sure that they are receiving these mailers regularly. If you are posting on social media, make that a regular part of your marketing efforts. Doing tiny bits of marketing sporadically is not going to have the same effect as doing one marketing strategy consistently.

Volunteer in the community.

You need to make time to give back and be a part of your community. This is going to positively impact your mindset, help you build new relationships, and help you develop an appreciation for the community you serve. Holding an active role in your community will help maintain a positive reputation. 

Thank referral sources.

Go out of your way to communicate with the people who have sent you business and thank them for their efforts. When they feel that they are appreciated, they are more likely to refer you again. A phone call or a sincere, handwritten thank you letter can go a long way.

Refer others.

Build connections with people and find people within your community that you can trust. If you have a loan officer that you know does a great job, refer them new business. In return, these people may also refer you new business in the future. This goes for real estate inspectors, staging companies, home insurance companies, roofing companies, or any other businesses that you know are reputable and active within the industry.

What are other ways that you can prospect for new business? Share your ideas on our Facebook page here. We love to hear what our students have to say. Thanks for reading this blog article on prospecting and make sure to check back with us next week for our next topic.