Trust.
That's what I tell every agent I work with.
Trust is the ultimate currency in real estate, and you can't buy it - you have to earn it.
I've spent years analyzing data across thousands of transactions, and here's what blows my mind every time: referred clients are 4x more likely to close deals and stick around 37% longer than clients from other sources.
Wild, right?
Back in 2015, I was working with this agent in San Diego.
Smart guy, crushing his numbers, but he was tracking his referrals on sticky notes and in random spreadsheets.
He'd lose track of who referred who, miss opportunities to thank people, and basically leave money on the table.
That's when I realized we needed to completely rethink how we handle referrals in this business.