How Relationships Are The Foundation Of A Successful Real Estate Business
“It’s not about what you know — it’s about who you know.”
Chances are you’ve heard this phrase before. But is it really true?
If you talk to successful real estate agents and brokers, they will normally tell you that referrals are either their #1 or #2 source of new business (listings, clients, etc…).
This brings up the question, how do you build a referral network and how do you get the most value from that network?
1. Other Agents Are Your Allies… Not Competitors
There is still a stigma that you need to be careful in the real estate industry as it is a dog eat dog world. You may even have experience that confirms this belief.
However, we believe that it is possible to learn from and give value to other agents that is a win-win situation.
Everyone brings something to the table and it is your job to figure out what “that” is.
2. Make The First Contact
Connecting with other agents is easier than ever! Every agent is looking to expand their business so you will be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t want to connect (as long as you are genuinely trying to bring value to them). This brings us to the 3rd point.
3. Bring Value To Your Network
It is all about “give and take.” This is key, what do you bring to others? If you start out just asking for referrals or how they can help you, you have already lost.
“Running a successful business is all about who you know, but who you know is not enough. Allowing others to know how much you care is what really matters. Going above and beyond to connect on an intimate, emotional, spiritual, or personal level is important.
It’s one thing to just ‘know’ somebody, but it’s something else entirely to be connected on a more personalized level. That’s the X-factor connection that really matters, and it’s what makes a huge difference in making your business succeed.”
Lewis Howes
4. Get To Know Them
Remember, this isn’t about you. “Always ask, ‘How can I help you?’”
Changing your mindset is crucial. You can never go into it with self-interest as a primary goal or people will see right through you.
5. Follow Up
You know you need to follow up with your leads, so why don’t you follow up with your network as well?
It is so important to keep in contact with your network and continue bringing them value. If you are in the forefront of their mind, they will think of you when they have a client or connection that will be useful for you.
How To Build Your Referral Network On IdealEstate
1. Optimize Your Profile
There are a few points that I really want to focus on here. The profile photo is the easy place to start. You will want to make sure you have a professional profile photo as that is the first thing anyone sees.
The next is your bio. You want to make it easy for other agents and professionals to be able to see what skills you have and if you specialize in anything in particular.
Example of a really well done bio…
I’ve spent nearly 20 years developing a reputation of being a productive and respected agent in the competitive real estate market in the Phoenix area. My experience and dedication has helped me excel despite the competition.
Born and raised in Phoenix, I am incredibly knowledgeable about the area. I love my hometown and I know all of the special things, big and small, that make it a place that anyone would love to call home.
As with any real estate agent, I put a strong focus on customer service. However, that’s just one piece of the puzzle that has helped me become so successful in such a competitive market. I truly believe that the dedication, communication skills, network, intimate connection to my area, and transparency I provide are the most important pieces of my sales formula.
Any agent knows that experience alone isn’t enough to rise to the top. However, experience combined with extensive training and designations creates superstars in the field. I have two decades of experience, many years of extensive training, and have the designations of Accredited Buyer’s Representative and Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager. All of these things combined ensure that the client always wins.
My expertise and knowledge have helped me serve hundreds of families in Phoenix and the surrounding area which has led me to become amongst the top 10% of agents in my area. I was also awarded Phoenix’s Top Sales Producer in 2015.
My goal is to continue to build my business while helping others along the way. I believe I can offer the foundation others need to experience the same success that I have and I would love to go on the journey with them.
This short video will walk you through how to edit each section of your profile…
This short video will walk you through how to edit the business settings on your profile…
2. Start building your network
This is where IE makes it easy to find agents and professionals in your area or in any area across the country where you would like to build your network.
3. Make Initial Contact
Sending the first message is critical. You don’t want to send a canned message. Do your research first and send a tailored message that relates to them.
If nothing stands out on their profile then we do have some canned messages that can give you ideas on where to start with a message. Once again, we don’t recommend using these exact messages but using them and adding in your own personal touch.
Short video walking through sending the initial message and canned messages…
4. Follow Up Messages
Follow-up messages are crucial as they are what will keep you “Front of Mind”. Remember, making yourself stand out and showing the value that you can provide is important, and doing this with just one message is next to impossible.
IdealEstate makes follow-ups simple, convenient, and most importantly effective. We achieve this by offering a streamlined communication platform that allows agents to easily message each other. Think of it like a messenger on social media, but one that is entirely dedicated to helping agents expand their network.
Using our communication platform is as simple as clicking the “Messages” button on your profile.
5. Always Bring Value
You know that adding value is important, but what’s the best way to do it?
Really learn about them and their business so you have a good understanding of what you could potentially help with. Perhaps you have a higher level of training or have faced challenges in the past that you were able to overcome. These things can be extremely appealing to other agents, especially if they are struggling.
Ask yourself these important questions:
Do you know anyone in that area you can refer to them or connect them with? For example, home inspectors, photographers, staging companies, leads, etc. These resources are very valuable as you will help other agents save a great deal of time, and in most cases, money as well.
Do you have lead generation strategies that could help them, social media, CRMs, predictive analytics, local connections, cold calling techniques, etc…
Another thing to consider:
When building value, one of the most important things to focus on is the long haul. Great relationships don’t happen overnight. One of the worst things you can do when building connections is to overwhelm them right off the start.
Really get to know them and learn where they are at, especially what barriers they are running into. Some of the most common barriers in today’s industry are:
- Becoming overwhelmed with technology
- Housing prices
- Increased lead costs
- Struggling to scale
- Mentorship and/or a trustworthy team
- Finding the right referral partners
- Burnout
The list goes on and on. The important thing to remember is another agent facing a barrier is your chance to shine and begin building the relationship. The key takeaway here is that the value you can bring them will naturally happen over time if your goal is always to help them.
Putting All The Pieces Together
IdealEstate makes networking easy by allowing you to seamlessly connect with other agents and professionals to build long-term relationships. However, our platform also allows you to showcase your expertise through your profile. This is part of the formula that will get people interested in your value and begin contacting you.
Here is where you can:
- Create an attention grabbing bio showing your value
- List your years of experience
- Describe who you have worked with
- Explain what licenses you have
- Highlight your credentials
Plus much more!
We also offer:
- Tools that allow you to discover the perfect referral partners.
- Canned messages that can be personalized to make your first connection a success.
- A streamlined platform that makes contacting and staying in touch with agents simple.
- User-friendly software that allows you to handle everything in one place.
Our entire process is streamlined. We understand that the competitive nature of real estate can be overwhelming enough on its own without having to worry about how you are going to build your referral network and scale your business.
That’s why we put a strong focus on convenience for everything ranging from the first contact with a potential referral partner all the way to building a healthy, strong, trustworthy relationship and everything between.
We look forward to working with you to enhance the success of your business.
As always, if you have any questions about our platform, just let us know.