This is your go-to guide for agent-to-agent referrals! We are breaking down what agent referrals are, how they work, and the typical referral amounts you can expect. Discover the best strategies for sourcing referrals, from networking at conferences and classes to leveraging online communities and social media platforms. Learn why brokerage colleagues might not always be the best fit for referrals and how building a nationwide referral network could be a game-changer. Plus, we share insights from a listener’s question on handling referrals, building an agent database, and managing commissions and paperwork. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you master the art of agent-to-agent referrals and grow your real estate business.

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The following is a rough transcript provided by Otter.ai.

Alissa 0:02
I feel like collecting reviews is a business practice for sure. So if you have reviews, it means you are running your business like a business.

Katy 0:13
I do think some agents treat an agent to agent referral like mailbox money, right? Yeah, like all I did was make a phone call and now I’m gonna get 25% of your hard work.

Alissa 0:25
You’re asking yourself, am I serving myself to get paid, or am I serving the best interest of my client? Hi, y’all, welcome to hustle humbly. It’s Alyssa and Katie, and we are two top producing realtors in the Baton Rouge market. We

Katy 0:42
work for two different companies where we should be competitors, but we have chosen community over competition.

Alissa 0:47
The goal of our podcast is to encourage you to find your own way in business. So stop comparing yourself and start embracing your strengths. Hi Alyssa. Hey, Katie. Welcome

Katy 0:55
to episode number 268 agent to agent referrals.

Alissa 0:59
I can’t believe we’ve never talked about, I

Katy 1:01
was gonna say exactly the same thing. How have we not specifically discussed this? I know whenever people start talking about income streams, this is a legitimate, I guess, thing that they list out. But I have so many questions for you about how this logistically works. Why for me? Well, you’ve gotten a lot of agent to agent referrals, yeah. But, I mean, I’ve gotten about you’re

Alissa 1:27
more client referrals for sure, yeah, for sure. I went

Katy 1:31
back and looked through my, you know, 19 years of transactions, and I had 10 to 12 ish, okay, agent to agent referrals, yeah, they were. There was no big rhyme or reason. A couple of them I got because I was at Rema, we’ll get into where you get them, okay, but I don’t have, like, this huge track record of agent to agent referrals. Yeah. Do you have a good bit

Alissa 1:55
I do, and I did some research before we recorded, right

Katy 1:58
before we get all your information. Tell tell the listeners, what is an agent? To agent referral? What are they? How do they

Alissa 2:06
work? When you hear of someone purchasing or selling real estate in a market that you don’t feel comfortable in, you are not licensed in, you find an agent in that marketplace and you refer it. Yes, you call that agent. You say, Hey, I have a friend client, whatever, and this is what they’re looking for. Can you help? They say, sure. You say, Great. Would you be okay with an X percent referral fee? You come to an agreement, and then y’all sign, okay? You

Katy 2:35
sign a referral form. Yeah, you step one. Step one. Well, step one is, you know someone who needs an agent in a market that you don’t serve? Correct? Okay, step two is you go and research agents in the market they need. Yes, okay, you can find someone by a bunch of different ways. We’ll tell you that in a minute. But step two is find an agent and make sure that they’re good, right? So that’s the biggest thing you got to vet them. That’s because this is really your biggest function of the agent to agent referral. It’s vetting the agent you’re sending your person to. Right? How do you vet your referrals?

Alissa 3:10
Before? I had hustle humbly community, because I’ve been using that so much before that it just sort of depended on the area like, so I’ve always been with a bigger company. So my first question is, like, is there an Do we have an office there? Yeah, if we do, I usually call the manager of that office and say, Hey, this is Alyssa from the Baton Rouge market. I have a first time homebuyer who is really good with first time homebuyers. Like, I want to make sure it’s a good fit, right then, what? Whoever, if it’s maybe, even if it’s not an office I can call, I’ll just research agents in that marketplace, either on Google. But then I go look at their Instagram and see are they like my vibe or not,

Katy 4:04
right? Because you’re basically looking for someone to act as if you would correct in the transaction. Yeah,

Alissa 4:10
and that’s why, like, if your profile didn’t look to be like, I would want it to look that’s not a problem, right? Like, because your vibe will attract your tribe, right? I’m just looking for someone to match this specific client. That makes sense. So don’t feel like you have to go, you know, mimic some other agent. No, no, no, but it needs to be professional ish and friendly and positive, you know.

Katy 4:39
Okay, do you want me to tell you the way I would always, once I decided how I was looking, which will again, we’ll get into this in a minute. Let’s just say I was at REMAX, and I was going to pick a REMAX agent. Then I would do a time trial. So I would send an email and make a phone call and see how long it took for responses. Oh, and I would do it to like, two or three. People at a time, typically just to, like, get a feel, because I’m like, the most important thing is that you’re responsive, yeah? And that you like, do you read your email? Do you answer your phone? This is the only way for me to know. So I would do a test, yeah. I also like

Alissa 5:15
to look at if they have reviews, yeah. Like, how many reviews do you have? I feel like collecting reviews is a business practice for sure. So if you have reviews, it means you are running your business like a business to a certain extent, sure, because you could certainly be a successful agent who has zero reviews because you never asked or had a place. But I find them helpful in the aspect of trying to find someone that I’m sending a referral to, because I don’t know you otherwise. Yeah.

Katy 5:47
Okay, so that was step two. We found the agent. Step three is you get the agent to agree to whatever your terms are, and you send the referral form. Okay, the referral form is something that your office gives you that will say, Here’s my client’s information, here’s my information, and how you’re going to pay me, right? Yeah, and then the agent has to sign off, and it’s going to be, is it a percentage of the commission that they earn? Is it a flat fee, like you’re basically coming to terms on what the referral is, right? Then you’re going to have to provide with for them now, or at some point, the w9 for your office. Like, how do they literally pay your office? And you’re gonna get asked this at the end, once they get their check, if you didn’t provide it with the form. Okay, so there’s some form stuff you have to do. Then they they’re gonna do their transaction. How much do you check in?

