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How to earn more as a real estate professional: employ your knowledge and your network

Posted On Friday, 25 March 2022 19:55
How to earn more as a real estate professional: employ your knowledge and your network

For many successful real estate agents, brokers, broker associates and realtors, the first foray into the world of real estate was that of a side gig. As they became good at their jobs and learned to avoid the pitfalls (like buyers asking their realtor to reduce commission or offering cash back at closing schemes), it turned into a full-time occupation, be it contract-based or freelance. 

Being expert salespeople and great communicators, real estate professionals accumulate a vast network of clients, both past and prospective. The sad reality, however, is that only a fraction of these clients will ever return. Sure, according to 2021 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends, 9 in 10 clients would use their agent again, but only 11% actually do. Luckily, content clients will recommend their agent to family and friends at least once or twice after the purchase. However, beyond that, they will rarely generate any additional income for their agent. 

The untapped power of recommendations 

There are many good reasons for keeping in touch with past clients. Maintaining a network can yield word of mouth referrals years down the road. And one does so much more than just following up with a homebuyer to check how they’ve settled in. After all, a deep understanding of what a particular homebuyer might need after the purchase is what distinguishes an experienced real estate professional from a rookie. 

From choosing the best moving company to the most affordable decorators, from home insurance to reliable security solutions, clients have a lot of questions. It’s no surprise that they are likely to ask for their agent’s advice on these and numerous other decisions. But although being a good sport makes for good reviews and a strong personal brand, it doesn’t pay directly.

Unlike in other fields where trust and recommendations are king (like in the case of a hairdresser that can both recommend and sell the best suitable hair product), real estate professionals don’t get any referral bonuses, as they are not involved in selling additional services. And for good reason, as maintaining a virtual Rolodex of different offers and actively referring clients would require hours upon hours of additional work. But what if this was simplified? 

Is affiliate marketing compatible with real estate? 

Most of us come across affiliate marketing in our daily lives. Not to be confused with multi-level marketing or property referral networks, affiliate marketing is used by companies to have others (usually people like bloggers, vloggers and podcasters) to help them sell more products and services. In fact, over 80% of brands use some form of affiliate marketing to boost sales. Up until today, one had to maintain a visible social media presence, create content and relentlessly promote products or services. And as we all know, real estate agents rarely have time for additional activities like this. 

One should keep in mind, though, that it’s rarely the size of your audience that matters, it’s the quality. A typical real estate agent’s network consists of people who are likely to need certain services like moving, indoor and outdoor decorating, gardening equipment or home security solutions. Professional marketers would say that these people have a high affinity score. In that

case, having a way to access deals and seamlessly share them with clients is all that's needed to benefit from affiliate marketing programmes. You could opt for just one provider or you could join an affiliate network like Realthy.io that aggregates deals relevant for both real estate professional and homebuyers. Whatever you choose, tapping into this additional stream of income is something to consider, if you want to earn more. 

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One thing to bear in mind is that you shouldn’t feel tempted to join just ANY affiliate network. Participating in certain networks can go against RESPA regulations and might even jeopardize your status and license. That’s one more reason to go for a specialized platform for real estate professionals (like the aforementioned Realthy.io), who make sure that all deals are RESPA-compliant. That way you’ll be able to safely monetize your network, without having to spend a dime on registration fees to boot.

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