Let's Talk About Referrals

So far this year, I've sent out three referrals to agents across the country. I have clients building dream homes in West Virginia, relocating in from Philadelphia (with a condo to sell) and retiring south to Florida. In each case, I needed to find agents that specialize in what the client needs.   A referral is not a finder's fee to connect a client with a random person.   This is what happens most often on Facebook when an agent posts, "Does anyone know an agent in New Jersey?" This is disgusting and I abhor this practice. New Jersey is a big state. I don't want someone who is currently sitting on Facebook, ready to grab the lead or someone who sold two houses last year. I'm looking for someone like me. A go-getter that is out there doing the damn thing.   To find the right person, you (the referring agent) should be asking the right questions, evaluating the right answers and setting expectations up front.   How much experience do you have in the market where my client is looking? Are you available to send video tours? Do you have access to more than what we see online? Will you be working with the client directly or do you have a team? Do they have a network of title, lender, inspector, insurance agents that we can leverage? There are no wrong answers, just wrong fits for the client.   To showcase how this is done, here's what happens when you get referred to me.   If you, dear reader, are sharing with me a name and contact information - first and foremost, you'll get my gratitude. There are 22,000+ agents in our area and my success is directly attributed to you thinking of me. Regardless of where the business goes, I'm grateful that you trusted me with your real estate needs.   Secondly, we're going to focus on the details of most importance. What is your timeline? Are you relocating in 30 days? Do you have 3-6 months? Is this an urgent fact finding mission or a casual interest? What does your ideal property look like? Are you concerned about schools, commute, amenities?   We're going to identify the search criteria and understand what that market looks like - are the offers competitive? Are we waiving contingencies or are seller's paying closing costs? I'm going to tour these properties and send video tours (uploaded to unlisted links on YouTube) with my unfiltered commentary. We're going to adjust as we go until we find the best possible fit for the price and term requirements.   I expect the same when I send a referral to an agent outside our market.   Pictured above? That's my coaching team. We met up in San Diego last month and exchanged stories of how things are progressing in our markets - what's similar, what's different and how we can learn from each other to do things differently, to shake things up!   I trust these Realtors with my referrals because I know they play at the same level that I do. If you need a referral, or know someone that would benefit from a better option, you need only say the word - we're all here to serve!