Alissa 6:39
I don’t mean that’s you definitely don’t want to micromanage. No, no, but I do think it’s helpful. So I just sent a referral to a good agent, friend of mine in Lake Charles. Okay, it ended up being like at no fault of the agent, just a little bit of a tumultuous transaction. The client was an attorney dealing with a builder. The agent is trying to keep the peace, and she did call me a few times and was like, and I hadn’t heard from my buyer, but she called me and said, hey, everything’s going fine, but just in case you’re hearing anything otherwise, I wanted to just let you know that what the system, how it’s going? I do have it handled, and I just appreciated that, because she was like, I don’t want you to think I’m not doing a good job, right? And so they made it to the closing table successfully. And to me, the times in my personal transactions where I have felt like I provided the most value is when we were overcoming a problem. Yeah, so she was nervous that that was gonna bother me, that there was a problem in the transaction. I said, No, I trust you to handle it, and she did, but I appreciated her just giving me a heads up, like, hey, this happened, right? We’re working through it, just in case you hear anything, and where

Katy 8:00
you don’t need to micromanage the transaction. You do need to check in at some point and be like, Hey, Are they under contract? Yeah, hey, when is the closing? Because at no fault of their own agents, who are busy may forget that it was a referral that

Alissa 8:15
would be me, yeah, right. You’re like, oh

Katy 8:16
shoot, I

Alissa 8:17
gotta pay somebody else. So if you send the referral, and you’re wanting to get paid. Oh, I’ve never forgotten to pay a referral, right? But to get paid, yeah, to get paid, yeah? Like, I wonder if that person ever bought anything three years ago. Okay,

Katy 8:32
so early, early on in my career, there was an agent in New Orleans. So our markets are about an hour apart, right? Like, they’re not in our MLS, I would, I would not go work in New Orleans. There are agents that do both. That’s just not. I’m not familiar with that mark, and I think it’s too far away. So there was an agent in New Orleans who sent me a referral. It was another REMAX agent, and it was pretty early in my career. It was for a client of his that needed to rent out something. So I was, I’m like, Sure, I’ll take a rental referral, whatever. Well, he just, I guess he liked me. He had one other agent in Baton Rouge, but he was constantly sending people to me to work on and I never now I say that very few of them closed, okay, okay, I think one sale and several rentals. But I was just like, Y’all that. I think the first one was maybe in 2009 so it’s been a lot of years that this guy has been sending referrals. Just last night, he texted me to try and help one of his friends with a like a son who needed a rental. I’m like, I love you and I appreciate you. This is not my specialty, and I don’t even know how to help with the question that you’re asking me, but I always try to point him in the right direction, sure, but he was so good, though, at follow up, not micromanaging. Hey, a year ago, I sent you so and so, what happened with that? I’d be like, we talked once and they flaked. Like, yeah, I mean, this is where we were at and they but he would always. Follow up on his referrals. I’m like, dang, he’s really good at referring out and following up. Yeah. I was like, wow, but I would say getting a partner in another market that does send a lot of back and forth is probably a good idea,

Alissa 10:15
yeah, and you said something I think is worth discussing as well. You know, we do talk a lot about mindset, and there is that scarcity mindset, I must make money, I must have business. You said you did not want to go to New Orleans one it’s too far. That’s when would you refer something out? I think people think, Oh, well, it’s across the country. New Orleans is an hour from us. I

Katy 10:37
referred out a million dollars in business in New Orleans a couple of years ago, I would too. I would manually had one in a million dollars in sales, yeah,

Alissa 10:46
but that would be an unwise business decision. Not only did you say, it’s too, far more importantly, you said, not familiar, yeah, I need to be an expert. New Orleans is a historic city. There is different types of plumbing, there is different types of flood insurance. There is different type of homeowners insurance. These houses are older than anything we have here in Baton Rouge. And if you don’t know, yeah, what you need to look for specifically in that market, you probably are not, you are not serving the best interest of your client. But I see you know, as our state has started merging, MLSs, we are seeing a lot of crossover, right? And it’s, I would say, 60% of the time, it’s very messy, very messy, and I do think it can hurt your reputation as an agent if you are trying to impose yourself in a market where maybe you don’t belong, yeah? Um, maybe your your lockbox key doesn’t work in that market, and you’re at the mercy of another agent opening the door every time you need to go, yeah, some of our documents don’t transfer over, so they’re at the mercy of the other agent running comps, doing the disclosures. Like, if that’s the case, you’re asking yourself, am I serving myself to get paid, or am I serving the best interest of my client? Right? And if it is a market that you don’t live close to and you’re not familiar with it, I just don’t think you can answer that question honestly about that. We even I used to use a home inspector my first few years. I really liked him, but my last few times I used him, it was like he was causing more problems, and I was trying to understand where he was coming from. Well, the problem is that he services New Orleans and Baton Rouge as a home inspector, okay? And he was trying to bring in certain inspections that are customary in New Orleans to Baton Rouge, but it doesn’t apply here, right? But it was making my clients nervous. Like, do

Katy 13:00
I need to do this? Yeah? Like, oh

Alissa 13:02
my gosh. I didn’t even think about that. I’m like, nobody does. Nobody does. We just don’t do that here, because that’s not our system, our right ground system. So I had to stop using them. And I think it’s similar to an agent like, Well, did your agent get this inspection when they helped you buy this New Orleans home like, Well, no, I guess you didn’t know that it was customary, pretty necessary, and that’s what all the New Orleans agents do, right? So don’t be afraid to send those referrals and form those relationships. I think sometimes agents can get so focused on the the total check. But what if you referred that one and because you referred that one and got a referral fee, now that agent is sending you business here. That’s what I was about

Katy 13:49
to say. It’ll flow back and forth. Yeah, right. Like, hey, you’re there, I’m here. How can we partner together? Yeah, and it be a win for both.

Alissa 13:58
I also have a commercial agent that we do this with. He’s in the Baton Rouge market. He actually just helped Tanner do like, a 10 year lease on his office building, and I he refers me his baton rouge residential, and I refer him my baton rouge commercial. Yeah, I

Katy 14:16
have a commercial agent as well. That was on my list of my very small handful of referrals. I had one local commercial agent that was like, Hey, can you take care of these residential people for me? And I would obviously pay him a referral fee. Can we talk about the fee a little bit before we get into where you get these referrals? It seems like the industry standard is 25% what else have you seen in that range? What would you say is, what you would charge? Does it depend on the situation? Usually

Alissa 14:47
charge 20. Okay. Now, I just referred a dear client of mine to one of my friends in st Francisville. Okay. He st Francisville is about. An hour, yeah, from me, opposite direction of New Orleans, but it was like a 90,000 $80,000 condo, and it was an hour for me. I go to st Francisville. I have helped people buy and sell in st Francisville. Right the time that he asked me to go look at it was the kids were going back to school. I was looking at my calendar going, I just don’t know when I’m gonna have basically three hours, an hour there, do the showing an hour back, go back for the home inspection at that time. Yeah, I thought, I cannot serve this client well. And I said, Listen, would you mind if I referred you to my office mate, who lives, born and raised in st Francisville. He was like, yeah, that’d be awesome. Thank you so much. I sent him to her. He bought the condo. She messaged me, and was like, Hey, you never sent me a referral form. Like, what do I owe you? And I was like, it was so small. And like, you just, thank you. Thank you for taking good care of them. I’m not collecting anything. I don’t know. I know that. I have certainly seen agents that are sticklers on the referral fee, right?

