3 Steps to Getting Referrals After the Home Sale

Are you maximizing referrals from your existing customers?

When you are, it’s like having another sales force working for you.

So how can we make sure we have referral sales in our arsenal? Allow me to share three steps to getting referrals after the home sale.

The market has shifted; we know that. We all knew it was going to happen. It was a long, long right of escalation as sales got stronger and stronger over time. But now the market has shifted, and we’re in a situation where we’re looking at it and saying that we need more leads and that we really need more qualified leads. 

Where do the best-qualified leads come from?

I would argue that the best-qualified leads come from referrals. I just wrote a book coauthored with Bob Mirman, From Contract to Close, about creating amazing homebuying experiences that generate referrals.

What makes referrals so powerful? Here are three reasons why referred buyers are more substantial buyers.

Referred Buyers are far More Knowledgeable

They already have a good sense of what we’re providing, what we sell, our business, our practices, our product, and our pricing. All of these things have been communicated by their friend or relative who referred them in the first place. So they come into the community with a positive bias toward our place of business.

This is important because it means that there’s a desire to look with an open mind and a positive attitude right from the beginning. Isn’t that what we would want from all of our prospects, to come in with a positive inclination about our community? 

Referred Buyers are More Qualified

That is to suggest that they already understand what we are doing, what we’re selling, what our prices are, and they’ve not eliminated us. So think about that for just a moment. If this was a community that did not meet their needs and knew up front we didn’t have the floor plans that they liked, the size, the price, payment, or whatever it is, they would self-identify and would not show up in the first place. The fact that our referred buyer shows up means that they’ve already determined that this is in the running for them.

Referred Buyers Already Trust You

There is a sense that the trust they have in the person who referred them gets transferred to you. We’re going to go on the assumption that the reason that that person is referring to them in the first place is that you provided such excellent service.

If they’re elated by the service, then referring someone is something that they want to do. So if you look at it from that perspective, that customer, that new prospect, has that same level of trust even before they walk through the door.

If you think about a customer who’s already very knowledgeable, already very qualified, and already very trusting, what do we call that?

I don’t know what you call it, but I would call that solid gold.

Now, the question is, how do you get that gold and the pattern you want to be thinking about as it relates to the conversations you have with your existing customers?

Sounds like this. Give. Ask. Give. Ask. Give. Ask.

Now listen; you need to ask your current customers for referrals. It’s something that you have to do. You can’t just assume that they’re going to remember. And, with how busy people are, if they can’t even remember to pick up their laundry, do you think they’ll remember to give you a referral if you don’t ask?

But you also need to provide value to put yourself in a position to ask for referrals in the first place. So start brainstorming this. What can I give? What can I offer even before I ask? Give ask. Give ask.

We’re talking about recommendations, small gifts, neighborhood knowledge and insights, and connections with neighbors. Just look for anything that allows me to give something to them first. That will help them. That will be a value to them. That will put me in a better position when it’s time to ask for the referral.

And that’s the key: asking is so much easier if the give is already accomplished. 

Don’t forget to check out the new book From Contract to Close for even more about earning referrals from elated homebuyers.

Until next time, learn more to earn more!