RECR's Blog

True story...

It was a lead generation company that almost made me quit the real estate business altogether. This company (who shall remain nameless though it's been all over the news lately) used to charge monstrous monthly fees. I believe I ended up getting 140 leads and only closing one.  Just one! It made my blood boil. I almost swore off internet prospecting altogether.

...Almost.

Because in the process, I learned some very valuable lessons from my mistakes. I carefully watched how this company did business and how they treated their real estate agents. I noticed and I swore that if I ever started a company, I would NEVER do things like that.  Things like:

• Sending me junk names or disconnected numbers - and hanging up on me when I called to bring it to their attention.
• Getting hold of a prospect, only to find out that they had no idea who I was or why I was calling. They weren't looking to buy or sell their home at all.
• Being put on hold or transferred endlessly through their so-called "customer service" whenever I had a question.
• Being forced to compete with other agents in the area over each lead that came in.

With things like these, what real estate agent in their right mind would even bother signing up? But the truth is... we need that extra income. Traditional walk-ins and phone calls aren't going to make ends meet.  I had desk fees, association fees, franchise fees... and I still had to work long, unforgiving hours to barely scratch out a living.

Then it hit me.  What if I started my own referral company? A company built from the ground up by agents - for agents.  A company where:

• You would never get junk names or disconnected numbers. If you did get a disconnected number, you could dispute it and get a new referral for free.
• We would personally verify each and every referral that came into the system to find out when they were looking to buy or sell, if they were currently working with a real estate agent, and how much they were looking to spend. If they didnt meet any of those qualifications, they never made it to the agent's email inbox.
• You would reach prospects that were actively looking for a real estate agent and were genuinely expecting to hear from you.
• You'd get the best customer service available. Friendly, prompt, reliable people who honestly want you to succeed and put their best effort into making sure that happens.
• You'd get exclusive rights to as many territories as you'd like (at no extra charge). Be sure that you could reasonably handle the referrals that come in from each area, though!

In March of 2003, I started that company - Real Estate Client Referrals and today, our company has helped real estate professionals make millions of dollars in sales.  Even Amanda King, a fellow Realtor(r) here on ActiveRain, and the Century 21 International Realtor of the Year, uses our program to account for over $5 million in sales - and nearly 40% of her gross income. 

If you'd be interested in learning more about how we can help you, and if you'd like to avoid the terrible experience I had with other real estate lead generation companies, I invite you to leave the "lead generation" concept behind - and move up to the next level of "referral procurement" and start getting verified, ready to act prospects in your e-mail.  Just call 1-800-977-7058 and ask for Clint or Mike.