Katy 16:13
And like, if you won’t take their fee, they’ll go find another agent that will

Alissa 16:17
Yeah, and I just, and when they’re checking in on the transaction, it’s not, you can, the way that they’re asking is not that they’re checking in on the transaction, it’s they’re checking in on their paycheck. Yeah? So it’s like, okay, yeah,

Katy 16:32
I will send this. I do think some agents treat an agent to agent referral like mailbox money, right? Yeah? Like, all I did was make a phone call and now I’m gonna get 25% of

Alissa 16:41
your hard work. And to me, 20 I know it’s the norm. 25% is a lot. It’s a lot. I when I, when I, when someone sends me a referral, it is usually followed up with a referral form that says 25% I sign it and I do my job, right? I don’t nickel and dime, right, right, right. When I send a referral, if it’s, you know, depending I do 20% right,

Katy 17:06
I’ve done, I just do. I’ve done 25 but when the check shows up, I have a little feeling of, like, you know, I

Alissa 17:12
didn’t really work for that. Just, I

Katy 17:13
feel like I stole, I know,

Alissa 17:15
like, it’s not because we’re hard workers, yeah, yeah. And I didn’t like to work for money. It’s actually hard for us to just get mailbox money because we work hard. Yeah, I just, I also think I know how hard real estate is, yeah, so I know how hard, especially I had one one time it was a I sent a referral out. It was a listing. It took a long time I didn’t follow up constantly, but, like, I had it on my little board, so I was aware. But one day, I get a check, and I’m like, What is this address? I do not recognize this address, so I called our accounting department, this is incorrect. And I was like, Hey, I just got a check for this address. I was not involved in this address, and it’s not she’s like, Oh, it was actually a referral from so and so. And I went, Oh, it finally closed. That took forever. Oh, wow. Like, they should not have sent me anything, because that must have been really hard. That was a pain in the butt, you know, right? But I just wrote her a thank you note.

Katy 18:17
If someone sent me a referral, I happily send them whatever they me too, for, right? I won’t

Alissa 18:22
go over 20, I guess, like, if you push for 30 and I’m like, what? Yeah. And then I’ve also

Katy 18:27
had, especially when I was at REMAX, like, agents in like, let’s just say, the Gulf Coast or somewhere that’s like, a second home market, they would send, like, out these promotional emails that were like, Hey, I’m in such and such market. We know a lot of people move from Baton Rouge or buy a second home from Baton Rouge in my area, whatever, Orange Beach, whatever. And I’m only, I’m only charging 15 or I’m giving a 30% referral, or like they’re trying to be give you, entice you

Alissa 18:56
to their business model, which makes, especially in a vacation area or a second home area? Yeah. And

Katy 19:02
then that’s what I want to talk about, too. If you’re in a town where there’s not a lot of people moving in or out, this may not be the type of business you want to spend a lot of time focusing on correct but here, I would say there are some places where people in Baton Rouge might move out to or into on a regular basis.

Alissa 19:24
I think this is the perfect time for me to talk about how my referral journey began. Please. Let’s hear it so I started real estate in 2011 I was 22 years old. I had just finished LSU. I lived in a lot of apartment complexes in LSU, like every time I lease ended, we were switching around and then all my friends, all that to say, I was very familiar with LSU condos by 2014 or 15 I had made our company’s top of the ladder. Okay, that. Is the top 30 in our company. So every year they do, like, a big luncheon, and then they do a trip. And so my first what I learned is that that top 30 is like the same people. So when I came as a 20 something year old, I was the only person under the age of 50. Like, they’re like, Wow, I was also probably one of the, one of the only ones that got there by selling like 60 homes, because their price points were so higher that they were selling like 20 to 30 homes and hitting the same volume, right? So just a very different and I could tell it was kind of like, How’d she get here? Yeah, like she’s a first timer. We’ll probably never see her again. But through the things that the company did, I formed relationships, and then we get, like, a brochure of the top of the ladder and what market they’re in with their headshot. So the first after the first trip, I hand wrote 3029, letters to each agent, of course you did. And I just said, Hey, it was so great to meet you on the trip. If you ever have anybody looking to buy a home for their child coming to LSU, that’s pretty much my area of expertise. I have lived in several of them. I have been in the majority of them. I would be happy to help immediately. I was getting calls from all different markets, and these people were like, paying cash, like, hey, so and so told me that you could help me find a place I’m paying cash up to 250 or something. And I was like, what? Wow, this is amazing. Like, these

Katy 21:45
people knew people I love that you really niche down. Though, when you requested those referrals, you’re like, This is what

Alissa 21:51
I’m good at. So there’s some, there were some other Baton Rouge agents that make top of the ladder. Yeah, that do the luxury price point. I was not dumb enough as a 20 year old to think the top producer of New Orleans is gonna send me a million dollar referring Right? Like I was genius. I look like I’m 16.

Katy 22:10
Yeah, send me your kids. Yeah,

Alissa 22:14
I know that you’re not gonna do that. Okay? But here’s what’s funny. I have made top of the ladder every year since 2015 that’s amazing. So every year, plus or minus, like, six or seven people, it’s the same group, the top 15 are the same Okay, so I have formed relationships. I’ve grown up with these people you really have, and they’re like, she’s here every year. She’s like, actually doing it. And then I started, like, volunteering to do webinars for our office for free. And then people were messaging me like, Hey, you’re in Baton Rouge. Can I send you this referral? So being a part of a larger brokerage definitely got me started on that journey, which is why I think, as a new agent just asking, like, what opportunities do I have? Yeah, so. But the evolution of it is that I kept writing these letters, and by year, by like, 2019, 2020, I was like, what? I was still writing the same letter about LSU condos. No, no. And I’m like, I’ve time to cross over. I’ve outgrown this. Like, I’m actually sort of burnt out from doing all these so I just took that part out and changed the verbiage to be like, I’m in Baton Rouge. I always love hanging out with you. I love, you know, being a top producer like you. I know what it takes. So and then it was like, I still get parents who are fine, but it’s it’s nice that it’s not all that only that I’m getting some higher end listings, and now that it’s 2024 I’m getting some really nice referrals, yeah, like high end expense, and they’re great clients, yeah, because they Were told to call me, right? They trust me because they trust that person. So it was just neat to see how year one, they trusted me with the $90,000 LSU condo. Right by year five, they’re sending me like, you know, some regular referrals outside of LSU. By year 10, they’re sending me, like, high in but you have a long term relationship with these agents, yeah, and it’s because I write letters. I also have a realtor section in my database. Yeah, they get my Christmas card, not if they’re in Baton Rouge, like, not if they’re in Baton Rouge, but they also get my LSU magnets. Like, I’m having to send my LSU magnet to you, no, but I’ll send it to the New Orleans agents, or, okay, well, I’ll bring you one. Okay, thanks. Um, New Orleans agents, Mandeville agents outside, you know, just for fun to see it, it’s like, I have extra Yeah, so doing that,

Katy 24:59
you’re maintaining. Those people, just like a regular database member,

Alissa 25:03
yes, they’re not getting, I’m trying to think, you know, they’re getting LSU magnets. They’re getting Christmas cards. That’s really the only two big bailouts I do. They’re getting the thank you letter for referral. So, yeah, I don’t know why they’re separate then, I guess just for my brain, but they don’t need to be. I guess if you had some something realtor specific, like, if I wanted to do a mail out, if you wanted to tell them to listen to the pun, it’s also super hard. What I learned too, because they like Office addresses change all the time, like, so it did become sort of a job to manage the office addresses, but I wrote down some stats. Okay, in the last five years, cannot wait to hear this. I have closed 54 agent referrals in five years. Yeah? So like about 10 a year, yeah? So 2019, I did eight, which was 8% of my

Katy 26:00
business from any agent. They were not certain. They’re just from your office.

