Real estate referrals have always been a lucrative source of leads for experienced agents. Referrals are usually the result of you providing such an exceptional customer experience that customers, friends and neighbors are all compelled to recommend your services to others.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Knowing how to generate referrals is vital to building your business. and win organic Getting referrals and repeat customers from your personal connections – people who already know, like and trust you – requires thoughtful strategy. We’ve put together some of our best advice and tools for building a steady flow of referrals (and income) from your sphere of influence.
7 Ways To Increase Your Real Estate Referrals
1. Create a Buzzworth client event
A surefire way to get your customers talking about you to their friends and family is by inviting them to events they can’t live without talking about afterward. These can be as simple or elaborate as your budget allows. You can go it alone, or go big with your entire brokerage.
My brokerage recently started hosting bigger events twice a year and it has been the most beneficial decision we have ever made. The first event was a holiday party where agents invited former and current clients, as well as friends and family. This generated new clients for practically every agent in the office. My brokers decided it was so much fun and such a great way to connect with our fields, we should host a spring edition as well.
Your previous clients are less likely to give you real estate referrals if you are not top of mind. Therefore, consistently share both real estate market and lifestyle content online and encourage your social connections to share with your friends and family. Just remember – don’t be boring. have some fun with it. Maybe try your hand at vertical video!
If you’re ready to move beyond social media, you can create a community website with Parkbench and make it a hub for residents to learn what’s happening nearby. Conduct interviews with local business owners and give your recommendations for the best brewpubs, neighborhoods, dog parks and eateries in your town or city.
Since they only allow one real estate agent per area, you may want to check the Parkbench website to see if your market is available. You can then reserve your spot and start talking about the local hot spots in your community.
3. Stay top-of-mind using key market insights
Agents who consider their clients’ interest in real estate to be over at the closing table are not getting as many referrals as they could. From your brokerage to your local union to economic reports like the latest interest rates, you have access to a lot of data that clients will find useful (as long as you can break it down in an easily understandable way). Key market insight can help position you as a knowledgeable market expert who can provide strategic advice to clients on the investment potential or performance of assets. Bonus: Make this information easily shareable on your social media for a wider reach.
Use your real estate customer relationship management (CRM) system or email marketing platform to create template messages that you can use to send timely statistics to your different client types. Then, every other week, pull numbers from your market and fill in the blanks. Coffee & Contracts has some gorgeous templates you can use that are perfect for sharing on social media.
If you really want to promote your efforts, create short videos to share on your social media as well. Agents posting regularly about the market are getting a lot of visibility on TikTok and Instagram Reels. You can also get some eye-catching ideas for vertical videos that aren’t boring, from Coffee & Contracts.
4. Surprise your old customers with pop-buy gifts
With email drip campaigns and social media connections at your fingertips, it can seem strange to show up at your past customers’ doorstep unannounced. But the awkwardness magically melts away when you have a fun gift on hand.
When you can get in front of people in your area and remind them of your excellence with a pop-buy gift, it’s a surefire way to boost your referral power. Pop-bys may seem like a pain, but the investment of a small gift and a short visit will pay off in ways you can’t imagine. Stopping by to say hello, check in to see how life is going, and just have some fun gossip might not seem like much, but it’s that special connection that every human being needs.
If you need a little inspiration for clever tags, gift ideas, and more, check out Etsy.
5. Ask for Real Estate Referrals in Happy Moments
There are many examples in real estate transactions when you celebrate. Closing Table is definitely one of them. But don’t forget about the moment you find the right property for a buyer or when your seller receives a full price offer.
These are some of the perfect moments when emotions are running high to subtly remind your customers how much you appreciate them sharing their positive experiences through reviews and referrals. And it doesn’t hurt to ask if they know anyone else who might need your services. It takes a little practice to get comfortable asking for business, but be confident and remember that the ultimate goal is to help others the same way you’ve helped your customers. And your customers will want to help you in return.
