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DOING IT FOR YOURSELF vs THIRD PARTY REFERRALS

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Hannett, Wilson, Whitehouse & Burke, LLC REALTORS

I know I have said this before but not on AR. I am amazed at how many Realtors don't understand the benefit of developing their own referral systems (see www.SEMichiganHomeInfo.com). I have heard MANY Realtors say that they get more for the dollar they spend on their own referral prospecting than they get by paying someone else to give them the lead. If you really think through the process this has to be the case. Just imagine for a second the difference between paying a couple of thousand dollar referral fee and setting up a system like RealPro. Both will cost you about the same but one gets you the single sale and the other gets you an ongoing source of business.

As the old saying goes "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." or another way of putting it "Buy leads from a third party vendor and you may get a commission, Develop a lead generation system and you will always have commissions."

Sherri Berry
Reliant Realty, Murfreesboro - Murfreesboro, TN
Murfreesboro TN Homes & Real Estate
I completely agree!  I think a lot of agents, especially new agents, are looking for the easy way out.  Also, if you have ever talked with Realtor.com or some of these other lead generating or third party referral services, they can be very convincing.  They make everything sound go great!  To me, it's like paying for top placement in the search engines when your website really doesn't have anything to offer to the consumers.  Instead of working to improve your ranking with a qualify webpage, they will  just throw money at the problem to be "number one."  Hard work always pays off!
Aug 14, 2006 05:31 AM
Maureen Francis
Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel - Bloomfield Hills, MI
Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel
I admit to having been lured by the third party vendors.  A few months later, with less money in my pocket and no new clients to attribute to the the process, I wized up.  Now I have a much better perspective.  You are so right, Doug.  We can't allow the lead generation company's to skim off the top without adding any value, like they are doing right now.
Aug 14, 2006 06:52 AM
Jacqulyn Richey
Prominent Realty Group - Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas Real Estate

When done property, your website should do just that: provide a steady stream of leads.  - Charles

Aug 14, 2006 07:33 AM
Teri Isner
Keller Williams Realty at the Lakes - Orlando, FL
GRI, CRS, CIPS
Right on Doug!  Just say no to these aggregators and spend the $$ on developing your own system.
Aug 14, 2006 11:23 AM
Ed DeChristopher
Fredericksburg Realty, Inc. - Fredericksburg, VA
CRS Fredericksburg VA

Hope you are not including referrals from other agents in your analyses.  I thoroughly enjoy receiving referrals from other agents who are members of groups in which I am a member.

I can easily turn them into people who will refer me to their associates; no more paying for referrals either.   It is through systems like Active Agent for Outlook and Top Producers that one can cultivate their relatiolnships with prior clients and customers.

Aug 14, 2006 11:28 AM
Geri Sonkin
Douglas Elliman Real Estate 516-457-7103 - Merrick, NY
Long Island Real Estate & Staging Expert

When HomeGain was new I joined the system and got a lot of leads early on.  The way I worked it was to produce enough money (which I didn't have at the time) to increase my own marketing tremendously.  It provided that and enabled me to get my name out there for all to find.

Aug 14, 2006 01:29 PM
Sharon Simms
Coastal Properties Group International - Christie's International - Saint Petersburg, FL
St. Petersburg FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS
Agreed, Doug.  Building a good web site with customer-oriented content, and building relationships with other agents through groups of common interest, and attending conferences - those are the keys, not paying the aggregators.
Aug 14, 2006 01:30 PM
Andrew Hodge
Right At Home Realty Inc. - Richmond Hill, ON
I agree, I tried House Values for almost a year and although the lead management tool that they have was fairly nice, I get about 3 times the leads from my personal websites for a fraction of the cost and most of those are coming through only one site, because the other sites are newer and I have spent much less time on SEO for them.
Sep 26, 2006 08:54 AM