Should I Ask My Clients to Leave Me a Zillow Review
Online reviews and testimonials are a core part of building the social proof you need in order to convert online buyers and sellers. It's the backbone of getting clients to trust you.
Without reviews, it's hard to stand out from the competition, and even more difficult to build a sustainable real estate career.
In this mail service, we're going to encompass how to ask for real manor reviews and how to actually become them. We'll also cover where to ask for reviews, when to inquire, and why you need to be collecting reviews.
Let's get.
Why Bother With Real Estate Reviews?
Real manor is a game of trust. In club to get clients, you lot demand them to trust yous and your services. Customer reviews and testimonials play a fundamental part in creating that trust.
Every unmarried existent estate amanuensis needs to get reviews from their clients and then that they tin can generate new leads and convert those leads into airtight clients.
I read in a sales book a long time ago, something along the lines of, "When you say information technology, it'southward bragging. When a client says information technology, information technology'southward sales."
That maxim has stayed with me.
When agents create marketing pieces that say, "They're number ane" or "They're the greatest agent in town" it'southward all bragging.
To effectively sell, you should rely on reviews from customers rather than bragging almost yourself. Let your clients speak to how great of an agent you are.
Get New Leads
Online real estate reviews, on the right platforms, will assist you bring in more organic, passive leads. These are leads that you lot don't accept to get out and hunt.
From personal experience, these leads are nigh always more likely to convert into clients and are predetermined to work with me by the time they reach out to me. That ways I'm not competing with a ton of other agents for the lead.
How tin y'all get more leads? Cheque out places where potential habitation buyers and sellers search for real manor agents — Zillow, Realtor.com, and Google, to name a few.
You will find that reviews play an important part in ranking real estate agents in search results.
Take Zillow every bit an instance. Their Agent Finder function ranks real manor agents based on recent sales action and reviews. The agents that become ranked — aside from those who are premier agents — have a loftier number of reviews compared to their competitors.
In today's market place, getting existent manor reviews are absolutely critical to your long-term success as a real manor amanuensis, merely it doesn't ever seem easy to go reviews.
When y'all build a contour with a ton of reviews, information technology can become a powerful, scalable marketing channel. The render on investment is astronomical, too.
Call back near information technology… there is pretty much no cost in getting reviews. At least not compared to other marketing options, similar Zillow leads or directly mail.
You can start to build a predictable business that generates consistent leads.
Nosotros've used Google to generate leads into our business organization. For example, we rank for keyword terms similar "realtor nigh me" and "realtor riverview".
Catechumen More Leads
Your reviews human activity as social proof to build trust and convert more leads. Ideally, your reviews should exist used in all areas of your business — from social media, to your website, to review platforms, to your listing presentations.
At every point in the process, your clients should run into your reviews. One of my favorite things to practise with my reviews is to have them and create Facebook and Instagram posts with the clients photo at closing.
Looking to do something similar? Y'all can. We had our sign custom made at All Things Real Estate. Take a look at their options and build your own custom closing sign.
Our sign has something for buyers on one side and sellers on the other side.
Find ways to repurpose your leads and use them to catechumen more leads into customers.
Where To Get Reviews
There is no shortage of places to get reviews, just I would focus on the most important iv: Google, Zillow, Facebook, and your brokerage's website.
Google Reviews
The nigh obvious and impactful place to start is with Google. If I was a new existent estate amanuensis again, I would definitely kickoff here. Fifty-fifty if I'm just starting to go more than series about reviews, regardless of experience, I would start here, besides.
Beginning, Google is i of the largest search engines, which means more potential traffic to your website. Second, Google is oftentimes the starting point for many habitation buyers and sellers when they get-go their home buying journey.
Tons of buyers go to Google and blazon in queries like, "Homes for sale" or "Realtors in [metropolis]".
And then, at that place is a lot of need. Too, information technology's relatively easy to rank your Google My Business page in the snack pack, and then it is to rank your agent profile on other platforms.
For case, we rank for important keywords with just xiii reviews on Google. Yes, we rank considering of more just reviews, but to rank in Zillow for the aforementioned aught code, I would need 200+ reviews. That's a tough hill to climb — even for me.
Start with Google considering information technology's a high affect, low barrier platform to collect reviews.
To succeed with getting Google reviews — whatsoever reviews for that matter — you demand to make it as easy equally possible for your client to write a review.
Ofttimes, existent estate agents merely inquire their clients to write them a Google review without providing instructions or a link to exercise and so.
That's a shame. It hurts the number of reviews you tin get.
You can provide your clients with a direct link to write reviews on Google. Starting time, type in your business proper noun into Google.
This should pull up your Google My Business organization listing in the search results.
Adjacent, click on your "Reviews" right underneath all of the buttons. This volition pull up reviews, and in the top right corner printing the "Write Review" push.
Don't actually write yourself a review. Once y'all have done that, copy and paste the URL that is in your web browser.
When you send this link to your clients, it will automatically pull upwardly the box for them to write and exit you a review.
Don't make your clients get searching for how to write you a review. The easier you brand everything for your clients, the easier it will exist for them to write you lot a review.
Zillow (And Others)
Zillow is the largest real estate website and as well houses one of the largest amanuensis directories. So, information technology makes sense to effort to get reviews on a directory site like Zillow.
Nonetheless, it's your business and you lot can prioritize other directory websites, like Realtor.com, if y'all want.
There are pros and cons to each site. Realtor.com has less traffic, simply information technology'southward likely easier to rank in their directory than Zillow.
If y'all happen to take a niche, yous might want to research niche-specific directories. For example, say you specialize in selling horse properties. You could endeavor to rank your profile on a site like Horseproperties.net.
Are Zillow leads a function of your marketing plan or do yous plan to make them part of your marketing plan? So, you definitely want to focus on getting Zillow reviews.
