How to Get More Referrals for Your Real Estate Business and Grow Your Warm Market
- Stuart Chng
- Dec 18, 2025
- 5 min read
Word-of-mouth marketing may sound old-fashioned when compared to today’s digital tools.
After all, social media ads, portals, and online platforms are available to almost every agent at the click of a button.
However, what is easy to access also comes with one major drawback: everyone is doing it.
When every agent is posting, advertising, and promoting themselves online, standing out becomes harder than ever. This is why your existing network—your warm market—remains one of your biggest competitive advantages.
Your past colleagues, friends, family members, and acquaintances form a network that only you have access to. Ignoring this group when building your real estate career is a missed opportunity, especially since people who already know you are far more likely to trust and support you.
Here are five practical ways to activate your warm market and generate more referrals for your real estate business.
1. Shift Your Mindset: Relationships First, Transactions Second
In real estate, it’s important to understand one core truth:
You’re not selling products.
You’re not even selling property.
What you’re really offering is yourself—your judgment, advice, and reliability.
At the surface level, clients engage you to buy or sell a home. But underneath that decision is something deeper:They are choosing you because they believe you can guide them safely through a high-stakes, emotional decision.
Ask yourself:
Do my clients feel confident in my knowledge?
Am I clearly communicating how I add value?
Do people feel comfortable trusting me with sensitive financial decisions?
Every successful transaction starts with trust. That trust is built through relationships, not sales tactics.
Think about it: You don’t remember the cashier who took your order at a fast-food outlet—that was purely transactional. But you do remember the agent who walked you through months of viewings, negotiations, and paperwork, and maybe even celebrated your home purchase with you.
That’s the difference between a transaction and a relationship—and relationships are what drive referrals.
2. Create a Memorable Client Experience
Have you clearly defined what an “excellent experience” looks like for your clients?
Strong referral businesses are built on repeatable moments—key touchpoints that clients remember and talk about long after the deal is done.
The goal is not to do something random for each client, but to develop a process that consistently leaves a positive impression.
What are examples of key moments you can replicate?
For example, one agent I know has a habit of identifying potential “blind spots” for buyers. He educates them on:
Exit risks for investments
Signs of loan shark activity
Structural issues like cracks or leaks
Even potential neighbour-related challenges
He explains his thinking openly, so clients understand not just what he recommends, but why.
As a result, buyers feel protected—even if they can’t always articulate exactly how. Over time, this becomes his signature experience, one that clients naturally share with others.
3. Acknowledge Milestones, Celebrations, and Festivals
Referrals often come from people who feel remembered.
One agent in my team keeps a detailed CRM where he tracks:
Client birthdays
Wedding anniversaries
Children’s milestones and graduations
He also personally delivers small gifts during festive seasons such as Lunar New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, and Christmas.
Could he outsource this?
Of course.But he chooses not to—because these moments allow him to reconnect personally and stay involved in his clients’ lives.
What started with fewer than five clients has grown into a database of over a hundred people who receive yearly greetings and gifts.
When asked if the effort was worth it, his answer was simple:
“This is prospecting—just in a different form.”
Today, many of his clients still work with him five to ten years later, and even refer their children and extended family to him. His referral base continues to grow, reducing his reliance on cold lead generation.
4. Stay Consistently in Touch
Out of sight often means out of mind.
With countless agents advertising online, sending flyers, and knocking on doors, your challenge isn’t competition—it’s attention.
Regular, value-driven communication keeps you relevant.
Some effective methods include:
WhatsApp broadcast lists sharing property insights and market updates
Email newsletters with curated and original content
A personal website featuring articles and resources clients can easily share
Having a digital presence also makes it easier for clients to recommend you. When people can point others to your website or content, your credibility works for you even when you’re not around.
Remember, your real competition is not other agents—it’s everything else competing for your clients’ attention, from work and family to social media and streaming platforms.
Find out how to keep their attention, and you will keep their business.
5. Lead With Service
At its core, real estate is a people business.
One agent noticed that many of his past clients were falling ill during an earlier COVID wave. While buying medication for his own family, he decided to purchase traditional remedies for his former clients as well.
There was no sales pitch. No expectation.
The illness passed—but the gesture stayed with them.
Acts of service like this are rarely forgotten, especially when they are sincere.
Clients may not need you immediately, but when the time comes, they remember who showed up for them.
Often, the simplest acts of thoughtfulness lead to the strongest loyalty and the most referrals.
Final Thoughts
In real estate, success is often measured by numbers:
Commissions earned
Transactions closed
Rankings and awards
But there’s another metric worth tracking:
The number of meaningful client relationships you’ve built over time.
Clients who return to you.
Clients who refer you confidently.
Clients who see you as more than just an agent.
That kind of success is built on generosity, consistency, and genuine care.
Be generous with your knowledge and be sincere in your service.
And never forget the people who supported you when you were just starting out.
From experience, those who give without expectation often find that success, fulfilment, and opportunities follow naturally.
If you are a new or experienced RES looking for help in improving your business and lead generation efforts or develop your online brand, let's have a chat.
Our team support and environment might help you achieve that sooner.
Make an appointment with Stuart and his team leaders.
Stuart Chng, Executive Group District Director of Huttons Asia, is a renowned leader and personality in the real estate industry.
He adores music and can play a few instruments decently without upsetting his neighbours. When not doing so, he enjoys pillow fighting with his son and coming up with silly puns which barely amuses his wife.
Professionally, he is a licensed real estate agent, an avid stocks, options and real estate investor, multiple businesses owner, team leader, speaker and columnist for several property newsletters and blogs and is often quoted in media interviews on 938FM, Channel 8, PropertyReport, PropertyGuru and other publications.
Throughout his career, he has helped many clients grow their wealth through selecting great property investments and managing their portfolios actively. Read his clients' reviews here.
Stuart has also coached many top million dollar producing agents from top real estate agencies in Singapore. Read his agents' reviews here.
Relevant Readings:
- Find out more about Huttons & NAVIS projects, training and technology.
- Find out about a Property Agent's Career Path with Huttons Group.
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