Real Estate Referrals: Why a Past Client Will Recommend You

What’s the best kind of real estate lead you can get? It’s the real estate referral that comes from a past client. When one of your clients recommends you to a friend or neighbour — “Debra is a fantastic agent Give her a call!” — the chances you’ll land that client is very high.

And you’ll probably be the only agent that person is talking to!

No wonder so many studies confirm that conversion rates for referrals are significantly higher than leads generated from any other channel.

So, if you’re an agent wanting to grow your business, a real estate marketing system that builds client referrals is a must.

To do that, it’s essential to understand why a past client would recommend you in the first place. Obviously, they would need to have had a good experience working with you. That’s a given. But are there other factors that come into play?

There are.

Here’s are other reasons why clients will recommend you.

• You’ve followed up in the days and weeks after the transaction. (Clients hate the “disappearing” agent!)
• You’ve stayed in touch with past clients regularly, ideally once a month. (That keeps you top-of-mind.)
• You’ve added value by sending a high-interest real estate newsletter packed with helpful advice, tips and insights. (Real estate direct mail newsletters are proven to work best.)
• You’ve touched base in other ways, such as email, social media, quarterly calls, and annual visits.
• You’ve built the “know, like and trust” factor each time you’ve connected with the client. In other words, they’ve come to see you as their go-to agent — someone they’re comfortable recommending to friends and neighbours.
• You’ve reminded clients that you build your business on referrals and would appreciate their support. That plants the idea that you welcome referrals, which increases the likelihood they’ll recommend you. (See our blog post on asking for real estate referrals.)
• You’ve consistently demonstrated that you’re there for them when they have real estate questions or need advice.

Reviewing this list, it’s not surprising that a client receiving this level of attention would happily recommend you to others. But how do you find the time to do all those things?

The answer is simple.

Use an automated, done-for-you real estate marketing system that grows client referrals. That will make it easy to stay in touch with past clients, build trust and loyalty, and motivate them to recommend you.

Start this week.