Building Realtor®-to-Realtor® Relationships BY LEE NELSON
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eveloping close and trusting relationships with other real estate agents can lead to great success in the profession. Building relationships with Realtors® in your area can help you better your business, help you stay relevant, and help you better serve your clients.
Jon Cohen lives and works in Moorestown, and covers territory on the Jersey Shore too. “It’s a different market there,” said Cohen, CEO, Principal, and Realtor® of The Jon Cohen Team at Compass RE. When he knows his client will receive multiple offers, Cohen often refers his clients to agents he has worked with in the past. He uses agents he can trust and that he knows will keep his client’s best interests at heart.
Working Together in a Low Inventory Market The current low inventory market can breed some confrontational and uncooperative behavior from agents, according to Hector Perez, Realtor® with eXp Realty, Montclair.
Those who are hard to work with and only care about the commission, will not earn the respect of other agents. In the future, if there is a choice, agents may choose not to work with them, said DeBellis. “Without a doubt in this industry, we are going to have great people and not so great people. We are unique in our business philosophy,” said DeBellis. “We are competitivebased, but we are working directly with our competitors and have a direct relationship with them.” DeBellis reccomends to stay professional no matter how difficult it may be to work with someone. “Unfortunately, some people aren’t as kind or professional. That’s a shame on them,” said DeBellis.
Realtor® Relationships Lead to Referrals
“Real estate has a lot of moving parts, and it can be very frustrating,” said Perez.
With limitied inventory across the state, Realtors® are doing the best they can with what is available. Buyers are broadening their desired locations, and according to Cohen, choosing to work with Realtors® who know the area better is typical.
As with any career, there can be tough collegues to work with, but Perez recommends showing kindness and understanding. Sharing ideas can also help you build trust and bond with other Realtors®.
Now more than ever, it’s vital to stay up-to-date with current market conditions and become the neighborhood expert. This will help you gain potential clients while also earning the trust of other agents.
“Many in the industry won’t share because they don’t want others to steal things the way they did it,” said Cohen. “That tends to be the old school beliefs and doesn’t get anybody anywhere.”
While many referral can come from past clients, according to Perez, five out of 10 of the referrals his team receives come from other agents.
Keeping Connections
Staying in contact with the other Realtors® and getting along with one another are important parts of the transaction process, explains Amy DeBellis, director of training and a broker associate at Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty in Ridgewood. 22 | NEW JERSEY REALTOR® | November/December 2021
“We have a workplace group for eXp Realty with 65,000 agents in 50 states. There are dozens and dozens of referrals,” said Perez. “If we have a great relationship with that other agent, you usually end up working with them often.”
