Top 5 Ways to Build a Referral Engine with Bridget Moore

Right. Well, and you, you know, they teach you, spend the money everywhere, spend thousands of dollars every month on farming in these neighborhoods. And for me, that's kind of where referrals came into play because it didn't have a lot of extra income. And I thought, nobody's going to believe a 26 year old girl really at the time. So there's no experience just because they mail into their neighborhood, but it costs me $1,200 to do it every month. Right. So, and I just didn't have that ability to have that budget. Um, and so I did that for a while and then slowly started to grow my team. Um, we're now 14 years later, team of eight, and we've got five Realtors, three support staff. Um, we focus residential, uh, commercial, and we're just loving it. Awesome. So that's the decision I made.

So how much of your business today is referral based right now? We're right about 76% for 2020. Um, so I always, my default answer when somebody says, Oh, my business is 100% referral, my default answer, generally speaking is, well, then you're not talking to enough strangers. You need to try hard. Yeah. Um, and so, yeah, but I've always told you, it was that somewhere in that 70, 75 range is, is kind of where you want to be. And then the rest of you, you know, you get off sign calls, you get off of the internet needs, you know, whatever that is. Um, and so I'm assuming you didn't start at 75%. No, that's something that you worked up to. Right. So ask Bridget on Top 5 to give us her Top 5 tips on building up a referral list. Right. So let's start with number one. Okay. Um, well, I'll start from when I got licensed, because then it was very different than it is now. Sure. Um, I had, again, very limited budget. And I thought, okay, where, where can I get the best bang for my buck? If you will. And I thought about people that I already knew. Yeah. And it, cause I didn't have a thousand dollars a month. So just mail out Right. So let's start with number one. Right. Um, so let's start with number one. Okay. Um, well, I'll start from when I got licensed because then it was very different than it is now. Sure. Um, I have, again, very limited budget. And I thought, okay, where, where can I get the best bang for my buck? If you will.

And I thought about people that I already knew. Yeah. And it, cause I didn't have a thousand dollars a month to just mail out blindly to people who have no idea who I am. Right. Aren't going to remember me. And quite frankly, they're probably just going to throw it in the trash. So I thought, okay, who am I, are you working with? Who is my attorney? Who's my hairdresser? Who's my banker? Who's my nail tech? You know, everybody. Um, who's my esthetician? And I went to them and I said, look, I want to create a relationship where, you know, we've already, we're already doing business with you. I'm already, you know, utilizing your services and giving you reviews and trying to get you additional business. I'm now in real estate and I would love to be the Realtor you refer. Um, it was very genuine. It was very organic. And it grew from, you know, literally probably just my first immediate and who am I using currently to let me list out a top 100 of industry exclusive businesses that I either know someone attorneys are a great great examples, CPAs. Um, they know people all the time that are in need of real estate services.

Attorneys are great. Amazing. And there's the best clients. A lot of people, they like to get a battle rap a lot, but I love attorney clients. And, uh, I did, I went to them and I said, look, I will, you're my attorney. I will give you anybody that I know that needs, you know, some kind of, you know, legal help. I want to refer you. And it just very organically became where I created my own sphere of referral partners almost. Um, so tell me about the expectation setting part of that, because I think that a lot of people, you know, like I have sold a couple of my escrow officers that I've used in the past. I've helped them sell them and buy the homes. Right. And when I asked them, they're like, no one ever asked. Right. And I think we just assume that, you know, if our lender has a referral, they'll send it to us or they, uh, title company has a referral, but there is an element of, Hey, if I'm going to do business with you, this has got to be a two way street. Right. Completely.

So, so if I'm a new agent and I'm going to go out and I'm going to talk to an attorney. Right. What does that conversation look like? So I try to put it more on, I make it less aggressive, if you will, where I'm bringing it back on me. And I say, look, I really like to work with people that like to work with me. I like to work with people that, you know, I feel are reciprocating business referrals back and forth. I would like to provide that to you. Would that be something you'd be interested in? Because then you're not saying, Hey, give me business. Right. You got to pay to play. Like it's not, it's a very genuine relationship that you're building. That's what you want. You want someone that you're able to give a referral to honestly as well. Um, and the most of the time they're going to realize like, yeah, that makes total sense because I think most people believe in reciprocation. You know, it's very, you want to help those that are helping you.

That's right. So if you look at it from just somebody you really want to do business with them, not somebody that you can pick out. Right. Right. Yeah. Oh yeah. No, it's somebody that I know ahead of time. I'm not just blindly, you know, calling strangers. Right. Okay. So you said industry. So it doesn't matter who they are. Could be your accountant, could be your attorney, could be title company, could be, doesn't matter. Right. Right. We're just going to go out to one person in each of these and say, Hey, this is what we want to do. Yeah. You have a hundred of those. Yes. That's a lot. Yeah. How do you manage that? I have a, like a binder. I swear to God, it's green because it's money. That's awesome. That's awesome. I love it. I love it. All right. So that was the first thing you did. Yes. You started building that. So then what came next?

