How to Get Reviews for a 3R Business

And Earn a Sustainable Business.

I’ve written a lot about the importance of building a sustainable, relational business grounded in the 3Rs: Repeat customers, Referrals from past customers, and Reviews from those past customers. But how do you get those reviews?

After years of trial and error, we have figured it out.

Establish a Solid Relationship

Successful relationships are built on trust, communication, and expectations. That's why, when my wife or I, or one of our team members, first meet with a customer for a buyer or listing consult, we share with them The Brooks Group Promise. The Promise, which is basically our value proposition and setting of expectations, goes like this:

#1.We promise to be extremely responsive. We discuss with the potential customer just how fast we will get back to them, including the days and hours when we are readily available. Conversely, they will know what days and times do not fit into that category. This establishes reasonable expectations.

#2. We promise to negotiate fiercely in their best interest. We then share our statistics on how we've been able to negotiate deals in the past. Revealing our proven track record in this way helps us to build validity.

#3. We promise to tell them the truth. We explain that we know a lot about roofs, HVACs, neighborhoods, locations, etc., along with what things cost. And if they like a house, but we don't think it’s good a good fit or a good deal, we’ll tell them that -- and why. Obviously, the decision to buy always belongs to the buyer, but unlike many other agents, we are not just out to sell them a house; we will actually try to talk them out of it if we don't think it's in their best interest. (Believe me, that has happened on many occasions!) Buyers love knowing that we are looking out for their interest above our commission. This demonstrates our value.

The Promise is essential to building a relationship that results in the 3Rs. There are thousands of other agents out there, and customers have options. It’s your job as an agent not to create an opportunity that allows those other agents to take your customer because you didn’t make yourself reasonably responsive or available, or don't provide value.

So, you need to provide value at your very first meeting by doing a comprehensive consultation, demonstrating that you understand the customer’s needs and wants, sharing your insights into the market, and giving them your promise.

You need to quickly build rapport.

Create a Two-way Commitment

Once we've built rapport, The Brooks Group always ask its customers to work exclusively with us. Some agents fear making that ask, but 95% of our customers have agreed to do so. The other 5% decline for various reasons—sometimes they already have an agent, maybe they just want a looky-loo agent, etc. But that's OK.

We aren't a perfect fit with everyone, and they can move on to another option.

How do we get such a high rate of success with this tactic? By building a high level of trust up front. By the end of our initial, comprehensive consultation, the customer has already seen our 5-star reviews, they understand our process, and they see that we have a great understanding of what they're looking for.

Yes, this demonstrated understanding of needs and wants very much matters.

Customers really don’t want to go through the trouble of having another meeting and explanation with another agent who may not be listening as closely as we do. First mover advantage, indeed!

Get “Sticky”

When you implement these tactics, you increase your stickiness factor. Stickiness refers to the likelihood that a customer will stay with you as their agent after you first meet. If your stickiness factor isn’t at least 95%, you may want to consider changing your process and even get started on using written exclusive loyalty agreements (Those agreements are not legally binding – they’re based on the honor system -- but they still work well.)  

Here’s the basic question we pose to the potential customer at the end of our consultation:

If we do the work, then we deserve to be paid, right?

Everyone can get on board with that statement being fair. So, customers virtually always agree to stick with us so that we get paid.

Create the Expectation That You Will Receive a Review

When the customer agrees to exclusivity, we let them know that our goal is to do such a great job for them that we earn a review and referral by the end of the transaction.

When they agree to that, we hold them to it. Not legally, of course, but with pre-and post-transaction emails and even phone calls reminding them of their pledge. Did we provide excellent service? Of course. Then they need to follow through by writing a review.

It may take several reminders, but we have a high percentage 70%+ of customers who abide by the commitment we establish in our first consultation. And those reviews are a major part of the engine that powers a 3R business.

Just by setting this simple expectation – that we will provide 5-star service, and when we do, they will write a review -- business grows organically.

It’s so basic.

All we have to do is uphold our own promise to be an agent who provides great service. And that’s who we are, anyway.

The methodology above applies to all businesses.

To learn more about the author and check out other articles and projects, visit jonkbrooks.com.