As a licensed Realtor in the state of Virginia, I work very hard to make my clients happy with their home-buying or -selling experience. I work to be forthright and timely with news, thoughtful with my closing gift choices, and dead-on accurate when it comes to negotiations and pricing strategy. Over time they begin to see that I can be trusted to work in their best interest at all times, and I hope that they are so impressed with me that they would feel comfortable referring me to their friends and family. One thing I really enjoy about being a Realtor is the ability to help family and friends with their sale or purchase. It’s just an easy atmosphere in the car when you’re cruising down the road to look at homes, and have so much in common already that the awkward silences just don’t happen much, if at all. 
It broke my heart yesterday afternoon to find out that the second Realtor I found for an old friend of mine in Oklahoma didn’t do a very good job rounding out the deal. (We had to fire the first one because of a lack of follow-through on their part.) The second Realtor seemed to click with my friend pretty well at first, but once the house was under contract, my buddy told me, “It seemed pretty clear to me that it was ‘on to the next one’.” He also thought her closing gift completely missed the mark; I don’t remember what all was included, but he was not at all interested in the Spearmint candy-cane-scented hand soap. He told me he was frustrated because, “She didn’t do half the job I know you would have done for me.”
Here’s the thing: He wouldn’t have volunteered this information to me if I hadn’t checked back on how his experience went.
It frustrates me that this happened because I take personal responsibility for every referral I give to somebody — and that includes anything: Service at restaurants, veterinarians (for my fellow pet owners), Realtors, car dealers…all of those people are people I expect an exemplary level of service from, as I work hard to provide it for their referrals (read: their clients, family, and friends). You may not be a Realtor, but the providers that you refer your family to reflect back on you, so be careful and selective when you refer someone. Your family and friends will appreciate it, and if they did have a bad experience, they will appreciate your concern and gladly give you feedback. Conversely, unless you follow up, you may never know that your own reputation is taking a beating because of someone else’s bad service.
Dream BIG. 