Zillow has published their own content almost the effect of reviews for agents who participate in their Zillow Premier Agent program.
An important note: a majority of the traffic volition go to the first three real manor agents. That means to stand a chance at getting leads from ranking in the agent directory, you demand to exist in a pinnacle three spot.
On platforms like Zillow, that can be a HUGE barrier. In my marketplace, that takes about 200+ reviews. If y'all live in a smaller market, you might accept an easier time. I'chiliad certain in that location are also markets that are much more than competitive than mine where the requirement might exist 400+.
If yous're merely starting out as an amanuensis or accept a low number of reviews, I would look at building reviews on other platforms in addition to Zillow.
While these other sites get fewer traffic, you will be able to get some of that traffic by ranking.
Naught percent of a lot is however zero. It doesn't matter how much traffic Zillow gets if yous can't rank in the top three.
Zillow and Google are both excellent platforms for generating and converting leads. Facebook, on the other hand, will play a larger part in pb conversion than lead generation.
That's because of the fact that well-nigh people don't become to Facebook looking for a real estate agent.
However, yous should all the same go real estate reviews on your Facebook folio. Beginning, information technology can help your page rank in Google — among other factors.
Second, the reviews tin be used as social proof and shared to your audience on your Facebook page.
Practically everyone is on Facebook, today. If yous opt-out of Facebook, Instagram is a good alternative and works the same way.
In addition, your Facebook aqueduct will exist the place you're sharing your social proof photos and testimonials. A review on Facebook tin back-trail a photo of a client at closing or in front end of their home.
This is a powerful fashion to stand up out and catch the attention of people in your network.
Your Broker Profile Website
Okay, this last one is relevant to only a select number of agents. When I was with Coldwell Banker, they featured a "Find An Agent" role.
I set out to rank my profile on Coldwellbanker.com. Afterward four months in business, I managed to rank my amanuensis profile in my surface area on Coldwell Banker's main website.
Within 2 weeks of being ranked, I had a atomic number 82 come in that was a buyer and seller. This made a big deviation in my career at the time. I was new and to have a buyer and seller without having to pay Zillow leads or sit on floor time for hours was a large bargain.
Not every brokerage will accept an agent directory where they rank their agents past reviews. Mine did, so I took reward of it. If yours does, I encourage yous to take advantage of it, as well.
How to Ask For Real Manor Reviews
Ask Early
Asking later on a closing is a large mistake I see many agents make. I understand the reasoning behind waiting. The transaction is finally over and y'all finished delivering your services.
But, you lot're making it harder for your clients to leave you a review. What are your clients doing after closing? Many of them are moving. They're busy AF.
Your request for a review gets buried in their mountain of to-dos.
It's better to ask before endmost.
Think about this: a majority of our service is done subsequently the appraisal. At this point, it's ordinarily the lender and title visitor that have piece of work to practice.
Besides, think most when bounty is generally due every bit a list agent. Aye, it's paid at closing, but many list agreements outline a clause that states a client is required to pay if nosotros bring an adequate offer.
For that reason, I often enquire every bit early in the procedure equally possible. Often one time we go through inspections and before closings.
Always before closing.
Another point where you tin ask for a review is when y'all go the clear to close. At this bespeak, you're but waiting until the closing tin can be scheduled.
The clear-to-shut is a happy point for clients, and then it makes sense to ask for a review hither.
Ask Often
In addition to asking early, you need to ask more ofttimes. Don't just ask in one case after closing. Frequency is generally ameliorate. If you are asking multiple times, don't let months get past.
You should inquire one time the closing is scheduled, the 24-hour interval of closing (ideally before closing), and a week subsequently closing.
These points in fourth dimension will give yous the best outcome and dramatically increase the results of getting reviews.
Give Them A Reason
Now, I'm non a big fan of offering incentives, similar prizes for reviews. In fact, on many platforms this actually violates their terms of service. Of grade, information technology'south difficult to rails these practices and so most people become away with doing things similar offer a contest in exchange for reviews.
So, when I say give them a reason, I'k not talking well-nigh a contest. I'one thousand talking almost a reason they care about. My review requests ever incorporate a stiff reason why they should leave me a review.
Generally, I say something like this:
"Reviews are important so that I can make sure more than buyers and services become the kind of service you did. I want to build the community and make sure everyone gets a good realtor. Y'all tin assist me in my endeavor by leaving a review."
I recruit my clients into my mission. I want them to help me become ranked so I can get clients and deliver a skilful service. I'thou trying to save clients from the bad real estate agents and they can help me practice this.
Leverage The Process
When information technology comes to making the procedure easier for your clients, you lot can leverage technology tools similar RateMyAgent. For example, you lot tin brand a unmarried request for a review that volition send the reviews to Google and Facebook.
Yous don't demand your clients to make full out a review on both platforms. This volition improve your odds of getting a review and getting them on multiple platforms.
This software also allows you lot to turn your reviews into ads on Google or Facebook — instantly boosting your social proof.
The advertizing characteristic is part of their paid plan, but yous can create an account and request reviews on their free plan. It'south a great manner to consolidate your reviews, as well, and create marketing collateral to include in your presentations or equally a flier at open houses.
Last Thoughts on How to Ask for Real Estate Reviews
Getting reviews is an ongoing process that every real manor amanuensis needs to start today. Use these tips to get more reviews on various platforms. Recall to ask early on and inquire oftentimes. The easier y'all make it for clients, the more reviews yous're going to get.
Build up your reviews over time and watch your business change every bit a result. Brand it your goal to get a review from every single customer or at least shoot for nearly 80%.
Source: https://dolinskigroup.com/agent-tips/how-to-ask-for-real-estate-reviews