Billye Edwards is a senior sales specialist with Carrington Real Estate Services working in Houston.
Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their Short List, a collection of tips and recommendations on an essential topic in real estate. This week, we spoke with Billye Edwards, a senior sales specialist with Carrington Real Estate Services, who shared her strategies for building a strong referral network.
4. Get Involved with the Right Organizations – Definitely join the National and Texas associations for Realtors and, if you’re in Houston, the Houston Association of Realtors. The resources and networks available through these organizations are unmatched. Also, something that’s specific to my brokerage Carrington is our BoomTown system, which is an excellent resource for referrals and client retention; it’s become critical to my business.
3. Give to Get – Approximately 95 percent of my business is referral based. I’m a firm believer that if you nurture a relationship, it will provide ample fruit. So by me having a vast sphere of influence with a variety of professionals in the industry, from inspections to mortgages, I broaden my own potential audience. As a Realtor, we’re only one person. Other professionals in the industry will appreciate it if you send a client their way, and in the future they’ll return the favor.
2. Phone Call First – Clients appreciate personal service, and I’ve always found it to my advantage to take the time to place a call rather than send an email or text message. If I’m unable to reach the, initially, I’ll, of course, leave a voice message, but I’ll also follow that call up with both an email and a text message. And until I make contact, I will not let the business day end.
1. Service is Key – Ultimately, the best way to ensure the referral is to provide stellar customer service. I pride myself on being an educator for my clients. I want them to feel in the know from beginning to end, so nothing seems too overwhelming. I will answer the same question a hundred times so long as it means my client feels comfortable with the process.
With more than 12 years of real estate experience, Billye Edwards and her team closed close to $30 million in the first quarter of 2014. As a second generation real estate professional, she is extremely passionate about the industry. A problem solver, Edwards enters each transaction expecting success and will work diligently with and for her clients to achieve it. It is her desire to be the solution for her buyers and sellers so they can fulfill their dreams of home ownership. She has strong negotiating skills and an eye for detail.