Stacey defines referrals in two parts. The first is that when someone personally recommends you and trust in you is transferred from the referral source to the referral. The second part is that the person being referred has an actual need that your business can fulfill.
Stacey shared that within all of the different types of business inflow, none are wrong, but some are more valuable than others. Referrals, as defined above, are the most valuable form of business in flow into your business.
This then begs the question of how do you go about getting more referrals? Stacey outlines a 5-step process for doing this:
Go back 2-3 years, if possible, and look at your sources of business. Identify who those sources of business actually are.
Every time you get a referral, send them a handwritten thank you card.
Give those people real value roughly six times per year… not value for you disguised as value for them.
Language differently what they mean to you. They are not a means to your end.
Systematize staying in contact with them while remaining genuine.
Towards the end of the episode, Stacey shares that right now, she recommends that agents go to step one to start to identify who these people are. Then, start reaching out to them asking how you can help them with some idea in advance of how you might help them.
At this time, people need leadership more than ever. The reality is that real estate agents know their customers on a more intimate level than most all other professions. You know where they live, where they work, everything about their home, roughly how much money they make, how many kids they have, what are their short, mid, and long term goals, what networks they’re a part of or would like to be a part of. Attimes like these you can use this information in order to provide real value to them to help them in whatever way they might be needing help.
To help all agents get a better understanding of where they’re at along the getting referrals without asking continuum, Stacey has put together a simple quiz at: https://referralquiz.com.
You can also find her book: Generating Referrals Without Asking on all of the major publishing platforms.