As a real estate agent, you know that a referral from a happy client is the ideal source of new business. You don’t have to work nearly as hard on selling yourself to this new client as the referrer has already done a lot of that for you. The trouble is, a lot of agents leave referral business up to chance rather than building a strategy to drive referrals. You don’t have to be one of them. Start implementing these 5 tips and see a boost in that valuable referral business.
1. Help your clients promote you on social media
After you have successfully helped a client to buy or sell a home, chances are they would be more than happy to refer you to someone else they know. They might know exactly how to do so though, it is your job to make it easier for them. In this digital age, social media is one of the easiest ways. Ensure you have a presence on social media by using a service like IXACT Contact’s Social Stream to post automated content to all of your accounts. Then be sure to include social media share buttons to all of your email marketing – which IXACT Contact makes it easy to do as well. Now all it takes is one click of a button for a happy client to share your name!
2. Follow up a client referral with a thank you
If someone refers you once, they will most likely refer you again – if you follow up correctly. Everyone likes to be acknowledged when they help you out, so be sure to say thank you any time you receive a referral. A real estate CRM like IXACT Contact makes it easy to do this thanks to the robust client information section that includes referral history in each contact profile. You’ll never have to worry about forgetting to say thanks again.
3. Stay top of mind with past clients
It is impossible for a past client to refer you if they can’t even remember your name. That’s why it is crucial to send out regular email marketing to remind your contacts of who you are and the value you offer. IXACT Contact makes this simpler than ever with a professionally written and designed monthly e-Newsletter that is loaded to your account automatically every month. You can customize if you want to, but otherwise you can simply “set-it-and-forget-it” without your contacts ever forgetting you.
4. Make keeping in touch personal
You know how important personalization is in the buying and selling process of real estate, but the same applies to keeping in touch. Use a real estate CRM like IXACT Contact to set reminders for your contacts birthdays and move-in anniversaries and be sure to reach out to them on those days. IXACT Contact also provides a library of e-Greeting cards to make it even easier for you to send your personalized well wishes to your clients – and keep you in their minds for referrals.
5. Host a client appreciation event
A great way to generate more referrals is to host a client appreciation event. This gives you a chance to have some real face time with many past clients all in a few hours. And we know when someone feels appreciated, they are more likely to refer others to you. You can also open up your event so your clients can bring guests, further expanding your network and hopefully generating some referrals at the same time.
Referral business is a critical piece to build your thriving real estate business, and it shouldn’t be left to chance. Instead, implement a few simple tools and steps to make sure you are doing everything in your power to encourage those referrals. It doesn’t take much time, and the reward is huge. Begin building your referrals-based business today. Start your FREE 5 week trial of IXACT Contact now.
