Coaching the Referral System

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An interview with Buffini & Company ClubNet Coach, Margarita Cramer
An interview with Buffini & Company ClubNet Coach, Margarita Cramer

By John Voket

Margarita Cramer has been a ClubNet Coach with Buffini & Company since October 2004 and currently handles just over 70 clients.

How do you go about coaching clients to work by referral?

I?m a firm believer in what Brian says about going ?a mile deep and an inch wide? by encouraging and supporting my clients to get tight with their A-list referral clients. I tell them the main objective is to surround themselves with these clients by constantly working on the relationships.

I ask them to remember what it was like to develop a relationship with a wife or husband?that’s the same way I think they need to build relationships with their clients. I tell them, ?Your A+ clients are like a marketing sales force and that they will keep referring you because they trust you.?

How does working by referral help your clients increase business?

I was just thinking about a Realtor client in Colorado who has been with me for about a year. Before we met, she was struggling in a slow market. At one point she told me she didn?t want to open her mail because she had so many bills. But after just a few months of working our referral systems, she has built a great list of A+ clients, and she has paid off all her bills.

She increased her income by $80,000 in one year and has tripled her database of top clients. I always tell my Coaching clients, ?the gains come from deepening relationships, staying in touch and developing that relational business, which is the foundation of the real estate field.?

By deepening these relationships and building that trust?consistently following the basic systems?you will not only win each day, you’ll win the year, as well.

How can clients remain successful in a changing market?

I think this changing market we?re in provides an opportunity. I believe the greatest advantage a Realtor can have in a changing market is mastering the practice of working by referral.

In this changing market we’ve seen since last fall, the homes are staying on the market longer but prices for my clients are staying stable.

Currently, there is a lot more commission pressure. There are always people who think Realtors make a lot of money, and that all Realtors get 6 percent. So I tell my clients, they have to tell their clients everything they are going to do for them?making themselves a point of referral for everything.

I think a lot of clients have not worked as hard as they should in building referral relationships with vendors and service providers. They can do even better by enhancing their own networking ability. You can never have too many answers when it comes to taking care of all a client?s needs.

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Monday, March 15, 2010