Referrals have been the #1 source of homebuyers since real estate was invented. Every real estate agent I know wants them, but wanting and getting are two different animals. It?s predicted (and I agree) that it will take more sources of business in the future to do well in real estate. In the past we?ve recommended a person have three or four sources of business to do well; now we?re recommending five to seven sources. This is being driven by the fact that we have fewer Buyers today than in the past, and they shop much differently than before. This blog ?More Referrals Equals More Money? contains a list of six sources that anyone with a license can develop to increase their referral opportunities and thus their sources of business.
Sources of Referrals
Sphere of Influence. This refers to a group of individuals an agent knows and stays in touch with at least 18 times a year in person, via the mail, voice-to-voice, or digitally.? Membership in your sphere is made up of family, friends, and others you meet, including prospects, Buyers, Sellers, and anyone you meet who could give you a referral. Most trainers still teach this technique (which is used in every sales business I know of), and it accounts for a large percentage of referrals. A computer database is an essential part of this technique as is an adequate database software program, of which there are hundreds. Find one you like and go for it. If you have MS Office you probably already have MS Outlook; it?s a worthy program, and it?s what we use. There?s some good information about Outlook here: http://tinyurl.com/cd9jted. Note: if you have a sphere that does not make you money, dump the sphere you have and create a new one with new members.
Social Networks. Facebook is the perfect place for your sphere of influence and every other friend or contact you have. Social networks are not the place to sell products, but they are a place to make friends with people you may otherwise not ever meet. Besides, most of the people you know are friends on Facebook. Your profile and the posts you make are the two keys to your success. People are looking for a salesperson with whom they have something in common, so consider the audience when you complete your profile or put up a post. With over a billion people on Facebook, it?s hard to imagine how a person could not make money in this environment. Do the math: if you had 200 friends on Facebook and each of them had 50 friends, your ?reach? becomes 200 x 50 = 10,000. I have 2,000 friends, and Facebook is a profit center for my business. More than half the people you see in a day are on Facebook. Think about it.
Your Company. All companies get referrals, and they have various ways of giving them to the agents. There?s not enough room on the Internet for me to explain all of the various systems an office can have! If you are one of those picky agents who?s looking for the perfect referral without paying a referral fee, you need to reconsider, because you?re probably going to get few to none. I have been on both sides of the real estate desk as a salesman and as a broker/owner, and I can tell you without hesitation that the agent who takes whatever is available and does a good job gets the most opportunities. Top agents who have a CRANKING business create their own referrals so they don?t have to pay a fee, but most real estate agents are not in that league. ?Those who are willing to ?kiss the most frogs also kiss the most Queens and Princes.?
Online Referrals/Leads. This category could account for as much as 50% of all referrals in the future, and some experts think it could be higher than that. Most of these referrals will come to an agent as a referral from the broker or from an large Internet source like Trulia or Zillow. There are two ways to get referrals from these sources: you pay a monthly fee, or you pay a per-referral fee. For agents who are in a slump or who do not have enough business to sustain their careers, or for new agents, the leads are a BIG DEAL and many new agents affiliate with those companies that get them.
I had lunch with a salesman in a non-real-estate business recently and asked him about online leads; he pays $2,000 per month and gets more leads than he can handle and makes a fortune selling a difficult product. His only source of customers are the leads he buys (I don?t know his source), and in time he will most likely have to add additional sources to maintain the sales volume.
If I was going to buy real estate leads I would start with two sources, see how it goes, then go from there; selecting one at a time could take considerable time to find what you want. Here are some online referral sources worth looking into. I chose these three because they?re the ones most people talk to me about. They may or may not be big in your area, and there may be other players locally, so be sure to do some research prior to choosing where to start.
- ZILLOW has a number of different programs for brokers and salespeople, so it?s worth your while to check it out for yourself. They have several different plans at varying costs. I hear more about Zillow than any of the other national referral sources, but keep in mind that doesn?t necessarily mean it?ll be the best for you. http://www.zillow.com/learnmore/why-use-zillow.htm
- REALTOR.COM is a big source of leads for both agents and companies. It?s important to know everything about it because it?s at the top of many consumers? lists of real estate websites. The problem with realtor.com is that most agents don?t know how it works. That?s unacceptable. You can learn more about it here: http://marketing.realtor.com/advertise/#iid=rdc_hdr_realtors_advertise. The advantage that realtor.com has over other sites is that most MLS listings are uploaded directly to realtor.com, and any changes made on those listing are also uploaded to realtor.com. The realtor.com app has also been universally accepted by potential homebuyers, so if you don?t know about realtor.com, LEARN.
Other Salespeople. Many agents overlook a wonderful opportunity to get quality referrals from other agents in their own company and other companies in their own market?or even from out of town. An agent can maximize their potential for salespeople referrals by getting involved in the REALTOR? organization, taking real estate classes in person, and by being actively involved with and helping agents in their own office. Any agent who is referring a customer wants to make sure the other agent is both competent and a hard worker, so doing the above will demonstrate your value to other agents.
A Neighborhood Farm. Homeowners in a neighborhood farm area can be a huge source of quality referrals. This happens by the farming agent positioning themselves as the local expert via continuous quality contacts and by supplying the residents with solid real estate data and helpful services. Through these efforts an agent achieves ?top of mind recognition,? meaning that when a resident thinks about real estate, the farming agent is who they think of first. A neighborhood farm of 200 homes can be a gold mine for listings, sales, and referrals.
The Internet is playing a major role in the way potential customers find a home to buy and in the way they find an agent. Research indicates that approximately half of potential Buyers shopping online for a house to buy do not have an agent but plan to use the services of an agent to buy?and they will find that agent by referral. Referrals will remain a major method customers employ to find an agent, so in order for agents to survive and thrive, they will be required to develop and maintain an adequate referral system.
Good luck and let me know if I can help you in the future.
LeRoy
Posted November 13th, 2012 by Leroy Houser
Topics: November
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Source: http://leroyhouserseminars.com/2012/11/13/more-referrals-equals-more-money/
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