Zillow Launches A Free Online Agent Endorsement System

Today, Zillow launched Zillow Ratings and Reviews - or basically an endorsement system on the site for real estate professionals.  It is a way for consumers to review real estate agents they've worked with in the past to assist other consumers in the agent selection process.  But want to know the other big winner here?  Great agents!  They are the ones that will flourish and rise to the top.

How can I easily collect reviews from past clients?

1. Email individual clients and ask them to fill out a review form on Zillow.  To streamline this process, you can pre-populate the form with the address of the home you helped them buy or sell, and fill in the service you provided (buyer's agent, seller's agent, etc).
2. Email up to 50 clients a day with a standard form asking them to review you on Zillow.
3. If a past client is viewing your Zillow profile, they can click the ‘write a review' button and will be directed to the ratings and reviews form.

Who can review me?

1. Any client, past or present, can review you regardless of when the transaction closed.
2. The reviewer must have an active profile on Zillow.
3. Agents cannot review other agents.

How are reviews moderated?

Zillow's customer service team personally looks at every single review before it is published, to ensure that it adheres to Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy and is respectful and appropriate. If we feel a review does not comply with our Guidelines and Policies, or is generally inappropriate or off-topic, we won't post it.

Can I respond to reviews?

Yes. Agents will be notified when a review has been written about them and have the opportunity to publically respond to all reviews. Additionally, agents can flag reviews they feel are inaccurate or unjust for further review by Zillow's moderators.  

What I really want to highlight is that Zillow understands the power of reviews for both consumers and agents, and has a dedicated customer service team in place that will personally look at EVERY SINGLE REVIEW before it is published.

As I said in the beginning, this new endorsement system is going to be an excellent opportunity for great agents--similar to how great restaurants thrive on Yelp.  In the NAR 2010 Home Buyer and Seller survey that just came out, it said that 87% of consumers would recommend or use their agent again in the future.  Now these past clients can tell your future clients why!

The above announcement can be found on Sara Bonert's Active Rain blog.  To view the original post, please click here.