The Complete Guide To Accelerating Your Real Estate Testimonials
Trust is the currency of real estate today. Without it, it’s challenging to close real estate transactions because it’s a very personal business. Buyers and sellers do business with people they know and trust. That can work to your advantage if you remain true to your values and know how to rack up testimonials.
Take, for example, stats from Statista that frame the client experience. According to the site, most buyers in the United States in 2023 hired an agent to help them find and buy a home. Nearly all buyers surveyed—98%—indicated that honesty and integrity were the top qualities they looked for in a realty professional. Responsiveness and knowledge of realty processes ranked highly, too.
The lesson here is that realtor reviews, client feedback, and reputation matter in home buying and real estate in general. Sadly, a good agent’s image can be soiled overnight, even if it’s not warranted. However, positive reviews are what help real estate agents on the dual fronts of credibility and sales numbers. Consider this your guide to landing more online reviews and using them strategically in your sales interactions and marketing to get more referrals from happy clients.
Why Real Estate Testimonials Matter
Testimonials tell the public that you’ve been in business long enough to showcase your expertise and demonstrate trustworthiness as a real estate agent and trusted advisor. When people encounter glowing reviews, they feel more confident about choosing you as a resource to find and buy their dream home. A number of recent positive reviews reinforce this because buyers and sellers want assurance that they’ll have the same experience with an agent.
In addition, testimonials can impact decision-making in the home-buying process. A client might choose you over another when evaluating multiple real estate agents if you have enough positive reviews collected and posted. Plus, if you generate dozens of 5-star reviews, that can inspire trust and confidence in your abilities and customer service. One or two realtor reviews, even if stellar, won’t have the same effect. People might be skeptical that they’re authentic if you don’t have enough testimonial examples related to the home-buying process.
Real Estate Testimonials Examples
To capture the attention of potential clients, be open to using various testimonial formats. For instance, written reviews are great fodder for your website and print materials. Video testimonials can capture the depth of emotion and lend a more personal touch about why you’re highly recommended. They’re also great for agent SEO purposes. Video reviews are great to use on a landing page and in social media posts. Online reviews on sites like Google, Yelp, and LinkedIn can also produce the same results as the other types of realtor reviews. It just might be challenging to keep track of them across multiple platforms, and you risk losing good reviews if you get locked out of your agent account.
How To Get Real Estate Testimonials
You’ll get the most good reviews by asking for them. Most happy clients are willing to recommend you if they get guidance on how and where they can. You just need to make it clear and easy to do so. Here are some tips to help maximize your efforts so you can get more realtor reviews and land more clients.
Timing
You might have the best results shortly after a successful deal. Don’t wait more than a few weeks to ask for a client testimonial. That way, the experience will be fresh in the buyer’s mind. When it’s recent, home-buying clients are likely to speak their minds and give an accurate assessment of your performance as a real estate agent.
Creating a Seamless Process
Leaving a realtor review should be intuitive and painless; otherwise, you risk losing a good review. No buyer or seller wants to navigate a complex realty website or app if they can avoid it. In contrast, you might use a Google Form or send them a template or testimonial example that lays out what you’re looking for.
Using Prompts
Better realtor reviews start with better prompts. With that in mind, equip your clients with some framing questions. You might ask them to summarize their experience working with you as an agent, call out specific ways you helped them navigate challenges in buying or selling, or ask them to weigh in on how you’re different or better from other agents they encountered in the real estate business.
How To Boost the Impact of Real Estate Testimonials
To get the most from your testimonials, agents should keep the following in mind:
Display Testimonials on Your Website
Add your best client reviews to your realty website homepage or place them on a dedicated landing page to call attention to your home buying or selling client experience.
Integrate Testimonials Into Marketing Materials
Get more mileage out of good reviews by placing full or partial quotes in your brochures, email newsletters, and social media posts.
Leverage Testimonials in Client Presentations and Proposals
Sales calls are the perfect occasion to lean on your cache of positive reviews. Cite recent testimonials to help forge relationships with potential home buyers and sellers and show that you’re trustworthy and come highly recommended.
Bottom line: online reviews can open doors for agents that aren’t possible without them. Today’s buyers are savvier than ever, and they want to know you’re honest, hardworking, and will follow through when helping them find and purchase a dream home. Positive reviews can take you far. You also need to know how to ask for realtor reviews, manage them, and use good reviews to your advantage.
Use Podium To Get More Reviews
As a busy agent, you’re taking care of all the important details your job requires. Adding one more item to your to-do list can seem overwhelming. You need tools that help free up time and energy. Fortunately, Podium makes it easy to request and collect realtor reviews from home buyers. Here’s a breakdown of the key features that can help real estate agents get more feedback:
Automated Review Invites
Podium sends review invitations to realty clients directly via text messaging or email. Home buyers can leave feedback for agents with a few clicks. This no-nonsense approach to online reviews increases the chances of a client following through with a review.
Centralized Review Management
You can use Podium to address online reviews on multiple platforms from a centralized location. This way, you can read what home buyers and sellers are saying about you and respond quickly if you need to address a complaint.
Reputation Monitoring
Podium presents a high-level overview of your online reputational health. Being aware of recurring themes can help you take corrective action so that you don’t continue to get dinged in online reviews for the same issues.
Review Generation Strategies
For those in the real estate business, Podium offers practical advice on how you can generate more positive reviews. You’ll learn how and when to ask for review requests and what to do with the feedback once it’s collected.
For realtors, Podium can bring a new dimension of speed and quality to the review management process. And more quality reviews are the best way to enhance your online reputation and stay on top of your agent game. Watch a demo and see how Podium is redefining how real estate agents get more referrals and, therefore, more real estate transactions.
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