Refresher – Why Is Growing Your SOI So Important for Real Estate Agents?

Why Is Growing Your SOI So Important for Real Estate Agents?

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of really bad advice out there on how to grow your SOI.

Some of it is super-scripted and sleazy, and some of it is just plain outdated. (Don’t get us wrong, we LOVE the MREA, but it was published in 2004 — Facebook was just a baby back then!)

And let’s face it. The idea of condensing all your personal relationships into a spreadsheet summed up by a 3-letter acronym sounds cold at best, immoral at worst. But truly great SOI and referral marketing isn’t about “selling.”

Case in point: Brian Buffini.

The rags-to-riches real estate mogul emigrated to the US in 1986, knowing literally no one and went on to become one of America’s top agents and the king of real estate referrals. All because of one fundamental business driver: Authenticity.

Or consider the methods of Baltimore-based broker and team leader Ron Howard.

In 2016 and 2017, Ron’s team closed 533 and 470 transactions, respectively, without following the conventional sales advice. Instead, by focusing on building great relationships — “friends not funnels” — they became Baltimore’s leading real estate team. They build their spheres of influence through charity and service rather than passing out business cards. 

“It’s not really service to transaction, it’s service to relationship,” Ron says. “We want to build a network that people actually want to be a part of.”

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to burn your relationships, use robotic scripts, or contact people a magic number of 33 times to score referral business and grow your SOI.

But you do need to step up and own your role as a Realtor — which also happens to be the best possible thing you can do for your real estate business.