Just starting out? Your phone already holds your business.
No need to prospect strangers. Your 100 to 300 personal contacts are your first source of listings. Here's how to activate them.
Why your existing contacts are worth more than cold prospecting
An independent real estate agent who is just starting out doesn't need 1,000 cold prospects. They need 30 past contacts to think of them when a neighbor, cousin, or coworker mentions buying or selling.
Three numbers that change your strategy
58%
of property listings come from word of mouth
NAR & IFOP studies on acquisition channels
150
people your brain can actively keep track of
Dunbar's number — University of Oxford
100 to 300
contacts in the phone of an agent who is just starting out
average observed across the Referys user base
The math that unlocks it for you
Average commission on a listing = €3,000.
One inbound referral per year = €3,000.
Over 8 years, that's €24,000 a single past client can generate if you actively maintain the relationship. It doesn't assume they buy again: just that they think of you when someone in their circle needs an agent.
Diagnose your network
En 5 questions, découvre ton score réseau et le potentiel de recommandations caché dans tes contacts.
Run the free diagnosisLearn the method
La méthode des 8 points de contact : pourquoi 8 messages par an suffisent à maintenir une relation active.
See the message templatesSend your first message
Choisis un ancien contact, génère un message personnalisé avec l'IA, et envoie-le via WhatsApp. 30 secondes.
Generate my first messageAutomate with Referys
Importe tes contacts, laisse Referys planifier tes relances. 15 minutes par jour pour tout ton réseau.
See pricingThe 8 touchpoints method, in detail
Robin Dunbar (Oxford anthropologist) showed that a human can actively maintain about 150 stable relationships. Beyond that, the brain can't keep up. For an independent real estate agent, those 150 relationships are their book of business.
Why 8 and not 4 or 12
Below 4 touchpoints per year, the relationship fades from emotional memory. At 12 or more, you become intrusive. Between 4 and 8 annual touchpoints, the relationship stays alive without saturating.
Rolling 12-month cycle, not calendar year
The cycle starts on the date of first contact, not January 1st. This avoids seasonal spikes (greeting cards that fall flat, end-of-year stress).
Different pace depending on the relationship
A close one is contacted every 90 days. A past client every 45 days. A partner (notary, mortgage broker) every 60 days. A prospect being qualified every 36 days. These are default intervals — Referys lets you adjust them.
Multi-channel, not just WhatsApp
A WhatsApp message for news, a call for a birthday, an email to share a market article, an SMS for seasonal wishes. Mixing channels makes the relationship feel more human and less automated.
What to write? 4 templates depending on your contact
Referys ships 42 system templates calibrated by segment. Here is the message structure for 4 typical cases you will run into in your first week.
Close one (family, friend, neighbor)
4 touchpoints per year, 90-day intervalSimple check-in
Hi [first name], hope everything is good on your side. I was thinking of you recently — [personal hook: a project they mentioned, a shared event]. On my end, I'm still running my real estate business and things are going well. Want to grab a drink one of these days?
Not a sales message. A friendly check-in. The job is mentioned in passing, with no call to action. It's that lack of pressure that opens the door to future referrals.
Past client (transaction closed)
8 touchpoints per year, 45-day intervalPurchase or sale anniversary
Hi [first name], [X months/years] ago today, you signed the [purchase / sale] of [property]. How has it been going since? [Specific question: layout, neighborhood, projects]. If you know someone around you thinking about a project, feel free to send them my way — I'll take the same care of them.
A transaction anniversary is an emotional trigger. It brings back a good memory and naturally opens the door to a referral, without forcing it.
Partner (notary, mortgage broker, contractor)
6 touchpoints per year, 60-day intervalReciprocal pro favor
Hi [first name], I have a client who [specific context: looking for a mortgage broker for 250k, needs a notary in Toulouse, etc.]. Do you have availability this week to take their call? And on your side, if you have valuations to run, let me know.
Your pro partner is your best referrer. Sending them a client BEFORE asking for one builds trust. It's reciprocity, not networking.
Prospect being qualified
10 touchpoints per year, 36-day intervalFollow-up without a sales pitch
Hi [first name], we spoke on [date] about your [sale / purchase] project. I came across [article, local transaction, market data point] that might interest you: [link or one-sentence summary]. No pressure — just wanted to share.
A prospect cools off in silence. Warming them back up takes a value share (market info, article, data), not a sales call. The Pepito AI detects those signals and suggests the right angle.
All these templates are available directly in Referys, customizable by segment, and generated in 3 variants via Pepito.
Beginner questions
- How much time per day does it take?
- For 100 to 200 contacts: 10 to 15 minutes per day. In the morning, Referys lists the 5 to 7 contacts to reach out to that day. You pick the channel (WhatsApp, SMS, email, call), validate or edit the suggested message, and send. The cycle moves forward automatically.
- What if I don't have any contacts yet?
- You already do — your phone has at least 100. Neighbors, former coworkers, friends of friends, parents of your kids' friends, people from the gym, past clients from other jobs. The first step is the import (CSV, Excel, iOS vCard, photo OCR) or manually entering the 30 closest contacts.
- WhatsApp Business or personal WhatsApp?
- Referys does NOT use the WhatsApp Business API (which requires pre-approved templates and costs per message). It relies on wa.me links that open your native WhatsApp. You send from your personal number, with no limitations. It's your number, your voice, your relationship.
- What if someone says no or doesn't reply?
- No one says no to a friendly message. Silence, on the other hand, may signal a contact to shift to a longer cycle (moving a Close one to Extended circle, for example). Referys detects non-responses and suggests adjusting the segment or pausing the relationship.
- How long until the first referral?
- It varies. On 50 actively maintained contacts, statistically 1 to 2 referrals within 90 days, 4 to 8 over 12 months. The rule of thumb: when you reach 80% network coverage (80% of your contacts received a message within their cycle), referrals start coming in.
- What is the network score?
- A score out of 1,000 that combines coverage (% of contacts up to date), freshness (date of last contact), and depth (number of interactions per contact). It shows on your dashboard and updates in real time as you send messages. Above 600, you're in the zone where referrals become recurring.
Here's what Referys looks like day to day
Ready to get started?
Create a free Starter account (75 contacts max, no credit card), or run the network diagnostic to see the hidden potential.