Dear HomeSmart Team,
The real estate market is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve requires not just expertise but also a strong marketing presence. That’s why I’m excited to announce a new initiative aimed at empowering each of you to become a marketing pro in your own right.
In today’s digital landscape, how you present yourself and your listings is just as important as your deep understanding of the market. Mastering the art of marketing allows you to connect with a wider audience, build trust with potential clients, and ultimately, close more deals.
I understand that marketing might seem like a whole new world. But worry not! We’re here to equip you with the tools you need to succeed. I’m happy to announce a series of informative articles that will be delivered directly to your inbox. These articles will cover a wide range of marketing topics, from building a referral network to retaining talent.
These articles will be concise, easy to understand, and packed with actionable strategies that you can implement right away. Whether you’re a seasoned agent or just starting out, these resources will provide valuable insights and help you take your marketing to the next level.
Remember, a strong personal brand is key to building a successful real estate career. By leveraging these marketing tools and showcasing your expertise, you’ll be well on your way to attracting more clients and achieving your business goals.
As always, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Feel free to reach out to our marketing team with any questions or specific areas you’d like to explore further.
Let’s continue to make HomeSmart a leader in the industry!
Sincerely,
HomeSmart
For many salespeople, the most dreaded, cringeworthy moment of the sales process arrives during the close: asking people to refer them to friends and family. No matter how they approach it or what language they use, it inevitably just feels so . . . salesy.
Ultimately, though, requesting referrals is worth it because they are one of the most powerful tools for growing your business. Here are some easy ways you can turn your network of clients into raving, referring fans.
First and foremost, it’s crucial that you’re strategic about the more passive type of referrals: reviews. Make it easy for clients to leave feedback by creating a dedicated referral page on your website and offering multiple review channels—think email, social media, and text messaging. This will emphasize that you don’t just welcome but eagerly want to hear their opinions. (As a bonus, you’ll come across as super confident about your products or services.) Then be sure to share the most positive customer testimonials wherever you can in your marketing.
You’ve surely heard of “truth in advertising”: by law, you have to be truthful, not misleading, when marketing a product or service. But in a sense, that only goes so far—especially when it comes to self-promotion. Seriously, do you think a business would ever make an ad that says, “We’re OK, but others out there are better”? No way! One hundred percent of the time, it will say something along the lines of “We’re the best, and here’s why.”
That’s why what really matters to customers is other customers’ opinions about a business. And, interestingly, the volume of reviews is way more important than the quality of them. I know that sounds counterintuitive—you always want positive feedback—but the truth is that no matter how incredible a review from someone is, if it’s only one of five, it won’t have much of an impact. Say you’re shopping online for a lawnmower. If your choice is down to one with dozens of reviews versus one with thousands and the average star rating is even remotely close, you’ll choose the one that shows strength in numbers.
Another factor to consider is whether you should cast a narrow, specific referral net or a wide, broader one. I highly recommend doing the latter, and here’s why. By going broad, you are guaranteed to reach more people—even those at the top of your funnel. Through this touchpoint, you can plant the seed of a relationship with each of them, which you can then nurture and potentially turn into a customer down the line. In other words, if you include as many people as possible when seeking referrals, you can potentially multiply your client base dramatically.
Never underestimate how often business success comes down to how many people know, like, and trust you. After all, by recommending you to a friend, a raving fan is putting both their relationship with that person and their own credibility on the line—so you must earn that commitment.
The easiest way to do this is to connect with clients on a personal level, either directly or, if you lead a large company, through your people. I love what Garrett Maroon, a Virginia-based real estate agent, succinctly called it as a guest on our Stay Paid podcast: systematic relationship building. “People don’t want to be a transaction,” he said. “They want a relationship. You need to take a real interest in your client relationships and consistently prove that you care.”
That means staying in touch with them regularly—not just to sell your wares but to ask how they are doing and celebrate life events like birthdays, as a friend would. It’s also an opportunity to make their lives easier, such as by referring them to trustworthy professionals in other fields, highlighting a local community event, offering discounts, or even making a donation in their name. If you put effort into your client relationships and provide them with more true value, you’ll be amazed by how the referrals keep coming in.
