For the most part, the ActiveRain Community is comprised of many top professionals whose focus is on their clients, and not self-serving.
As with all areas of life and business, there are those who do not focus on their clients and are self-serving. Let's get real. Folks like that are everywhere - they are not isolated to the real estate industry or the ActiveRain Community.
So much of what we hear, read, and see in life is just noise. Marketing and Branding is just that. McDonald's sell a LOT of food. There is little disputing that although I am sure I could find some people that would dispute that statement.
The real questions are:
- Is the food good?
- Is the food good for us?
- Do we believe it is good or good for us?
- Do we care if it is good or good for us?
- What proof, if any, do we have to substantiate claims of "good", "goodness" or other claims such as "not healthy", etc.
- What is McDonald's selling? Convenience? Low price? Satisfaction? Value? Service?
If you are still with me, and I hope you are, I'd like to use the McDonald's analogy as the backdrop for making referrals to members of the ActiveRain Community.
Making a Referral to a member of the ActiveRain Community
What's the BEST approach? Of course, this is my post and my opinion. I've made many referrals and received many referrals from members of the ActiveRain Community. I am 100% okay if you disagree with my "BEST" approach.
ActiveRain is the FIRST place I look. I am aware of and acknowledge there is a referral board. I choose not to use that board. Never have. Never will. That feels to me like the Velcro technique. Just throw it up there and see what sticks. That may result in a first-come first served mentality. Whoever responds first ... gets the referral. I happen to be of the belief that whoever I am referring deserves better than that.
If I do not already know someone that comes to mind in the area I need to refer, I search ActiveRain. Not the leader board.
I search using the keyword for the area. If I do not find anyone that is active and posting, I then call other active members and ask them if they know of anyone in, Chula Vista, for example.
Why Not the Leaderboard?
This takes us back to McDonald's. Think numbers. Think Points. Think Perception. Is someone at the top of the leaderboard in their state, county and city the best way to refer? I suspect not.
Let's go back to the questions we asked ourselves about McDonald's only with the agent referral in mind.
- Is the agent good?
- Does the agent provide exceptional service?
- Does the agent provide referring agent testimonials?
- What does the client have to say about the agents service?
- Have they ever not paid a referral fee?
- Have they ever had complaints filed against them?
- Do we care if those we are referring are exceptionally taken care of?
- Are we simply looking for the convenience of making a referral and collecting a fee?
Referrals for me are not about convenience. I invest the time and energy to interview agents to determine if they might be a good fit for my clients or other party I am referring. I ask a lot of questions.
Even that is not 100% fool proof. 90% of the referrals I have made to members of the ActiveRain community worked out beautifully. Despite my best efforts to make that perfect match referral, I have made some bad ones. Bad in the eyes of the clients I referred. Some described as a nightmare.
About that Leaderboard: Just so that no one feels singled out here I will use myself as the example. It only works because I happen to be #1 in my County and #1 in my city, San Jose.
Does that #1 position automatically qualify me to be the best agent for a referral?
NO. IT DOES NOT!!!!
If the person making the referral is not asking me a lot of questions to determine if I will be a good fit for the referral, then I am asking the referring agent a lot of questions so that I can determine if I am able to best serve the person being referred. If I cannot - then I cannot take the referral.
I am working with a buyer referral from ActiveRain now. When that referral request first came in I had to do some vetting. That vetting meant getting that buyer connected with my lending partner, John Meussner. It turns out there was some some work that needed to be done. Four months later, John advised me that the client had taken care of XXY, and was approved.
I advised the referring agent that I was unsure if I would be able to help and that I would do my very best. In full disclosure, my market is so tight right now, FHA buyers are challenged with competing with big down payments on conventional loans, and all cash offers.
TRUST
I've actively been working with the buyer mentioned above for 6 weeks. I've written a few offers that were not accepted. The search continues. The referring agent knows the challenges we face.
The referring agent and I have completed referrals in the past. They know I will make good on whatever we agreed. No. Matter. What.
It does not matter if it takes me 2 months or 4 years to close on the referral. It does not matter that I worked exponentially harder and longer to serve the client.
The bottom line is this: I would not have the client if it were not for the referral. I am responsible for what I agree to do. If something changes my ability to honor my own agreement, then it is my responsibility to renegotiate my agreement, or suck it up and do whatever it takes to honor my word, my agreement. Period. No Excuses. End of Story.
I do not get the referrals because I am #1 on the leader board. I get referrals because my reputation of being service focused and doing the right thing, no matter what, precedes me. For that reason, I am a trusted referral resource. That is not me saying that. That is the agents who referred me saying that and the clients I have served saying that in their testimonials.
I cannot caution enough that the position on the leader board is not enough to know if the agent will serve your clients well or if the agent will honor their agreement with the referral. In the end, its a measure of what a referring agent is willing to do, by way of completing their own due diligence, to ensure the referral they are making, is a good one.
Whatever is agreed, get it in writing, in detail and with crystal clear clarity as to the terms, and signed by the respective brokers. The rest is left to the integrity, ethics and honor of the agent accepting the referral.
Be Careful Out There.
Don't believe all that you read and hear.
Verify. Validate.
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