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Architecture Guide
Cost vs. Value Report
Good Neighbor Awards
Handouts for Customers
Top 100 Companies
Take a Quiz
30 under 30
Young Professionals
REALTOR® Emeritus |
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BUILDING REFERRALS | |
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8 Great Referral Builders 1. Customer appreciation events. 2. Newsletters. 3. Just-Listed/Sold postcards and door hangers. 4. Sponsoring a kid’s sports team. 5. Organizing a charitable event. 6. One or two phone calls a year. Keep It Legal: Some calling activities of real estate professionals need to comply with the requirements of the new National Do-Not-Call Registry after Oct. 1, 2003. Click here to learn more about the registry. If you are unsure about how the new rules will impact your telemarketing activities, it is recommended that you consult with your attorney before taking any action. 7. Holiday cards and small gifts. 8. Networking with real-estate related professionals, such as bankers or builders. 3 Experts Share Their Referral Secrets Bruce Mulhearn, Mulhearn Realty, Bellflower, Calif. A few weeks after the close, we supply food and soft drinks so that new owners can hold a housewarming barbecue for their family and friends. We also show up to cook and serve the guests. It's a captive audience for us. We don't go around with a scratchpad asking for referrals, but they happen. We get to know a lot of people that way. Another very good source of referrals: We deal with a lot of recent immigrants—mainly Hispanics, but also a lot of Asian Americans. Many work in small factories in the area. We call clients and say, "Would you mind talking to your bosses and asking their permission for us to come in, provide lunch for all the employees, and give a half-hour seminar on the advantages of homeownership?" Most are very willing to help us out because we've helped them by finding them a house and through the mortgage process. Pat Hiban of RE/MAX Pat Hiban Real Estate Group, Columbia, Md. We send all past clients—and their families—large cookies on their birthdays. They're almost like cakes. The week of their birthday, they receive a notice in the mail telling them where they can pick up their cookie. I get a special rate from the bakery. We're up to between 60 and 70 cookies a month. Kids especially love them. Many people write us thank-you notes. It's something we're known for. I've gotten many referrals from people who say they thought of me because their brother or cousin has been getting a cookie from me for years. Cristina Martinez, Century 21 North Valley Real Estate, San Jose, Calif. I throw two parties a year for past clients—a general client appreciation day and an investor appreciation day. The general party is held in the summer at a neighborhood park where we supply food, games, and door prizes. The investor party is held at my house in either October or November. A big part of my business is encouraging past clients to use the equity they've built up in their houses to buy income-producing properties. At the investor party, I give prizes to the three people who have given me the most referrals in the last year. I also brief them on what's happening economically and tell them it's time to set up an appointment with me to evaluate their portfolios and see what further transactions are possible. My assistant calls them into the office the next week, which usually results in people trading up or diversifying their portfolios. For the Broker A Company Concierge Service Concierge services, which link clients to vendors of home-related services, provide an excellent way to maintain contact with customers after a sale closes. Follow these tips to make a concierge service a viable option in your company.
TIP: Don’t recommend vendors unless you’ve worked with them personally or researched their backgrounds. There’s no advantage to clients of just compiling a list from the “Yellow Pages.” —David Knox, David Knox Productions, Minneapolis 20 Stories for Your Newsletter > |
Keep It Ethical If you recommend the services of a company in which you have a direct interest or from which you receive a referral fee, you must disclose this fact to the customer. Article 6 and Standard of Practice 6-1 Keep It Legal Avoid liability concerns by recommending at least two or three vendors in each category. |