Alissa 26:03
Oh, correct. Yeah. Okay, yeah. 2020 I did 15, whoa, which was 16% of my business. 2021 I did 15, which was 17% of my business in. 2022 I did 11, which was 14% of my business. 2023, I closed five, which was 11% of my business. You know my transaction number, so anywhere

Katy 26:27
from 10 to 15% of your business. That’s a lot. I know it’s a nice ad, yeah. Okay, so let’s talk about some of the ways you got them, besides the top 30 trips. So we know you have relationships with those agents. I think you’ve also told me when you just not webinars, you’ve also gone and taught classes at other offices. Yes, that are in Louisiana, but correct in our market, correct those people. Since

Alissa 26:55
I’ve been to like Mandeville, Natchitoches, I just went to Homa Thibodaux for for to speak at a brokerage that wasn’t my company, right? But those people might send you something. Yeah, I’ve already, like, been in community. See, after I teach a class or something, it’s like, all of a sudden I get a few friend requests from people that were there. I get a few thank you notes from people just being like, hey, thanks so much for coming and sharing. And the next thing you know, you start getting, rebuilding relationships. Look at you crazy, walking science.

Katy 27:27
I remember, I don’t know if it was you told me this, but there was an agent, or I know several agents do this. They’ll attend classes like for their continuing education in markets that may send or they need to send a referral to. So I think from where we are, Houston makes a lot of sense. Yeah, I have clients that go in and out of Houston because of, like, oil and gas industry, right? Houston, Lafayette, New Orleans. Other than that, I can’t pick

Alissa 27:54
a city where I feel like it’s a flow, right? It needs to make sense.

Katy 27:58
Those are the places where I can see myself sending a referral, and also maybe even receiving one. And Texas is hard because Houston would be the most common for us. But one year, I think last two or three years ago, I referred out three different clients in one year to Texas, but all different cities, Boston, San Antonio, Houston, I’m like, so I’m not partnering with the same agent over and over again, because they’re different cities. It’s so I guess my point is it’s really tough to target a specific who knows? Yeah, we don’t know where these people are coming from or going to

Alissa 28:43
so I think that we’re gonna get some listeners that say, Well, I live in a really small town. Nobody’s coming here for a plant or a college, and then you’re kind of switching to letting your database know. Did you know that I can that if you are moving away, I can help you find an agent wherever you’re going. Yeah, we have to educate the client on that they don’t realize that that’s not their first thought. They’re thinking. They have to figure out who to use over there, right? So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add to your email signature or add to the bottom of letters that you write. PS, if you need an agent elsewhere, yeah, let me know, and I will check my database and find you someone great. Yeah,

Katy 29:30
all right, let’s talk about other ways to find the someone great, I think, being involved in an online community of agents. So like agents join all sorts of referral groups and this and that also, just like our hustle humbly community, we now have a referral sheet you can go back and forth on, and people have sent a lot of referrals. It’s great. You even are using it to find, like, if I needed someone another market, I would start there, right? Yeah. Or, like, modern agent Social Club, they have a referral list. But like, where. Are the other agents that are like minded to you? That’s a really easy way to find one. Like back in the day, I would just go find a REMAX agent, right? Well, at least I know you partnered with the same broker. I know what to expect with that, but I still would have to sift through 1000s of agents, right? There’s a lot of REMAX agents. Then when I got my CRS designation, that’s like a big what they advertise about CRS. They’re like, get in CRS. We have this huge referral network. Literally, y’all, any real estate group you join or want to become a part of, they’re going to tout referrals as a reason you want to join. And that can be true. So if you if like CRS, I know I had to take a lot of extra education and prove that I had done a lot of transactions. So it was a really quick way to filter out and get, like the cream of the crop agents. However, they were typically really older veteran agents, because it’s a little harder to get your CRS. So if I wanted to send them a fun first time homebuyer may not be the best of it. No, I know they would be very professional. You’d have to filter

Alissa 31:03
properly to make sure they find someone that’s their match. And there

Katy 31:06
was a couple other things I would like, when it was REMAX, if they didn’t have a photo on their REMAX site, like, oh yeah, no, you’re out. Like, CRS, you don’t have a photo, you’re out. Like, I need to, at least not, because I’m picking you based on what you look like. But can you use the internet, right? Like this is important. Does your does your picture look like you’re fun like,

Alissa 31:24
or is it a glamor shot? Right? What do they what? Yeah, okay, so

Katy 31:28
online groups was one I did last week. We had, or I think it was last week, our interview with Christine, who was, you know, moving to a new market, and her first year business, I think was more successful because she had attended these conferences associated with the coaching program she was in. Okay, so anywhere where you can meet other agents is always good.

Alissa 31:54
I got a lot of referrals when I was serving on the board heavily. So I would go, I served on the Louisiana realtors, yes, but then you’re outside of your market. Yes, you’re outside of your market. Again, I noticed that the people in leadership were the same people at every meeting. So I quickly developed relationships. I did Louisiana realtor leadership program in 2015 I still, we still have our Facebook group going strong, and check on each other and send each other referrals, things like that cost nothing, right? I think I just had a friend call me and say she went to interview to do a BNI, and you know, she is trying to get her business going. She doesn’t have a lot of spare marketing income, and she’s like, this is how much it costs. Like, do you think it’s worth it? And I’m like, How much was it? Not? Like, 1000s a year,

Katy 32:47
1000s of dollars. Yeah. Like, so glad that you brought that up because BNI was in my notes. I said just because someone is in your brokerage doesn’t make them an automatic fit, right? And it reminds me of BNI. Just because you paid to be in the BNI group doesn’t mean that plumber is the fit for you and your business in your life. It’s

Alissa 33:06
almost like, if it’s a paid thing, I want it less, right? I want to ride the people that I want to work with. That’s what I love. We were actually talking about that in our realtor group for leadership at our group, because we were sending each other referrals all the time. But like, they have brokerages in their market that are not my company, yeah, and they were still calling me right. Same with me. We might have

