Real estate is about location, location, location, but what’s also important is who you know. It takes a village to close on a home: buyer and seller agents, mortgage lenders, attorneys, photographers, stagers, contractors, movers, and more. The best Experts are those who don’t just bring themselves to the table, but a strong network as well. If a client needs one of the aforementioned professionals, an Expert should have a referral ready to go. They should have a winning team.
Here’s how Experts can build and maintain such a team, with some wisdom thrown in from our Business Advisors.
A great place to start is with your own network of colleagues. Ask your fellow real estate agents, co-workers at your firm, or anyone in the business who can connect you with professionals they know and trust. Make calls, send emails, or put it out there in the Slack channel.
You can also ask your friends and family if they recommend anyone. It’s how a lot of homebuyers find their agent, after all!
Experts stand out from other real estate agents by having deal history and experience with certain neighborhoods, buildings, or types of listings. See if you can connect with professionals who have the right experience for your clients, too. For example: a financial consultant who specializes in cash purchases, or a real estate attorney with co-op experience.
You should be able to trust your colleagues to make solid recommendations, but it doesn’t hurt to do some extra research. Make sure whoever they recommend has the proper licensing, experience, location, or anything else important to doing their job. Ask whoever gave you the referral some questions, such as what they like about this professional, how long they’ve been working together, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
If you’ve just referred a professional to one of your clients for the first time, check in with the client and see how it went. If they had a mediocre or negative experience, consider finding someone else for the future.
Even if you’ve built what you think is your dream team, there’s always room for more. “Keep adding professionals to your Rolodex,” says Kara. It doesn’t hurt to have multiple mortgage lenders, attorneys, photographers, etc. to rely on. It gives your clients options and makes sure they’re covered if someone is unavailable. Carlo recommends always having at least three mortgage lenders you can refer clients to.
Opportunities are everywhere. For instance, “if you see a listing with good pictures, ask the listing agent who photographed them,” suggests Carlo.
Kara adds: “An Expert I’m working with had to get a house completely cleared out by a declutter service. She said they were super fast and it was well worth the money for the seller. She’ll be recommending this service to other clients who are looking to sell and clean out their homes.”
Make sure you’re maintaining the relationships you’ve built with your team. Check in regularly, meet for coffee, see how they’ve been doing with your clients, provide feedback, and don’t forget them on your holiday gift list! Just like your relationships with clients, don’t let anyone fall off the radar.