Nick Pontacoloni is the cofounder and CEO of My Home Pro Network

1. In order to stay relevant, I encourage my agents to establish relationships with local home professionals – mortgage lenders, attorneys, roofers, landscapers, painters, etc. And not just one. You need to have a couple of people that know you, trust you and respect you, so you know they will take good care of your clients.

2. Once they establish professional relationships with local professionals, I encourage my agents to leverage these relationships with their buyers, especially on listing appointments. Bathroom need remodeling? Carpet need to be replaced? Backyard a mess? My agents have all of that covered, because they invest in knowing the best people in the towns they work.

Talking about – or even better, showing – your local professional network to clients at listing presentations is one of the top reasons my agents win deals. Not only can they do what other agents do, but they can also get the bedrooms painted, the mulch put down and the home staged. It’s all about finding ways you can differentiate.

3. Now my agents have referral relationships with local professionals, and have highly differentiated themselves with their buyer and seller clients from both other agents and online portals.

Their clients can rely on them after the sale. My agents continue to strengthen their relationships by positioning themselves as a homeownership ally. They are the go-to person for everything home related, and they are able to maintain a high touch point, as well as value-added service that can’t be beat.

Nick Pontacoloni is the cofounder and CEO of My Home Pro Network, which empowers brokerages to leverage their brand and agent network to provide greater value to clients and foster goodwill with the local business community.