What is referral marketing? Is it one neighbor talking about their great experience with their Realtor to another neighbor? Yes, but that is not all it is! Referral marketing encouraging your clients to share your business with their community. And it can be a bit of a scary concept. How do you get people to share about you without seeming pushy? Referral marketing is one of the best forms of marketing - Nielsen reports that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know. This is a huge lead generation strategy, so make sure you aren't missing out!

Give Your Clients Something To Talk About

This may seem obvious but cannot go without saying. You must do an exceptional enough of a job that clients will want to talk about your work. If you do not go above and beyond as a Realtor, it will be more difficult to encourage referrals. The best case scenario is that clients talk about you without you having to encourage it. Sometimes that does not happen, so the second best case scenario is a gentle reminder that referrals are invaluable to your business.

Make The Referral Easy

There are plenty of great ways to make the referral process very seamless and natural for your clients. When the transaction ends, what are you leaving behind to remind your clients of the experience you provided? Thoughtful closing gifts can make all the difference. Instead of wine or a gift basket, consider making your closing gift a show-stopping conversation piece. Guest visiting your clients will be sure to notice the front porch swing, or framed sketch of the home. And when their guests ask where they got such a unique item, your name will be on the tip of every tongue!

Social Media

Another easy way to get referrals is to have your clients share your social media content. Make sure you are posting plenty of pictures at the closing. Clients will likely share any content you post that features them, especially if you include a thoughtful caption about their journey. In this scenario, they are sharing about their own life event, while also referring your name. Focus the content on their life event instead of your name, but consider using a hashtag that allows for brand recognition.

Reviews

Reviews are one of the best kinds of referrals. Assuming you have a business Facebook page set up, your clients should be able to go and leave a review about their experience with you there. You can even offer a Starbucks gift card, or a free t-shirt, or some small incentive to your clients for leaving a review. Be sure not to sway them in what their review says, but emphasize that their honest review is what is important.

Look at Industry Leaders

Hopefully, you have a few Realtors that you look up to and look to for guidance. See if they are doing referral marketing, what they are doing well, and consider how you could implement their model with your own flair. Do they have tons of reviews? Do not be afraid to ask how/ if they encouraged those reviews. Do they have great shareable social posts? Ask them how they made them and how they encouraged clients to share them. Do not be afraid to seek guidance in the referral marketing process!

Referral Marketing is so effective because your clients are sharing with the people they already influence. While it be seem scary or difficult, you worked hard on those transactions, and you can build a strong referral base!

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