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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®



  SALES MEETING TOOLKIT:
RAMPING UP REFERRALS
 

Ramping Up Referrals, Introduction

Component 1:
Facilitator Talking Points

Component 2: Agenda

Component 3: Handout 1, Ten Ways to Build your Referrals

Component 4: Activity 1, Referral Sources Activity Sheet

Component 5: Activity 2, Notes on Spreading your Web

Component 6: Handout 3, Internet Referral Checklist

Component 7: Handout 4, Tips for Handling Corporate Relocation Referrals

Component 8: Other Resources

  Component 6: Handout 3, Internet Referral Checklist

According the to 2000 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Profile of Homebuyers and Homesellers, 34 percent of buyers used the Internet to do some parts of their home search, so servicing those clients is important. Here’s how to handle Internet referrals:

1. Respond promptly via e-mail, at least within 24 hours. Consider adding an automatic responder to your Web site e-mail address that will send a “thanks for contacting us” note as soon as a query is received.

2. Be prepared to provide requested information via e-mail. Create PDF files of your promotional brochures and have digital pictures of current listings.

3. Be a resource for your area; after all, it’s hard to tell where an Internet query comes from. Have basic information on your area—demographics, climate, major employers, major cultural and recreational facilities— ready to e-mail on request, if you don’t have the links to these sources of information on your Web site.

4. Be willing to let your inquirers remain anonymous, no matter how frustrating that may be, advises Michael Russer, Realtormag.com’s “Mr. Internet” columnist. Restate all your contact information in each response you make, but don’t refuse to help them if they seem reluctant to reciprocate. You may have to maintain an “electronic” relationship for awhile.

5. If you find the inquirer is outside your market area, ask permission to forward the request to a salesperson in the appropriate location. If you don’t belong to a relocation service, find referral partners by browsing Web sites in major cities, suggests Chris Newell, Milton, Ont. When you forward the referral, be sure you include copies of all information the prospecte provided to you and what you sent to the prospect. Also send a referral form stating the referral fee you expect.

Portions adapted from “What’s the Proper Way to Handle the Internet Referral?,Chris Newell, Northwest Association of REALTORS® Newsletter, January-March 2000.

Component 7: Referral Sources Activity Sheet >