Referral Marketing Archives | Yasser Khan's Real Estate Agent Success Coaching

Real Estate Referral Fees: How They Work & Best Practices for 2022

Yasser Khan — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 22:00:00 +0000

A real estate referral fee is a portion of the commission paid to another real estate agent or broker in exchange for a client referral. A typical referral fee is 25% of the gross commission for a single side of a transaction. However, there’s no set standard for a referral fee rate, and, like every other aspect of real estate commissions, a referral fee is negotiable.

In this article, we’ll review why referrals are sometimes necessary, and how real estate referral fee agreements work. We’ll also answer some of the most frequently asked questions about real estate referral fees, and give you a chance to ask your own.

Free Real Estate Referral Form Template

The only paperwork required for a real estate referral is a real estate referral agreement. This is a basic contract between the two brokers who oversee the referring agents. It covers how the commission will be split, the length of the referral, and other terms of the agreement.

Even though this form is very important for real estate professionals, not every association or brokerage has one available for their members. That’s why I’ve created a free, customizable, easy-to-use template you can download and start using today. Click below to get started.

What Is a Real Estate Referral?

A real estate referral happens when one agent or broker passes a client to another licensed real estate agent or broker in order to better serve that client’s needs. As much as real estate professionals strive to be the go-to resource for all things real estate for all their clients, there are occasions when a client’s request is something we simply can’t deliver on. In such circumstances, referring your client to another agent is often the best way to serve them.

Most Common Reasons for Real Estate Referrals

Real estate referrals happen every day, for a variety of reasons. Most of these referrals happen because of one (or more) of the following circumstances:

Out of Market Transaction

Let’s say you’re a real estate agent working in Maryland, and you have a client who wants to purchase a beach house in Delaware. Even though these states are right next to each other, Delaware is a turf state, and as a Maryland license holder, you’re unable to conduct business in Delaware.

However, you can refer your beach house client to a real estate agent who is licensed in Delaware. In exchange for that referral, you (or more accurately, your broker) will receive a percentage of the commission on the Delaware transaction.

Unqualified Transaction

As a licensed Realtor, you have the ability to facilitate lots of different transaction types, but if a client comes to you with a request for help on a transaction type you’re not familiar with, a referral might be the best way to provide them with the service they deserve, even though you’re technically licensed to help.

For instance, say you’ve got a client who you’ve helped with residential real estate transactions in the past, but now they want to sell an industrially zoned building they own.

If you’ve never worked on a commercial transaction, you may not be qualified to give your client advice on pricing, negotiation, or closing conditions. After all, the best practices of residential real estate may not apply to commercial or industrial real estate. So, a referral to an experienced commercial and industrial real estate agent would be the best alternative for your client.

Real Estate Referral Fees: Chris Answers Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

Now that you know the basics of what a real estate referral fee is and why they’re used, let’s dig a little deeper into some of your most frequently asked questions about referrals.

If you have a question about real estate referrals and referral fees that you don’t see an answer to, leave a note in the comments section below. I answer referral questions every week, and would love to answer yours!

Real Estate Referral Fees: Money Matters

How Much Is a Real Estate Referral Fee?

The typical real estate referral fee is 25%, but it’s important to note that there is no standard or prescribed amount.

Just like any other real estate commission, a real estate referral fee is completely negotiable. Your market likely has typical conventions, and your broker likely has suggested best practices when it comes to real estate referral fees, but there is no required referral fee amount.

When Should I Negotiate a Real Estate Referral Fee?

Since real estate referral fees aren’t set by anyone, if you want, you can always negotiate. That being said, when is it a good idea to? Here are a couple of scenarios when you should consider negotiating:

Say your buyer wants to purchase income properties in a state where you’re not licensed or able to conduct business. Since you’re referring a client who will be making multiple purchases, you might want to consider bumping up that referral commission to 30% or even 35%.

On the other end of the spectrum, picture yourself receiving a lead that is very high up in the funnel, not prequalified, and who may need a lot of work to get them under contract. As the agent receiving the referral, you may consider trying to negotiate the standard 25% down to 20%.

Remember, even though negotiating is completely allowed when it comes to referrals, the partnering agent is under no obligation to accept your proposals, should you decide to make them. Push too hard during the negotiation and you may risk losing the lead altogether, so negotiate with caution.

How Do I Get Paid When I Make a Real Estate Referral?

When you make a real estate referral, just like the agent you’ve made the referral to, you get paid when the transaction closes.

When an accepted offer has been written on your client’s behalf, the ensuing contract will include a clause that entitles you to the agreed-upon referral percentage. When the transaction closes, the closing company will cut an additional check to your broker for your portion of the commission.

