Over the past week or two, I had two referrals from my friends here at ActiveRain, AND one of the biggest closings we've had in months.  The closing came from a consumer who found my blog months ago and became a "fan".  He liked what I had to say about the area where I live so much that he and his wife bought a place about 3 minutes from my home.

One of the referrals, from my friend Trey Thurmond in College Station, was a listing that went under contract after four days!  The other referral is from Steve Shatsky in Dallas - he and I have had a chance to speak a number of times over the past year or so, and I consider him a trustworthy friend.  I am meeting to discuss listing Steve's friend's house tomorrow evening.  Both clients seemed 100% convinced to use my services based on glowing praise from Trey and Steve.  Thanks very much, guys!

All told, the closing and the contract will result in about $16,000 in commissions, and the new listing should be another $5,000-6,000 (research pending on the CMA).  Now THAT is a good feeling.  I figure any tool that has the potential to bring me over $20,000 in a one-month span is worth continuing.  :)

Last night, I was attending a "tweetup" in Austin (Twitter-based meetup), and someone asked me if I had any tangible results from blogging or social media participation as a real estate broker.  He was surprised at my concrete answers, and since he's doing a presentation at the NAR conference in San Diego next month, he may want to use my blog as a case study there.  Awesome!

I can't overstate the importance of social media going forward.  The tools may change, but the method of developing relationships online at light speed will not.  As our radio show guest stated today, "The internet is like word-of-mouth on steroids."

Big thanks to Trey and Steve for thinking of me and trusting me enough to safeguard their referrals.  I treat them like gold.  I hope to be able to reciprocate at some point soon!

Photo credit - Refracted Moments (found via Flickr.com).