When grocery industry executive Sandra Cox of Clovis, Calif., started a family almost a decade ago, she knew she needed a career that would permit a more open and flexible schedule.
That’s when a friend, who happened to be a local REALTOR®, suggested that Cox consider going into real estate—a career move Cox has never regretted.
“When I was raising my family, a friend suggested I give real estate a try because I would be able to take on clients gradually and at my own pace, on a part-time basis,” says Cox, a real estate professional with Guarantee Real Estate, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. “Now I’m totally addicted to the job.”
Cox was able to get her real estate career off the ground at her own pace and she built a database of loyal clients exclusively based on referrals. But, as she continued to become more engaged in the business, she began looking for a better way to obtain highly qualified referrals, discovering ReferralExchange along the way.
And with ReferralExchange—a premier real estate referral service—by her side, Cox no longer has to shop around for leads or search for agents when she has clients moving out of the area. With ReferralExchange, Sandra places clients who are moving out of her area into the service, and they are matched with three agents from the organization’s nationwide network. When the deal closes, Sandra receives a 25 percent referral fee. Sandra also receives referrals from the organization – and pays up to a 35 percent referral fee (depending on the type of referral).
“ReferralExchange is the only company I work with. They’ve brought me a lot of direct – and indirect business,” says Cox, who explains that it can be challenging to get quality referrals when working with bigger companies.
“I’m closing five or six of those direct referrals a year that I receive, and I make about the same number of referrals out of the area using ReferralExchange,” says Cox, who notes that she currently has a seller she set up in ReferralExchange who is working with two agents in the Bay Area. “My client told me that the only issue they’re having is choosing between the two agents because they’ve both been so responsive.”
With the local market continuing to heat up, Cox explains that she can’t afford to wait a few hours—let alone a few days—to react when a referral comes in.
“People move fast,” says Cox. “When ReferralExchange sends me a potential client, I get an email and text that I accept within a matter of minutes. The faster you respond, the better your chance of getting the listing. If I get a referral when I’m driving, I pull off the freeway and call them immediately.”
In addition to helping her keep up with today’s fast-paced market, Cox appreciates the level of simplicity the entire ReferralExchange service brings to her business. Another huge benefit? The fact that the system allows her to print out and track each and every one of her leads. “Everything is at your fingertips for marketing, and you can produce property reports electronically,” Cox says.
“As real estate professionals, we get marketed for so many services, and my fellow agents frequently call me and ask if ReferralExchange is as good as they claim. And they are,” concludes Cox. “They produce their commission payments in a timely manner, the clients love them, the system is super easy and it works really well for me.”
For more information, visit www.referralexchange.com.
