
When it comes to making money as a real estate agent, obtaining referrals can be one of the most profitable parts of your job. Mastering the art of nurturing previous client relationships is crucial to obtaining referral business and long-term success in the real estate industry; however, many agents aren’t taking advantage of prime referral-generating time: the weekend.
Whether it’s dropping housewarming gifts off on a Sunday afternoon or going to that local charity event on Saturday morning, carving out a slice of time devoted to creating referrals over the weekend can be enjoyable and pay off big time.
While agents should certainly make an effort every day to create referrals, weekends open up more interesting possibilities. Here are a few fun ideas to try over the weekend:
Attend a client’s housewarming party
Following a big move, your client will likely want to show off their beautiful new home to friends and family. Events like these are the perfect opportunity to position yourself as someone who can aid your clients’ loved ones in finding their next home.
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Send out goodies
If you have a lazy Sunday afternoon available, it’s the perfect time to prepare cards and/or gifts to be mailed the following week, especially if a holiday is fast approaching. In order to maintain existing relationships and cultivate new referrals, you need to regularly contact your database, and mailing them goodies is an excellent alternative to an email.
Host a contest
Let’s be honest: You’re probably checking your Facebook over the weekend anyway, so why not boost your social media presence—and generate referrals—with a contest? It can be something as simple as asking a real estate-related question. Choose a winner from the comments, and a gift card to a local movie theater or restaurant is the perfect prize!
If you’re a profitable agent, you surely have a plan for generating referrals already in place; however, many overlook the opportunity that weekends present. Make sure whatever you decide to do, you have fun with it and still enjoy your weekend!
A lot of independent appraisers get most of their work through mortgage lenders. It’s true that lenders need appraisers, but they’re not the only ones. Appraisals are needed in estate settlements, divorce proceedings, real estate listings, and more. That’s why it is important to market your appraisal service—let people know what you do and the value you add.
If you’re new to marketing, this can feel overwhelming, but we’re here to simplify the process of marketing for you in a few simple steps.
Step 1: Deliver Impeccable Service with Every Job.
Like any service-based business, you need to nurture your past clients, create trust with prospective clients, and entice referrals from your network. The simplest and best way to do that is to provide value.
Great service includes quickly turning around your appraisal report on time or before the deadline. The entire team is counting on you to move forward with the deal—whether that’s closing on a home sale, fighting it out in probate court, or getting a home listed at the fair market value. Be responsive to your client, anticipate their questions, and be respectful. Remember, when you’re hired to complete an appraisal there are a lot of emotions riding on the outcome.
Pro tip: Send out a handwritten thank you card to the person who referred the business to you and the person who hired you. Ask them to complete a quick three-question survey of your service for your website. You can include a QR code (link) or a self-addressed, postage-paid postcard. Here are the questions:
What did I do right?
Where can I improve?
Do you have a 1-2 sentence testimonial for my website, and can I use your name?
At the bottom of the card, be sure to include a check box that reads: Please add me to your email list. More on creating an email list a bit later.
Step 2: Network Like a Pro
Building a solid stream of people who can refer business to you is one of the best ways to market your appraisal service. Our recent podcast guest, Conrad Meertins, put it like this: The more hands you shake, the more money you make.
But that’s only if you’re building a relationship with the people whose hand you’re shaking.
Building a network doesn’t stop after you exchange business cards. You must nurture the relationships in your network. Give more than you receive. Act as liaison between what your prospective referral sources need and the source of that information. Here’s what that looks like:
You have an attorney in your network who wants to sell a rental property they own, introduce them to a realtor with experience in investment property. You’ll make both parties happy, and you might just get referrals later on.
Actively engage with your referral network so that when they need an appraiser, your name is at the top of the list.
Here are few suggestions for building your network:
Join meetup groups hosted by or for financial planners and real estate agents and brokers.
Host “Lunch and Learn” events for real estate offices, lenders, and title companies.
Join a Business Network International (BMI) group.
Participate in active professional organizations.
Step 3: Get Social
Another Beyond the Numbers podcast guest, Carole Henrysen of Zen Appraisals, uses social media to boost her business. While she admits that she doesn’t track every call as well as she could, she has noticed a considerable spike in the number of calls she receives since adding social.
