There is an abundance of ways to market yourself as a real estate professional. From business cards to community events to social media marketing, every bit of effort makes a difference. However, any experienced Realtor knows that no marketing tactic is as powerful and effective as word-of-mouth referrals.
In the past, real estate referrals used to involve a lot of preemptive actions, tedious paperwork, and unsecured sharing of client information. Lucky for agents now, eXp Realty® has a brand new agent referral tool that makes the process quicker, more secure, and easier than they have ever been.
What is a Real Estate Referral?
A real estate referral refers to the process by which a real estate professional directs a client to another new agent. This usually occurs when the referring agent believes the new agent is better suited to assist the client, perhaps due to their expertise in a specific area, geographical location, capacity, orability to cater to the client’s unique needs.
Real estate referrals enable agents to discover individuals in areas beyond their service region who require real estate services and connect these individuals with a local agent. They also enable those agents that are great at lead generation to grow their business by investing heavily in the marketing channels that generate leads while feeding those referrals to other agents. Once it is completed, the referring agent typically receives a referral fee, usually a percentage of the commission earned on the transaction.
This benefits both the referred agent, who gains an additional lead, and the client, who achieves a successful home purchase or sale. As the referring agent, not only do you receive a fee from the transaction, but you also enhance your credibility in the industry and your network. Ultimately, it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved!
Here’s an example of a real estate referral in action:
Sarah, a reputable real estate agent in Houston, has built a strong network over the years and frequently receives inquiries from clients outside her service area. One day, Sarah receives an email from a potential client, Alex, who is looking to relocate to Austin and needs assistance with buying a home. Knowing that Austin is outside her service area, Sarah remembers her colleague, Mark, an eXp agent who specializes in the Austin market.
Sarah contacts Mark and informs him about Alex’s situation and requirements. Recognizing the opportunity, Mark agrees to take on the referral in exchange for a 25% referral fee as a gesture of appreciation. Sarah sends Mark a referral agreement detailing the terms and conditions, and both agents eSign the agreement.
Mark promptly reaches out to Alex and begins assisting him with his home search in Austin. After a few weeks, Mark successfully finds a suitable property for Alex, negotiates the deal, and closes the sale. As a result, Mark earns his commission, and in accordance with the referral agreement, Sarah receives 25% of that commission as her referral fee.
Throughout the process, Alex is thrilled with Mark’s expertise and guidance in finding his next home, and Sarah gains recognition for connecting her client with a competent agent, enhancing her credibility in the industry.
This real estate referral example showcases how agents can leverage their networks to help clients outside their service area, ensuring a successful transaction for all parties involved.
Steps To Making A Real Estate Referral
Initiating real estate referrals has never been simpler with the new official agent-to-agent referral tool provided by eXp Realty. In just a few clicks, you can streamline the process and get a signed referral agreement.
Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to make referrals and leverage the user-friendly eXp agent-to-agent referral tool to make it a breeze.
1. Embrace the Role of a Referral Agent
Becoming a referral agent doesn’t require additional courses or licenses, but it offers a remarkable opportunity to advance your real estate career and enhance your professional reputation. Once you obtain your real estate license and align yourself with a brokerage, you can immediately start networking, establishing connections, and positioning yourself as a reliable referral agent.
If you’re really good at lead generation, you can focus on identifying potential clients and connecting them with other agents to facilitate the transaction.
2. Build Your Own Referral Network
Ensuring the clients you refer are in capable hands is vital to your credibility as a referral agent. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain a list of preferred agents to whom you are ready to refer clients at any given time. These agents should be dependable and possess a successful track record of closing deals. If you work on a team or coach other agents, they can be excellent candidates for referrals, as well as introduce you to potential clients.
While it’s tempting to refer to agents you are friends with, it’s essential to ensure they have the ability to provide value to the client and complete the sale; otherwise, the referral would be ineffective.
Create a list or spreadsheet of high-quality referral agents, including their specialties and locations. Something as simple as a Google Sheet can save you time when searching for receiving agents, and it’s easy to update as your network expands.
Pro-Tip: Keeping a list of known, dependable agents tagged in your CRM allows you to maintain regular contact with those individuals and send them personalized messages distinct from those sent to your regular clients. Regardless of the system you choose, allocating time to set up an initial list and keeping it updated each month is crucial.