Katy 33:34
had a brokerage. You know the person? Yes, you know the person. And BNI, to me, is just it, or like, being restricted by anything? Oh, it has to be a REMAX agent. It has to be a this coaching client. No, like, then you’re just stuck with this. Is all I had to choose from. Well, I don’t want to just choose from now on of these

Alissa 33:53
things. And last time we mentioned BNI, we did get an email where she said, Please don’t talk poorly about BNI. It can work, it can work, but they’re all different, all very different, and so before you pay for anything, right? That’s what we’re trying to get at. It’s not about BNI. I also

Katy 34:10
don’t suit my personality, because I don’t like being told what to do. I just don’t want you to tell me that I have to show up and do these things, right? Like I just it’s not me. It’s just not good. But I think my vendor list is my BNI, yeah, I have collected up people who I would like to refer, whatever. That’s just a whole nother thing. Yeah, okay, some other places you can get your agent to agent referral. What about social media, YouTube channel, anything where you’re probably way better at that than me well, and I’m not like,

Alissa 34:43
like, you make online friends, sure, exactly,

Katy 34:46
exactly

Alissa 34:47
like, I haven’t like, I will friend people that I meet at these conferences I go to. Yeah, I like that. But other than that, like, you’re better at just starting up a conversation. Right? With someone, we also

Katy 35:00
receive referrals due to the podcast, yeah, not at all the intention of the show, but it makes sense. If someone’s like, well, I these the two agents that I know in Baton Rouge, two agents of Baton Rouge. I mean, like, this is where we are, yeah? I think joining any niche type of group, like, if you’re we have a listener who has created a moving medicine group, and they’re all realtors who are wives of doctors, and they move around a lot, and so they have kind of built their own referral network, right? Cool, very niche, very cool. In community, we have a military referral spreadsheet like, do you serve a military area? Here’s where you can find because those people are moving around into those places, right? So it’s easier to find where your people are coming from. I just, I think anywhere that you meet people and you’re making a connection with them is going to be a good place to get a referral from. Yeah,

Alissa 35:59
it’s very organic, very again, it’s another thing that my evolution of referrals, it was is 10 years in the making. Yeah, can

Katy 36:10
I tell you the story of a referral I got? Yeah, okay, so when I was still at my REMAX office, I obviously, as a I’m a big user social media. You just mentioned it in 2019 an agent from a New Orleans office called My broker. Okay, so she was very strong personality, lover. She calls my broker and says, Hey, I need an agent who knows how to make video and use social media because I have a house in your market that I need to have sold, and that is what I want. And my broker was like, here, Katie, yes, this lady is really about social media. You just need to take this. So that’s how I got the referral. It worked out great. She worked me hard, because she was like, Well, why don’t you have a video today? Like, she, like, she, she micromanaged because she was an age owner, agent, follow me.

Alissa 36:55
Did I tour this house? Yes, yeah, yeah. Remember, and

Katy 36:59
I sold it. I did sell it. And don’t you know, she then sent another agent in her office who was trying to serve our area, but then had, like, a health issue or something, and just couldn’t make it here. And she was like, Hey, do you know anyone in batteries? She’s like, Yeah, you need Katie to do it. So I got another referral from another agent. It wasn’t even from her, but she, like, sent her my way. So that was a fun one. But she called the office and was like, and I think you’ve told us far too like, someone called Connie. And was like, Who does this? Yes, like, oh, you need Alyssa, right? So being known for something in your office also is important. I

Alissa 37:34
will also say Connie has said before, like, when I was brand new, also, and Connie would send me stuff. I’d be like, Connie, why’d you send this to me? And she was like, you were in the office. When I got the call. I got something like that too. You’re working, yeah, like, I’m gonna call who’s working? Who I see?

Katy 37:50
I got some referrals from my first office that was small. One of the agents there ended up not staying an agent. She would send me every couple of years, she would send a referral, not not to be paid. She never licensed anymore. I think the first one, she still did and I could pay her. But then she stopped practicing and was not active. So it was just technically a regular referral, not an agent to agent referral. But it started that way.

Alissa 38:14
Now I have gotten referrals from agents that are in our market that are maybe getting out of real estate, but have their license just on the hold status and can still receive a referral. Yeah, I know I’ve shared before about Fancy Nancy Wilkinson,

Katy 38:32
oh yeah,

Alissa 38:33
I love the story. Nancy. Nancy was just like the coolest lady, but twir So she worked so hard, even though her health was declining. There, she had a few clients. She tried to send me that they were like, Nancy, we just want you there. So even if she comes with us, yeah, she can come up the stairs with us, and you can wait downstairs like when you know if it depending on what your health reason is. Like, her clients were so loyal to her that when she got sick, she was just like, can you help me? And I was just splitting everything with her because I was like, You’re so sweet. I love you, and we became dear friends. I went to her funeral, and they had a huge party after at her daughter’s house, did

Katy 39:18
you know a bunch of people there? So many, right? It was like,

Alissa 39:22
I was the family realtor, right? I had one lady in particular who was a hot mess in the best way. She was hilarious. She’s like, a free spirit, like hippie, like I just I loved being around her, because I’m like, I wish I could be a little bit like that, but I’m not. So anyway, I helped her a few times with Nancy passed away. She calls me and she’s like, I’m at her house doing the listing appointment on the house that she bought with me and Nancy. And she gets like, emotional. She’s like, just having you here, like, makes me. Yes, Nancy. She was like, Nancy was there for me decades ago when I had to buy a house after my divorce, right? And I was a wreck. And, you know, Nancy basically picked me up and said, Listen, sweetie, a man’s left me before, and I made it just fine. You’re gonna be just fine. Like she was like, Nancy, like, made me a strong woman. Oh, I

Katy 40:23
love that. So she’s like, I

Alissa 40:25
just I said, Well, I think Nancy would be super happy to see us here together. And so it’s like, the Nancy referrals, like, continue to this day, and she passed away a few years ago, but people call me because I was Nancy’s friend, right? And it’s like agents retire all the time. The busy agents in your office may need help. I had an agent in our office refer me a $1.6 million listing because it was 25 minutes too far. Not only was it, it was in our market. Yeah, she’s

Katy 41:04
like, No thanks, but

Alissa 41:05
she’s She doesn’t need it. She

Katy 41:07
thinks she was like, this client isn’t gonna be easy. He was not easy. It was not easy. You know what? I’ll take 25% of this and let it be your problem. Yep,

Alissa 41:18
no, she didn’t take anything. She wouldn’t let me pay her. That’s why I made her cups. Oh,

