While you’re adapting your business to effectively operate through the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a good chance your referral partners are doing the same.
There’s a quote that goes: “By lifting each other up, we lift ourselves up.” This philosophy has never been more true than it is today.
Now is the best time to check in on and lean on your referral partners. You can recommend them and build them up to all of the people you know, and in turn, they can refer you to anyone they know looking to buy or sell a home.
Who Are My Referral Partners?
First of all, let’s talk about all the professionals you should be able to rely on to refer you to their clients and vise versa. Put together a list of all the people you’ve worked with in the past and rank them based on their likelihood to refer clients to you.
- Mortgage lenders
- Photographers
- Home inspectors
- Painters
- Electricians
- General contractors
- Landscapers
- Social media experts
- Website designers
- Lawyers
- Marketing professionals
After you’ve put together your list, brainstorm some ideas for each person on ways you can promote their business. Here’s some ideas to get you started.
- Video promotion - Film yourself doing a virtual interview with the person about their business and any current promotions. If they work in a real estate adjacent field, ask them questions about how they can help your clients in the buying or selling process.
- Discounts - Ask your referral partners if they’d be willing to offer discounts to anyone you recommend to them and promote them to your current clients.
- Share testimonials - If you have past clients who worked with certain professionals, reach out and ask them to provide testimonials that you can share on your social media pages.
Build Your Team
If you are new to real estate and don’t currently have a reliable list of professionals to reach out to, now is the best time to build your contact list.
The best way to build your team is to get recommendations from other real estate agents in your brokerage, and as a second option, people you know. All the Googling in the world won’t net you a terrific working relationship like an introduction from a colleague or friend.
Once you’ve gotten a recommendation, research their work and look at client reviews to ensure you’re working with someone reliable.
If you don’t have any personal connections, search for professionals on Yelp, Angie’s List, Craigslist, and Google. If you’re looking for people to help with online work, like social media promotion or website design, freelancing sites like Upwork and Fiverr are terrific resources. Simply post what kind of task you’re hiring for, and let the specialists come to you!
Once you’ve put together a list of professionals, reach out to introduce yourself. Ask if they’d be interested in working with your clients in the future and if they’d consider referring clients to you in return.
Reach Out
The best way to help your referral partners is to find out what they need from you right now. Send a text or email to all of the professionals on your list, asking how they’re doing and how you can help them out.
The most important thing is to follow through with any plans or promises you make. The last thing you want is to lose trust with a reliable professional who has sent you business in the past.
If you foster relationships based on mutual assistance and loyalty, you’ll be able to keep your team together for years, and they’ll always put your needs above those of other clients.