3. Identify Prospects Seeking Real Estate Services Beyond Your Area or Niche
Stay alert to your surroundings once you’ve established a strong referral network. Be mindful when a family member expresses plans for relocation or when a client discusses moving to a different city. Each person who ventures beyond your service area becomes a potential referral opportunity, and it’s advantageous to extend a helping hand in their home search.
There might be scenarios where you encounter individuals moving to your service area but seeking specialized expertise beyond your niche. This presents another valuable referral prospect close to home. By proactively offering assistance to those transitioning in and out of your service area, the referral process gradually becomes second nature, leading to a steady stream of referrals coming your way.
Pro-Tip: eXp’s proprietary My Link My Lead platform gives you an easy ability to identify those in your sphere of influence that are moving out of your service area, looking at an investment property in another town, or considering a second home in another state.
4. Promote Your Strong Referral Network
When striving to expand your business as a referral agent, it’s crucial to allocate intentional time for events, conferences, meetings, and various networking opportunities. However, don’t stop there; the objective is to forge meaningful connections with reliable real estate professionals.
Shift your focus from traditional networking to “NetWeaving.” In essence, networking involves establishing connections, whereas NetWeaving involves nurturing those connections by selflessly aiding individuals in your network to achieve success without immediate concern for personal gain. By adopting this approach, you’ll not only be top-of-mind as a referral agent but also be renowned as one of the finest professionals to collaborate with in the industry and your local community.
To solidify your status as a referral agent, consider adding the designation to your real estate website, business cards, social media profiles, and other marketing materials. Agents also tend to achieve remarkable success by periodically reminding their clients, via newsletters or social media, of their ability to assist in real estate transactions regardless of location.
Additionally, eXp’s innovative referral tool establishes seamless connections between agents, effortlessly positioning you as a reliable referral source with minimal marketing efforts. Simply update your bio to showcase your focused niches, service areas, and any other pertinent details that would resonate with potential clients (e.g., Military Relocation Professional certification).
5. Complete a Referral Agreement
Conclude the referral process by preparing and transmitting a referral agreement. This agreement encompasses vital details for both parties, such as client information (which may be disclosed after all eSignatures are obtained), the referral fee, your agent particulars, the receiving agent’s details, and any supplementary terms agreed upon. The referral fee can be a predetermined sum or a specific percentage of the commission, with the customary rate hovering around 25%. Once both parties have eSigned, all that remains is to patiently await the closing and collect your referral fee.
Agents often have to deal with finding a referral form/template, finding all of the contact information for the brokers that need to eSign in addition to the receiving agent, shield the client contact information until the agreement is fully signed. This increases the amount of time needed to make each referral, introduces multiple steps for agents, and can result in lost referrals because the potential buyer may go find another agent, given the wait.
eXp Realty’s official referral tool makes the referral process fast and simple by:
- Allowing you to easily find an agent with the eXp Agent Directory
- Auto-populating the receiving agent’s name and contact information
- Auto-identifying any brokers that need to eSign the referral agreement and then auto-populating their contact information.
- Providing the official eXp referral form that works in all US states and territories.
- Allowing you to enter your desired referral fee.
- Sending the agreement to all parties for eSignature while shielding the client’s information to ensure your referral agreement is completed.
- Sending the referred client’s information only after the agreement is fully signed.Delve into the next section to explore the remarkable capabilities of this tool and discover how it can enhance your referral prowess and revolutionize your real estate business as a whole.
How To Use eXp’s Official Agent Referral Platform
Real estate referrals can be a hassle without the support of excellent PropTech. The process often demands a significant amount of effort upfront, leaves room for potential mistakes, and can lead to payment complexities if not explicitly addressed beforehand. Who is the receiving agent’s current broker, what is their email address, what form do I need to use, who all needs to eSign the referral agreement, has my managing broker changed, etc.
Fortunately, for eXp agents, the laborious methods of making real estate referrals are now a thing of the past.
Within the vast network of eXp Realty, comprising over 88,000 real estate agents and REALTORS worldwide, your connections expand exponentially. Being part of this immense brokerage means having access to agents located just minutes away from most properties across the country.
With the introduction of the new eXp Agent-to-Agent Referrall Tool, eXp agents can streamline this entire process, and what previously took 30+ minutes in some cases can be done in 45 seconds.
