The Three "Rs" of a Successful Real Estate Business

Unless you spend a small fortune on leads or are one of the (rare) and lucky few agents who’se phone just rings without doing any marketing or advertising, your business will come from the 3 “Rs” and I am not referring to reading, writing and arithmetic.

Here’s the 3 “Rs” for Real Estate Agents and where your business will come from:

• REVIEWS

• REFERRALS

• RELATIONSHIPS

Let’s take a look at each one.

REVIEWS

If you are like most people, chances are that before you buy a new product or service or even try a new restaurant, you will check out some reviews. I know that I do. And that’s why it is very important for you to have reviews online. If you don’t have reviews, your competitors will and they will get business that could have been yours.

I have gotten business from my online reviews and you can too. I’m talking about Buyers and Sellers who just found me while researching agents in Redondo Beach.

Most of my reviews are on Zillow but I also have reviews on Yelp and Google. Other than Zillow, I have not asked clients to post on Realtor.com or Homes.com but you can.

My recommendation would be that you are better served having a lot of reviews on one of the major sites than a few on a bunch of sites.

REFERRALS

There are coaches who have built their entire business around helping agents get referrals. It is one of the best lead sources you can have. Referrals can come from many different sources - past clients, other professionals, or even agents out of your area (to which you might pay a referral fee). And speaking of fees, there are also referral services that you pay a fee to. One example is HomeLight. Another is the Zillow Flex program which is geared towards teams.

We’ve all gotten referrals. Successful agents have an actual strategy to get those referrals and you should also.

RELATIONSHIPS

Yes, this is your sphere but also includes everyone you interact with. If you are at an Open House and speak with a potential buyer that is (hopefully) the start of that relationship. So unlike your sphere - which might include people you’ve known since your school days, relationships for the purpose of this discussion means people you have had direct contact with which is going to ultimately encompass everyone you transact with whether they came to you through a referral or a review.

SUMMARY

At the time I ask my clients for a review, and I always ask for a review, I also mention that these are the 3 pillars of building my business. It is also a subtle way of letting them know that I am looking for and welcome referrals.