Top Business Strategies for Real Estate Agents (con't.)

My first seven articles on the Top Ten Strategies discussed, (1) the collaboration with referral sources/strategic partners, (2) how to get the most out of Open Houses using 2024 social media strategies, (3) the overlooked importance of staying in touch with clients after they buy/sell their home so you know when they are returning to the market again--and to get referrals of course, (4) maximizing your email marketing strategies in 2024, (5) we addressed enhancing your online (business) presence beyond posting pictures on Instagram and Facebook, (6) why (and how) you should constantly stay informed and educated on the latest in real estate from marketing, to sales, to legal, and (7) why you should consistently stay on top of the changes in technology as they affect business, and especially, the real estate industry.

Please consider reviewing those posts before consuming this one.

Number 8: Networking is key. Did you just yawn??? Heard this too many times before? Yes, yes, I know every sales manager and broker frequently pounds the table when talking about networking, saying, "You don't do enough." or "You need to do more!". Networking can and should be your most significant source of business...but it probably isn't.

When I was 27 years old, I closed a financial transaction which netted me almost $180,000 in commissions. I followed that up with a $60,000 commission a couple of months later. Before the year was over, I did one more for about $40,000. Pretty good year!

What did all of these have in common? The new clients were referrals that came to me as a result of networking. In these three examples, I networked with their accountant, bank trust officer, and attorney.

So you're probably thinking, "Networking? Networking!! I tried that before COVID and nothing ever came of it." Most likely you met with a few people, and they didn't send any business your way. In fact, you probably hardly followed up with them since you didn't want to appear to be too...pushy.

If this your experience, you're missing the key ingredient. There is one thing you must do consistently to get the referrals flowing in like crazy, and that is...

YOU MUST COMMIT TO SENDING YOUR REFERRAL/NETWORKING PARTNERS MORE BUSINESS THAN THEY SEND YOU.

Kind of sounds like to Golden Rule (Do unto others...). You are correct, it is the same principal.

In order to get someone to feel like they MUST send you business referrals, they need to feel like they "owe you one", or more. The best way I know to do get them beholden to you is to send them referrals that turns into business (SUPER IMPORTANT!) If you refer business to them and none turn into new customers, then you just wasted their time.

My list of your must-do's to get a ton of business referrals from Strategic Partners:

1) Get to know the strategic partner. Where did they go to school? Where did they grow up? Do they have a family? What are their hobbies. Etc, etc, etc... This is necessary because you never know what they have in common with a potential customer you might send their way.

2) Get to know their business. One of the best ways to know how to refer a potential customer to the Strategic Partner is to ask them, "What does a really good customer/client look like?" The answer could be a job title, industry, their income bracket, specific needs, etc... In order to not waste anyone's time, including yours, know the answers to these questions inside and out.

3) I like to ask about the competition. Who is their biggest competitor? Do they have a superior product or service? Do they compete on price? Most importantly, why do customers switch from them to your Strategic Partner (and vice versa.)

4) Ask for a handful of your Strategic Partner's business cards and keep them handy, always. No brainer.

5) DON'T do your product pitch to them, yet. Doing that prematurely sends the wrong impression. In fact, take advantage of the conversation by saying, "I'm not going to go into what I do yet. I would rather, at first, concentrate on finding you some new clients. After I do, then we can sit down and talk about me and my business. Fair?" No one says "No!" to that.

Work hard on getting your Strategic Partner 2 to 5 new customers first, (preferably in 2 to 4 weeks) and see what happens. If you don't get new customers after you do, then hold your head up high knowing you did way more for them than they ever did for you!