An Effective, Proven, And Powerful Referral Partner Attraction Process
This is where things really start to get exciting. We’re about to reveal our proven 5 step formula for building valuable relationships with referral partners to generate your first lead in just 15 days!
1. Attracting The Perfect Referral Partner
This is your starting point. The important thing to remember here is that referral partners can be one of your greatest assets. The key to getting the most out of this step is to create a winning situation for everyone involved.
So, how do you attract the perfect referral partner?
IdealEstate makes it simple. You can think of our platform as the LinkedIn of real estate. When you create your profile, you’ll have the opportunity to create a bio that lists your experience, describes who you have worked with, list your licenses, and showcase anything else that you think will grab the attention of potential referral partners. Often, this alone is enough for agents to begin receiving connection requests.
We also offer a variety of tools that further streamline the attraction process. For example, our “Find Referrals” section allows you to search for referral partners that meet your specific needs across the entire country.
To search for referral partners, click the down arrow located next to your profile picture. Then click on Find Referrals.
You will then be redirected to this page. Once redirected, click on All Professionals.
After clicking on All Professionals, you can then select a Professional Category as well as a Location.
2. Proper Outreach
The next step is to reach out to your ideal referral partners. This is where many agents get intimidated. After all, you get one chance to nail your first impression. You can think of it as your make-or-break moment.
The #1 mistake that agents make here is being too aggressive. Of course, you want to try to convince referral partners that you can bring value to them, but the key to this is sticking in for the long haul. Your initial outreach should be personal and be used as a starting point to begin building a long-term relationship.
IdealEstate simplifies this process. You can research potential referral partners on our platform making it easy to begin creating a message that is tailored specifically for them.
In some cases, you may find that there isn’t really anything that stands out on their profile. The good news is that we have canned messages that you can choose from, but we highly recommend that you add your own personal touch to them.
You might be wondering what’s wrong with canned messages.
The answer is simple…
They are not personal enough and the referral partner you’re messaging will not be impressed.
The result…
Low response rates!
You can’t begin to build a valuable relationship if you aren’t able to grab a potential partner’s attention and receive a response.
The following example of an initial outreach message tends to convert quite well.
Hi [Name],
I see that you are in the Dallas area and I would love to be able to add you to my referral network. I believe working together would be a win-win situation. My business is based in Phoenix and I’m currently looking for more clients. I would greatly appreciate it if you have any clients that you can put me in contact with, and of course, I would be happy to do the same for you. Over the years I’ve learned that working as a team is a great way to expand businesses and I can see from your profile that we can be extremely valuable for one another. I look forward to hearing back from you and working together!
3. Proper Follow-Ups
Follow-ups are what allow you to really begin to build your relationship with your referral partner and begin to show your value. The chances of building a trustworthy relationship with just one message are slim.
You’ll want to periodically send follow-up messages to potential referral partners to keep you at the front of their mind. As time goes on, more trust and value will be built and as this happens, the likelihood of growing your network will continue to become greater.
IdealEstate is proud to make follow-ups as convenient as possible. By offering streamlined messaging capabilities, you can handle everything from searching for referrals to building your relationship all in one place. Simply click the “Messages” button on your profile and you’re good to go.
Messages are a great starting point, but they are only part of the connection process. Once you have established a connection with a potential referral partner and have relayed a few messages back and forth, we highly recommend that you schedule a meeting with them over the phone. It won’t take up much of your time and it’s a great way to really cement the connection. You would likely be surprised by the amount of information you can learn in just 10-15 minutes.
4. Long Term Follow-Ups
Remember, you should think of building your referral network as a marathon and not a sprint. The most important factor to keep in mind is that it’s all about building and nurturing a strong relationship.
When creating your follow-ups, take time to dive deep into how you can bring potential partners value. Some of the top things to consider include what barriers they may be facing, what connections you have to offer, solutions you have discovered for problems in the industry, and most importantly how you can save them time and help them make more money.
5. Referral Partner Retention
This is the most crucial step in the formula. Making connections and building relationships isn’t always an easy process and the last thing you want to happen is your referral network to begin dwindling away.
The worst thing you can do is take more than you provide. This will make retention next to impossible! You should never stop adding value to your network. After all, the key to making it successful is making sure everyone is being helped. Otherwise, what’s the point for your referral partners?
For the best chances of retention:
- Ask yourself if your network has everything they need.
- Take time to think about what barriers they may be encountering.
- Continue to add value at all costs.
- Never take more than you can provide.
- Reach out on a consistent basis (maybe this is done once every couple of months).
- Be open to feedback. Remember, it’s a team effort.
- Never stop nurturing the relationship. This is where many agents go wrong.
Wrapping Up
We may not be able to guarantee that you will land your first lead in 15 days. However, if you use our proven formula and incredibly convenient platform, you will begin building valuable, long-term relationships with potential referral partners. As you continue to nurture these relationships, your chances of landing leads will skyrocket.
We look forward to hearing your IdealEstate success story!
As always, if you have any questions about our formula or our platform, let us know and we will be glad to help you.