Once your broker has your referral fee, they’ll treat it like any typical real estate transaction, pulling their percentage of your split and issue a check to you for the balance.

NOTE: Though unconventional, it is also acceptable that a referring broker would receive payment directly from the broker to whom the referral was made. This is not advisable. The risk of unpaid referral commissions rises substantially when this type of agreement is made.

Can a Broker Pay a Referral Fee to a Non-licensed Person?

No, a broker cannot legally pay a referral fee to a non-licensed person.

Paying any non-licensed individual a percentage of a commission generated from the purchase or sale of real estate is illegal. You can get in serious trouble with your local board, the National Association of Realtors, and even your state government by engaging in this practice.

There are some fine lines to walk here, particularly when it comes to real estate bird-dogging.

A “bird dog” seeks out and then brings real estate investment opportunities to well-capitalized real estate investors. Technically speaking, this isn’t illegal since a bird dog isn’t actually bringing a buyer and seller together, just bringing the possibility of a deal to a buyer.

However, bird dogs and others operating in a similar space who seek a “finder’s fee” are just a couple of clicks away from asking for referrals, so we’d advise against this practice.

Real Estate Referrals: Essential Tools

If real estate referrals are a part of your business plan, you’ll want to have a few important tools in your tool chest. Here are some of the questions we get about them:

Where Can I Get a Real Estate Referral Contract?

In order to make and receive referrals, you’ll need a real estate referral contract. We suggest using the same one every time so you’re familiar with the terms and know exactly what to expect from the other party. If you need a referral contract, I’ve got one for you. Check out our free, downloadable template at the top of this article.

Should I Use an Electronic Signature Platform for My Referrals?

Yes. Electronic signature platforms make the act of soliciting and keeping track of your referral contract quick and easy. Our favorite platform for this is DocuSign. Their online platform is highly accessible, super easy to use, and affordable (plans start at just $10 a month).

Even though they’re not a real estate-specific product, they have plans and features designed with real estate agents in mind, so they’ll definitely fit into your tech stack.

What Other Tech Tool Is Helpful for Real Estate Referrals?

A real estate customer relationship manager (CRM) with transaction management options. Sometimes the hardest part about the real estate referral process is tracking the progress of your referrals after you’ve given them. A real estate CRM that has transaction management tools, like AgentLEADS, will be a great option.

How Common Are Real Estate Referrals?

ReferralExchange regularly reports hundreds of thousands of connections made on their platform every year. It’s safe to say that this is an incredibly common practice that happens every single day.

Are There Real Estate Referral Companies?

Yes, there are companies that specialize in real estate referrals. These generally fall into two categories:

Companies that generate their own leads and offer those leads free in exchange for a percentage of the commission when the deal closes
Companies that connect agents across the country with one another in order to facilitate their referrals

Some examples of companies offering their own leads as referrals are Agent Pronto, OpCity, and Zillow Flex. While these are good options for some, their typically steep referral fees (up to 40%) are usually more than most agents want to pay.

NuOp is our new favorite company offering a marketplace for agents to exchange referrals with one another. They have a nationwide network of agents, are growing quickly, and best of all, they offer a free-forever plan for Realtors who are still trying to decide if referral-generation works for them.

Bringing It All Together

Knowing how real estate referral fees work is a must for any real estate agent. Whether you’ve got clients who are movers and shakers, or you live in a desirable spot where people are moving to or purchasing vacation property, you need to know about real estate referral fees. They can be a great source of income for you, and the practice is vital to providing your clients with the best service possible.

Have any real estate referral fee questions I didn’t get to? Ask away in the comments!

Learn How To Get More Real Estate Leads, Get More Listings, Close More Sales, with Less Resistance AND still have a LIFE!

Get more exclusive real estate agent training here https://www.yasserkhan.sg/

YASSER KHAN

Author, Coach & Trainer

Yasser Khan earned less than $1,000 in his first year as a full time property agent. With no money for the $2 train fare to his Broker's office, he was forced to walk 25 kilometers on foot. Worse, he got evicted at midnight with his wife and baby son by the roadside. Desperate, he bought a $16 Sales book and took massive action. That single investment in himself gave him an OBSCENE ROI of $160,000 in just 11 months. Today, Yasser is on a mission to make the real estate great career again and helps ambitious agents quadruple their commission income within 90 days.

Yasser Khan is a real estate coach at YasserKhan.SG, trainer at PropertyAgentUniversity.com and the author of Property Agent Secrets Book who teaches Realtors how to make more Money, have more Time and enjoy more Freedom without all the B.S. plaguing the industry today.

