Just a quick thought.....
If you have a client moving out of your service area, should you refer them to someone you don't know? Is that really a referral?
I was recently hired by a family who was moving out of state. They met an agent who began to help them find a home in their new town. I must confess that I don't know the scientific manner in which the agent chose who this family should work with but suffice it to say he helped them locate a realtor to list and sell their current home. (And presumably pay him a referral when the home sold)
Our firm received a call after they had worked with the referred party for about 5 months. They were frustrated with the lack of showings (1 in 5 months) and the lack of communication from their agent. We now have the property on the market.
Amazingly enough, the agent helping them purchase a home where they are being relocated sent us a request for a referral fee when we sell the home. Just for clarification, the reason the family called us is because they had a friend whom we recently helped. She sang our praises and so we were called and consequently hired. I told the agent that we would gladly pay him a fee if he referred the family to us but because he didn't refer the family to us, we didn't owe him a fee.
He became intense (to put it mildly) and eventually hung up.
Don't you have a responsibility to the family you are working with? How do you know that the family is going to get 'top notch' service if you find them a realtor by going through the yellow pages? Couldn't the family do that on their own? My opinion is that this type of referral isn't really a referral at all. How can you recommend someone you don't have a relationship with or that you don't even know?
I'd love to hear your feedback.......
.....should I have paid a referral here?
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