Logging in is all it takes to fill out a straightforward and streamlined form, select a trusted referral agent, and eSign the referral agreement seamlessly in one central location. With this user-friendly tool, you can now effortlessly create referral aggreements, affix your eSignature, and rest assured while you await your payment.
eXp Agent Referral Tool Walkthrough:
The home page of eXp’s agent referral tool will look a little bit like the photo below, although it may change as the team continues to build out new tools for eXp agents. To begin a referral, just click “new” in the top right corner.
Upon initiating a new referral, you’ll see a comprehensive form requesting the necessary details of the referred client. One noteworthy advantage of eXp’s tool is the robust protection and security it provides for your client’s information. Rest assured that the client’s data remains safeguarded until the receiving agent, and any managing brokers involved, eSign the agreement.
This meticulous process guarantees the safety and controlled transfer of your client’s information, offering you peace of mind knowing that confidentiality is upheld throughout the referral journey.
Underneath the section dedicated to your client’s information, you will find fields to input the various terms of your referral agreement. This entails specifying the exact referral fee amount, outlining the timeframe within which the referral should be processed, and indicating the nature of the referral (such as buying, selling, leasing, etc.). Towards the bottom of this section, there is a designated box where you can include any additional pertinent details relevant to the agreement.
Moving forward, it is time to provide your own information and that of the designated receiving eXp agent. Thanks to the seamless integration of this tool with your eXp Realty account, your information and that of the receiving agent are automatically populated. To proceed, simply click on “Select Agent” and conveniently search for their name within eXp’s comprehensive live agent directory. This streamlined process eliminates any unnecessary hassle, ensuring a smooth,efficient, and expedited completion of this step.
Note: You now have access to an eXp agent-only search on the same platform. This enables you to avoid posting in a Workplace group and or weeding through replies from different agents. The new agent-only search is behind your Okta login and lets you search for the best eXp agent using criteria such as distance to the client’s search area, language, mentor status, etc.
Once you have found the ideal agent for the job, simply click on their name, and their information will seamlessly populate the corresponding section. The functionality of the referral tool extends to identifying any managing brokers who are required to eSign the agreement, ensuring their inclusion when the agreement is sent for eSignature.
Now, it’s time to submit your referral, and the process is remarkably straightforward! There’s no need for arduous copywriting or engaging in back-and-forth editing. The dedicated team of PropTech experts at eXp Realty has collaborated closely with real estate legal professionals to guarantee that the final agreement is not only legally binding but also compliant across all relevant boards and regions.
The eXp agent referral tool generates an eSignature document for you and promptly sends it via email to you, the receiving agent, and any relevant managing brokers who need to affix their eSignatures. You will receive a confirmation message that looks something like this:
Tip: You need to eSign the agreement as well. Check your email for any notifications on the referral.
Within the portal, you will find a dedicated “My Referrals” tab where you can access a comprehensive list of all your ongoing and finalized referrals. By clicking into each individual referral, you can conveniently review the status of each party’s eSignature, identifying those who have eSigned and those who haven’t. Additionally, you have the flexibility to revisit the information you initially provided in the referral form and adjust something if needed.
Once all involved parties have completed their eSignatures, you will notice that the “Signed Agreement” button transforms into a distinct shade of blue, indicating the completion of the eSigning process. At this point, you have the option to download a PDF version of your fully executed referral agreement, capturing all the necessary eSignatures and ensuring a comprehensive record of the referral.
Only after all parties have eSigned does the platform unlock and reveal the client’s information to the receiving agent. This is done automatically after everyone has eSigned in order to 1) save you time and 2) ensure your client’s information is sageguarded, and 3) you receive a signed referral agreement.
Ready to Start Referring?
Embarking on a journey as a referral agent has never been more effortless, enabling you to broaden your client base and generate more income. If you want to find a brokerage that offers unparalleled networking prospects and cutting-edge resources to propel your success, consider joining eXp Realty.
By becoming a part of this thriving community of dedicated real estate professionals, you will experience a collaborative environment where mutual support and triumph are paramount. When the time is right for you to dive into the realm of referrals, explore the stress-free process of using eXp’s new and official Agent-to-Agent Referral Tool.
