You already know how important referrals can be to your business. Maybe you’ve received plenty of customer referrals from past clients, family, and friends. Do you have an agent-based referral system providing you with fresh leads?
Getting stuck on referrals coming from people you know and past clients isn’t a good idea. Sure, you want those referrals, too, but what about the referrals you can get from other real estate agents. Some agents build their entire business on agent referrals.
Your agent-based referral system can provide very lucrative leads and give you a supplementary income. You won’t even need to go find clients if you set it up correctly. Let’s look at some of the best tips for building an agent-based referral system for your real estate business.
Build Your Agent-Based Referral with These 5 Tips
1. Connect on Social Media
An easy and fast way to start getting more agent referrals is to connect with other agents on social media. LinkedIn is one of the best places to connect with other industry professionals. You can also use Facebook and other social media platforms to start building a network of agents.
2. Attend Real Estate Events
One of the best ways to network with other agents and brokers is through real estate events. If there’s an event in your area, go to it. Get to know the people there and make yourself available for conversation.
You can even go to community and charity events with real estate organizations involved. Attending yearly conferences is one of the best options for networking.
3. Use Agents You Can Also Send Referrals To
If you work mostly with first-time homebuyers, you might want to find agents to network with that don’t work with first-time homebuyers as much. This gives you the ability to send them anybody you feel is better suited for them, while they can send you the first-time homebuyers they receive as leads.
You can agree on a finder fee or you can just trade referrals. It’s up to you, but with a finder’s fee, referrals can become a supplemental source of income.
4. Visit Broker Open Houses
Many agents don’t go to the Broker Open Houses anymore, which is a mistake. These are great places for networking and staying up-to-date on inventory and marketing trends. Anytime a broker open house is going on, you can attend and network with other agents there.
5. Hold Your Own Agents Event
You don’t have to think about just hosting parties for clients when they buy a new house or sell their house. You can hold an event with some free food and drink for agents. This provides a great opportunity to network with other agents in the area and find those fitting your needs for your agent-based referral system.
How Agent Referrals Work
Typically, you will agree upon a fee for referrals. Twenty-five percent of the commission the other agent will earn is often used but can be whatever the two of you agree on. You can send agents referrals and make a supplemental income when they close on a home. They can also send you referrals and do the same.
For example, if you only work with buyers, but you have a past client ready to sell their home, you can refer them to a seller’s agent and get paid a referral fee when the home sells.
The same agent might only work with sellers and can refer you any buyers they come across for a fee, as well. It can work out very well to keep high-quality leads coming into your real estate business.
With agent referrals, you can also start marketing your real estate business in other communities. This provides the opportunity to pass your leads onto an agent you’ve networked within those communities. Then, when they sell the home or help the buyer, you can collect a finder’s fee.
Building an agent-based referral system can help you supplement your income and gain high-quality leads. It might take some time and networking work to find agents willing to work with you, but once you have a few, you can gain plenty of leads and make it well worth the time you invested.
