What makes a great referral agent? What makes an agent's profile be one that lends itself to accepting and passing great referrals?
I am a referral agent- I accept referrals from other agents! More than 50% of our overall business last year came from referrals, and some were referrals from other agents, both locally, and from around the country. Why do people choose us? There seem to be a number of reasons. Let's look at when send one to another agent.
When I am looking for an agent elsewhere to refer my clients to, I take the time to have a conversation with the agents I connect with. How basic is that! If they mumble, rush too fast, or too slow, perhaps they aren't a fit. if they never return my call...that's likely not a fit for my client. We look for comfortable, nice people who are truly full time in the business- for me I'm not looking for the 4-transactions-a-year agent!! I look for third party validation of who they are- possibly speaking with the team leader at their office, meeting them on facebook or ActiveRain.
Communication is key- When we send a referral, there needs to be ongoing communication. I want to know how the appointment went, what's the next step, and when will that be. What are the top issues, if any. It's important, as it's possible there could be something we can do to help- after all if it's someone we know that we are referring as the client, wouldn't we want to be available to help facilitate that process?
We are pretty open- our profiles online are available to anyone, and if you google us, or me, you'll find out about us- making it easy for others to make a basic decision on whether or not we could be a fit, without them needing a detective. Too hard to research? NEXT...
I appreciate ongoing updates- are they under contract? when is it closing? if that's delayed, let me know! We work to get the paperwork all prepared before the closing so the admin team knows what's going where.
Referrals are a team effort, and when I receive a referral I bear in mind everything that I want as the agent that sent a referral! Let's take the time to take care of our referral partners, and go the extra step of asking them what THEIR needs are! It's a win-win!! We love to receive referrals as referral agents in Clearwater and in the Tampa Bay areas- and we'll take care of you too- your way!
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