How to ask clients for a review: 20 scripts for text, WhatsApp and email

Most clients are happy to leave you a review. They just don’t do it on their own. In real estate the problem is bigger: a client buys or sells once every several years, so if you don’t ask at the right moment, the chance is gone.

This guide covers when to ask (by type of client), 20 short scripts you can copy for text, WhatsApp, email and in person, how to ask for a Google review without breaking Google’s rules, and what to do with the reviews once you have them.

Quick answer: how to ask a client for a review

Ask within a few days of closing, while the experience is fresh. Send a short, personal message by text, WhatsApp or email (wherever you already talk to the client) with one direct link that opens the review form. Ask every client, not only the happy ones, never offer anything in exchange, and follow up once after three to five days if they don’t answer. Here’s a sample text:

Hi [Client name]! Congrats again on your new home. Would you leave me a short review? It takes a minute and helps other buyers find me: [link] Thank you! [Your name]

The same steps work for a testimonial for your website: ask at the same moment, with the same kind of message, and ask permission to show their name.

Jump to scripts for:

When to ask for a review in real estate

Ask when the client feels the result, not when they’re signing paperwork. In real estate, these are the moments that work:

• Closing day or the key handover. The best single moment. Ask in person, then send the link that evening.
• Move-in week. The boxes are open and the client is enjoying the place. A good time if closing day was rushed.
• Right after a big win. An accepted offer after losing several, a repair credit, a saved deal. Note the detail, then ask after closing and mention it: “Remember when we finally won [street name]?”
• When the client thanks you. If a client texts “you’re the best,” reply with thanks and the link. They just wrote the review; they only need a place to post it.
• Past clients, on their home anniversary. Most agents have years of happy clients who were never asked. One personal message each, spread out over a few weeks.

Best timing by type of client

20 review request scripts for text, WhatsApp and email

Copy a script, replace everything in [brackets], and paste your review link where it says [link]. A detail only you would know, like the street, the neighborhood or what happened during the deal, makes the message read like you wrote it just for them.

Short messages get more replies. Every script below fits on one phone screen.

Text message (SMS) scripts

Text works best for clients you’ve been texting during the deal. Keep it to two or three lines, put the link on its own line, and send it from your own phone, not a no-reply number.

WhatsApp scripts

If your client lives on WhatsApp (international buyers, relocations, clients with family abroad), ask there. The link preview shows up in the chat, and clients can answer with a voice note if they have a question.

Review request email templates

Email is better for longer asks, past clients you haven’t texted in a while, and clients who prefer it. Put the client’s name in the subject line and one clear button or link in the body.

What to say in person or on the phone

Asking face to face is the most personal way to ask, and clients rarely say no. But nobody leaves a review standing in a driveway, so ask in person and send the link the same day.

Follow-up reminder scripts

Most people who don’t answer simply forgot. Send one friendly reminder three to five days later, in the same channel, then let it go.

How to ask for a Google review

Google reviews show up when people search your name or “realtor near me,” and on Google Maps. Asking for one works the same as any review, with one extra step: you need a link that opens your review box directly. “Search for me on Google” loses most people at the search step.

1. Get your direct Google review link

1. You need a Google Business Profile. Google’s guidelines allow individual practitioners like real estate agents to have their own profile, separate from the brokerage’s. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews as an agent covers the setup, including working from home and changing brokerages.
2. Open your profile (search your business name on Google while signed in) and look for Ask for reviews or Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link. That’s the link you’ll paste into your messages.

Can’t find it? Use our free Google review link generator: search your business, copy your link and download a QR code for your business cards and open house sign-in table.

2. Send a Google review request

Any script above works with your Google link. These three are written for Google:

3. Follow Google’s rules

Google removes reviews that break its policies and can restrict profiles that keep doing it. In plain words:

• Ask everyone. Asking for reviews is allowed, but asking only the clients you expect to be happy (“review gating”) is not.
• Don’t offer anything in exchange. No gift cards, discounts, raffles or commission credits for a review, even if you don’t ask for five stars.
• Don’t screen out unhappy clients. Don’t send a “how did we do?” survey first and only pass the Google link to people who answered well, and don’t discourage anyone from posting a negative review.
• Never write reviews for clients, post them from your team’s accounts, or ask friends and family to review you as if they were clients.

In the US, the FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials (in force since October 2024) also bans fake reviews, paying for reviews that have to be positive or negative, and threatening people to remove a negative review. Zillow and Realtor.com have their own review policies too, so check them before you ask there.

Make it easy for clients to say yes

Clients don’t refuse to leave reviews. They put it off because it feels like work, and then forget. Remove every step you can:

• One link, one tap. The link should open the review form, not your profile, your website or a list of five sites. One site per request.
• No login if you can avoid it. Google needs a Google account and Zillow needs a Zillow account. A form on your own page doesn’t need either, which is why many agents collect a testimonial first and invite the client to Google afterward.
• Built for the phone. Almost every client will open your link on their phone, from a text. Test your link on your own phone before you send it.
• Let them talk instead of type. Some clients will happily record a 30-second video but won’t write a paragraph. Video testimonials are also the most convincing kind.
• Give them ideas. “I don’t know what to write” is the most common reason a review never gets written. Send our realtor review examples along with your request.
• Ask both clients. If you helped a couple, each person can leave their own review. Ask them both, by name.

Mistakes that cost you reviews

What to do after you get reviews

A review that sits on one site only helps people who happen to look there. Put each review to work:

• Reply to every review. A short, personal thank-you, and a calm answer to negative ones. Future clients read your replies. Copy one of our review reply templates.
• Thank the client personally. A text that says “I just read your review, thank you” keeps the relationship warm for referrals.
• Show them on your bio link page. The link in your Instagram or TikTok bio is often the first page a new lead opens. See our real estate bio link guide.
• Add them to your listings. A buyer looking at a home is deciding whether to contact you. A review from a past buyer in the same area helps them decide.
• Turn them into social posts. One review makes one post or story: the quote, the client’s first name and the neighborhood.
• Bring them to listing appointments. Sellers interviewing agents want proof from sellers like them. Print two or three from their area.

How to ask for reviews with SimpleListings

Everything in this guide is built into SimpleListings testimonials, so asking takes about ten seconds per client:

1. Create the request. Type the client’s name, and optionally their phone, email and the property. The message language can be English, Spanish or Portuguese.
2. Send it your way. The message is ready to go: send it on WhatsApp, by SMS or by email, or copy the link. You can edit the message before sending.
3. Your client answers in about a minute. No app, no account: stars, a few words or a short video (Pro), with ideas for buyers, sellers, renters, landlords and investors if they get stuck.
4. Reminders. If you added an email and they haven’t answered in three days, we send one friendly reminder. For WhatsApp, a “Remind” button prepares the follow-up message for you.
5. You approve each review. Nothing goes public until you publish it. Then it shows on your bio link, your listing pages, your testimonials page and your website widget.
6. Google, for everyone. On Pro, after submitting, every client (whatever their rating) is invited to post the same review on Google, with a button to copy what they wrote.

You also get one general testimonial link with a QR code for your email signature, business cards and WhatsApp status, and you can turn any review into an Instagram post with a caption: download the image, or publish it straight to your feed if your Instagram is connected.

Related: 50+ realtor review examples to send your clients and best link in bio tools for real estate agents.