Stop Talking About Goals
When we speak with our leadership group, whether it’s the senior leaders or the branch managers, the key to getting their attention is to speak their language. We have a horrible habit in the relocation industry of speaking in anagrams and acronyms and using language that is meaningful to us but means little to others.
An example is when Relocation Directors go on and on every month in leadership meetings about their outgoing referral goals given to them by their broker network. I know they do it because I used to do it. The broker network I was a part of for many years imposed ridiculously high outgoing referrals goals on us and if for some reason we actually achieved it, they would reward us with higher goals the next year. The practice bred cheating and manipulation of numbers throughout the network that made me sick to my stomach. I just would not play that game. Thankfully, I understand that network changed many practices around outgoing referrals and goals. But I truly believe in the practice of sending out-of-area referrals when it’s done for the right reasons.
Referring is good business.
Goals are just a number and the bigger the number the more unattainable it may seem to an agent or a manager. They often don’t see how their handful of referrals could make a dent. Or they feel like others can carry the load. This particularly rings true if the branch or agents get less by going through your network. We have to overcome that by dazzling them with such stellar service that they see the value in making it a part of their business plan.
Instead of talking about the goals, talk about why the agents should send their clients through the network. Remind them of the benefits of referring and the importance of your place in the network. The benefits to the agents, to their clients, and to the company. And none of those benefits mentioned should include the trophy you might win. Hammering people about goals without context just becomes irritating. Discuss the why behind it. Make it as personal as possible.
WIIFT.
Discuss the features and benefits 0f referring—not the goal. They don’t give a flip about someone else’s goals. Always remember…what’s in it for them.
Features:
Easy to place (whether you do it for them or they do it themselves)
Trusted professional network of brokers and agents just about everywhere
Secure process and guaranteed payment if it closes
Ability to change agents if unsatisfied
Higher conversion rates
Customized counseling
Frequent updates
Marketing materials are provided for the agent to generate referrals
Benefits:
It’s easy!
Increase income/revenue with little effort
Keeps their clients close
Makes them an international real estate resource for their clients
Helps network with other agents/companies
Generates more reciprocal referrals back into your company and to them
Makes them a hero with their clients
Provide clients with an agent like them
Helps them expand their client base
Appeal to them in multiple ways.
If contests work in your company, then do it. But know the agents participate because they want a prize, not because they care about the goal. Appeal to them in a myriad of ways depending on what resonates with them. That may mean different things to different people, so try everything:
Focus on the money
Remind them frequently
Make the process super simple
Create social and email campaigns
Reward them
Ensure your leadership are your allies
Solidify your company’s place in the network
It is also a recruiting and retention tool if agents are considering going to a company that does not have a relocation department and formalized network or coming from one that does not have one. Working with new agents to build referring into their day-to-day business activity is a great way to help them see the value. Once it’s on their radar and they collect a few checks early in their career for very little effort, they will be hooked. An agent needs zero experience to refer.
Consumers’ access to information online has made it easy for them to seek out their own agents based on reviews and crowdsourcing when they go to a new market. So it is critical for agents to use their influential trusted relationships to overcome that with constant reinforcement of their national connections and expertise.
Go get them yourself.
Don’t underestimate the value of using your company’s social media and marketing efforts to generate out-of-area referrals directly from the public and your company’s client base and followers. I know some brokers use their out-of-area internet leads and license-holding company leads to push through their network. Your personal sphere and that of your company’s employees can be a nice source of referrals. Do whatever makes sense for your company and culture.
When you build a detailed strategy to achieve any type of goal, leave the actual goal out of the discussion. If the strategy appeals to the target audience and satisfies their needs in a variety of ways, then you will achieve the goal.
“A goal without a plan is only a dream.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French writer, poet, journalist, and pioneering aviator
