One of the things we are constantly working on as Realtors is expanding our network of trusted professionals, and lately I’ve noticed a pattern in the way I’ve encountered the best person or company for a particular job. I’ll give a couple of examples below, and the first is how I discovered this process.
Finding Referrals – Niching Down
I needed a tankless hot water heater installed at my home due to a code violation with the original water heater. Sounds silly, but tankless was the most cost effective solution. My immediate reaction was to call my plumber who had done some great work around the house fixing leaks and installing new fixtures. My plumber came over, took a glance at the situation, and said “I could probably do this if you want me to, but I know someone who specializes in tankless and would be a better fit.” My trusted advisor turned down a bigger job than any other work he had previously done at my house, and that is an example of the power of local community and small business relationships. It helps that I refer my clients to him pretty regularly. He referred me to the plumber he had in mind who came by and handed me his business card. Printed on the card under his name and company was “Tankless Hot Water Heaters.” Jackpot, I searched the company on Google, great reviews – I hired him and the work was excellent. I then realized the importance of niching down and getting the perfect person for a particular job, and fortunately I didn’t have to learn the hard way. The question becomes, how do we search for this person or business without it being presented to us? It’s a matter of asking the right questions to the right people. Let’s take luxury cars for example.
A client of mine drives nice European cars, and asked me where to get a touchless car wash locally. I searched Google, called every car wash around, but couldn’t find any touchless services. I decided to call a local mechanic who works exclusively on European cars, and asked where his clients get their car washed. He referred me to a local individual who does washes, detailing, and protective wraps for many of the car owners at the major local car shows. This was the ideal person to be connected with, and while I could have probably found a good hand wash locally, the 25 years of experience detailing luxury cars instills trust and confidence that I probably wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere. I now had two great referrals to give to my client – a great local mechanic verified through online testimonials and a great detailer.
It’s a process that can be repeated for any situation where you have a specific task you need to find talent for. I always encourage asking for references if necessary and researching testimonials, but the key is digging a little further into the field of interest and to find the already talented people who are connected with others that fill the niche you are looking for. I hope this helps you find your next great referral, and if you need help you can always reach out to us for assistance.