In our previous post called the best real estate agents say thank you, we talked about the importance of keeping existing clients. As a refresher, the big takeaway from that post was this: sharing a genuine thank you with clients is a great way to set yourself apart from other agents, keep your business and work in the renter or buyer’s mind, and simultaneously make you a better person.

But that post left a tip uncovered that we’d like to discuss here as part of our real estate agent tips on client management and new renter / buyer acquisition. The idea we’d like to address is: how does sharing a genuine thank you with existing clients help find new clients? Can it even help a real estate agent find new clients in the first place, or is it only what is commonly referred to as a client management technique?

We certainly believe that the best real estate and rental agents are leaders when it comes to having existing renters and buyers refer new clients. But it’s important to distinguish between the two types of referrals to better understand why they happen and the relative power of each.

The two types of referrals are organic referrals and inorganic referrals. Organic referrals are those that clients make on an agent’s behalf without an agent having specifically asked the current client to do so. Inorganic referrals are not as strong, because they are referrals that an agent has asked a client to make on their behalf. Therefore the client is usually not as genuine and convincing in their referral to a potential new client on the agent’s behalf. The key, then, is to drive as many organic referrals as possible if you want to continue succeeding as a real estate agent.

One way to do this is excellent client management. Let’s say you’ve just helped a renter find a new place and they’ve just moved in. If you send them a handwritten note to check in on them and see how the move process was, chances are you’ll be the first piece of mail they receive at their new home or apartment. Combine that with the kind reminder that you care about your clients beyond a transaction, and you’ve just generated a lot of goodwill. And this goodwill often translates into the organic referrals we talk about above – your clients are so impressed by you, your professionalism, and how much you care that they will talk to their friends when it comes time for them to rent a new place.

And yes there’s always a place for inorganic referrals – not all of your clients will remember you 100% of the time. So it’s good to collect as much of your renter or buyer’s contact information and stay in touch every couple of months, even if they’ve just bought a new home or signed a 1 year rental lease.

Remember, these are just steps you can take to increase your chances of an organic referral after the entire rental process or home buying process has taken place. We haven’t even gotten into the entire rental process and the things you have to do to be a more successful real estate agent – but we’ll get to it in future posts, so stay tuned.

Bottom line: while referrals are important to have in the renting or home buying industry, there are two different types: organic and inorganic referrals. And the organic referrals are the kind that you have to work harder to get (earn your referrals) but they pay off more than inorganic referrals. Continue to focus on what has driven organic referrals for you in the past, because that’s what will set you apart from other agents.

Image by psd via Flickr

There are numerous studies and shared experiences that have shown it’s cheaper to retain your current clients than it is to acquire new ones. Some agents don’t know the aforementioned fact, and yet some agents know the fact and still don’t do anything about it. Below is a great 3 minute TED video showing the power of thank you and below the video we’ll tie in how this relates to successful rental and real estate agents.

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Wow, that’s a powerful video. And it’s a great reminder that in general people don’t say thank you enough. So here’s how it relates to rental and real estate agents trying to close more listings and/or set themselves apart from other agents:

Write thank you cards to current and previous clients. If you helped someone find an apartment to rent, or if you connected a renter with a landlord, you should keep in contact with that client. And if you’ve fallen out of touch with them, what better way than to send a thank you card to rekindle the connection. You already did the hard work of successfully achieving that client’s goals – why not make them aware of that and keep them aware that you’re still doing business? It just makes so much sense.

Here’s an example: let’s say you have served 50 clients, so you follow the advice here and send 50 thank you cards. If just one of those previous clients ends up referring you to a new client, or finds you for repeat business, then you’ve more than made up your small investment of time and money. You’ve also just created good will with every other client.

And it makes sense to write handwritten thank you cards, rather than sending generic flyers or cards. It shows that you really care for the client’s previous business but also about them as a person – remember to mention something personal, or to ask how their kids or spouse are doing. Writing these thank you cards by hand means that you invested a bit more time in the person receiving the card. This is important because in a world where everything is done rapidly (email! twitter! text messages!) you can create a more powerful impact by doing things the old fashioned way.

Remember that following this advice not only makes business sense, it also is common sense. Sharing a genuine thank you with clients is a great way to set yourself apart from other agents, keep your business and work in the renter or buyer’s mind, and simultaneously make you a better person.

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