It's a good practice to visit, face-to-face, with a client within 60 days of completing a transaction. You can very easily schedule these face-to-face visits in your real estate CRM and get automatic email reminders at the appropriate time.

Why should you make these visits within 60 days of completing a transaction? Because this is one of the best times to get a referral. Presumably, the client was delighted with your services. Plus, much of the traditional stress and anxiety associated with buying and selling a home has subsided.

What do you say at this meeting?

Obviously, you don't want to barge in and ask, "Do you have any friends or acquaintances that need a REALTOR®?" You can imagine the reaction you would get!

Instead, you need to first find out if the conditions are right... and only then ask for a referral. The way to do that is to first ask for feedback.

From Feedback to Real Estate Referrals: The Process

• Set the tone. Explain that you build your business by providing great client service.
• Ask for candor. Encourage your client to be frank and honest with you.
• Focus on the positive. Ask your clients for their opinion of what you did particularly well in helping them sell or buy a home.
• Be receptive. Invite your clients to offer suggestions on what you can improve upon in your overall services.
• End on a high note. Find "the one thing" you did for the client that made the home buying or selling process easier for them.

By asking these questions, you will gain a good sense of whether or not your client is likely to refer business to you. If you judge from your clients' answers that conditions are right, go ahead and ask for a referral.

Make sure you record all the feedback you get in your real estate CRM. It's good to keep track of feedback so 1) it's not forgotten down the road and 2) you can reference it and see where you're doing well and where you need to improve.

Once the client sends you referrals, you'll also want to use your real estate CRM to record that they were given to you by that particular client.

Takeaway point: According to a report in Selling Power magazine, you're twice as likely to get a referral from a client if you first ask for feedback.

Do you plan on giving this approach a try? Please leave a comment below!

To view the original article, visit the IXACT Contact blog.