Referrals are the lifeblood of most real estate agents and lenders business, but how do you say thank you? There is no better compliment to your business than receiving a referral, but are you taking the time to properly thank the referring party the right way? If not you very well may be pissing them off.
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Over 60% of Closed Business Comes From Referrals Or Repeat Clients
Real Estate People Receive Referrals
When people refer services/professionals to others, they do not get any type of award, big shiny trophy, or anything monetary, but you should at the very least say thank you.
6 Step Referral Thank You Checklist
When somebody sends you a referral they are more than likely expecting your acknowledgment of it. Put yourself in their shoes. If you just handed somebody $5,000 wouldn’t you at least expect a phone call? That’s the very least you could do. People who refer you business now will refer you more business later so make sure you treat them like gold!
It surprises me that most agents don’t do anything when they receive one. Someone just sent you a client that you will make money with so you better acknowledge that person as soon as possible unless you want that to be the last referral you ever receive.
When you get a referral you need to acknowledge it the same way you do when your dog goes to the bathroom outside by using positive reinforcement. You must let your referring relationships know how much you appreciate their referrals.
Have you ever received something from someone unexpectedly and even though it is something small, you very much appreciated it?
That is what you need to do when you receive a referral
1. Make personal contact with referral
Pick up the phone and thank the referring party immediately. If they do not answer the phone you can leave a message.
2. Send Referring Party A Text & Email
Once you either speak to them on the phone or leave a voice mail, send a follow up text and email. Make it short and sweet and say something along the lines of, “hey just wanted to thank you again for your referral. It means alot to me. Hey what’s your address by the way (if you don’t have it)
3. Send a “Thank you” letter and $10 Gift card
Print off or hand write a thank you letter with a $10 dollar gift card to either a coffee shop or gas station as a small thank you gesture. People expect something so at least send this to positive reinforce the referral.
4. If referral closes, call to thank referring party to thank again
Once the referral closes, make sure you contact the referring party again via phone, text, and email. You should make sure you update all contact information in your CRM and add them to your database marketing system.
5. Send Referral a $100 dinner gift certificate when referral closes
Don;t be cheap. Somebody just printed you money. Get them a dinner at the very least! Do you think they will send you another referral in the future?
6. Acknowledge the Referral on Facebook and tag them
Tag the referring party on social media with a simple thank you story. By doing this you are programming your entire database that you are referral based real estate agent.
Generating more referrals is not rocket science, it’s common sense. Implement this system and see what happens next time you receive one.
This is also a real good book if you are interested in learning more about attracting referrals.