Your best client just closed on their dream home last month. They’re over the moon. At a dinner party this weekend, their friends ask who their agent was.
“Oh, you have to use Sarah! She was incredible. Let me get you her number…”
Here’s where it gets interesting. Your client pulls out their phone, scrolls through contacts, finds your number, and texts it over. Their friends save it politely. Maybe they’ll call. Probably not.
What they really want to see are the types of homes you represent. Your style. Your market knowledge. They want to get a feel for who you are before they make that call.
But instead, they got ten digits.
There are two ways to handle referrals:
Hope that your past clients remember your name correctly, find your contact information, and that their friends will cold-call a stranger based on a recommendation.
Or make it so easy for clients to share your work that the referral sells itself.
Here’s the thing about referrals: They’re not really about you. They’re about your client looking good to their friends. When someone asks for a restaurant recommendation, you don’t just say “Call Mario’s.” You show them the menu, maybe a photo of the pasta that made you swoon.
Property referrals should work the same way.
Imagine this instead: Your client pulls up their phone and shows a curated collection of your recent listings. Clean photos, clear details, your professional headshot prominently displayed. “This is Sarah’s work. Look at these homes she just sold in your neighborhood.”
Now the friends aren’t just getting a phone number. They’re getting a portfolio. They’re seeing your market knowledge, your aesthetic sense, your attention to detail. They’re pre-sold before they ever call.
The referral conversation changes from “You should call Sarah” to “Look what Sarah can do for you.”
Smart agents understand that referrals happen in the showing, not the telling. When your clients can easily display your best work, they become your most effective sales team. Not because they’re trying to sell, but because excellent work sells itself.
A QR code on your business card that leads to your curated listings. A simple way for clients to share your portfolio from their phones. These aren’t just conveniences. They’re referral multipliers.
The best marketing happens when you’re not in the room. The question is: Are you making it easy for your advocates to advocate?
Every satisfied client is a potential marketing department of one. The only question is whether you’ve given them the tools to do the job.