Katy 41:23
sweet. She would not like just thanks for me not having to do this. Yeah, she she has sent me a few things. Never would take a referral fee. I love that. And I’m like, you are just amazing. That is pretty nice. We did receive a listener message in reference to this topic, and she was trying to niche down to the market that she knew best, and was trying to build a system for referring clients to other agents that can serve them better. So I think we’ve answered her questions, but I guess what I’d also like to say is, I don’t know spend too much time on this unless you have a real logistical plan, and you have seen that statistically, there is a flow of people coming into your market from certain places. I think it could be a bit of one of those things where you feel like you’re busy, Yeah, but you’re not actually, like making traction with it. Well, when

Alissa 42:17
I started writing letters before, I was like, super slammed, and then I started getting the referrals, but then I was getting repeat business, and so the agent referrals, here’s how I I don’t care what people say. This is a business, yeah, and I’m look, I look at everything in terms of, is this a wise business decision? Is it wise for me to take three hours of my day to go to st Francisville when the price point is 80, and I have to be here when I have an expert there. Yeah, it’s not. It was nothing. I’m not too good for that price point, but it was a business decision, right? And my client was better served by the referral, right? So I got to a point where I’m like, Look, I could there was, like, two or three years where I skipped writing letters between 2015 and 2024 because, depending on where I was in my business, yeah, I was like, you know, I’m really busy right now, yeah, and I don’t, I’m not gonna solicit agent referrals, and you’re also giving

Katy 43:18
away a piece of The money, because this business, this piece of the pie, is a quarter less, it would just be like working reloads as a rule that, I

Alissa 43:27
mean, you’re getting 40% less right with Yeah. So it’s almost like, evaluate your business, yeah. If it’s easy to form natural relationships, 100% do that. But if you’re trying to make a plan, you need to make sure that it makes sense for sure, because it is going to be less money than a typical repeat client or a referral from a past client. We don’t pay our clients referral fees, so make sure the numbers are making sense for you and that it’s a good place to spend your effort. That makes

Katy 44:02
sense, that makes sense, and I agree, you have to think it through.

Alissa 44:06
So we have step one, you know someone who has a real estate need in the market has also

Katy 44:11
making sure that the people around you know that this is an option. I can help you find an agent. Three, step one, pre one,

Alissa 44:19
do they even know that you do that. Okay? Step two, find agent in that area, yes, okay. Step three, vet, agent in area, find and vet, find, please, vet. Okay. Step three, send referral form. Please send w9

Katy 44:32
Can you have to send the form? Can you tell the story? A little bit

Alissa 44:36
of etiquette? Okay? This form, nothing irritates me more than when a person reaches out to me. I’ve done the listing interview, it’s on the market, and somebody calls me and says, Hey, I’m actually an agent in Florida, and you have my cousin’s house listed for sale. Oh, will you send me a referral fee? I told them about you. My what? Yeah, I’m like, I’ve been working with this client. It’s happened to me too, and they’ve never mentioned you.

Katy 45:10
That’s why it’s not a real to me. It’s not a real referral if you didn’t have if you didn’t gatekeep The info Correct. Do you see what I’m saying, if someone showed up to me and starts working with me, just like you’re describing, and then you show up and are like, that’s my referral to you. I’m like, but you didn’t even tell me how to

Alissa 45:30
I didn’t even know where this came from. That’s not how it works. And I think that’s where the nickel and diming the scarcity mindset, a little bit of greed, a little bit of entitlement. Don’t

Katy 45:40
you? Then just pay them, yeah, because you don’t want to get in a fight, right? Yeah,

Alissa 45:44
the first I’ve had this happen three or four times, yeah? And it’s so frustrating. And I went to Connie, and she’s like, Alyssa, you’re not hurting. Is it gonna just like, yeah, Connie’s very, you know, diplomatic face, and don’t burn the bridge. She’s

Katy 45:59
an Enneagram nine, I’m sure.

Alissa 46:01
So it’s like, I would do it. I did it a few times, but it was just, it left a very bad taste in my mouth. And I will tell you that’s not an agent I’ll ever send a referral to, right? Because that’s how you you were just It also makes me think you must be struggling financially. Because, I mean, look, that is what it is, yeah. But, like, just the way it these are the steps. These are the steps. Not list the house and then find out that you know a person selling a house somewhere else, and even if you had every intention of sending, of referring them out, if they didn’t find that agent because you introduced them to each other. It’s not really a referral, really a referral. Agree, it’s not really a referral. Yeah, my sister, my own sister, was living in Texas, and they thought it was just going to be for a short, short time. She was a nurse there. Her husband was working there. They didn’t end up buying anything, but for a minute, unbeknownst to the family. At first, they were like, maybe we should, like, look into buying something. Okay, through living there. They just knew this agent there. So the agent was like, showing them houses. Well, then my sister came and, like, told the family, like, Hey, I think we’re gonna maybe look at buying something since it looks like we’re gonna be here longer than we thought. And I was like, Oh well, if you need a referral, let me know. And she was like, Oh well, we actually, like, knew somebody already. I’m not calling that agent. No, it’s not

Katy 47:31
right. And people are like,

Alissa 47:32
but it’s my sister, it’s my daughter. I’m like, and then I pay but I’m like, I hear you, but like, that was my sister, but I did not do anything, and

Katy 47:44
you didn’t find the agent. No, what you’re supposed to be being paid for is finding the agent and

Alissa 47:50
vetting and doing the if you check, if you don’t do that,

Katy 47:53
you truly are just asking someone to pay you from the money that they earned working

Alissa 47:59
Yeah. So just check. Your mindset, okay? And remember that how you treat other agents is karma. Is going to bring it back around, yes, yes. And so there’s definitely some poor etiquette that we have seen in agent to agent referrals. Yeah, and just be mindful of how you are treating those people and what you’re feeling entitled to. You know, what else I did that was hugely successful. Please tell us I got a referral from an agent. Where did she come from? She wasn’t in my office, and she wasn’t a podcast listener. Okay? I think that she was an agent in another market, and her brother was selling his house here. Okay? And another agent was like, I know an agent there. Oh, so I really owed this other agent something. But anyways, we don’t know who that is, yeah, so this was just like a random realtor referral. Okay, so I’m helping her brother. She’s like, look, this is my brother. So you know, I’m just like, big sister over here. Like, let me know if, if you need help with anything, or if you’re having any trouble, like, just call me and we can, you know, I’m like, Okay, I appreciate it. So every time I emailed him, I blind copied her.

