While most agents spend their time cultivating deeper relationships and getting referrals from their clients, one powerful source of business growth often not tapped into is agent-to-agent referrals.
These types of referrals involve an agent referring their client to another agent, in exchange for a referral fee. In an industry where trust and credibility are pivotal, they can be a game-changer, providing access to new markets and clients that would otherwise not be easily accessible amidst all the competition.
In this article, we’ll explore the value of this type of referral and how you can maximise its benefits for success.
Understanding the Value of Agent-To-Agent Referrals
If agent-to-agent referrals are not a focus point for you, here are a few reasons why it’s worth your time and investment:
- Expanded network: You can tap into markets and clients outside your immediate vicinity while saving the trouble of seeking out new customers by yourself.
- Built-in client trust: When a client is referred to you by another agent, it brings with it an implied endorsement of your services – increasing the chances that they will choose you over other agents.
- High-quality leads: Since leads referred to you have been already vetted, they are likely to be serious about buying or selling – speeding up transaction time.
- Additional revenue stream: You will receive a guaranteed referral fee from the other agent upon closing a successful deal, offering an additional source of income.
1. Find Partners Strategically
Your best bet for finding agents is through professional networks like industry associations, online communities, or attending events.
When searching for agents, look for ones whose profile and speciality complement rather than compete with yours, to ensure a steady stream of referrals and long-term growth potential.
For instance, if your niche is residential properties, partnering with a commercial real estate agent can be beneficial, as many business owners or investors want both residential and commercial properties. You can also find suitable agents based on their location, for example, top agents in specific regions your clients are likely to relocate to.
Always take the time to research their profiles to ensure they have a proven track record of success – as after all, you’re going to be sending your clients their way. Take advantage of resources such as Zillow, Realtor.com, and Google to read through feedback from their past clients before committing.
2. Keep in Touch
Establishing a network is one thing, but being the go-to agent for agents in your network is another. To stay top-of-mind, you need to make it a point to nurture the relationship with the other agent and showcase your unique value.
There are countless ways to go about this. For instance, you might consider sending out a monthly insider email, providing consistent updates, making regular follow-up calls, or sharing market insights specifically tailored to fellow agents. This is particularly important during quieter periods when there are fewer referral opportunities.
In addition, whenever you get a client referral, it is good practice to keep your partner consistently updated on the status of that deal and express gratitude at the end of it, even if a deal doesn’t ultimately close.
3. Utilize your CRM
As you grow your network, it can be hard to track everything, making it important to centralise key information in your CRM. Whether it’s sending a thank-you note, an email, or following up on a potential referral, a CRM ensures you have all the information you need to proactively communicate. Additionally, you can segment your partners based on their specialisation or location, speeding up the referral process.
Your CRM is also valuable for providing a big-picture overview of referral results. You’ll have data on which agents are sending you the most referrals, the quality of the clients referred, and the success rate. These insights help you determine which agents to prioritise when it comes time for you to refer, and more generally, help you think about which parts of your referral strategy require improvement.
A real estate-specific CRM like Raptor offers the additional benefit of facilitating client-property matching even if the listing or client doesn’t originally belong to you – helping you speed up the sales process and maximise client satisfaction with accurate recommendations.
One feature for this purpose is ‘Share Contact’. By clicking on this button, you can share your client’s record with your partner within seconds. There is also an additional option to share it with a group if you are considering multiple agents for your referral.
4. Explore Collaboration Opportunities
Don’t just limit your relationships to referrals. Once you have built your network of partners, work together to generate co-branded content, webinars, blog posts and live streams for socials. Consistently tagging and mentioning each other is an easy but effective way to increase visibility.
You can also come together to create educational resources like home-buying guides, detailed checklists, engaging blog posts and exclusive tips to send out to your leads and clients or post on your respective websites. This can help speed up the content creation process, helping you increase the efficiency and ROI of marketing efforts.
If you are in the same area, you could even consider hosting in-person events like joint open houses, and client mixers to strengthen client relationships and generate new business opportunities.
If you are looking to implement an automated marketing strategy for lead generation and management, speak with one of our consultants today to design a strategy tailored specifically to your needs.
