A Vendor Guide Is a Goldmine, For You and Them
Table of Contents
· Why I Started Keeping a Vendor Guide
· What Categories Belong in It
· Why I Only Recommend People I've Actually Used
· How I Keep It from Going Stale
· The Part Nobody Tells You
· Starting Your Own List
· Systematizing Your Vendor Bench
· How to Make the Introduction
· Promote Your Vendors
· Asking Who Else You Need to Know
· Social Media
· Top Grade Your Bench
· Stay Connected
· FAQ
We know it happens. We get a phone call after we sold a house. A client needs a plumber right away, or a good attorney for their aging parents, or someone who can fix a fence. The agents who freeze in that moment are not bad at their jobs. They just never built the thing I am about to walk you through. I started building mine when I bought my first house at the tender, young age of 19 and I didn’t even realize it. That house was a total rehab project and I needed vendors. Lots of them! Now my vendor bench has quietly become one of the most valuable parts of my whole business.
Why I Started Keeping a Vendor Guide
I don't think I would be where I am in my business today if it weren't for my vendor guide. It's an evolving contact list of trusted professionals that my clients can reach out to. Plumbers, lenders, attorneys, dance instructors. With each home I sell, people start a life in that home. They need to call people. They need to fix things or sign up for services. So, I strive to be a resource for my clients to contact for "life" needs.
Almost anything can make the cut. A great electrician, a patient piano teacher, a dry cleaner who does a great job, or an estate attorney. If it makes someone's life easier after they've bought or sold a home with me, that category belongs on the list. Think back to conversations you have had. Who did you ask for a recommendation of? Chances are that you have called friends or family and asked if they know someone that can help you with a project!
What Categories Belong in It
Almost anything can make the cut. A great electrician, a patient piano teacher, a dry cleaner who does a great job, or an estate attorney. If it makes someone's life easier after they've bought or sold a home with me, that category belongs on the list. Think back to conversations you have had. Who did you ask for a recommendation of? Chances are that you have called friends or family and asked if they know someone that can help you with a project!
Why I Only Recommend People I've Actually Used
I meet with my vendors, have coffee, talk on the phone. I try the restaurant before I recommend it. I let the contractor into my own house before I let him into a client's. Reputation is secondhand. My guide runs on firsthand experiences. Why? Because when you refer someone, you are basically saying, they are good. Call them. You need to know they are good, right?
How I Keep It from Going Stale
People retire, move, get busy. If I haven't used someone in a while, I check in. A call, a coffee, sometimes just a text. Lives change and so do businesses. You need to keep a pulse on today, not just that one time you had someone paint your living room 5 years ago.
The Part Nobody Tells You
I give out dozens of referrals every week and always have. I don't give to get. But the natural by-product of giving a lot of referrals is getting referrals in return. These referrals come in two ways: the vendor themselves may need your services, or the vendor knows someone that needs your services. One of my highest honors is helping one of my vendors buy or sell real estate. Within the past year I have helped one of my lender partners, my bookkeeper, my painter and one of my contractors buy real estate!
Starting Your Own List
Start by designating categories, then fill in who you already know, like, and trust. You don't need a fancy system on day one, just a blank document and the willingness to make a few calls. You may be asking what categories are beyond the usual lender, title, inspector. Think of it like this: within a normal week where do you go? Where do you schedule appointments? Nails? Hair? Pet sitting services? These are categories your clients need, too. We sell homes but we are also helping our clients start a new life in this home.
Systematizing Your Vendor Bench
One day a week, my target contact category is my vendors. Set up a time for yourself to stay in touch. Make sure you have their birthday so you can send a card. Add them to your holiday list. Break down your list in sections so you ensure a call at least once every two months. Keep track of your calls in your CRM. Update your guide with any contact information changes or new services they offer. Consider sending a thank you card after your conversation. A handwritten note is such a special touch!
How to Make the Introduction
When you get the call requesting a referral, let them know you have someone that other clients have had success with. Send the information to your client but also ask if they would like you to make the introduction. Then send a group text or email so they have each other’s contact information. Then place a call to your vendor to fill them in on any background details that will help. Don’t forget to follow up. Check in with the client and the vendor a few days later. Did they connect? Everything go okay? Anything else you can do to help. I try to keep service, not sales, in front of my mind.
Promote Your Vendors
Consider doing a vendor spotlight once a week after you finish your calls. This helps your clients as well as helps your vendors. Email your database a short plug for the vendor and their services. Tell your clients a success story about the vendor. Something like “they just helped a client do ….” This is a value add you can provide to your clients that doesn’t ask for anything. It gives something instead. This step also helps keep you in mind as a resource, not just a salesperson.
Asking Who Else You Need to Know
Ask your clients and vendors who else you need to connect with that provides great service. This is a fun call to make when you are making database calls. You know you need to keep in touch with your database but sometimes you do not know what to say. A perfect warm touch is something like “I am looking for a really good painter to add to my list do you know anyone?” Or “I am working on my vendor guide today. Remember when you needed a referral for a great spa? Is there any business you have visited lately that was really great? I would like to visit them and add them to my list!”
Social Media
All the sites, you know them. FB, IG, LinkedIn. We all have them and we are always posting, scrolling, liking. Connect to your vendors on the sites. Share success stories. Give praise. Put the relationship out front and center. This helps them but it also helps you. It puts you in front of their network. It’s just one more place of exposure for your real estate business.
Top Grade Your Bench
Sometimes you need to remove someone from the list. It’s okay, it happens. Maybe their business model has changed. Maybe they retired. I once referred out an appraiser that had recently retired and moved to Vegas. I mean, it’s not like he needed to tell me, right? That mistake was made by me! I had no idea until my client called me back. Not only was I embarrassed to not know this, but it cemented the weekly check-in calls for me. Another not so funny story? I sent three referrals to a contractor in one week only to find out he never called any of them. He was overwhelmed with his current job and couldn’t take on any more projects. Rather than tell me, he just went radio silent. This is why a follow call after the connection is made is vital. Learn from my mistakes!
Stay Connected
If you would like more information like this, or support from other producing agents across the country, jump on my weekly Zoom call, every Wednesday at 10am EST. It’s a free resource that I started several years ago as my way to give back to my peers as well as learn from them! todaysorganizedagent.com/free-training
FAQ
How many vendors do I need before this is worth doing?
None, really. Start with one name in one category and build from there. Mine took years to fill out and it still isn't finished.
What if I haven't personally used a vendor yet?
Then I hold off. I only recommend people I have experienced firsthand, even if that means my list grows slower than I would like.
How often should I reach out to people on my list?
I aim for once every two months per vendor. A quick call, a coffee, sometimes just a text to see how business is going. Also put them on your mailing list.
Do referrals really come back to me as business?
They have for me, for years. But I never gave referrals to get referrals. That part happened on its own.
What's the easiest way to start systematizing my vendor bench?
Pick one day a week and treat vendor outreach like any other appointment on your calendar. Track your calls in your CRM so nothing slips.
Should I really be promoting my vendors to my own database?
Yes. A short spotlight or a quick success story costs you nothing and keeps you top of mind as a resource, not just a salesperson.
What if I only know a couple of good vendors right now?
Then you have a couple more than you did before you started. Ask your own vendors who they trust, that is usually how the list grows fastest.
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