Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was something real estate agents could do that would guarantee they would receive no referrals! That’s right, absolutely no referrals! No warm calls from friends or relatives of past clients. No, referring agents to worry about, and interrupt the precious paperwork, BPO’s, and short sale negotiation calls.

 

The one simple secret that will guarantee no referrals is ‘don’t ask & don’t tell. Don’t ask for referrals, and don’t tell your referring source what happened to the lead. Let’s examine each suggestion in detail.

 

When I was young, I attended Catholic grammar school. We called it CCC: Catholic Concentration Camp. The nuns told us they needed to, “Say something three times for the normal mind”. They believed that repetition was the mother of learning. They also seemed to believe that punishment was the father of education.

 

Let’s say Sister Mary Saint James decided to leave the convent and get her real estate license. She would ask all her friends, relatives, priests, and former students to refer prospective clients to her. She would ask for those referrals at least three times, if you had ‘a normal mind’.

 

Sister Mary Saint James would also keep you abreast of her progress in working with the referral. She might also say a few prayers for you, as her way of saying thank you. And, when the transaction closed, Sister Mary would probably send you a thank you note, or some rosary beads. Compare Sister Mary to a referral I gave to another agent last week.

 

A doctor was in town for a few days and needed help leasing a few rental properties. I referred the client to another agent who did property management in our office for no consideration. My expectation was that I would receive an update and a thank you note. I received neither. That agent will never receive another referral.

 

Albert Einstein said true genius is taking the complex and making it simple. The simple secret of receiving no referrals is: don’t ask for referrals and don’t tell the referring source that you are appreciative of those leads.