Good News! Referrals are UP!
A recent study conducted by the company 1000watt, a creative and strategic marketing and design firm, shows that real estate agents increased their referral earnings in 2017. In the study, it was determined that the agent’s sphere of influence — responsible for 80 percent of the referrals agents receive — remains the largest referral driver. The median number of “agent-to-agent” referrals went from six, as reported in 2016, to nine, as reported in the most recent 2017 study.
Why the Change?
There are various reasons accounting for the uptick in referrals. Some cite the inventory shortage driving agents to look for business outside of their sphere. Others state that certain markets are experiencing a heightened migration and therefore experiencing heightened market activity. Additionally, many firms are increasing their focus on referral training as evidenced by the thirty-eight percent of agents that said more than twenty percent of their referrals will close this year. With all of this heightened performance in the referral market, using a streamlined referral tool such as REALLY™ will help to secure and close more referrals than those more traditional methods or even pre-existing technological methods.
Referrals over Leads?
“Leads” and contact information sold by many websites are not performing as well as referrals this past year according to the same 1000watt study. Only nine percent of agents said more than twenty percent of their leads will close this year; the study implicates that leads seem like a poorer investment of time compared to referrals. Leads continue to take on a stigma of being chance-based inquiries from unqualified sources. However, the study shows that referrals continue to grow in a positive direction and are considered better, more qualified, and trusted from vetted sources.
REALLY™
Given the trend of many real estate professionals finding better returns on their time spent on referrals, wouldn’t it be amazing to have an app that consolidates the process for you in a user-friendly way? REALLY™, Real Estate’s 1st Agent to Agent Referral App does just that. It takes the pain out of the process. It removes the time-consuming investigation and potentially fruitless contacts that come with traditional referrals. When you join the REALLY™ Community, you join a vetted, exclusively-professional community.
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Lindsey Quistgaard is the Content Marketing Director at REALLY. She has experience writing and curating marketing content and materials for various companies including NLyte DCIM Software Company, Orange-Ulster BOCES, and REALLY. Lindsey is also freelance writer, adjunct college professor, and published poet.