This is my entry into the March "Referrals Matter" contest being offered by Debbie Reynolds
The majority of my referrals come from friends and past clients local to my market BUT occasionally I will participate in an outgoing referral.
When our 2nd son moved to the D.C. area I wanted to make sure he was taken care of. I was working at a different company at that point in time so I looked at in-network offices in the D.C. area and picked a couple of offices.
I called each office and asked to speak with the office manager. After speaking with each manager I made a decision on which office to choose. I had to be comfortable with the office choice.
For the next step, I sent the office manager a picture of our son along with a 1-page profile of him which included his job, interests, passions and what his personality was like (who would know better than mom & dad?).
The office manager took almost a week to go think about which agent in their office would be a good match. The manager sat with that agent to ensure the proper decision was being made. Then the agent called my son and they set some dates for a visit and tour of properties & the area.
All turned out well, even better than well. The right agent had been chosen. The agent was well versed in condominiums was in the same age range, had similar likes and passions, and was professional. The two of them hit it off right away.
The long and short of this story is: a great condo was found, a great price was negotiated, the sale went off without a hitch. The agent and our son have become fast friends. Now it is time for our son to move on up. Guess who is listing his property and finding a new one for him?
The contest asked questions:
Do you rely on those agents you have personally met at conventions or through your franchise or professional networks? In this case, it was within the company network
Does the sex of the agent matter? Not really.
Does the age of the agent or time in the business matter? Age does, time in business did not
Do designations sway you in any way? No
How much involvement do you have after the referral has been sent? Very little other than updates
Are updates on the progress important or do you just want to see the referral check at the end? Updates are important
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