So then it became, okay, now I'm starting to get these referrals and, you know, I need to show appreciation to the people who are sending you to business because I didn't have cost clients at this point, you know, it's all new, new clients, if you will. Um, so I made sure anytime they would even send me like, Hey, I gave so-and-so your name, or if somebody would call me and say, Hey, Mr. Attorney gave me your name. Immediately, I'm sending them a handwritten thank you card, maybe a Starbucks gift card, just something to say, thank you, like just genuine. And it's not much at that point, you know, $5. Just, you know, I appreciate you thanking me. Um, and then when it turns into your clients that are referring you over the years, cause it takes a while. You know, the average owner stays in their house. What is it? It just went up.

It's up to almost 10 years. Yeah, 10 years. So you're figuring for every closing, it's going to be another 10 years before they buy again. Right. So, you know, How do you stay valuable? How do you stay relevant in somebody's life for a decade? And that's really what it is. Right. Because you want to then treat that client that you're, you've been given, quite frankly, um, the absolute just top level service possible, um, from the whole experience, you know, people talk about closing gifts or this or that, um, which are great. But sometimes it's a whole family, you know, that are moving in. Um, maybe they have dogs, maybe they have cats. You know, we always make sure that we were trying to be very personable with the interactions that we had. Um, and then following up after closing, you know what I mean? Because in literally becoming their friend. And I don't, I've had a ton of people asking, well, how do all of your clients become your friends? But my thought is, how do they not? Because you've got to be, hopefully you're working with people you like. I mean, that's the, you know, we've all, we've all had that one or two.

Yeah. It happened. I'm never going to talk to you again. Right. See you later. Um, but you know, hopefully you are staying in touch with them in some capacity, not just an email newsletter once a month or, you know, Hey, happy birthday from a, you know, mass. Yeah. Unpersonalized car once a year or something. And that's the, you know, I think when you boil it all down, I think that's the piece that a lot of Realtors miss. Yes. Because it's not sexy. No. And yeah, we talk a lot about creating engagement, creating conversations, but it's really hard to create engagement and create conversations with people that you don't regularly speak with. Right.

You know, once every six months, I'm going to just say, Hey, do you have anybody that wants to buy or sell? Right. It's a whole lot easier if that person picks up the phone and is excited to hear from them. Right. And if you're, if you know about them, you know, then you can say, I mean, it's even random stuff where, you know, Oh, I saw this and I thought of you, you know, because you are, it's, you're treating them like a friend. Exactly. Because that's, I think that's where people miss that connection. They're treating them like a client and what they think a client should be treated like when you need to be treating them like you would your friend. Holy crap. That's a great point. We should just develop a whole training class on that alone. That's awesome. I like that. Good. So treat them like a friend, not like a client. Yeah. That's great. Even like vendor partners, like you were talking about, you know, I mean, that's such an untapped business where they're not really marketed to in that manner.

Because I think something I'm not, you know, fond of from a Realtor standpoint where Realtors, their perception is they look at them like, Oh, they're just trying to get my business. Why aren't you trying to get theirs? Right. Nope. You're totally missing the mark on an untapped avenue, in my opinion. I've had so many lender and home warranty and title company that not only are they my clients, but they're referring me to this. Yeah. So, and they see how well you handle a transaction also. So. And that just eggs them on to refer more in the future because they get to see just as many handled and poorly. Exactly. Right. Yeah. So you have to be on your A game. Yeah. Can't suck. You can't suck. Yeah. There you go.

All right. What's our next? So with that one, we're talking about client appreciates. Yes. Right. So, and then we also do parties. I'm a big, we genuinely love our clients. You know, again, we treat them like friends. I try to do something quarterly based on different niches that I may have. You know, my husband loves to shoot. So our, you know, clients that like to shoot will go right on the gun range. And just take, you know, our top 20 referral partners. And I say partners, but it can be, you know, anybody, a past client, a vendor, whomever. I'll do Botox and Bubbles, maybe one quarter. I'll, you know, rent on a hair salon the other quarter. We'll do a family event another quarter, depending on, you know, we have so many varying different types of clients and friends.

So that way it's something for everybody. And I assume this is all organized in CRM. Oh, yeah. Oh, it is. Everything's like super tagged. Yeah. Very, I will say we're very, very OCD with our tagging. Some people have like 20 tags. Oh, yeah. And they're all ranked, like a report card, A, B, C, B, and F. Yeah. And I still follow up with the Fs because I'm too competitive. Until you die, I still pretty much follow up. I really do. So you buy or tell me to die, right? Basically. And then we do one big client party at the end of the year for all of our clients that bought or sold or refer to someone that bought or sold. Cool. And just have a good time. Very good. So client appreciation. So we started out with finding people who would send us referrals.

