Do you stay awake at night wondering where your next deal is coming from?

In our world of sales, constant unpredictability is a massive form of stress. It creates panic and fear. And do you notice that the top salespeople in your office appear more calm, relaxed and optimistic?

That's because they have the single most powerful tool in ensuring that they always have new deals coming their way. It's the easiest and most important thing you can do for your business and yet only a very small percent are actually doing this.

What is the single most important thing you can do to radically increase your sales?

Ok, I know this is going to sound simple, but stay with me here; it's your referrals.

See, I told you it was simple. But if it's so simple why isn't your business at a  place that you want it to be? That's because you may not be managing your referral network properly. I know, that sentence may hurt to hear for a minute, but the best part is this is easy to fix!

After working with thousands of agents, here is the one thing I've learned that will help your referral business explode.

Let's paint a picture here. You meet a wonderful couple and they are looking at selling their home, perfect, that's what you do. You get along well, they love you and they decide to work with you.

You work hard for them and you sell their place quickly and for a price they are happy with. They are so happy in fact that they then use you to help them buy their dream home, which of course you do.

The deal is done and you have another happy client. Then you go off to find the next client to help. And your clients continue along with their busy life. 

How do you get referrals from these clients?

At first, when the deal is fresh and their lives are ALL about moving, they will of course talk about you and send you referrals. This is the sweet spot. But months or years after the deal is long completed and life moves along, those precious conversations about you dry up; along with the referrals.

"But months or years after the deal is long completed and life moves along, those precious conversations about you dry up; along with the referrals."

Sure, you call your clients, you email your clients, maybe you send them a Christmas card or call them on their birthdays - all very important in keeping the relationship strong. But a strong relationship still does not create referrals, a strong relationship with your clients only ensures that the conversations about you will be positive ones.

You need a tool that endlessly creates conversations about you.

This is the key! This is the single most important part of the referral business. Your clients need to have something that constantly creates those passionate conversations about you. 

The phone calls to your clients are great, but as soon as you hang up the phone it's gone. The gift card you gave them is spent and gone. The dinner out with them is wonderful but as soon as you leave the restaurant it's gone. They no longer create conversations about you to their friends and family. 

Your clients desperately need and want, something that will help them have that positive conversation about you. Something that will spark your name in conversation. And better yet, something that will have your clients friends and family ask about you first! Imagine your clients have a dinner party and their friends ask about you to your clients. That is a referral!

"Imagine your clients have a dinner party and their friends ask about you to your clients. That is a referral!"

 The conversation starter

 In our experience, it is the Realtors that give their clients a house portrait, are the ones that get the most referrals. It's your great customer service and your follow up system that keeps the relationship strong, but it's the portrait of their home on the wall that creates the conversations about you. 

The formula to a referral is this;

A happy customer + follow up + a portrait on the wall = referrals.

It is the portrait that will constantly bring up those conversations about you decades after the deal is done. So when your next deal is done with your clients and you're in the liquor store looking at purchasing that bottle of wine for your clients, or in Home Depot buying them a gift card, I want you to take a moment and ask yourself "Does this help to create referrals?" and if the answer is no, put it down and find a gift that does.

I hope you enjoyed this article and that you sleep better tonight.

Russell McRae

McRae Portraits.