Katy 49:09
Oh yeah,

Alissa 49:10
she was like, first of all, the pre listing email, she was, that’s how I knew she wasn’t a podcast listener, because she was like, the way you run your business is amazing. She was like, This is so good. And she was like, These emails are so simple and informative and like, not too much. And when I sent the I let, I let her know we were under contract by copying her on the your house is pending now, what the mail? And she’s like, Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I’m so excited. He called and told me they had an offer and that they were negotiating,

Katy 49:44
no need for me to send you a referral fee. I’m giving you all the free email templates,

Alissa 49:51
just on the seller side. It’s hilarious, but she was just like, so impressed with everything and how it was, you know, very well. Run. So it’s like, if you wanted to keep the other agent informed of how it’s going, you could periodically just blind copy them on an email smart and then they like to know, I do like to let them know when we’re under contract. I

Katy 50:12
think that’s an important step in the process. Well,

Alissa 50:14
the it is live email. She was so excited about that email. She was like, This email is great. I might have to steal it. Haha. I was like, Well, I actually have this podcast and we have templates, but it’s fine, not a big deal. I kind of feel that way about agents in our market, like, but it’s so fun, but it’s different, because there’s only a few of the templates that go to other agents. But I’ve had people be like, Wow, I love this email. They have to steal it. Haha, it’s so well written. I’m like, it’s part of a package.

Katy 50:43
You can buy it you want. Do you want to tell the story of you just told me this a couple of days ago. I feel like you got a referral. But how did you get them? Connie

Alissa 50:54
called me one day, that’s okay, okay? And was like, Hey, I just got a call from a lady who her daughter, has her house on the market here. It’s not selling, okay, it’s expiring. And they she has a friend in Florida who said, just find a brokerage, the same brokerage, okay, so I was in that brokerage. So her friend said, find a compass agent.

Katy 51:20
Like, just say it, yeah, we know you’re a compass. I

Alissa 51:23
know. So the lady calls Connie is like, I have a compass friend in Florida who said, you know, well, I obviously was not a part of that conversation, no. So Connie called me and was like, hey, Alyssa, I’m about to send you an email with this lady’s information. She wants to talk to you about her daughter. I’m like, okay, great. So I never heard, really, where it came from, right, right,

Katy 51:46
no clue,

Alissa 51:48
no clue, no clue. So I go, I do this huge staging console, because I’m, like, one, I’m the second agent. I gotta work. Okay, we gotta make sure this sells. And it was the client was wonderful. She did everything I asked her to do. She was so appreciative of suggestions. Was like my previous agent didn’t give me any suggestions. So we work it. We sell fairly quickly, even though I have been on the market six months, we sell it. And it comes time to close, and I’m we close, okay? And I’m filling out our required contract information sheet. Wait. And I went and it the question on there is, is this is a referral fee owed? And I’m like, I don’t know. I was like, I never signed anything. Why did you find

Katy 52:32
out who the actual originating agent was? So Connie was

Alissa 52:35
out of the country, right? And I was like, I don’t know what to do, because I don’t actually know who referred this. I haven’t heard from anybody. I haven’t signed a form, right? So I messaged my client’s mother,

Katy 52:54
because she’s the one, yeah, she wasn’t an agent. I talked to her for no,

Alissa 52:58
she was not an agent, okay? And she was the one who called me to be like, my daughter’s house needs to sell. She used a friend. It’s not going well. Oh, she’s

Katy 53:09
the mom called Connie, yeah, okay, okay.

Alissa 53:12
So it was, like, this huge, like, so you feel like, Mom, it was like, three degrees of separation. Okay, you found the mom. And I called mom, and was like, Hey, I know, you know, we closed today. She’s like, yes, thank you so much. I said, Yeah, well, look, I I believe in the beginning, my broker mentioned this might have been a referral. And she was like, Oh yeah, yeah. My friend told me to find a compass agent, not me specifically, just any compass agent will do, any compass agent will do. So I was like, Okay, do you, can you send me her name? So she, like, gave me her name, and I like, do all this research, and I’m like, calling. I’m like, Are you the person like? But in the meantime, I had just filled out the form and put like, 20% like, after you found her name, after I found her name and information, I just put 20% sent, I’ve never signed any because, I guess do you not

Katy 54:05
need a w9 since it’s compass, I don’t know. Okay, I

Alissa 54:09
just told the company, like, this is the address. This is who it goes to, whatever they figured it out. Well, then I had, I filled out the form, send it to our office to close out the transaction. Yeah. Then I’m like, then the office is like, we need w9 so, yeah, they needed it. Okay, so I messaged her and said, Hey, you don’t know me. My name’s Alyssa. I was actually, you don’t even know me. I was actually helping miss so and so with the sale of her daughter’s home, right, right? And we closed, good news, I

Katy 54:43
just sent you 20% Yeah,

Alissa 54:45
I said we just closed yesterday, and I just wanted to say, like, Thanks for sending her this way. Is this the correct address that the check needs to go to? And can you send me? W9 immediately my phone rings, and I’m like, it’s her. I don’t have the number saved. I’ve never spoken to her. I actually couldn’t she doesn’t know you. No, I actually could not answer because I was in showings. Okay, so then I get an email, because that’s what my voicemail says, please email me. You’re a realtor or a title company, email me. So she emails me. It’s just like, thank you so much. I have been following every step of the transaction through the mother, okay? And I’m thinking, you didn’t want to introduce yourself to me or be like, here’s a referral form. So, like, the next day, she’s like, Hey, yeah, here’s my w9 and yes, that office address is correct. So I’m like, great, great, wonderful. The next day. So now closing has been done. The check has been mailed. Probably hasn’t arrived yet, right? She’s like, Oh, hey, a little more paperwork. Can you sign this referral form? Please note step three, send referral form way back in the beginning, before, prior to working with the client, prior to me speaking to the client, prior to any of this. Okay, so I’m like, it says, like, 25 and I’m just like, hey, like, listen, I was sort of flying blind on this one. I didn’t even realize you don’t know me. I’ve no, yeah, I wasn’t. Had no communication where none we didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know her name, right? Even in the beginning, the mom did not

Katy 56:32
say so. And so sent me No, right? Okay, go on. And it was like,

Alissa 56:37
Well, you were like, I already sent a check. Yeah. And she was aggravated. And then I was aggravated because I’m like, this is the petty. But I said, Listen, so she’s all, I said, Listen, I already sent it, you know, I was flying blind here. I had no idea there was somebody else, like, monitoring anything if, if she was, you know, oh, either way, I said, so I said, so I sent 20% I forget what I said in the email, but I didn’t. I said, if you want to send a revised one, I’ll sign it. Well, then she got even more. Me, me, me. So I finally said, Listen, I don’t want to hurt any relationships. I was flying very blind in this transaction with where it came from. I had no idea that you were the referring agent, hence why I sent 20% which I thought was generous, but in the sake of not burning bridges and not hurting relationships, I’m happy, happy to mail you a check for 5% attitude changed immediately. No, no, no, no, don’t. Don’t even worry about it. You can just change the percentage on the form. I sent you an initial it and did it. I was like, Okay, thank you. But I just was like, I don’t know the steps are you send them. It’s

