5 Ways to Build a 100 Percent Referral-Based Business

Imagine you didn’t have to spend cash on advertising your real estate business. Or waste hours searching for new clients. Imagine if clients came to you. Imagine if these clients told other clients about you. Running a 100 percent referral-based business comes with loads of benefits. Whether you’re a broker, appraiser, insurance agent, or home inspector, you can save money, time, and a lot of hassle. Here’s how to do it.

1. Provide Excellent Service

This one’s really simple. If you want new clients to hear about your business, you need to provide awesome customer service. As a result, more people will tell their friends and family about you. On average, 42 percent of new real estate buyers originate from a referral. But, with excellent customer service, you could increase this to 80, 90, or even 100 percent.

The best real estate agents possess traits like honesty, integrity, and attention to detail. All of these qualities will help you improve customer service and make the switch to a referral-only business.

2. Build Up Your Reputation

The more people who know about your business and its great reputation, the more referrals you will generate. It’s as easy as that. Building up your reputation, therefore, will boost your visibility, increase trust, and encourage more prospects to contact you directly.

Currently, 76 percent of sellers and 70 percent of buyers find real estate agents on the internet, so this is the best place to improve your reputation. You can do this by encouraging influencers in the industry to talk about your services on social media, incorporating testimonials into your website, and using digital marketing methods like search engine optimization (SEO) for greater online visibility.

3. Ask for More Referrals

There’s no shame in asking for a helping hand. Contacting your previous clients and asking them for referrals could help your business significantly. Research shows that 21 percent of agents generate more than 50 percent of their business from previous clients. So, pick up the phone or type an email, and get in touch.

Over time, you won’t have to ask for referrals — they will generate themselves.

4. Use Online Reviews

Online reviews are extremely effective for generating referrals from customers. Eighty-eight percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family, so good reviews on websites like Yelp and Facebook could provide you with a steady stream of prospects.

How do you get more online reviews? Ask your previous clients to leave an honest review online. If you provide good service, this shouldn’t frighten you. In fact, more people will discover your real estate business and contact you for more info.

5. Brush Up On Your Skills

Improving your training can result in more referrals. Investing in continuing education, for example, will broaden your skill set. Eventually, the word will get out, and more people will hear about your expert services and qualifications.

Not sure how to improve your skills? You could study for that mortgage lending qualification that you have always wanted. Or pass an insurance agent examination.
Real estate referrals are the lifeblood of your business. Moreover, evolving into a referral-only business means your clients promote your business for you, so you can concentrate on other day-to-day tasks. Follow the five tips above to build your referral-based real estate business.