If you are a real estate agent, there are tremendous advantages to having a good working relationship with agents in other cities and towns across the country. The most obvious advantage is that you can share referrals. And that can be very profitable since you end up sharing commissions which neither of you would likely have gotten.

Active agent referral networking involves selectively choosing networking partners, communicating with them on a regular basis, getting to know them, and eventually sharing referrals with them.

If you really want to take this referral networking thing seriously, then you will build as large a network as you can. The more agents in your network, the more likely you are to get results.

Most agents find it is a good idea to develop partners in cities across the country and the continent. This especially applies to larger cities that have something in common with your own area – where there is relocation traffic going back and forth. That will give you the most productive agent referral network.

For example, if you specialize in niche markets such as vacation properties or military relocations, you especially want to find reliable partners in relevant cities and areas. So be sure to find network partners in vacation areas or military towns, depending on your specialty.

Keeping in touch with your networking partners is very important, and for that you need a contact system of one kind or another. This could be an email system, or a traditional mail system, or you might prefer an occasional telephone call. The easiest and most efficient system is an email system Although email has its problems, it is hard to beat the price (virtually free), the convenience, and the speed of email.

This last point about staying in touch with your partners may sound obvious, but the truth is, most of us simply do not make this a priority. Instead we rely on a hit and miss method of keeping in touch. That’s a big mistake. Force yourself to make your network contact system a priority.

Finally, don’t expect instant results. Generating referrals is a long term project. Be concerned with building your profile as a “relocation expert”, and work at sending your partners referrals first. The rest will take care of itself in good time.