Matthew, a realtor on the East Coast, has been in the game for over 30 years. What’s impressive isn’t just Matt’s longevity, but the fact that he has weathered some of the worst economic storms the country has ever faced. Matthew’s secret? Professional relationships.

When the real estate market went belly-up in 2007, Matthew didn’t panic. Like everyone else, he had to make small sacrifices here and there, but he knew he would get through it. He was sure the relationships he had forged with clients and other real estate professionals would get him through. He was right.

If you’re a new realtor in Richmond, you can mine some valuable gems from Matthew’s approach. The key is to classify the relationships that are going to help you establish your business early and then proactively strengthen them. Here are some relationship-building tools to help give your Richmond real estate business a solid foundation.

1. Be the Best at What You Do in Richmond

With every client—regardless of their purchasing power or where they are in the buying or selling process—go the extra mile. Here are some of the crucial steps you can take to build powerful relationships with clients:

• Investigate in advance: Go to the property first, and then take your client. Checking it out ahead of time will show that you’re invested in gleaning as much helpful info as possible.
• Always be on time: Reliability is one of the cornerstones of solid relationships.
• Go to open houses, and report what you find: When you present information you've gathered at an open house to your client, he or she feels you went there just for them.
• Communicate often and early: When you hear about something, connect with your client right away. Don’t let more than a few days go by without touching base at least once.

2. Use Reviews to Attract More Clients

The best time to solicit a review is at the closing. While submitting a review wouldn’t be a mandatory element of the closing process, you can set it up as a soft expectation. As the closing approaches, you can say to your client, “Reviews really help my business. If you’re satisfied with my services, would you mind doing a review when we close?”

When prefaced in this manner, the review is likely to be positive. If it is, remember to thank your client. If it is not, circle back and ask what went wrong, and solicit feedback about how to improve in the future. If you show that you care, you are much more likely to see that client again.

3. Harness the Power of Technology

With the sea of technological options out there, it’s easy to get in over your head. To help you wade through, here are two tested and proven tools: blogging and useful content. Your blog should always provide valuable and novel information. Your readers should walk away, having learned something compelling, and then want to share it with others!

To make your content compelling, you can mix it up with a combination of interesting infographics, videos, and photos. The primary objective of the content is not to convert readers or viewers to clients—that’s secondary. The primary purpose is to keep you and your services at the forefront of your clients' thoughts.

If you become a source of useful information for buyers and sellers, they are more likely to:

1. Go to you when they need help, and
2. Forward your content to others. 

This not only helps solidify your existing relationships but helps create new ones!

4. Use a Realtor Referral Program

Here’s how a Realtor Referral Program works:

1. The realtor has a client that owns a property that he or she wants to rent instead of sell.
2. The realtor refers the client to a property management company, who then takes care of the details of the rental process, and most importantly, the property itself.
3. As time goes by, the property is maintained meticulously by the property management team. 
4. When the client is ready to sell, he or she is smoothly transitioned back to the realtor.

A Realtor Referral Program benefits a realtor in four ways:

1. Compensation: Agents who partner with property management companies this way are typically rewarded for the referral.
2. A more valuable property to sell: A property management team takes good care of their properties. When it’s time to sell, the realtor has a better product to bring to market.
3. More clients: The client will never be taken from you as an agent because when the time comes to sell, he or she is transitioned back to you. Also, when other clients want to sell, they can be referred to you—if they weren’t acquired through a referral from another agent, of course!
4. Strong, long-lasting relationships: There’s nothing better for a relationship than some mutual back-scratching. It feels good to both give and receive.

The Richmond market is an excellent arena for a new realtor. Like Matthew, if you form productive relationships, they will support your business for many years to come. One of the most important connections you can develop is through a Realtor Referral Program. If you're interested in growth, reach out to us today. Let's discuss how partnering with Mission can benefit you!