You remember how I’m always telling you that it is good to have
your own, personal Realtor? I often opine at great length on the
benefits of having a trusted advisor for all your home ownership
and home maintenance needs in addition to getting expert advice and
smooth real estate transactions.
You remember how I’m always telling you that it is good to have your own, personal Realtor? I often opine at great length on the benefits of having a trusted advisor for all your home ownership and home maintenance needs in addition to getting expert advice and smooth real estate transactions.
Well, fair is fair. Today I’m telling you what you can do for your Realtor. I am going to teach you about referrals.
For anyone who has been in the real estate or mortgage industry over about five years, referrals are the lifeblood of their business. So is repeat business. Every Realtor attempts to do such a good job for you that you will want to use them again and get your family and friends to use them as well. It’s the way we grow our business.
Realtors are independent contractors for the brokerage at which they work. They are not paid anything for their time. They only get paid when a transaction is completed. And any minute they are working at marketing their services is a minute they are not spending on getting deals completed. Many new Realtors do not succeed at the business because they cannot get the momentum going. It’s tougher than you think it might be.
You get a license. And sure, you know lots of people. They’ll use your services, right? Wrong. It may be that they know you as a teacher (or store clerk or day care worker or nurse or mechanic or whatever) and cannot make the transition in their mind to view you as a real estate professional. Or they may not want you to know the state of their finances. Or they may already have a trusted advisor Realtor. Or…the list is endless. After all, a real estate transaction is generally the largest single financial transaction and investment in most people’s lives. And they want the best service they can get. Makes sense, right?
So you often have to begin with strangers who don’t know you as anything other than a Realtor. And how does one find them? They sit open houses, spending hours on Saturday and Sunday staring at the plate of cookies they brought. They take floor duty, where all first-time callers are passed on to them. They spend money on ads and signs and sponsorships and websites, all designed to create name recognition and court the general public. This all takes time, money and energy.
But hopefully you will get those first clients and do such a competent and professional job that they will tell their friends and relatives who will then want to use you and tell their friends and so on and so forth.
When you go see a great movie, what do you do? You talk about it and urge others to go and have the same good experience. How about when you try a restaurant for the first time and it knocks your socks off? What happens when you find the perfect bed and breakfast getaway? When you discover a great new website?
Whoa, doggies! You rush out to share the good news with your loved ones.
Do you have a Realtor you have used who you know and trust? Okay, now answer this: How many times have you referred them to someone? And how did you make the referral?
Chances are, when you hear that someone is going to be moving you don’t rush forward to suggest your Realtor. But you should. There are many wonderful agents around, but there are a few that bay at full moons or don’t reflect in mirrors. Do you want to leave it to chance that your loved ones will fall victim to one of these agents?
Of course not. You want to make that referral.
So how do you do it? Lots of people think they’re making a referral if they say, “Oh, I used Terry Green. You should, too.” But it doesn’t work like that. Your friend will go away and forget that name and end up with Sandy Shark or Val Vampire.
Here’s what you want to do to protect those you love: Tell the person that you have a great agent, and tell them you’ll have the agent call them. Then call your Realtor and give the name and number to them. It’s kind of tricky with the “Do Not Call” law. You either have to get your referral to agree to talk with the agent, or give a business number. Otherwise your Realtor could end up in the penitentiary. (Okay, so I exaggerate a little.)
Then keep your fingers and your nose out of it. If your friend doesn’t want the agent to call, at least you did what you could to protect them. If the Realtor doesn’t follow up, it’s on them. If they do connect but do not see eye to eye, let it go.
So there you have it. This is one thing you can do to “Be kind to your Realtor,” as I’m fond of saying.
In fact, do it now. Who do you know who is thinking of buying or selling or who might need a little assistance with some aspect of remodeling or maintenance? Refer them to your favorite local Realtor.
