As a real estate referral agent, real estate agents can earn extra income by referring customers to other agents, who will then pay a commission on the deal. The challenging part of the job is defining where the duties of the referral agent stop and where the responsibilities of the regular agent begin.
Generating Leads
The primary duty of the real estate referral agent is to generate leads. Leads describe anyone who is a candidate for a real estate transaction. This could be someone looking to lease a property, purchase or sell a property. Real estate referral agents perform a variety of marketing campaigns to locate these leads, ranging from newspaper and radio advertisements, to Internet-based ads. Some referral agents will go for a high-churn strategy, where they produce as many leads as possible, without a high premium on quality. The law of numbers means they will generate sales, but many real estate companies will decide that it is not worth taking the extra time to sort through the leads. Targeting your leads to those who are truly interested in, as well as capable of, completing a real estate transaction makes the process easier.
Matching Up Clients
Real estate referral agents make money by matching those who are interested in a real estate transaction with those who are capable of completing a transaction. For example, a referral agent who has a client preparing to relocate to a certain city will match that client with an accredited real estate agent in the city. A large part of the work is done by browsing real estate agent directories to determine who pays the best commission for an assignment. However, a good referral agent will go a step further and form a business relationship with the real estate companies they work with, which helps ensure they only match clients with the best available agent.
Following Up
The duties of a real estate referral agent technically stop when the referral has been made, but an effective referral agent won't stop there. Real estate referral agents who take the time to follow up with their clients are more likely to have repeat business and receive more word-of-mouth referrals.
