3 Easy Ways RE/MAX Agents
Generate More Referrals
April 25, 2018
88% of home buyers say they would use their real estate agent again, but only 11% actually do [NAR].
That’s a huge gap that must be closed. Repeat and referral business is one of the least expensive and most valuable opportunities available to RE/MAX agents. Transactions potentially worth millions of dollars in additional, untapped revenue are sitting in your database as you read this.
Misconception: repeat and referral business simply happens organically.
Truth: Repeat and referral opportunities are typically much warmer than leads generated online. But re-converting clients and generating referrals requires the same thoughtfulness as winning new business.
Michael Thorne of RE/MAX Little Oak knows there’s no guarantee his past clients will actively seek him out or recommend him to a friend in the future. In order to drive business through sphere-of-influence, RE/MAX agents must consistently stay top-of-mind in meaningful ways. Michael understands this, and does so with video messages.
By sending personalized video messages, Michael creates facial recognition, triggers memories of excellent service, and humanizes himself in ways that normal text emails simply cannot. In fact, he leverages three unique video strategies to effectively stack his business through referrals.
How a BombBomb email looks in your inbox.
If you’re the type of RE/MAX agent that wants to generate more repeat and referral business, work your sphere like Michael does with these three different types of video messages.
3 Video Messages That Drive Repeat & Referral Business
1) Thanks for Referral + Introduction
First impressions are everything. In introducing himself to his referrals, Michael has developed one unique solution to overcome three different questions:
- How do I stand out with my new lead?
- How do I convert this referral lead? Remember, referred leads do not equal converted leads. They are certainly warm leads, but their business still needs to be earned.
- How do I continue to generate referrals? One referral is great, but ten referrals are better.
Watch Michael’s “Thank you + Intro” video to see how he effectively provides great service for his new lead while also creating a pipeline of future referrals.
Click to watch video.
Takeaways:
You immediately notice that this video was created for both the referrer (Krista) and the referred (Kayla). Instead of thanking Krista for the referral in a separate video, Michael CC’d Krista on the video email and thanked her at the beginning and end. This does two things:
- Keeps Krista in the loop and shows her the amazing care and attention to detail he is giving to her referral. This gives Krista confidence in Michael and the service he will provide. That, combined with his genuine thankfulness, will encourage Krista to continue to send unsolicited referrals his way in the future.
- Puts the referred lead at ease. Kayla has a pre-established relationship and Krista. Knowing that Krista is involved in the hand-off and is looped in on everything going forward will help break down any barriers that Kayla may have with working with a new agent.
Michael provides his backstory and talks about his experience. This helps build legitimacy with someone he has never met. He does an excellent job of explaining his team’s strengths and mission to get his new leads excited about working with him.
Since Michael got face-to-face through video, he began building a meaningful relationship with his new leads. This helps take the stress and anxiety out of meeting with him for the first time and shortens the buying/selling process.
Want to try this strategy out for yourself?
2) Giving referrals of your own
There’s a “scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” mentality that tends to get overlooked during the grind of converting leads and serving clients.
If you capitalize on opportunities to provide referrals to other business professionals, you’ll create a pipeline of reciprocated referrals for yourself. By networking with and providing referrals to agents, lenders, and other professionals, you’re building an extremely fruitful referral network that you can legitimately build your business on.
Check out this example of Michael reciprocating a referral to provide amazing service and build his future referral pipeline.
Click to watch video.
By giving a referral via video, you will intrinsically be associated with that deal going forward in the eyes of the other parties– even if sending the referral was the extent of your involvement. By associating yourself and your personal brand with that deal, you’ll be the first agent they think of when they have a referral to give.
Want to try this strategy out for yourself?
3) Ask for referrals (simple, right?!)
It may seem like a no-brainer, but – again – too many agents simply think that repeat and referral business will just happen on its own. While this is true in very select and sporadic circumstances, this is a considerably weak strategy to bet on.
When it comes down to it, you don’t know unless you ask. And if you don’t ask, the answer is always no. You must be proactive and intentional to effectively drum up referrals.
- Identify a past client that you know was satisfied with the service you provided.
- Record a short, personalized video for them using their name at the beginning and end. Personalization will greatly increase the impact of the video and improve your likelihood of receiving a response/referral. Talking points can include:
- Happy holidays, birthday, home anniversary, etc.
- Checking-in now that they’re settled in their home.
- New stores, restaurants, etc. coming to the area.
- Market update
- ASK FOR THE REFERRAL
How to Start:
It’s that easy! When they hear your voice and see your face through video, you are humanized and become real. Then, when they hear their name in the video, a genuine human-to-human connection is created. This combination makes you incredibly difficult to ignore.
Bonus: On top of being a more effective way to communicate, there’s a “wow factor” involved with personalized video email that’s unforgettable.
Try these strategies out!
Do you want to put these strategies to the test? If you’re ready to start using video to stack your business with repeat and referral opportunities … look no further! BombBomb makes it incredibly simple to record, send, and track personalized video messages, allowing you to utilize your best sales asset — YOU — in your sales process. BombBomb integrates with Gmail and Outlook as well, so you never have to leave your inbox to get face-to-face.
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Taylor Wagner | About the Author
Passionate about Account-Based Marketing, SaaS, and anything involving the great outdoors. Proud product of DePauw University and the Indianapolis Tech scene. Enterprise Marketing Manager at BombBomb.