Yeah. Now that we've turned that into clients, we're showing appreciation both from the referrer and to the client. Yes. Right? Yes. Okay. So now what's our third bulletin? So, you know, another big way to get referrals are Facebook groups. You know, that is something you've got, especially in our area. They're very prevalent on recommendations and referrals. And so, again, it's back to reciprocity. You know, if I'm tagging my Botox girl 20 different times, you know, she's going to see that. She's going to know it. She appreciates it. So when someone comes and asks for a Realtor, I'm getting a tag for my Botox girl. You're going to get me a Botox girl. Right? It's really, you know, it's awesome.

I'm not going to lie. I can give you a referral. Yeah, thanks. Thanks. But, you know, it is. It's genuinely wanting to help the person asking for the referral. And then, more importantly, when you are tagged, again, thanking the person. It may sometimes we get 50 tags on one post. Thanking every 50 people for the referral. But then, having a real connection with the person asking it versus just, here's my card, you know, whatever. It's really, it's relationship. And I think that's where a lot of people forget in this business. Yes, on this end, it's transactional. But on the other end, it's relationship. They are people. And they're scared.

They're excited. Sometimes they're sad. Sometimes they're getting divorced. Sometimes they're happy. They're getting married. But they're people. And when you treat them like people, they respond. And that's huge. You've got to have the relationship. Especially with those groups. Because you're competing with, what, 40,000 other Realtors in our area? Yeah, in our area, yeah. Yeah. Have you ever created a Facebook group? Like, what does that look like? I have created one. Do you have, like, one of your clients or anything? I do. I don't use it super often. I probably should do that more. But I never want to come across too salesman-y like. And I've always kind of struggled with where is that line? I tend to have more, I prefer the one-on-one, calling them, saying, you know, hey, let's grab lunch.

Let's grab coffee. I'm near you right now. What are you doing? But I do have them. I think if you're probably, if you're not delivering value, you're probably, you're just, you're almost using it almost like a CRM. And it comes out of Canada. Yes. Yeah. But it's a great place. I mean, friend everybody you know, especially your clients. People get scared to friend their clients. I'm not really sure why. Except maybe they don't want them to see them drinking or, you know, something like that. But the thing is. They're posting a bunch of political stuff. Well, yeah. Be careful with that. But you've got to learn how to publish, right? Well, and you can also filter. You can filter who sees what. So if you want to do that, yeah, create your lists. But it's such a great tool because their birthdays are in there.

Anniversaries are in there. That's what I tell you about it. It's like, even if they don't post their, even if they don't post their birthday on their profile. Yeah. If you scroll down far enough, their mom will wish them a happy birthday. Somebody wished them a happy birthday. Their wife or husband tagged them. Yes. Happy birthday to this guy. You know, whatever. It's there. Or if their dog passes away, we'll send them a gift. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's because we can all relate to that. That sucks. And, you know, just to see that you saw it, you acknowledge it, you're, you know, truly sympathetic towards them. That's a game changer, I feel like. Yeah. Agreed. Okay. Awesome. All right. So Facebook groups. So we've got finding people who are going to have reciprocal relationships with you from an industry standpoint.

Yeah. We've got client appreciation. Yeah. And referrer appreciation. Yes. And now we have the Facebook groups. Facebook groups. What do we got next? So charity organization. Okay. I'm big with giving back to the community. And with that creates other opportunities that allow you to introduce you to people that are like-minded and have the same care for causes as yourself. It can be anything. It can be if you're in the motorcycles, if you're in a, you know, dogs, you know, foster shelters and, you know, whatever it may be. But it opens you up to a whole other network of people that are, again, similar and like-minded.

But you're also working together often for whatever cause it is that you're working towards. Right. But when you're around people who are similar and like-minded, I mean, we've all heard the mantra that people buy from people that they know, like, and trust. Yes. Right? Yes. And so ultimately at the end of the day with that, what you're really doing is just making friends. That's it. Yeah. You're making more friends. Right? And that's, I think, really the key point of it all is you have, you want to work with who you like and people work with who they like. Right. And so when you find those people, you know, seek them out, first of all, and then build those relationships and it comes organically. Right. I think, you know, we talk to newer agents, especially, but if we have somebody who moves here and they don't really have a big sphere of influence or something like that, you know, as opposed to, and, you know, nothing against these organizations, but as opposed to going to a chamber of commerce or a rotary or, you know, whatever that looks like, it tends to be rooms filled with people handing out business cards.