Yasser Khan’s approach to coaching is highly personalised, holistic, no B.S., and for “PROS ONLY… amateurs not allowed.” He believes that true success means winning in every single area of your life (like Financial, Family, Social, Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Fun).

When Yasser isn’t coaching, he loves playing GOTY PC Games with top-of-the-line Razer products and being a kid again with his 3 naughty children (actually, boss babies...), traveling to and across scenic Pakistan, enjoying hot & spicy food, taking pictures of the Milky Way with his favourite Canon DSLR and reading up all about Dinosaurs (especially T. Rex)

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The post Real Estate Referral Fees: How They Work & Best Practices for 2022 appeared first on Yasser Khan's Real Estate Agent Success Coaching.

10 Tips to Get More Reviews to Attract Referrals & Repeat Clients

Yasser Khan — Sun, 17 Jul 2022 22:00:00 +0000

If there’s one thing we all struggle with in real estate, it’s this: An overwhelming majority of the public believes that we all work alike, and that there’s little difference between agents. With so many in the business competing for mind share and market share, how do you create your personal point of difference?

The answer does NOT lie in the ongoing boasting and bragging of your top producer awards, accomplishments and credentials, but rather in encouraging and leveraging others to tell your story for you.

We’re talking reviews, recommendations, and testimonials here and chances are you need to up your game. If you’re interested in increasing your credibility and building your personal brand, check out these ten tips and tricks that will get you a consistent stream of 5-star reviews and endorsements.

Get Email Templates that Drive Referrals

Want Glowing Reviews? Give Glowing Reviews First!

You know that feeling you get when you receive a glowing review or recommendation? Nothing better, right? Consider the goodwill you’ll create if you generously commit to providing reviews and recommendations for others FIRST. Be a Giver, not a taker.

When you give reviews, you’ll create a deep-seated urge in others to do the same; in fact, what you get back often far exceeds what you’ve given out. Social psychologists call this the Universal Law of Reciprocity, and it’s a proven concept. Time block to do this once or twice a week—there’s no downside!

Ok, so you need to leave your clients amazing reviews. But where exactly? If they have a business or online shop, then it's pretty simple, right? All you need to do is leave them a 5-Star review on their website, Business Page, Google My Business or other social or commercial profile. But what if your client is an employee who does not need reviews? The answer lies in point #6 below, where you endorse and recommend them on their LinkedIn Profile (they'll thank you for it).

Accept That Reviews Are Your Social Proof—& Your Social Currency

The truth is that we live in a society used to Amazon product reviews; most people automatically seek support in making all of their purchasing decisions. From refrigerators to restaurants, florists to flooring, dog food to doctors—we look for evidence that our money and time will be spent wisely.

We rely upon friends, family members, influencers, and even total strangers to advise and guide us. The same applies to those looking to hire a great real estate agent.

The positive reviews you receive and share are the social proof people are looking for, so commit to giving them what they want. If you don’t, they will choose someone who will. It really is that simple.

Repurpose Your Positive Reviews—Put Them Everywhere!

If you want to make the most of your reviews and recommendations, simply ask yourself this: “Where else might these positive words be impactful?” The answer? Everywhere!

Great reviews and recommendations are a gift to you, and once received, they’re yours to do with what you please.

Making use of all or parts of these comments isn’t just smart—it’s a strategic time saver. Use them to create attention-garnering graphics and posts for your pages. Highlight them as featured content in your seller and buyer guides. Gather as many as you can and create a word cloud, which can be used in a multitude of ways.

Even better than what’s been stated here so far? Video testimonials and reviews. Ask clients to create and submit their own mini-productions to you, then compile, edit, and share them. If allowed in your market, make a contest out of it. You’ll be surprised by the creativity and effort they’ll put into this, and what you’ll likely receive is priceless!

Make It Very Easy for People to Review You

Agent Jessica Russell has essentially automated her systems to insure that she’s receiving positive reviews across a variety of platforms.

“I send an email and provide very clear instructions along with links to three pages or platforms,” she says, noting that occasionally she’ll switch things up. “If I need fresh reviews on Realtor.com, I’ll provide that link as opposed to Zillow. I’m currently working on adding more reviews to Google, so I’ve gone back to previous reviewers asking them to simply copy and paste what they’ve previously posted elsewhere—and I provide them with their original review so they don’t have to go and look for it. People are happy to post somewhere new, especially because I’ve made it so easy for them!”

A tactical tip: Include review-garnering action items in your transaction checklists, mentioned in your pre- and post-closing activities.

