8 Real Estate Referral Facts You Need To Know
“92% of respondents reported that a positive recommendation from a friend, family member, or someone they trust is the biggest influence on whether they buy a product or service.” — Paul M. Rand, VP Communications @ University of Chicago
ORIGINAL STORY: Link
Real Estate Referrals: The Backbone of Realtor or Brokerage
Most Real Estate Agents complete nine out of every ten deals from their sphere of influence. This usually includes loved ones, friends, and past clients. Therefore, the amount of business you can generate from referrals is essential and should not be overlooked nor neglected, yet many Real Estate professionals do.
Word of Mouth
In the modern business world, 74% of consumers say that word-of-mouth is a critical influence on their purchases. ONE offline word of mouth impression increases sales by at least FIVE TIMES MORE than a paid advertisement. Consumers rely on word-of-mouth 2x to 10x more than paid media.
Real Estate Referral Fee
The standard rate for real estate referrals is 25% but this is just a baseline to work from. It can really be whatever you want it to be and can change based on the situation, the relationship of the people involved, and the market. If you want to maintain a good relationship with people referring you business, it’s probably best not to be cheap when it comes to a real estate referral fee. Take care of the people taking care of you!
Here are some Real Estate Referral Statistics you should take into consideration:
- The typical agent earns 42% of their business from repeat clients and referrals from past clients.
- 82% of all real estate transactions come from repeat and referral businesses.
- 21% of agents get more than 50% of their business from referrals from past clients.
- 25% of agents generate more than 50% of their business from repeat clients.
- 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising.
- 82% of real estate sales result from agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, family, and personal contacts.
- 65% of agents get no business from open houses.
- 88% of buyers and 84% of sellers would use their agent again or refer them to others.
While marketing funnels, advertising, and prospecting can generate much business, there is still no channel as powerful as referrals and repeat business. Reaching out to your past clients and consistently touching base with everyone in your sphere of influence is an essential strategy that you need to have in place. It doesn’t have to be hour-long conversations or even face-to-face encounters. While those would work well, too, you can use the many means of communication available to set a healthy game plan to nurture your network.
“People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.” — Mark Zuckerberg, Co-Founder @ Facebook
Once you have strategies in place, finding the time to put them into action is a whole other story. Having someone in your team who can put these plans in motion, consistently monitor them, and not just implement them but keep them moving can help you win those referrals and keep business flowing in.
Interested in hiring a Virtual Assistant to help you with your referrals? Schedule a free Double Your Business Strategy Session today and find out how a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can help grow and scale your business.