Right. So what we see happen is they'll go for a couple of months and then they just get tired of being one of the people handing out business cards. Right. And so what we always talk about is it's a little bit of a longer play, but go do something that you love to do. Well, that's it. And have fun. Yeah. And you're going to go back. You're not going to come off as the cheesy guy with a business card trying to do business. You're going to make friends. And ultimately that's going to lead to the business card. And I think too, don't go into it with the expectation to receive anything because that comes across too. Like if you're, you've got to do something that you're genuinely interested in. And for me, I'm a member of Junior League of the Woodlands. I love it because it gives back to so many different charities that I feel strongly about.

But even if I got zero business from it, I'm still good because I love what I'm doing with that organization. And I do love the women that are a part of it. Getting business is the cherry on top. You know? For me, it was Rodeo. Yeah. So, you know, we were just literally just talking about Rodeo before we started recording. And, you know, I love going down there, hanging out with those guys, doing what we do to raise money for kids. And I just so happen to have gotten a fairly decent amount of business out of that over time. Right. But that was, that's not my primary motivation. I don't go there to get business. I go there because it makes a difference in the lives of kids who are going to be able to further their education. It's fun. And I've made a bunch of breaks.

Right. I completely agree. Yeah. If you go in with the expectation, they're going to feel it. And then that's not, nobody wants that. No. So now you're just selfish. Right. And, you know, we've also, we talked to experienced agents about this a lot because, you know, you'll see somebody who comes in the business and, you know, they start at zero. Right. And then you see their business kind of pick up and pick up and pick up. And it's somebody that kind of starts to plateau. And that's when we say, okay, it's time for you to go meet some new, make some new friends. Yes. Go talk to more strangers. Yes. Have the uncomfortable conversations. Yeah. And so that's one of the things we talk about is like, what do you like to do? Right. Go do something. Yes. Yeah. Go join a cooking club. Go join a fitness group. Yeah. We'll never do those now. But somebody in the cooking, but not the fitness.

So, yeah. Yeah. Good. I agree. All right. So that's four. Number five. And, well, I think we did. So we've got client parties, the Facebook groups, the top 100. Okay. The charity organizations. And then just working with those that work with you, you know, kind of your partners, your vendors, or even your hairdresser, for example. Right. I mean, all of my hairdressers I've ever used have bought real estate with me. Yeah. So. I think there's, you know, I think we underestimate a lot of time that if we're spending money with somebody, we should at least have a conversation. Yes. Yeah. And set them up to be on a campaign. I tell the story all the time. You know, I, it took me almost a decade of follow-up, but I finally got my doctor to buy a home from me.

That's awesome. And then in the three years that, that followed that, they sold that home, bought another home. We helped his son buy a home, sold an investment property. His sister bought a home, sold that home, were referred to a referral partner in Austin when she bought another home. So it was eight years of nothing. And then all of that in the span of two or three years. I think that's where people, agents, Realtors, they get discouraged. Understandably so, because it'll be two or three years if you're working on someone, but they're not ready yet. Right. It's not the timeframe where they're ready to move. And even somebody said it in our Facebook group, I can't remember which Realtor it was, but they said, you know, how big is Facebook for your business?

Because I'm not getting anything, but they had only been doing it maybe a year. Right. Like I've been on Facebook for 10 years. Right. So it takes time to figure it out. It takes a long time. Yes. Yeah. Which groups are good to be a part of, which groups aren't. Yes. You know, where you're going to be able to spend your time. Because I mean, you could theoretically spend all damn day on Facebook. Yes. And there are some agents who do. Yes. And are none the better for it. Right. So there has to be some sort of strategy behind what you're doing. Yeah. And I'm big on time blocking. I mean, if I could, if I don't block time, I could be on Facebook for six hours. And, you know, I'm down watching a squirrel video. You know, like, I don't know how I got there, but I'm there. And also, I'm trying to get my hair done. Right. Now I'm watching a squirrel video.

Yeah. I don't know. But you do. For the record, I don't have a hairdresser. No, that's all right. You don't need it. That's why I'm a top 99. That's all right. Well, Catherine might. Yeah. There you go. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Well, thank you for that. Absolutely. So I think that the word that was probably repeated the most as we went through this list was the word relationship. Yes. Because it's not just that we will. Right. It is a relationship with the people who are doing this. Right. And that's, you know, if you're married, if you're not, whatever, we all know that relationships take work. Right. And time. And, you know. Nurturing. Yeah.

And so that's the key is to look at it from a relationship standpoint. That's great. Yeah. Great. Awesome. Well, thank you for coming on and sharing. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. Love it. Bridget is always willing to come on and talk about stuff. And she just happens to kick ass at referrals. So I wanted to bring that in. Thank you. Yeah. So thank you. Thank you for watching. And we'll see you next time on Top 5. We'll see you next time on Top 5.