The handoff in three messages
| Message | Goes to | What it does | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permission ask | Your client | Confirms they want an introduction and clears the specific details you plan to share | As soon as the move comes up |
| Introduction email | Receiving agent, client copied | Puts both names in one thread with contact preferences, timeline, and search basics | After the agent confirms availability and the client approves the details |
| Confirmation check | Receiving agent, then client if needed | Confirms a two-way conversation and an agreed next step | A few business days after the introduction |
Everything below is the wording for those three messages and the small decisions around them: what belongs in the email, what stays out, and how to close the loop without hovering.
Step 1: Ask permission, and name what you'll share
A short phone call to the receiving agent before you hit send is worth it: you find out whether they're taking referrals right now and whether they cover the suburbs your client is actually looking at. The email is still what both people can reply to later.
Ask in whatever channel your client already answers, text or email. Two things make the ask work: you name the agent you have in mind, and you list the specific details you plan to pass along.
Hi [Client first name] - you mentioned the move to [city] is happening around [month]. I'd be glad to introduce you to [Agent first and last name], an agent I know there. Before I send anything: is it okay if I pass along your full name, email and cell, timeline, search requirements, approved price range, target neighborhoods, current-home status, and whether you have a lender? I'll copy you on the email so you can see exactly what I sent, and I won't send it until you reply. Also, what's the best way and time for [Agent first name] to reach you?
If the answer is "yes, but leave the budget out," leave the budget out and say in the email that the client will cover numbers on the call. If you don't get a reply, you don't have permission yet. Ask once more in a different channel, then let it sit.
Step 2: The introduction email
One email, the receiving agent in the To line, your client copied, a subject line that tells the agent what this is before they open it. The body does three jobs: introduce the people, hand over the facts needed for a first call, and name the next step.
Subject: Introduction - [Client first and last name], relocating to [city] in [month]
Hi [Agent first name],
I'd like to introduce you to [Client first and last name], copied here. [Client first name] is relocating to [city] and expects to be house hunting by [month]. They asked me to make this introduction.
The basics, shared with their okay:
- Timeline: [arriving/starting the search in month; lease ends or report date if relevant]
- Looking for: [property type, bedrooms, must-haves]
- Price range: [range, or "they'll cover numbers with you directly"]
- Areas on their list: [neighborhoods or general area]
- On this side: [we're listing their current home on date / already under contract, closing date / nothing to sell]
- Financing: [working with a lender / would appreciate a referral]
- Best contact: [phone or email], [days and times]
[Client first name], [Agent first name] works [city/area] and can tell you far more about those neighborhoods than I can.
[Agent first name], please contact [Client first name] by [agreed day and time]. After a two-way call or email exchange, please confirm that you spoke and what next step you both agreed on. I'm happy to answer anything you need from this end.
Thanks, [Your name]
What goes in, what stays out
The test for every line: does the receiving agent need it to run a useful first call? If not, it can wait for the client to tell them directly.
- In: full name, preferred contact method and hours, move timeline, property type and must-haves, target areas, whether there's a home to sell here and where that stands, whether they already have a lender
- In: one line on what you're still handling on your end, so the agent knows who to call about the current home
- Out: anything your client didn't clear in the permission ask
- Out: details about their finances beyond the range they approved - credit history, savings, what they were pre-approved for by a specific lender
- Out: the personal reasons behind the move, unless the client already put them in writing to both of you
- Out: negotiation history or frustrations from their current sale
Writing the email so your client can read every line is the simplest safeguard here.
Step 3: Confirm first contact
For this checklist, first contact means a two-way call or email exchange. An attempted call, voicemail, or promise to reach out does not complete this step.
- Write down the date you sent the introduction so the follow-up doesn't depend on memory
- No reply from the agent in a few business days: send one short nudge in the same thread
- Agent says they reached out but heard nothing: text your client directly rather than nudging the agent again
- After the first call, ask your client whether it felt like a fit - and offer a second name if it didn't
- After both confirm they want to proceed, send a closing note with their agreed next step
- Put a reminder on your own calendar to check in with the client after their move, the same way you'd handle any past-client follow-up
Hi [Agent first name] - just following up on my intro from [day]. Have you and [Client first name] had a two-way conversation? What next step did you agree on? If your plate is full right now, no hard feelings at all, just let me know so I can point them somewhere else.
Hi [Client first name] - glad you and [Agent first name] spoke and both want to proceed. Your next step is [agreed action, person responsible, and time]. I will step back from this introduction. I am still handling [agreed work on my side].
Where the referral name came from
NAR's February 9, 2024 referral-marketing Q&A addresses a different situation: using MLS listing information to approach another REALTOR's clients about relocation referrals. It cites Article 16 and Standards of Practice 16-3 and 16-18. That guidance does not make an existing relationship with a client a blanket exception.
The cited Standard of Practice 16-18 limits using information obtained through offers of cooperation to refer a listing broker's clients elsewhere. Its exception is:
unless such use is authorized by listing brokers.
