How to Get More Referrals as a Realtor

Ask almost any top-producing agent where their business comes from and you'll hear the same answer: referrals and repeat clients. The National Association of Realtors has found year after year that the majority of buyers and sellers choose an agent who was referred to them or whom they'd worked with before. Yet here's the gap that quietly costs agents deals — roughly nine in ten buyers say they'd use their agent again, but only a small fraction actually do. The relationship was there. The follow-up wasn't.

If you want to learn how to get more referrals as a realtor, the good news is you don't need a bigger marketing budget or a fancy funnel. You need a system for staying in front of the people who already know, like, and trust you. Here's how to build one.

1. Treat your sphere of influence like an asset

Your sphere of influence — past clients, friends, family, and the professionals you've worked with — is the single most reliable source of business you have. The problem is that for most agents it lives scattered across a phone's contact list, an old spreadsheet, and memory. When a referral source is out of sight, they're out of mind, and that's exactly when they refer the next agent instead of you.

Start by writing down everyone who could realistically send you a deal. Don't filter. Then organize them in one place where you can actually see and work the list.

• Past buyers and sellers you've closed with
• Friends, neighbors, and people from your community or church
• Referral partners — lenders, title reps, inspectors, contractors
• Sphere contacts who've referred you even once before

2. Stay in touch with past clients — on a schedule

A home is the biggest purchase most people ever make, and they remember the agent who made it smooth. But memory fades fast. If you go quiet for a year, a past client will happily refer a friend to whichever agent is top of mind that week. Staying in touch isn't about being pushy — it's about being present.

A simple cadence works better than a clever one. Reach out to every past client a few times a year with something genuinely useful or human: a home-anniversary note, a quick market update for their neighborhood, or just a 'thinking of you' check-in. The agents who win referrals aren't the loudest — they're the most consistent.

3. Build a two-way street with referral partners

Lenders, title reps, inspectors, and contractors all talk to the same buyers and sellers you do — just at a different moment. A great loan officer can send you a steady flow of pre-approved buyers, and you can send them every client who needs financing. The agents who get the most partner referrals are the ones who give first.

• Pick 5–10 partners in complementary fields and commit to them
• Refer business their way before you ask for anything back
• Check in regularly, not just when you need something
• Keep track of who actually sends you deals so you can double down

4. Ask for referrals the right way

Most agents never actually ask — they just hope. A direct, low-pressure ask at the right moment works far better. The best time is right after a win: a smooth closing, a great inspection result, a happy walkthrough. That's when goodwill is highest.

Be specific. 'If you know anyone thinking about buying or selling this year, I'd love an introduction' gives people a concrete prompt. Vague asks like 'send people my way' rarely land because they make the other person do the work of figuring out who.

5. Follow up consistently — this is where most agents lose

Here's the uncomfortable truth: the difference between agents who drown in referrals and agents who don't usually isn't talent or charisma. It's follow-up. The lead you forgot to call, the partner you meant to thank, the past client you intended to check in with — those are referrals that never happened.

The fix is to stop relying on memory. Use a system that tells you who you haven't talked to in a while and reminds you to reach out before the relationship cools. That's exactly the problem Referral Buddy was built to solve for service professionals.

Turn one referral into a habit

Getting more referrals as a realtor isn't a campaign you run once — it's a habit you keep. Organize your sphere, stay in touch on a schedule, give to your partners before you ask, make the ask directly, and follow up without fail. Do that consistently and your network becomes a pipeline that keeps producing long after the marketing spend stops.