As a real estate agent, networking, advertising, and netting referrals is a central component of your business. Serving your active clients impeccably, maintaining positive connections with previous clients, and interacting with potential clients online and over the phone will consume a significant portion of your work week.

Even if you’ve got a handle on these reliable networking strategies, there are creative ways to generate referrals that you may not have incorporated into your routine. From targeted weekend projects to ingenious online strategies, we have suggestions to keep you flush with referrals throughout the coming year.

Cultivate an Open and Engaging Demeanor

For many real estate agents, an outgoing manner and top-notch social skills are assets with which they begin their business; others must work to cultivate these traits. If you fall into the latter camp, don’t fret! If you consistently put in the effort to develop your abilities, you’ll make swift progress.

While not everyone will choose to interact with you, it’s your job to move through the world eager to strike up conversations. Be a great listener, and work to find out more about those living in your target regions.

Your work may not always arise naturally in a conversation, but often asking about another person’s work with genuine interest will be enough to garner a reciprocal inquiry. If asked, let your genuine enthusiasm for your work show through; this spark will make a great, often lasting, impression.

Facilitate Connections

Whether you’re directly working as a real estate agent or not, it will serve your business well if you invest effort into becoming a skilled connector of people. Listen for ways you can be of service and maintain a diverse network of highly reliable professionals and tradespeople to whom you can refer others.

Network Within Your Agency

If you’re a new or emerging agent, make time to introduce yourself to each of the top producers within your agency. Offer to host their open houses, too! Perpetually busy agents will appreciate your help, sellers will love having your full attention during the open house process, and you will be able to network left and right at each event.

Ways to Leverage Your Weekend

If you have a few free hours over a weekend, have a concrete strategy to make the most of your time.

1.) Assemble and Mail Gifts

Gifts, cards, and thank you notes are excellent ways to take pressure off your coming work week. The holidays are just around the corner, so the coming weeks are the ideal time to spend weekend hours shopping, writing, and mailing your clients and contacts.

2.) Attend a Housewarming Party

Once your client has purchased their home and settled in, they will probably invite you to attend their housewarming party. Attending will facilitate a positive ongoing connection with your client, of course, but it will also give you the chance to meet your client’s friends and family—any of whom may be in the market to buy or sell a home.

Host Contests Online

Having consistently active professional Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and even YouTube accounts is a no-brainer for networking success. While you’re at it, we suggest hosting a contest on each platform to generate activity and boost visibility for your brand.

Ask a real-estate-focused question or a trivia question about your community, pick a winner using a random selector, then give gift cards to a hardware store, grocery store, restaurant, theater, coffee shop, lounge, or book shop in town.

Feel Free to Pay for Leads

While some realtors refuse to pay for leads, it’s no secret that big hitters splash out for lead generation in addition to their existing, robust lead generation strategies. If you have the available budget and inclination to pay for leads, don’t let anyone make you feel as though you’re doing anything wrong if you decide to go for it.

Be Confident

Unless you announce that you’re new to the business and looking for any methods to expand your business, no one will be able to tell that you aren’t a seasoned pro. Don’t sell yourself short; instead, focus on listening carefully to people when they speak about their needs and wants in all things real estate.

The Takeaway

No matter how extensive your list of friends and family may be, you will eventually need to source leads from beyond your sphere of influence. Just as in any other type of business, over time, the majority of your income isn’t going to come from within your social group, but rather from those you have yet to meet.

With that in mind, though, it’s also key not to force yourself to keep expending a lot of effort into endeavors that aren’t paying off. As an agent, you’re going to find networking strategies that work beautifully for you; you only need to enhance your natural skills with practice. 

Some agents are cold call wizards, some balance buzzing networks of thousands of people, and others are incredibly gifted as open house hosts. Still, others spend much of their marketing budget on paid leads—and each of these methods are valid and valuable.

Focus on finding your way. Once you have, don’t hold back; pouring yourself into your work with all you have is key to creating a foundation that will sustain your work for many years to come.