She uses this formula to streamline the process of creating blogs and social media content.
Use ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an excellent source to generate ideas for blogs and social media posts. Be sure to add your personality to anything ChatGPT helps you write. You can also use ChatGPT to repurpose blogs or other content for different platforms, like Instagram or LinkedIn.
Write a blog. Create valuable content that attracts the people you want to do business with. Repurpose the content from your blog for social media.
Begin with what you know. There are a lot of social media platforms available to you. The most relevant to appraisers are LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Choose which one you know the best and start there. Once you’ve mastered your use of that platform, add another.
Establish yourself as an expert. Use social media to position yourself as the valuation expert. Post quality content that moves the profession forward.
Be consistent. Consistency doesn’t make sense if the content is not relevant. It’s OK to give your audience a backstage pass to how you do business. Social media is about showcasing your personality. But you need to provide value most of the time.
Carole’s final words on the episode were: If you establish yourself as the pro and provide value, they will call you.
Step 4: Build an Email List
Creating an email list can seem daunting, but you probably already have about 25 to 50 people on your list—you just don’t know it, yet! Past clients, title company employees, lenders, friends, family, and personal advocates are all members of your email list. These people should be entered into a CRM, which is the acronym for a client relationship management system.
CRMs can be complicated and confusing, but they don’t have to be. You want a system that integrates with your website, sends automated emails, and has easy to use newsletter design features, like drag and drop. MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Kit (formerly ConvertKit) do that.
Once you know what platform you want to use, it’s time to start building your email list.
Enter in the contact info for the people you already know.
You’re going to “opt-in” for the people you know or have done business with previously. Then you’re going to send them a welcome newsletter and give them the option to opt out. As counterintuitive as this sounds, you’ll likely find that most people will not opt out!
In your welcome email, lay the foundation of what your newsletter is all about and how it delivers value for your subscribers. Give them a sneak peek at what they’ll get and an option to download your freebie (up next). Let them know you’re grateful for their friendship, referrals, and past business. Then let them decide if they want to stay or opt out.
Every email marketing platform gives people the opportunity to opt out, usually at the bottom of your email newsletter. You will not be able to delete the unsubscribe notice.
Create a really great freebie.
A freebie is how you entice people to sign-up for your newsletter on your website or social media platforms. Don’t skimp on this step. If someone clicks a link to sign up for your newsletter based on the freebie and the freebie is less than optimal, they will immediately opt out. Here are few examples of freebies:
Ebooks
An email course
Webinar
Checklists
Because appraisal services are used by lenders, title companies, homeowners, and attorneys, it’s a good idea to segregate your email list, so when someone signs up, they receive a freebie geared toward them.
(recommend a diagram, example here)
Create a Sign-Up Link.
Most email platforms offer opt-in tools that integrate with your website enticing your audience to sign up for your newsletter. These can be as simple as a pop-up window or as sophisticated as a landing page with text, images, and diagrams. Nonetheless, integrating a sign-up form onto your website is crucial.
You should also create a way for people who visit your social channels to sign up. Linktree is a great tool that allows you to have several links on your social sites, where typically just one or two links would be permitted. In this case, you’ll want to create a dedicated “page” to sign up for your newsletter. It can be simple; it just needs its own website address (URL).
Consistently Send a Newsletter
The final step is sending a newsletter at least once a month. Spend several hours designing a template for your newsletter using the tools available from your email marketing provider. Be sure your design resonates with your brand. Create a format as part of your design. A 3-section newsletter is an example of a newsletter format. It might look something like this:
Section 1: Something of value to your audience related to real estate.
Section 2: A new appraisal tool/book/policy/etc.
Section 3: A behind-the-scenes look at your office or business, a photo or video reposted from TikTok, or a funny news story.
Developing a template will save time each month when it comes time to do the writing. It creates a “plug and play.”
Are You Ready to Build Your Appraisal Business?
This may be a lot to take in all at once, but the good news is that you don’t have to. The better news is that you’re already implementing the first step: impeccable service!
Take small steps forward. Pick one of these you can begin to implement today and then slowly integrate another. If you’re looking for great ideas to add to your newsletter or share in a blog post, check out McKissock’s Appraisal Webinars or our continuing education courses.