Finally, practice makes perfect. Don’t just ask for referrals once in a while; make it a regular part of your sales process by training your sales team—and even yourself, if you don’t already—to continuously seek them. Something as simple as requesting one in your email signature can do the trick. On the other end of the spectrum, consider running regular referral campaigns to boost your momentum. Most importantly, get in the habit of asking for a referral at the peak of client engagement: at, or even right before getting to, the closing table.
When it comes to referrals, businesses sometimes blow my mind. They’ll pay thousands of dollars for an ad lead, and yet they’ll ignore the free ones literally right in front of them in the form of their existing clients. So shed the shyness and show confidence in your rock-solid business relationships, knowing that reviews and referrals—if done right—are a win-win for everybody.
TAKE ACTION:
Integrate at least one of these referral strategies into your sales process, and track how it impacts your bottom line.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Luke Acree is an authority on leadership, a lead-generation specialist, and a referral expert who has helped more than 100,000 entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their companies. He hosts Stay Paid, a sales and marketing podcast, and has been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Foundr.com.
For so many industries, client relationships are the foundation of business success. Forming strong bonds ensures repeat business and customer loyalty, and the people you build a rapport with will often become brand advocates, recommending you to their own networks and bolstering your client base. The following are insights from five business leaders about what it means to connect with clients through empathy and communication.
“In working with clients, I have seen that they have a very different perspective of the construction process than we do. Since my project managers have worked in the industry for years and years and understand the process inside out, it is easy for them to get frustrated when clients question things that seem straightforward. That’s why I coach my employees to have empathy for the clients during remodeling. There is usually a valid reason for their concern, which can be discovered when we take the time to communicate and to understand their perspective.
“I rarely use emails for relationship-building purposes. Face-to-face meetings and phone calls are so much more effective at conveying the emotion necessary to establish bonds with most clients. Emails are great for transferring information, but for forging genuine connections, talking is critical.”
“I run a statewide nonprofit that partners with school districts to place qualified, trained staff in school buildings, who then identify and work with the students most at risk of not graduating. So those districts are our clients.
“Empathy is important in building trusting relationships with our clients because school districts are stretched so thin. They’re trying to do everything—teach kids, counsel them, and provide them with basic needs like food. We must demonstrate to them that we understand the challenges they’re facing and that we’re on the same team.
“My approach is to be transparent and supportive—display empathy to gain trust but in an authentic way. Regardless of the method of communication, it’s always possible to be kind, empathetic, and collaborative.”
“My wife and I own a regenerative agriculture farm in Spicewood, Texas. We are a face-to-face organization because we sell directly to customers and clients through a farmers market. Our philosophy when it comes to these client relationships is ‘If you make a commitment or promise or give the customer an expectation, you better follow through.’
“We once had someone complain that the quality of one of our products had changed. We felt terrible and told her we would give her a refund and replace it. She was so overwhelmed by how seriously we took her complaint that she not only paid for the original product but also made a donation to the farm. When you listen with empathy, you can more readily understand the motivation behind a customer’s requests or feedback.”
“I’m the managing director of a firm that performs strategy consulting and due-diligence work in the energy-transition space with a focus on solar, hydrogen, and specialty contractors. Through my interactions with clients, I’ve learned that empathy is critical for building and maintaining relationships with them. By employing this tool, you will gain better insights into your clients’ goals as well as their challenges. Otherwise, you will probably never understand the potential roadblocks to closing the sale. Furthermore, even if you are unsuccessful in your first sale attempt, a good relationship might allow you to understand where you fell short. This is true whether you are selling a product or a service.
“There are many ways to build a client relationship. However, my mentors have emphasized the importance of in-person conversation. Whether it is a more formal discussion at the client’s office or a more casual chat over a meal, being there in person is valuable to forming a connection. You can learn more about an individual by seeing how they respond to comments and questions and through the conversations that happen after the ‘official’ meeting. These gestures also demonstrate a commitment to the client.
“I worked on a project for a European firm that was developing an American-market entry strategy and was naturally only considering US-based advisors. Part of the reason we won the project was that we were the only firm that went to visit them at their headquarters in Europe.”
“I work in mergers and acquisitions and offer management and business consulting services. To initiate relationships, I usually start with some form of text message, such as through Facebook, ads, or text-based media. But to build those relationships, I prefer phone calls, video calls, or in-person meetups. There is too much nuance that can get lost in a text message or an email. Voice inflections, sincerity, facial expressions, posture—these are things I need to see and hear to gauge what the client is conveying and vice versa.
