Real Estate testimonials are an excellent way to prove your value as a real estate agent – without saying a thing. But, getting a testimonial that will convert leads into clients can be a challenge. These tips will help you get the kind of testimonials you need to land new clients.
Why Testimonials Work
Testimonials work due to a psychological phenomenon called social proof. When people see social proof, they tend to accept the proof in order to reflect the right behavior in a particular situation. So, when other people see glowing testimonials, they will assume that they should believe them.
In addition, in our digital world, people use product reviews to make purchase decisions, and many consumers are more likely to buy from a site that has reviews. You can use that to your advantage because it works the same way for services.
Many Real Estate Agents Avoid Testimonials
If you look at real estate websites in your area, you will probably find very few that display testimonials. Some agents think that the reviews they get on review websites such as Zillow and Trulia are sufficient. Those reviews are an excellent source of social proof. However, the problem is that a lot of them sound the same.
- Joe did a great job.
- I’d recommend Alice to anyone!
- Tiffany answered all our questions.
The problem with those types of reviews is that they don’t really say a lot. The best real estate testimonials address issues that are more specific to the services you provide. In addition, they need to be on your website because that’s the hub for your real estate marketing efforts.
Many agents avoid getting testimonials because they don’t know how to ask for them. In addition, some agents get discouraged because when they do ask for them, the testimonials end up sounding like the ones on Zillow and Trulia.
How to Get the Best Real Estate Testimonials
In a perfect world, clients would write an email thanking you in detail for all the wonderful services you provided to them. However, the world isn’t perfect. The only way to get a great testimonial is to ask for it and make it easy for your clients to respond. One thing that holds many clients back from providing a testimonial is that they don’t know what to say. So, they just keep putting it off, hoping you’ll forget you asked. The key is to give them something to talk about.
Prepare questions for your clients to answer. Here are examples of more generic questions:
- What concerns did you have about [buying/selling] your home?
- What did I do differently than what you expected based on your experience or experiences shared by friends and family?
- What would you say about why others should work with me?
Wherever possible, prepare questions specific to a client’s transaction:
- How did you use the real estate showing feedback system I set up for you?
- What did you think of the home staging tips we implemented?
- What did you think of the home search account you set up on my website?
Get the answers. There are two ways to obtain the answers to your questions. The best way is to create a video of your client answering the questions. If you’re not a video editing expert, it’s best to hire a videographer to tape your discuss with the client, then edit it into a smooth-flowing video.
The next best way to get the answers is to send an email with the questions and ask the client to respond by replying to the email and noting their answer to the questions.
Post the answers. Post the video on a page on your website. You can also post it to your social media profiles. If you post the answers on your website, be sure to use the client’s full name and other identifying information such as the address or name of the neighborhood.
Social proof is a powerful tool. In keeping with today’s terminology, you may even want to call the page on your website “Reviews” rather than “Testimonials.” Either way, you’re giving potential clients excellent reasons to hire you!