If you’re like most people who have ever shopped online, then you are very familiar with online endorsements or reviews. We’ve all done it. We go to a site like Amazon, search for the item we’re looking for, find it and immediately jump down to see what the reviews are, completely skipping over the product description in the process.
When it comes to making a decision, reviews and endorsements go a long way towards helping people decide. Choosing a real estate agent to help represent their home or assist them with finding that perfect home is no different.
Like it or not, you are being judged based on your online reviews, whether good or bad or if you have them or don’t.
Below are three tricks to getting more endorsements online:
Trick No. 1 ā Belong to as Many Communities as Possible
This is simultaneously the easiest and most cumbersome step to the process. Joining as many sites as possible with reviews or endorsements is the first necessary step to building your online credibility. While there are an overwhelming number of different sites that you can use, to get yourself started, you should stick to the main ones. Zillow.com, Homes.com, realtor.comĀ® and Trulia.com are four major search sites for real estate. Be sure to sign up with accounts on all of them with a completed profile, including your picture. Having a positive rating with no personal image will not help, as people tend to shy away from “silhouette” profiles. If this is all new to you and feels somewhat difficult, then start with one site and add the others over time. The more places people can find positive reviews about you, the better.
Trick No. 2 ā Make the Review Feedback/Endorsement Part of Your Closing
Have you brought your car in for service lately? Notice how they spend more time asking you to give them a perfect 10 on the upcoming survey than actually telling you what they did to your car. There’s a reason for this. They make receiving a positive survey such a big deal that you almost feel guilty if you, A, don’t fill it out and, B, don’t give them perfect 10s. This strategy also helps to keep them providing the best possible service.
As a real estate professional, this should be built into your business. When working with clients, be sure to give them the best experience possible, and when the time comes to close on their transaction, be sure to express the importance of referrals, reviews and endorsements. Ask that they kindly take the time to fill out something for you on the site, or sites, that you belong to.
Trick No. 3 ā Prewrite the Review for Them
The easier something is for someone to do, the more likely they are to do it. If you want someone to say something positive or specific about you, then prewrite the endorsement and ask your client if it would be ok to use that quote. If you feel that’s too restrictive, then consider a multiple-choice approach. Write down 3-5 different positive lines and ask the clients which best apply to their experience with you.
If you provided top tier service and built a good rapport with your clients, then they will likely have no issue supporting you online. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to do it.
Michael Darmanin is COO of Sellstate Realty Systems Network, Inc.
For more information about Sellstate’s take on technology, please visit www.JoinSellstate.com.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmarkĀ RISMedia.com.
