REFERRAL
BASICS
1.
PUT IT IN WRITING.
Always, ALWAYS make your referral in writing. Whether
your
referral is within your office,
across town or across the country having a written
(and signed) Agreement will assure that your information is properly
conveyed and that you get paid. If you don't
have a good referral form
click
here and download ours for free. And we encourage all
members to use ours so that we will all be familiar with what is
required. If your broker mandates a company form, then use that - we
don't want you doing anything which is not approved by your employing broker.
2.
WORK. If you aren't spending 40 to 60 hours a week - every week -
in PROactive work, you are not going to be financially or professionally successful.
And don't kid yourself, you ARE a Part-timer. Expect part time
income.
3.
ASK FOR THE ORDER. Before you take the listing, or even before you
go to
the
appointment
ask where the sellers are moving to and if
they are moving out of the area, let
them know you can find the best Realtor in their new
area
- at no charge to them. Working with buyers? Maybe they own property in
another city they would like to sell. More and more original contacts are being generated by online
sources. Do the buyers have
a property to sell? ASK, ask, ask! Don't be so distracted with trying
to "sell" your immediate service you
forget to do the easiest part - recommending
some one else. If it turns out you don't get the
business they contacted you about, you may still get the referral.
4.
IMMEDIATE CONTACT. When you receive a referral IMMEDIATELY send
the customer/client an
email, call them and snail mail them your card and brochure
with a cover letter. DO ALL THREE . If you're sending a referral make sure the customer/client
knows they can expect contact within 24 hours and find out what their time and method preference
is. DO NOT expect them to make the first contact, it
rarely happens. Remember - be PRO active!
5.
BE PROFESSIONAL.
Have your "stuff" together. State-of-the-art
printed materials
from business cards to brochures to presentations to
websites are no longer the exception in our business.
They
are the professional standard. (Need a custom
brochure or other promotional material? (check
out our DISCOUNT SUPPLIES page) Our customers
and clients expect us to be
at least as technologically skilled as they are. If your online skills are
lacking, take a class or practice or both. The
real estate industry is now considered
to be 30% technical - if you don't have these skills, you
ARE NOT a professional and the public
"gets it". It's way past time Realtors
do too
6.
FOLLOW-UP. You can't hit a home run if you
don't follow
through. Keep in contact with your referral Realtor as well
as your customer/client. Back in the dark
ages when I first started doing military relocation I frequently
heard buyers say in response to my question, "why did you
choose me?” "Because you were the only one who called us more
than once" was a common response. Use a contact management
program or a simple paper and pencil
form to make sure you maintain regular contact before, during and
after the transaction. It's the key to good service and you'll end up
with a pocket full of commissions.
7.
RE-INVEST. As you earn income from your hard work and professional skills,
re-invest a pre-determined amount in your future business. Remember that you are self-employed and
every business needs capital to continue
to flourish.
8.
REST.
Always schedule regular time off, weekly and annually. I
have found that the more I restrict my customers'/clients' access to me the more eager they
are to continue to do business with me. If you don't take time to
regenerate mentally and physically you will not be your best
during
"business hours". And remember, this is what we do for a
living- it is not our "life". We need to be happy, fit and
creative people to do our best work.
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