Reviews Should Be Found Where You (& Your Competition) Are

If your reviews are landing only in one place, you could be missing out. Those dozens of 5-star accolades may look good on Zillow, but what if your prospect doesn’t find you there? What may be the result if your other profiles or sites aren’t effectively telling your story?

You may be passed over and not afforded the opportunity to share your value and the benefits associated with working with you. People and prospects should be able to easily access what others think and say on your website, Google My Business profile, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and on industry sites like Zillow, PropertyGuru and Realtor.com. Don’t disregard Yelp either, especially if your competition has a strong presence there.

Search for yourself online and see what comes up. Let’s say, for example, that the first results for your name on Google are found on Zillow. Make sure you have plenty of positive—and recent—reviews there!

Now’s the time to build or enhance any missing or existing pages and profiles, and to set a goal to add a reasonable number of reviews or recommendations to each and every place. This is an exercise you should engage in every quarter of the year.

Consistent and current (endorsements) equal currency—social- and earnings-wise!

Don’t Forget About Endorsements & Recommendations on LinkedIn

Perhaps you’re a newer agent with a limited amount of transactional experience. Maybe you’re a highly seasoned top producer with a strong network of business-to-business contacts and relationships. In both cases, LinkedIn can be leveraged to assemble an impressive list of recommendations that speak to your professionalism, work ethic, people skills, and sales acumen—and these carry a lot of weight.

Request these valuable recommendations and endorsements from former coworkers, supervisors, community leaders, service providers, even religious leaders. Most people are happy to help, especially if you commit to doing the same for them (law of reciprocity in action). For those who are too busy to provide a testimonial, simply ask if you may add them to a reference list (or better, do up a draft and ask them to pre-approve it). Providing this resource to potential buyers and sellers is impressive enough on its own, and those featured there will rarely be contacted.

Make Reviews Part of Your Process—Set the Expectation With Your Clients Early & Reinforce It Often

Don’t make the mistake of waiting until the end of the transaction to request a review; you should set the expectation from the very first meeting!

This is something that top producer Cari McGee, an agent serving Kennewick and Richland, Washington, has done exceptionally well since she started in the business.

“I let my clients know that I am very clear on their goals,” she says, “but I also share that MY goal is to be so great that the client can’t help but to review and refer me to others. I have learned that when I lead with providing an exceptional experience and outcome for the client, everything I want for my business happens as a result.”

This strategy also makes it easy to ask the “how am I doing” question at any point during the transaction, reinforcing your commitment to them and reminding them that you hope to receive raving reviews at the conclusion of their sale or purchase.

Don’t Let the Occasional Negative Review Get You Down

Inevitably, it’s going to happen. At some point, someone is going to leave comments that are rude, inaccurate, or even irrelevant to you or your business.

Remain calm and deal in the facts, not in your feelings. Don’t engage in social media warfare. Attempt to contact the person who posted to confront and resolve their issue. If you’ve smoothed things over, request an edit to their original comments. If they are unreasonable or unwilling to communicate with you, state your case simply and unemotionally as a response:

“I’ve made three attempts to contact you to discuss your concerns and displeasure. I’m disappointed to learn that you feel this way. Will you please send me a DM so we may speak about this?”

Your professional demeanor and stated desire to make things right—even if the poster is flat out wrong or unreasonable—will be remembered by those reading the review. Also, know this: If you are consistently receiving positive reviews, any negative post will eventually get flushed out or dismissed.

One bad meal or inattentive waiter doesn’t necessarily make for a lousy restaurant, right? It’s the content of the majority of your reviews that matter, so work to keep them coming and highlight them frequently.

Leverage What You Receive

Are you the most highly rated agent in your town or market on any particular platform? Tell the people who live there! Did you help a family accomplish the nearly impossible? Share that! The post—or postcard—that features what you’ve done for others is way more compelling than the typical “I’ve done it again” message. What will resonate and be remembered is not what you’ve managed to do for yourself, but what you have achieved for others.

Summing It All Up

Reviews, recommendations, and endorsements are simply the stories others tell about you and your business—and they play a huge role in a prospect’s decision-making process. A growth-minded agent will do all they can to receive them consistently, leverage them creatively, and promote them effectively. Now’s the perfect time to fearlessly assess where you stand and what’s needed to make strides in this area. Once you do, get to work!

Learn How To Get More Real Estate Leads, Get More Listings, Close More Sales, with Less Resistance AND still have a LIFE!

Get more exclusive real estate agent training here https://www.yasserkhan.sg/

YASSER KHAN

Author, Coach & Trainer

LEARN MORE

The post 10 Tips to Get More Reviews to Attract Referrals & Repeat Clients appeared first on Yasser Khan's Real Estate Agent Success Coaching.