Katy 57:50
like, this is a very Do unto others, as you’d have them do to you. Situation, like when you’re doing referrals, y’all, how would you feel? Like, just, just, it is a business, but how would you feel if someone came to you when you were at the closing table and be like, Oh, by the way, that was my aunt. And, yeah, you have to give me a referral, right? It’s not fun. You’d be like, Well, wait a minute, and this just furthers my point, that I feel like 25 even 20 can feel like a lot. It is a lot, because the real blood, sweat and tears came from the agent that that was working with the client. Yeah. And although I do believe referring has a place, because vetting and finding an agent is important and valuable, but I don’t know that that value is appropriately assigned at this point in time, right, right? Like, why

Alissa 58:36
is it automatically 25 if I’ve never I don’t

Katy 58:40
even know the birth of this, like, who came up with this number, but I find that in real estate, just like with the settlement and the lawsuit and all, we don’t, a lot of times stop and say, Does this make sense, right? Does this practice make sense? Katie, it’s how it always has been done. And I want my 25 because why not? Yeah, someone’s gonna give it to me. I’m gonna take it, and I’m gonna say, y’all, I have gotten many of 25% referral to me. Well, I mean, not many the 10 that I’ve gotten in 19 years, yeah, but I didn’t say, Oh no, no, I can’t take your 25% right, right? But at the same time, it’s okay for us to stop and say, Hmm, that’s a lot. Perhaps that’s a lot for finding and vetting an agent and then sending along a client that you will never again have to do anything with to stage their home. And it’s okay for us to all say together what makes sense, what makes

Alissa 59:34
sense on this particular transaction, when it was a $80,000 condo in st Francisville, it did not make sense for me to take money from that agent. No.

Katy 59:43
People would be like, I’ll send someone a referral for a rental. And I’m like, they’re like, Well, what do you want me to pay you? Nothing. Just please help these people. Yeah, I don’t want $50 I know. Like, thank you. That’s sweet, and I’m not. Too good for $50 I’m happy to take $50 but if I do the work, I’m like, Yeah, don’t

Alissa 1:00:05
worry about it. Like, sometimes I’m like, Look, just send me a referral back one day.

Katy 1:00:09
Yes, karma. Just give me the good

Alissa 1:00:13
karma back. Okay, one more funny story. Okay, so when I became an agent, you know, my dad’s an appraiser, so he’s technically, like, a licensed agent, but he’s never sold a house, okay? He just does appraisals. But when he had friends or somebody that was looking for agent, he did have a few agents that he would refer things to, and they would pay him, or you can pay a referral fee, because he’s licensed. So the first, like, in my early years, my dad’s friend is like, yeah, I need to, like, sell this house. He’s like, awesome. Call Alyssa. My dad’s like, hey, so once I was gonna call you. Did dad take referrals? I have paid him so many referral fees. I love I’m like, dad. He’s like, Yeah. I mean, if I, if I wasn’t sending it to you, I’d be getting paid. He makes

Katy 1:01:00
a valid point there. And I

Alissa 1:01:01
actually secretly love paying him for Okay, here you go, dad. And it’s funny because my mom still does my bookkeeping, right? She’s a CPA, and so she gets like, Thanks for buying groceries this class. She’s like, I’m like, have fun on your scuba trip. But she every time I get so we get like, a pay stub that shows the breakdown of everything, taxes and, you know, referrals and whatever, whatever. So my mom has, like, a spreadsheet where she just tracks everything for me, because she’s the the numbers person. And I’m like, here’s a referral to to Johnny. She’s just like, Awesome, thanks. Times two. But it’s just funny, because it’s like, but I didn’t

Katy 1:01:44
really love it, but he and he made a good point, if he hadn’t sent it to you, he’d have gotten paid to send it to someone else, send

Alissa 1:01:49
it to the people that he had a relationship with before his daughter was and in a way, it made me go, because I’m over here saying, Dad, I want to be treated like a professional. Yeah. Well, no, I want to be treated with respect. He’s like, awesome. 25% I’m like, Oh, well, I can’t tell I will. I would actually need to go back and see how many referrals I’ve paid to my dad over the year. I might love to know. And it’s so funny, because I love filling out the referral form when it’s going to him because his office address is the house I grew up in. My parents have never moved I was born, and I’ve lived in that house my whole life. They’re still this, so I’m like just writing in my old address. Cute. I

Katy 1:02:33
love it. Precious. Precious. Anything else on referrals, this was good, so great. And

Alissa 1:02:39
I think it’s a beautiful thing. And I also think agent to agent referrals. It’s like it is the epitome of commute, community over competition 100% like you must treat each other kindly, guys, we’re in this together. Wait, can

Katy 1:02:53
I tell you one more story before we go? Okay, so I don’t know how I found her, but I follow this girl on Instagram. She is an agent. I think at some point she was also a mortgage broker, maybe. But she is an agent, and she made all of these reels, a bajillion trillion. She’s very good. She made all of this informational I can’t remember her like how to spell her name. I think it’s like a funny spelling. Anyway, she made all these reels about how to buy houses. So she was getting all these buyers from all over the internet, not just in her local market. And then she started referring them out to other realtors. Then she started, basically, as far as I can understand, she no longer even sells real estate shop simply teaches buyers how the process works, and then now has this referral network of agents that can, like, she can vet and put on her list, and she’ll partner you up with the agent that’s right for you and get a referral fee. And that’s literally her business. That’s amazing.

Alissa 1:03:55
The whole thing, I’m like, wow, yeah. I mean, you can make it very if

Katy 1:04:01
that was like, but she was, of course, teaching those clients that vetting those agents, yeah, yes, but I thought that was a really interesting usage of the referral system. Yeah, right. A lot of people will be like, I’m going to take a sabbatical for a year, right? And I’m just going to refer out all my business or go on a month long vacation and but I won’t lose all the money like I’m going to refer them out and I’ll make a little percentage. Yeah, it’s just interesting. I like a referral. Okay? Anything else that’s all that’s great. Let’s listen to a toast. Okay, perfect. Okay, bye.

Speaker 1 1:04:37
This is Jessica lay from Prineville, Oregon, and I am toasting my bestie, Trista Schrader, over in coquiel, Oregon, just wanted to thank her for being the most wonderful best friend that I can always bounce my ideas and frustrations and when I’m so annoyed, she just picks me up and always encourages me. Love you, girl.

Alissa 1:04:57
Thank you so much for tuning in to the hustle humble. Podcast.

Katy 1:05:00
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to rate this podcast.com/hustle. Humbly, and leave us a review or drop a comment if you’re listening on Spotify, if you

Alissa 1:05:08
have an episode topic or someone you’d like to toast on the show, please email us at team at hustle humbly podcast.com, find

Katy 1:05:15
us on social media at hustle humbly podcast, don’t forget to find all of the free resources at hustle humbly podcast.com/resources,

Alissa 1:05:24
see you next week. You.