There is a myth among many Agents that clients will recommend you to friends and colleagues if they are happy with your services. “Why wouldn’t they give me a referral?” a real estate agent might ask. “I did a great job for them! I’ve been keeping in touch thanks to my real estate CRM.”
Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way.
A recent survey in a similar industry (financial planning) showed that the majority of clients do not proactively recommend their advisors — even though they are happy with the service they receive. The reason? They didn’t know their advisor wanted any referrals.
This may seem strange. But, unless you let your clients know that you would appreciate having them refer you, they may never do so.
You must plant the referral seed. And cultivate that seed often.
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How to Plant the Referral Seed in Real Estate
Let clients know each time you speak with them and each time you send a mass email from your real estate CRM, that you build your business through referrals. For example:
“John, as you may know, the majority of my business comes from referrals from satisfied clients like yourself. If you have a friend, neighbour or colleague that needs any real estate help, please give them my name. I promise I’ll do a great job for them.”
Remember that the basis of getting real estate referrals is providing great service and maintaining the right frequency of contact (as explained in The Referral & Repeat Marketing Book). The e-Newsletter and drip marketing features in your real estate CRM will help you maintain contact with little time commitment on your end.
But, assuming you’re doing everything else right in your Referral & Repeat Marketing, reminding clients that you appreciate referrals will get you more of these high quality real estate leads.
And when a client does recommend you, be sure to thank them with a real estate thank you card or a phone call. A client can potentially provide you with three to five referrals per year. Showing your appreciation encourages them to recommend you more often.
Takeaway point: Don’t assume that a happy client will automatically recommend you. Plant the referral seed!