Los Altos Real Estate Blog

As a REALTOR, I am sometimes tasked with how to choose another agent who can help a client.  The reasons for referring a client to someone include relocation out of the area, buying or selling too far away, a specialist need I can't do (buying a business, etc), and even being too busy.  Whatever the reason, it's important to select an agent who can serve my clients needs to the same level I would.  So, what do I look for in another agent?

First and most important, personality.  That embodies a whole list of traits and the combination helps me to know if I'm working with the best person.  Some of the factors I include in personality are:

• Integrity (I want someone who holds ethics high on their list)
• Professionalism (I want someone who conducts themselves in a business-like manner but is also a bit casual)
• Attitude (I want someone who is confident but not arrogant)
• Respect (I want someone who respects others and themselves as well as being respected by their peers)
• Nice (I want someone who is nice.  Sounds simply enough.  However, they need to know when to play hardball)

Second, experience and knowledge.  This varies based on the client.  If I'm working with a first-time buyer then I'm more apt to refer them to someone who is relatively new in the business.  If I'm working with a high-end buyer or sophisticated investor, I'll choose someone who has experience in those areas.  My choice of who to refer to is based on the needs of the client.

Lastly, client preference.  Whoever I refer my client to has to be able to get along with the person I've referred them to.  Otherwise, it's not a good fit because buying real estate is a team effort.  Choosing a referral agent solely on their geography isn't going to work out for my clients.  I like to know the agent and get to know how they work either in person, by phone, or by reading their blogs.  When they meet the agent, hopefully it's a fit.  If not, we go through the process again.  It all comes down to customer service and providing a quality experience.

I certainly hope I'm worthy of your referrals.  If you have someone looking in the Silicon Valley area, please take a look at my blog, give me a call, and hopefully I can be of service.

The San Francisco Bay Area Activerain MeetUp happened yesterday afternoon at The Elephant Bar in Fremont, California.  We had 17 people show up representing every region in the area and a mix of real estate agents and finance people.  Since many in attendance had already spoken on the phone, commented online, or shared emails at some point in the past the event felt a bit like meeting old friends.  It was a great chance to build relationships, network, and share thoughts and ideas on a wide range of topics.

Our attendees included:

• Wende Schoof
• Antonio Cardenas
• Anja Karstens
• Karen Levine
• Kathleen Daniels
• Karen Crowson
• Mike Bell
• Rhonda Fee
• Vicky Nagy
• Chris Eckert
• Pacita Dimacali
• Evelyn Kennedy
• John Scott
• Sophia Lin
• Carla Dimond
• David Ames
• Bryan Robertson

This event was a rousing success with substantial help from Karen Crowson and Kathleen Daniels who invited several of the people in attendance.  The feedback from everyone seemed very positive so I'm sure the next event will have even more people.  David Ames offered to host at his house so if we can get 50-60 people for the next event, that'll be great! :)

What I like the most about this event is it gets us from online social networking to "real life networking".  I'd be really happy doing business with everyone I met today.  That feeling comes from meeting them in person.  In my opinion, events like this should happen at least twice a year so we can keep these connections going.  Building better personal relationships will make the Activerain experience an even better one that it already is.

I'm looking forward to the next event.  I hope all the other MeetUps had the same success our did.  Good job Kerrie for coordinating all these!