“More importantly, I know that whatever connection I want to build with someone else, I need to take the initiative in creating it and giving a space for it to flourish. I do this by being vulnerable and genuine, offering safety, and showing elation or concern. I want my customers to feel seen, heard, and valued, and meeting in person is the best way I can do that.”
Nurturing client relationships is an ongoing process that demands empathy, a willingness to listen and understand, and an open channel of communication. It may take some work, but putting in the effort can help your business thrive in the long term.
It can be tough to find the right people to work for your company. And once you’ve found those talented employees, retaining them can be even more difficult. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, it costs a company six to nine months of an employee’s salary to replace them. What makes that statistic even scarier is the current state of the American workforce. By the end of March of this year, 11.5 million jobs were available, and 4.5 million workers quit their jobs that month. Companies across the US are desperate to find top talent—and this year has proven to be especially challenging.
But if hiring new employees is so expensive, wouldn’t it make sense for companies to invest more in the resources they already have? The answer seems simple; however, not many leaders are aware of what it takes to fully make this investment.
If you’ve been putting a lot of energy into recruiting but are seeing little return in your retention, you need to look at your business and make sure you are directing your attention to the following areas.
You might think that it’s more expensive to raise a current employee’s salary than it is to hire a new employee and pay them less. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Between 2020 and 2021, American companies spent over $92 billion on training new employees. It is far more expensive to recruit and train someone new than it is to ensure your existing staff is well paid for the work they are doing.
People want to be compensated fairly, but this doesn’t mean every employee is looking for a 10 percent raise every year. Show your employees how they can contribute to the company’s success, and give them a clear path to do so. Feeling appreciated and valued, they’ll be well worth the money you invest in them, and your company will hit its goals more quickly.
We’ve implemented and shared new career trajectories for our employees at ReminderMedia and have seen great success in giving our staff a clear pathway to reaching their objectives, both monetarily and professionally. When you’re able to combine the two pieces and present a road map for getting there, your employees will feel much more satisfied and appreciated.
When it comes to managing your employees, you should consider the whole person. There is a concerning statistic that 76 percent of people claim to have a toxic boss. You need to show your people who you are and encourage them to let you into their lives too. Oftentimes we think of the individuals we work with only within the confines of their work persona, but there is so much more to people than that.
Take the time to really engage with your employees in one-on-one meetings. Find out about their families, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and the sports teams they love. It can be helpful to keep track of this information in your meeting notes, especially if you manage a large group of people. All of this is essential to building trust and a positive company culture. The same principles apply to business—if you’re only thinking of the transaction, you’re liable to lose that person when another offer comes along.
Are you giving people pathways to advance in your company or within their chosen fields? And, more importantly, do your employees feel empowered in their roles? Millennial employees are particularly inclined to job hop for career advancement—75 percent in fact—and 50 percent of employees are considering a career change, according to recent studies.
One of the best ways to drive engagement and employee loyalty is by setting your people up with a vision for achieving their goals and aligning their goals with those of the organization. For example, if you have a top team member who is interested in learning more about project management and your company needs a leader in that area, invest in their continued education. This investment shows them not only how valuable they are to you but also sets your organization up for greater success by empowering your leadership.
Helping your employees advance doesn’t have to be as big an investment as paying for their education. You could take simpler actions, such as reading a book with them on a core principle or value they are working on improving or giving them tangible and trackable goals to help them advance to the next level.
Although it’s the last on this list, a lack of culture or a negative environment is one of the biggest reasons people leave their job—over 30 percent of employees reportedly think about leaving a company due to its culture. If you aren’t fostering a positive setting where people push one another to succeed, your employees will have no other choice but to look for that atmosphere elsewhere.
Even though it may be challenging to maintain a culture in this new work-from-home era, it is possible to do so and to do it well. At ReminderMedia, we have empowered our managers and team leads to take initiative in setting up team-building events and other group activities to nurture relationships from afar. We also host biweekly all-staff meetings to update employees on company goals, procedural changes, and accomplishments. These are small efforts we can take as a leadership team to make a big difference in the engagement and energy of our employees every day.
Write down one way you can commit to improving your employees’ experience in these four areas: compensation, personal development, career development, and culture.
