How to Generate More Money from Clients

Real estate is a tough job and it can cost significant cash to acquire a client - are you maximizing your profit from each client? Most real estate agents have only one primary way of generating income: clients hire them to buy or sell their home - and when the deal has been completed, the real estate agent gets paid.

What if, however, you could generate additional streams of income that could sustain you when the market goes south - or help you grow your business without incurring high customer acquisition costs? Here are some ideas:

1. Sell your own products. Print on demand services like Amazon.com’s CreateSpace makes it easy for anyone to publish their own book or audio cd. What if you sold 60 minute audio programs for $10-20 on topics like preparing your home for selling, a checklist for choosing the perfect home, how mortgages work, and so on? What if you wrote a 100 page booklet about buying a home in your particular area complete with helpful service providers that they might need? Sure, you wouldn’t get rich quick, but you could easily make a few hundred dollars/month selling them on your website.
   
   
2. Hold seminars and educational events. There are many business organizations out there who hold seminars and educational events for their members. Can you go to your local Chamber of Commerce and give a talk on what to know if you’re buying commercial real estate? Have you been a successful agent for years and can design a program that helps new agents get their business started? Can you join with those who offer complementary services (a lawyer, a mortgage broker, a financial planner, etc) to hold a seminar for consumers on what they need to know before buying their first home?
   
   
3. Form strategic alliances. Look at all the other service providers out there that your clients must use during the home buying or selling process that complement your services. For instance - movers, interior decorators, staging companies, storage places, plumbers, gardeners, pool maintenance, mortgage brokers, attorneys, financial planners, etc. What if you set up a deal where you’ll refer business to them for a referral fee? What if you’ll give them a referral fee for referring business to you? (Check with your local ethics boards to make sure this is ok with your local group. In some states, for instance, attorneys can’t partner with non-attorneys.)
   
   
4. Cultivate referrals from past clients. Most real estate agents get the majority of their business from referrals, yet they don’t have a formalized system in place that actively asks past clients for referrals. Do you follow up 30 days, 60 days, 90 days to see if there’s a problem with the new home? Do you keep in touch regularly - such as holding a client appreciation party?
   
   
5. Agent referrals. Do you have prospects that aren’t right for you but who you can refer out to other agents for a referral fee?

The secret to generating more money is building trust. You must build trust with referral partners - people don’t refer business to those they don’t believe will do a good job. You must build trust with current clients so they become happy, satisfied clients who value your recommendations. You must build trust with industry and trade organizations by demonstrating you have the expertise and leadership skills to help out their fellow members - they won’t just recommend anyone.