Real Estate Agent and Broker Referral Services

Generate leads ands increase income through real estate referral services
By Amy Jo Garner, Consultant In order to weather the ups and downs of the real estate market, every real estate agent and broker needs a steady source of leads. Even in the slowest markets, people buy and sell real estate. You can't afford to wait until your leads dry up to look for a real estate referral service.
 

Most real estate agents and brokers receive leads through a variety of referral services. The most obvious source of real estate agent referrals is past clients. However, you can actively generate referrals from other sources. Working with a real estate referral service has many benefits:

1. Low cost.
2. Effective in all real estate markets.
3. Reaches potential clients in other states and even other countries.
4. Generates income even when you aren't personally involved in the transaction.

Real estate agent referral networks connect you with clients nationwide

If someone in another state is moving to your state and wants to buy a house, he'll be looking for an agent. He may ask the real estate agent who helped sell his current house for a referral. Participating in real estate referral services gives you access to this lead.
Try: For a small annual fee, The National Real Estate Referral Network connects top-producing agents and brokers around the country. Agents agree on a referral fee between them. If you refer someone to an agent in another city or state, you'll earn a fee when that agent closes a real estate deal with the client. Likewise, you'll pay a referral fee to agents who send business your way.

Hang your license with a franchise real estate office and rake in the referrals

Franchise real estate offices maintain real estate agent referral programs. The offices agree to a referral fee for their agents. Once again, you can earn referral fees by sending clients to other franchisees or benefit from receiving leads from within the franchise network.
Try: Work with RE/MAX and use their Mainstreet program to share referrals with other RE/MAX agents. Visit the Mainstreet page and take a tour of the real estate referral service. The Century 21 Global Referral Network offers worldwide referral sharing for Century 21 agents and brokers.

Utilize a lead generation service for referrals

Real estate buyers and sellers often search the Internet for information on property values and the real estate market. By partnering with a well-known website, you set yourself up for a continuous stream of real estate agent referrals.
Try: HouseValues.com provides free property value reports to home sellers. Their sister-site, JustListed.com, emails lists of homes for sale to buyers. Real estate agents can partner with these websites to receive referrals of the people using their services. New agents without a lot of contacts often benefit from this type of real estate referral business.

Get your name listed in all the right places to generate self-referrals

If you want to get the call when a buyer or seller is browsing directory listings for an agent in their area, then you need to be listed. Most services offer a basic listing for free, with expanded listings costing a small fee.
Try: RealtorFinder and Valuecom Real Estate offer real estate referral agent listings by state. Experienced agents should consider signing up with Number1Expert. You must meet their qualifications as a top agent in your area to use their real estate referral services.

• Don't overlook the value of participating in local business networking events. You can often generate referrals from other business people in your community.
• Follow up on all real estate referrals in a timely manner. If you don't think you can help someone, refer them on to a real estate referral agent who can.
• A strong referral business means steady income from the referrals you've sent out and a steady source of leads from referrals you receive.