If you’re a real estate agent, then you know that getting real estate referrals is key to your success.
Real estate agents need to leverage real estate referrals to be successful. This is because they can get leads from leveraging the people that they already know and have a relationship with, like their friends, past clients, business partners, and even family members.
Why do real estate agent referrals matter
Real estate referrals are extremely important to a realtor’s business. In fact, over 82% of all real estate transactions come from referrals and 42% of all sellers who use a real estate agent find their agent through a referral.
But what if you don’t want to pester your friends and family for leads?
Or what if you’ve tried all the traditional methods and still aren’t seeing the results you want?
Don’t worry, because there are plenty of other ways to get real estate referrals that you may not have thought of.
In this article, we will cover 9 unexpected ways to get more real estate referrals. We will also provide tips on how to get real estate referrals without pestering friends and family. Finally, it will discuss the implications leveraging real estate referrals could have on real estate agents.
9 innovative ways real estate agents can get more real estate referrals: How to ask for referrals in real estate without being intrusive
1. Go above and beyond for your clients
2. Leverage technology to stay connected with clients and sphere
3. Give back to your community
4. Build strong personal relationships with your contacts
5. Connect with other real estate professionals
6. Create or participate in a referral program
7. Participate in a referral program
8. Collaborate with local businesses
9. Leverage social media
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1. Go above and beyond for your clients
Going above and beyond for your real estate clients during the transaction process and being the best agent you possibly can be is probably the most obvious way to get real estate referrals, but it’s also one of the most effective.
If you want to be top-of-mind for your clients when they think of real estate, then you need to go above and beyond for them. This means providing great customer service, being available when they need you, and being proactive in helping them meet their needs.
When you go above and beyond for your clients, they will be more likely to refer you to their friends and family. In fact, a study by the National Association of Realtors found that close to 89% of home buyers would recommend their agent to others.
2. Leverage technology to stay connected with clients and sphere
Technology is a powerful tool that can help real estate agents stay connected with their clients and sphere of influence.
Using technology such as CRMs and automatic follow-up sequences, agents can send out automatically generated emails and text messages to their past clients and sphere members to stay top-of-mind even after the transaction has closed.
Agents who want more real estate referrals can also use technology to keep track of when properties come on the market that they can send to their sphere of past clients who might know someone in their network that is looking for a property.
3. Give back to your community
Giving back to your community is a great way to get real estate referrals. When you give back, you are showing your community that you are invested in making it a better place. As a result, they will be more likely to trust and recommend you to their friends and family.
There are many different ways that you can give back to your community. You can volunteer your time, donate money or goods, or participate in local events.
Giving back to your community also gives you an opportunity to network with potential clients in your local area, and although not everyone you meet will need to buy or sell a house, if you build enough trust with them and show up to local events, more people will know your name and therefore make it more likely to refer you to potential clients.
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4. Build strong personal relationships with your contacts
Building strong personal relationships with your sphere of influence is another great way to get referrals. When you have a strong relationship with someone, they are more likely to trust you and see you as a friend rather than a salesperson, which means they are more likely to recommend you to their friends and family when they need a realtor.
One of the best ways to build strong personal relationships with your contacts is by staying connected with them after the transaction has closed.
Find commonalities with your clients and nurture those seeds through consistent, heart-centered, genuine follow-ups.
Send Thank-You Notes
A handwritten thank-you note is a nice way to stay connected with your clients and make sure they remember you when it’s time to refer someone. You can send a thank-you note after closing, or even just for birthdays or holidays.
Here is a sample letter asking for real estate referrals script
5. Connect with other real estate professionals
Networking with other real estate professionals is another great way to get real estate referrals. When you network, you are putting yourself in a position to meet new people who might need your services in the future.
There are many different ways to network with other real estate professionals. You can attend local events, go to meetings, or join online groups.
Networking with other agents is one of the best ways to get more real estate referrals. When you meet other agents who operate in different areas or states than you and build relationships with them, they are more likely to refer their clients to you who are either moving to or from your area.
When another agent refers their out-of-state or out-of-city client to you, you will usually have to pay a real estate agent referral fee (25% of your commission if you close the transaction) to the referring agent.
This strategy, although unknown to many real estate agents, has become so popular for certain people that you can now become a real estate referral agent exclusively, which means that you have generated so many referrals that your referral income has actually replaced your personal transaction income as an agent.
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6. Create a referral program
Creating a referral program is a great way to get more referrals. When you have a referral program, you are telling your contacts that they can potentially earn rewards by referring their friends and family to you.
Give Away Freebies
There are many different ways to create or participate in a referral program. You can set up a system where you can give them a free gift for every referral that they make.
No matter how you set up your referral program, make sure that it is easy for people to participate and that they know what the rewards are.
When running these rewards programs you also want to make sure that you are staying compliant with all state and national real estate laws and regulations, this means you can not give away a percentage of your commission to non-licensed individuals.
7. Participate in a referral program
Another great way to get more referrals as a real estate agent is to participate in a referral program.
National referral programs are usually programs run by a referral only real estate brokerage where a real estate agent can pay a monthly or annual fee to be a part of the program, and in return, they are able to receive leads from other agents in the network who are looking to refer their clients outside of their area.
The best real estate referral programs are those that only charge agents when a referral transaction has been closed by the agent instead of requiring agents to pay a monthly or annual fee. These programs will send agents referrals and once a transaction has been closed, the agent will pay the referring company a referral fee which is usually 25-50% of their commission income.
8. Collaborate with local businesses
Collaborating with local businesses is another great way to get more referrals. When you collaborate with local businesses, you are creating a partnership where you can both benefit from each other’s services.
There are many different types of businesses that you can collaborate with. For example, you can collaborate with a home inspector, a mortgage lender, or a real estate attorney.
When you have a collaborative relationship with a local business, you can refer your clients to them and they can refer their clients to you. This is a great way to build relationships and get more referrals.
There are many different ways to collaborate with local businesses. You can collaborate by working together on events, advertising together, or even sharing leads.
9. Leverage social media
Want to know how to ask friends for real estate referrals? One of the best ways is to leverage social media.
Social media is a great way to stay connected with your past clients, as well as your sphere of influence. When you use social media, you can stay top of mind and be one of the first people they think of when they or someone they know is looking to buy or sell a home.
There are many different ways that you can use social media to get more referrals. You can use social media to:
· Stay connected with your past clients
· leverage contacts with big networks
· Create or join online communities
· Promote your referral program
By leveraging social media, you can stay top of mind and get more referrals.
Do you know how to ask for real estate referrals on Facebook?
Through Facebook communities.
Running your very own Facebook group is probably the best way to create an actual workable and sustainable system to drive real estate client referral to your business.
By being the real estate authority in your group, everyone in your Facebook group will look to you for any real estate needs, including, finding a great real estate agent to buy or sell a house.
Want to become a referral agent and replace your sales income with residual referral income as an agent? Click Below to Access a FREE Training on How to Do Exactly That By Building Your Very Own Facebook Interactive Community!
Get Your Inbox Flooding With Referrals!
While there are many different ways to get more referrals, these are 9 of the best ways to get referrals as a real estate agent without pestering friends and family.
Remember, the best way to get referrals is by providing an exceptional level of service to your clients and always putting their needs first, staying top of mind, and providing so much value that people feel obligated to their friends and family to refer you to them as their agent.
Want to generate more referrals as a real estate agent? Click Below to Access a FREE Training on How to Do Exactly That