The Power of Local Referrals
One of my clients walked me through their home buying experience the other day. They saw the home of their dreams sitting on the corner of a downtown area in a thriving suburb. The house had everything they had wanted - a front porch, detached garage and enough room to host guests and dinners.
They quickly called the Realtor on the listing, and soon after had a personal Realtor who toured the house with them. Because they located the house themselves, the process was fast. When it came to financing, they hadn't thought about it, nor secured the pre-approval letter. (They were too in awe of the home that financing wasn't exactly at the top of their minds.) Plus, they were young and first-time home buyers.
The couple explained the process of having the Realtor give a handful of referrals for a mortgage lender, appraiser, inspector and more. And you know what they did, they called each one of those referrals and just went with it. Especially as young, newly married, first time buyers, they didn't know what to look for and so they went with who their trusted Realtor recommended.
As a real estate professional, I would say that, "of course I know the power of local referrals," but this story just reminds me about how powerful a referral can be. I've seen that it can make or break your business. It's not just a nice gesture to do for someone, it really increases the overall market for real estate.
Appreciating Referrals in Real Estate
I think what I've learned about referrals is to treat them like gold. That's why I personally go out of my way to make sure each client referred to me receives top-notch service. I also find ways to show each agent or professional who refers me appreciation. As a local lender, I'm able to provide a better hands-on service than a lender that's on the East or West Coast.
As I thought about referral ideas and how to show appreciation or grow a referral network, here are a few that came to mind:
- Send bagels, cookies, etc. with a thank you card for each referral
- Buy sporting games tickets (as this is also a great tax-write off) and offer them to referring professionals
- For referring clients, enter them in a drawing to win a great prize
- Thank customers for online reviews through a small gift
- Share links to websites for a "referral" page network
- Mention those in my referral network on my Facebook or Twitter
Those are just a few ideas for how to use a referral network to make or break your business.
In Kansas City and looking for a trusted local lender? Check out my website today!
The Power of Local Referrals
Comments(3)