How to Get Reviews in Real Estate:

Todd Tramonte’s Playbook for Agents, Teams, and Brokerages

In today's real estate market, there are more agents than homes for sale.

And if we're being honest, there's not that much differentiating those agents. We all have access to similar properties, similar sales presentation templates, and similar closing scripts.

So what makes a customer choose us versus the next realtor? Easy: trust.

Trust that whichever agent they pick will be the one to find them their dream home at the lowest possible price. 

The best way to gauge who that real estate professional is? Previous customer reviews.

And yet, this is one aspect of our industry that many agents neglect. In our recent /RealEstate episode, top-producing agent and coach Todd Tramonte shared exactly how he’s built a reputation that fuels his business with what he calls “the superpower of consistency.” His Google profile isn’t just a digital business card—it’s a conversion engine backed by nearly 850 five-star reviews.

In this article, we’ll break down Todd’s playbook step by step, including his exact scripts and tactics, so you can replicate this system for yourself, whether you’re a solo agent, part of a team, or running a brokerage.

And if you want to meet the man himself plus many of us from Real Geeks, make sure you join us at the Real Growth Summit this September.

Step 1: Choose the Right Platform

Todd is crystal clear about where agents should focus: Google.

“Everyone I talked to was like, ‘I got to get every Zillow review. I got to build this profile. I got to play the Zillow game.’ And I was like, I don’t really like the feel of this one. I’m going to go invest in the Google game, which I also do not own, but Google’s playing in every industry on the planet.”

Why Google? Because it’s universal. While Zillow and Realtor.com can be important, they’re not used by everyone. Google, however, is where nearly all consumers start their search.

And the numbers back Todd up: 86% of consumers use Google Maps to find local businesses (AIOSEO, 2023), and businesses with more than 200 Google reviews generate 2x more leads than those with fewer than 10 (Findstack, 2022).

Todd’s advice is blunt: “If you don’t have a Google profile, this is your wake-up call to go get one.”

Step 2: Consistency Is a Superpower

Todd doesn’t claim to have some magic hack. Instead, his success comes from doing the fundamentals better than anyone else.

“We’ve been aggressive with it. We’ve been strategic with it. I wouldn’t even say we’re brilliant, but we’ve been very consistent. I think consistency is one of our superpowers. And we have really, really, really benefited from that.”

That’s the mindset shift many agents need. Reviews aren’t a one-and-done task. They’re an ongoing commitment that compounds over time. Every review makes the next one easier to earn and more powerful in building credibility.

Asking for a review from a client on your final call with them should be as second-nature to you as adding the name of an open house lead to your CRM. It should be completely automatic (and we'll share the script you can use below).

Step 3: Go Beyond Stars—Tell Stories

Generic five-star reviews are better than nothing, but Todd pushes his clients (and his team) toward something deeper: story-driven reviews.

“The best reviews follow the story arc of a great movie. We don’t just want, ‘Chris is the best realtor in Austin.’ We want, ‘We faced crazy challenges from the seller, and without Chris, we would have bailed. He and his team were incredible, helped us overcome it, and we even closed early.’”

Why does this matter? Because reviews that tell stories feel authentic. They also help prospects imagine themselves working with you.

Neuroscience research confirms this. Stories activate more areas of the brain than facts alone, making them more memorable and persuasive. So instead of just collecting stars, aim for narratives.

How do you make sure your customers include this narrative angle? Tell them. On your call with them, mention: "By the way, Tom, if you can talk about some of the challenges you faced in selling your home before we started working together, that'd be great."

Step 4: Make It Ridiculously Easy for Them

Most clients want to leave you a review, but life gets in the way. Todd solves this with one of his most effective scripts:

“Hey Chris, I noticed that you hadn’t had a chance to do a review yet. No sweat. Everyone’s busy. Any chance you have three minutes before the end of the workday today?"

Sure, but what if you face pushback? Simple — make it ridiculously easy:

"Totally understand today's packed. Would it help if I summarized your experience with us and texted it to you, so you could tweak it and post it? At least that gives you a running start.”

This offer removes friction. Instead of leaving clients staring at a blank text box, you hand them a ready-made story they can adapt.

Todd jokes, “Sounds like Todd-GPT. I just got to write my own review. But I do it ethically and honestly. I quote things they told me and highlight the challenges we overcame together.”

The lesson: Don’t just ask for reviews. Guide them.

Step 5: Use Keywords Strategically

Todd stresses that reviews aren’t just for reputation—they’re also super important for SEO.

“You need to work on getting reviews with the keywords that describe who you want to attract. What part of town, what property type, what services, what value do you want?”

For example, instead of a client saying, “John was great,” it’s more powerful if they write, “John helped us buy our first home in Plano, TX.” 

This way, when someone searches “Plano first-time homebuyer realtor,” Google connects that review to your profile.

This turns every review into a little SEO booster.

And get this: this is only going to become more important as AI takes over answering users' queries. Reviews are exactly what people are looking for, and algorithms know this, so they'll quickly connect them to the review that matches what they're looking for.

Step 6: Leverage Team Momentum

One of Todd’s strongest arguments for teams is the collective power of reviews.

“We have an agent who’s been on the team for four or five months. He’s signing about a buyer a week. Why? Because he has the benefit of 849 five-star reviews.”

For solo agents, that might sound intimidating. But Todd makes the case that teams create shared momentum. Even if you branch out later, you can ask past clients to duplicate reviews on your new profile. Again, make it easy for them: if you decide to leave the team, simply send them their previous review and ask them to paste it again on your new Google Business profile.

But while you're working with a team, it would be silly (and pretty unethical) to miss out on the momentum by hoarding reviews.

Todd's advice: “If you’re an individual agent, this is non-negotiable. If you’re on a team, do it together. If you think someday you may leave the team, that’s okay. Call those people back and say, ‘Hey, I relaunched over here. Would you give me another review?’ That’s way more doable than not benefiting from the team’s momentum.”

Step 7: Gamify It

Todd’s team even turns review collection into a competition.

“We have contests. Our people are super competitive. If your people are competitive, do contests. You can’t incentivize the client to write the review, but you can incentivize your agents. We’ll do contests for an hour, a day, a week. Then we celebrate the winners and talk smack to each other.”

Gamifying reviews keeps the process fun and keeps reviews flowing consistently. And if you're part of a brokerage that manages multiple teams, this can become even bigger – you can run the Review Olympics, where each branch competes for getting the most reviews for their team.

Why This Matters in 2025

The future of real estate is clear: buyers and sellers are more skeptical, more digitally savvy, and more selective than ever. Paid ads and flashy marketing can get attention, but reviews close the trust gap.

According to BrightLocal (2023):

·  Consumers need to read at least 10 reviews before trusting a business.

·  76% trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends.

·  Reviews mentioning specific services or neighborhoods are 70% more persuasive than generic ones.

When combined with Todd’s playbook, these stats make it clear: reviews are the most powerful form of real estate social proof available to agents today.

Final Thoughts

If there’s one takeaway from Todd Tramonte’s system, it’s this: reviews aren’t a side task—they’re your growth engine.

By focusing on Google, being consistent, telling stories, making it easy for clients, using keywords, leveraging teams, and even gamifying the process, you can build a review machine that not only validates your business but drives new deals every week.

As Todd said, “Consistency is one of our superpowers. And we’ve really, really benefited from that.”

So whether you’re a solo agent or leading a brokerage, the time to act is now. Build your review momentum today, and the trust you earn will compound for years to come.

Want to check out our full episode with Todd? Watch on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.