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The world is changing fast. The internet has made good customer reviews essential for anyone providing a service. It doesn't matter how well respected you are in your field, if your online customer reviews don't look good, you will lose clients.
If you're a realtor, it's time to start looking into Zillow, one of the top review sites for realtors. In 2020, Zillow brought in 245 million unique monthly users. The downside is that Zillow up to the possibility of negative reviews.
Opening yourself to that kind of criticism can be scary, but it can also help your business. This article will act as your guide to realtor reviews on Zillow.
The first thing to do is to make an account on Zillow. Their website makes it a cinch, with options for agents, teams, and even brokerages. After selecting the "agent" option, you'll get to a page where Zillow will explain to you how easy they make it to communicate to buyers.
After scrolling to the bottom and clicking the "get started" button, you'll have to give some information about yourself. It'll ask you your name, email, and phone number. Then it will give you the option to make a profile and even download the Zillow app.
Creating a profile on Zillow is easy and free, but that doesn't mean you should take it lightly. Treat the creation of your Zillow profile with the same time and care as you would the creation of a personal website. Use appealing pictures of yourself, and try to provide as much information as possible.
Now that you've set up your Zillow account, you're ready to take your real estate business into the twenty-first century. The beauty of Zillow is that it works as a social network for real estate. Buyers will find their way to your profile just by browsing through the site.
However, if you want to up your game, you're going to want to get started on some reviews...
Realtor reviews are incredibly important for building your brand on Zillow (and on the internet in general). Just think about how important reviews of properties are to your clients. In our world of clicks and opinions, customer reviews are just as important as any other part of your business.
People enjoy reading reviews because they provide simple, relevant guidance. You may offer a ton of information about yourself on a website, but the fact remains that people want their peers to describe to them experiences they had in their own, casual words.
So how do you get good real estate agent reviews?
The first step is to ask! If you have a good experience with a buyer, ask them to leave you a positive review on Zillow. This will take only a small portion out of their day, and if they truly enjoyed the experience with you, they'll be glad to do it.
The next step is to reply to your client's reviews. Replying to your client will not only further your connection with that buyer, but will also allow you to supply information about your services that the buyer might have missed.
If your buyer had a bad experience, you're not going to want them to ask them to leave a review. Sometimes, however, they'll leave one anyway.
But don't panic!
People leave negative reviews for many reasons — it does not mean that you're a bad realtor. Sometimes the buyer was just having a bad day; sometimes they'll blame you for problems out of your control. While you can't determine what people say, you can control how you respond.
Navigating reviews on Zillow can be as simple as asking. People may leave you bad reviews, but that's okay, you can respond to them with grace.
Now that you know the basics of Zillow reviews, it's time to get a little more advanced.
When you get a hang of Zillow reviews, you can start using some more advanced tactics.
Feel free to text former clients to get them to add reviews on Zillow. There's no reason why someone you worked with before you got on the site shouldn't be able to share their support! This also works if you choose to email people.
Our review request service makes this extra easy. You can customize your message, and even attach your business logo. Using your logo can help you maintain consistent branding and attract even more clients.
We also have a service that allows you to ask clients to leave reviews over email. You can even set the service so that it automatically sends a follow-up message if the first one isn't opened in two days. Just like the text service, it's also customizable.
A good way to attract (especially former) customers to leave reviews on your profile is to offer them rewards. Giving your customer something like a discount could help you increase your chances of building up your reviews.
If you enjoy working on the Zillow platform, you should know that Zillow has a Premier program. By becoming a Zillow Premier Agent, you gain access to advertising and their service for finding leads.
There are many options out there for increasing your Zillow profile as a real estate agent. Taking up more advanced tactics is a great way to be proactive in promoting yourself as a business.
While there's a lot you can do to promote yourself as a real estate agent on your own, there are many options out there to make it easier. TrueReview supplies many services that will help real estate agents make the online career moves that will help them move forward.
In addition to the services described above, we also segment unhappy customers and ask them to give direct feedback which will help prevent negative reviews from popping up on your profile.
The way this works is by segmenting your customers. We ask the customers if they had a positive or negative experience. If they had a positive experience, we link to the Zillow profile; if negative, we let them provide direct feedback, which goes to your email.
This way, you can still gain the benefits of learning from negative feedback, while not having to deal with the consequences of it on your Zillow profile.
We also offer services that provide our clients with surveys, drip campaigns, and links to websites beyond Zillow, to help you increase your efficiency.
Though there are many steps you can make your own, hiring a service will help you navigate the world of reviews. It's a tough world out there, and it's good to know someone has your back.
Now, we'd like to show you some samples of positive reviews found out in the wild. This will help you understand what sort of reviews you're looking for.
Here's a five-star review for a popular and well-regarded Philadelphia real estate agent.
"____ is a fantastic realtor for first-time buyers. We found her patience and expertise to be invaluable -- and on top of that, ____ has an excellent personality and attitude when working with her clients.
Even though we were out-of-state buyers-- during a pandemic no less, _____ helped make the process smooth & successful. We would definitely work with her again, and recommend to others."
This review is a perfect example of how a positive Zillow review can be short and simple. People trust simplicity and honesty. Asking your satisfied buyers to leave a comment is a low-commitment request, with a high impact.
Here's another five-star review, this one for a New York realtor.
"Amazing person and very good at his work. it was a pleasure working with him and always there when I needed answers! Definitely recommend to anyone that is looking for a new home. Thanks once again for an amazing job!"
This one proves that buyers can put a lot of enthusiasm into their reviews. If you're worried that asking for reviews will make them come out as cold, you don't need to worry about that any longer.
Now that you've seen some examples of positive Zillow realtor reviews, hopefully, you're more encouraged to get out there and find yourself some.
When looking for Zillow realtor reviews, there are a few big no-no's.
Do not buy positive Zillow realtor reviews. This is highly disingenuous, and a good way to get yourself kicked off of Zillow. On top of that, an influx of fake positive reviews looks suspicious, and will not attract more customers.
A variation on the same theme — don't leave yourself positive reviews. Though there isn't money involved, this is still highly manipulative, and not a good way to build your business.
No matter where you are in your career, you need to start putting effort into realtor reviews on Zillow. The world is changing faster than ever, and to stay in business, you're going to have to adapt fast.
Making a Zillow profile, asking for reviews, using more advanced tactics, hiring a service, studying the reviews of other realtors, and avoiding a few no-nos are all you need to build your business as a realtor. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get selling.
Still not sure how TrueReview can help you get more reviews? Schedule a demo today!
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