Referrals and reviews go hand in hand. A great way to grow your referral business is to send frequent, automated touches to your people asking for reviews online with a company like Birdie. They take care of your online reviews to help you grow your 5-star reputation. With more awesome reviews, you’ll get more customers who trust you and your customer experience.
pro tip: If you’re still building out your real estate sector, consider adding a referral network like NuOp to your arsenal. It’s free to sign up and exchange referrals with other agents, giving you more opportunities to increase your sales and grow your business.
6. Maintain Customer Relationship according to proof
The more specifically you message the person, the more likely they are to respond. If you pay attention to not only what your customers need, but also who they are, you can leverage that knowledge later to increase your referral rate-big time,
Get started on this strategy by using your CRM to keep all of your client interactions organized in one place. Start by sending a personalized email celebrating the anniversary of your customer’s purchase or sale. The typical agent will send one or two of these emails every week, maintaining a consistent, ongoing conversation with their past clients throughout the year.
You may have created some of these communications in advance (for example, anniversary messages, birthday greetings, holiday wishes). However, you might want to make some of it this time. Find something you really think your people would like to know and share it with them. Your authenticity will shine through.
You may want to add a little extra juice to these messages with personalized videos. A company like BombBomb can help you create short videos that you can embed in your emails. They do a great job of connecting with people and reminding them of your bubbly personality.
I created multiple videos using BombBomb and created entire campaigns using short videos. Making them was a great experience as it felt like I was speaking directly to my people. After implementing videos into my email campaigns, I also saw a dramatic increase in my response rates.
7. Consider Joining a Real Estate Referral Network
Yes, there are more ways to snag referrals than tapping into your past customers and sphere of influence. You can join a network where agents exchange referrals with other real estate professionals in other markets. Some of the most popular referral exchange networks are ReferralExchange, Agent Pronto, Referrals.io, NuOp, and ReadyConnect Concierge (formerly OpCity).
Brokerages may also have their own referral networks that you can join, such as KW Connect, RE/MAX Global Referral, or Coldwell Banker Referral Network. When you have a client who is looking to buy or sell in a market where you do not normally serve, these referral networks can help you find an agent to better serve your clients in that market. Are.
And so on, you can help other agents take care of customers in your market. You share a portion of your commission for the lead, typically around 25%. It’s great to have a real estate agent from another market calling you and offering to share a client without you having to do much to generate leads. And for the referring agent, having a network of awesome agents makes life a lot easier when you’re working with clients from across the country.
Finding agents for my military clients in different states was always a challenge – researching and interviewing agents to find the right ones was always a challenge. It is very difficult and time consuming. Having a reliable network saved me a lot of time and stress.
When choosing a network for your referrals, start in your backyard. If your brokerage has its own referral network, start by joining it. If you belong to a boutique brokerage like me, check out some of the referral networks mentioned above to see if one might be a good fit for you.
Here are some things to consider when choosing a referral network:
- Referral Fee Percentage: Some networks charge up to 40% in referral fees. With these companies, you can consider whether the juice is really worth the squeeze.
- subscription fee: Some referral networks charge a monthly or annual membership fee. Consider whether you will be able to justify the amount you are paying to be part of the network and whether you will be able to recoup any costs. There are some networks that do not charge membership fees and only collect a referral percentage. Assess whether the leads you get are of high enough quality to justify your investment.
- Lead Quality: Will the leads convert? It’s never a bad idea to check reviews to see what other customers have to say. Even better, see if you can reach someone who uses the network before you sign up.
- Lead Quantity: If you are paying membership to a referral network but you are not getting many leads, reconsider your investment. Learn as much as you can about how many leads to expect from any given referral source before signing up for a long-term commitment.
If you are thinking of joining an agent-to-agent referral network, these are just a few of the elements that should be considered. Apart from these, there are many other networks where you can get paid for leads. If you want to learn more about companies that specialize in paid lead generation, you can check out the lead generation companies we recommend (plus three you’ll want to avoid).
over to you
Here’s the truth: The best way to generate referral leads from your people is by building a solid relationship with them. Humans like to connect with other humans. So keep those lines of communication open. You may be surprised to find how many of your contacts prefer to receive your communications.
We have a great way to organically generate referrals that we haven’t covered here? Tell us in the comments. Also, if you need more real estate lead generation strategies, be sure to read our article on Underrated Lead Generation Ideas.
