Referral Marketing
Helps Your Contacts Refer Leads to You

Referral marketing, based on word-of-mouth recommendations, offers the best advertising possible. Not only is it free, but coming from independent third parties, it is more believable than paid advertising and self-promotion.

Experienced marketers commonly believe that 85% of new business comes from word-of-mouth referrals.

Success in Real Estate Is Based On Referrals

Referral marketing on the other hand, means that prospects are referred to you. Someone else has identified them as potentially good clients for you and referred them to you. The person making the referral is in effect endorsing you as a good person with whom to do business. As a result, people who have been referred to you will likely trust you more than they would trust an unreferred stranger.

In calling you, a prospect believes that you can help. This saves the prospect the time and hassle of investigating many agents. And because you have been recommended, you don’t have to devote time and money chasing leads and building trust.

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If You Want Referrals, Ask for Them

In your early discussions with new clients, let them know that it’s your normal practice to ask satisfied clients for referrals. They might even be in a position to make referrals at that preliminary stage of the relationship. At the very least, this will prepare them for your asking for referrals from time to time.

When is the best time to ask for referrals? Certainly there are those spontaneous occasions in which a client or contact compliments you on your work. What better time to ask for a referral? Go for it. Follow your normal considerations in asking for referrals, give several business cards to your client or contact and hope for the best. Effective as making spontaneous requests may be, effective referral marketing generates a consistent flow of new business.

After each transaction has closed, contact your clients to thank them for allowing you to serve them. Tell them how much you have enjoyed working with them (even if you haven’t). Acknowledge that they probably know other people like them who are planning on selling or buying their homes. Using your own words, ask for referrals.

This post-closing contact is also the ideal time to thank your clients with an appropriate gift. The best gifts show your appreciation and remind clients of your service.

Generating Referrals is an e-book that contains 4 strategies which will you sell more real estate.

Among other useful features, it contains a self-study exercise that will help you learn how to ask for referrals.

This exercise will help you become more comfortable asking for referrals. And of course the higher your comfort level, the easier it will to ask for and receive referrals.

More referrals means help you achieve your goals easier and faster. That is referral marketing at its best.

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Business Is Great!

Perhaps they don’t want to give the impression that business is slow or that they are begging for help.

Whatever the reason for a reluctance to ask for referrals, it is simply an attitude that can easily be changed.

One way to transform this reluctance into a positive approach, adopt a positive, reaffirming mantra.

Whenever you think about referrals, tell yourself, ‘Business is great but I can use some more’.

And whenever some one asks how you or your business is doing, answer with your mantra. Before you realize it, you will internalize your mantra.

Business will be great because more of your contacts will make more referrals to you.

Referrals are too important to your success in real estate to be left to chance. You really need a referral marketing system in place to ensure that you never miss an opportunity to ask for a referral. If you do have such a system in place, be sure to follow it meticulously and consistently.

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