Sphere of influence referrals are the best leads you can get as a real estate professional. These referrals are coming to you from a trusted source. This means they are more than likely already planning on working with you right away.
Having strong relationships within your sphere of influence will increase the number and quality of referrals that you get, and referrals can sustain a business, making you less reliant on cold leads. Below are 5 easy things you can do within your sphere of influence today to increase your referrals and keep them coming down the road.
1. Say Thank You and Make it Memorable
You’ve built a sphere of influence and one of our contacts has referred a lead to you. This is huge. Don’t take it lightly. Be sure to give that person a thank you that they will remember, so that they will continue to send referrals your way in the future. Tom Ferry suggests sending them a video message, rather than your standard written note or text message. It’s different, it’s personable, and it won’t be forgotten.
2. Focus on the Quality of Your Relationships
With cold leads, quantity matters. Within your sphere of influence however, the opposite is true. The quality of the relationships you create within your community is what matters most. Keep in touch regularly with your top clients and contacts. You can set up quarterly or biannual follow-ups, specifically for these individuals using Agent Legend. We have a few suggestions on impactful ways to stay in touch in the next suggestion.
3. Be Helpful Not Sales Focused
Focus on helping people in your sphere of influence in valuable ways. This will make those people want to interact and stay in touch with you, and they will be far more likely to refer friends and family to you as well. Simply put, focusing on making a sale and pitching all the time can turn people away.
Instead, prioritize being helpful in relation to your real estate business by providing your community with quality content and information. One idea Tom Ferry suggests is providing individuals within your sphere of influence with a home evaluation twice a year. This gives them useful information for free, while reminding them in a non-obligatory or pushy way that you are available to help them with their real estate needs.
4. Establish a Professional Presence Online
A sleek website and consistent presence on social media will build credibility and draw people into your sphere of influence. Most people look through between three and five pieces of related content before they choose to work with someone. So, it’s very important to have a professional website and provide useful information there to not only get leads and referrals, but to keep them engaged and interested in working with you.
5. Embrace the Discomfort of Cold Outreach
Cold calls and emails can feel uncomfortable, but they don’t have to be. Often cold outreach is the first step in creating a relationship with a dream client. Just go for it, and get used to it. Over time it won’t feel uncomfortable. Remember, most importantly, if you don’t reach out and establish a relationship, someone else will. You’ll get some no’s and non responses, but the relationships you do create will be so worth the time and energy.
These five steps can drastically increase the number of sphere of influence referrals you get each year. Try them out and see your business not only grow, but continue to sustain itself for years to come.
Once you have established your sphere of influence and are getting more sphere of influence referrals, you can use Agent Legend to stay on top of all of your leads. Try it for two weeks completely free.
More Sphere of Influence Tips from the Agent Legend Blog:
Organize Your Leads
Sorting Real Estate Leads for Better Follow-Up Engagement
The way your organize leads can have a huge impact on how successful your follow-up is.
Social Media is Where the Leads Are
6 Ways to Stand Out on Social Media for Real Estate Professionals
Stand out as a leading expert on social media to establish a sphere of influence that will support your business.
