RateMyAgent

RateMyAgent is a review and reputation platform that helps you collect, manage, and share verified client reviews.

Hawai‘i Life offers RateMyAgent to handle the work of asking clients for reviews after closings, collecting them, and getting them in front of buyers and sellers searching for agents. Your reviews appear on your hawaiilife.com bio page, on Google, and on the platforms where consumers search for agents.

The system runs in the background once you’re set up. You sign up, we get you connected, and from there it does the asking and the distributing automatically.

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What it is

After a closing, RateMyAgent asks your client for a review, verifies it against the transaction, and shares it across the places clients look for agents.

Where your reviews appear:

• Your bio page on hawaiilife.com

• Google search and Google Business

• Facebook

• Zillow

• Realtor.com

• Your RateMyAgent profile

• Other places consumers search for agents

Reviews are tied to real, completed sales. That verification is what makes them credible. Verified reviews are also becoming a standard part of how consumers evaluate agents online, which is why we offer it.

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Why this matters for your business

How clients find agents has changed, and it keeps changing.

Reviews are the new referral. Clients hear your name, then they search for it. What they find online is often their first real impression of you.

Local reputation matters in search. Google ranks agents partly on verified reviews, recent activity, and clear identification with specific markets.

AI search uses verified signals. When a buyer uses AI to research agents, the system pulls from structured, verifiable information. Reviews tied to real transactions are exactly that.

Hawaiʻi markets amplify this. Many of our buyers search from the mainland before they ever come to the islands. They can’t meet you in person before deciding. What they find online is the first impression.

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How it works

1. A closing happens. RateMyAgent reaches out to your client with a review request. No login or account required on their end.

2. RateMyAgent verifies the review against the transaction.

3. Your reviews get shared across your profiles, with your hawaiilife.com bio page picking them up automatically.

4. RateMyAgent pulls in reviews from across the web so everything lives in one place.

Setup is handled for you. The Smarketing team works directly with RateMyAgent to get you connected. Just let us know you want in.

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FAQs

• How much work is this?

  Almost none. Once you're set up, the system runs in the background. RateMyAgent pulls your closings, sends the review requests, and handles the follow-ups automatically. You can opt out of the automation and do it yourself if you prefer, but most agents let it run.

• Who is RateMyAgent? Have they done this before?

  Yes, at a significant scale. RateMyAgent has operated since 2014 across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The platform serves over 185,000 agents and 4,389 brokerages in the US, with more than 2.7 million verified reviews collected to date.

• What does it cost?

  Participation in RateMyAgent is included in the standard quarterly tech fee all Hawaiʻi Life agents pay. No additional charge.

• How do I get connected?

  Just tell us you want to be part of the program, and we'll handle it from there.

• Does it work automatically?

  Yes. Once your transaction data is connected during setup, the system sends review requests on its own after each closing. No manual triggering required.

  We recommend enabling the 48-hour buffer on automated requests. It costs nothing, runs in the background, and gives you a short window to cancel or edit a request before it goes out — useful for the edge cases every agent eventually hits (a deal that ended badly, a sensitive client situation, a closing where the timing isn't right). Most agents leave it on by default.

  You can also send requests manually for past clients or transactions outside the connected feed.

• Can I request reviews from past clients?

  Yes. Beyond the automated requests that go out after new closings, you can manually request reviews from past clients or for transactions outside the connected feed. This is one of the highest-leverage things you can do in your first week on the platform — every past client you've already built a relationship with is a potential review waiting to be asked for.

• Can I import reviews I already have from other platforms?

  Yes. If you've collected reviews on Zillow, Google, or other platforms, you can import or paste them into your RateMyAgent profile. Your client will be asked to verify the imported review by email so the platform can confirm it's authentic.

• What should I tell my client at closing?

  A short heads-up makes a real difference. RateMyAgent recommends something along these lines:

  "You'll get an email from RateMyAgent asking for a review. It's free, it only takes a minute, and your feedback genuinely helps the next person trying to choose an agent."

  The clients who get a verbal heads-up are noticeably more likely to leave a review when the email arrives.

• Where do my reviews end up?

  Your reviews appear on your hawaiilife.com bio page, on Google search and Google Business, and on Facebook. They also appear on Zillow, Realtor.com, your RateMyAgent profile, and other places consumers search for agents. One review gets distributed to multiple places automatically.

• Who sends the email to my client?

  The email comes from RateMyAgent, on your behalf. The request doesn't come from your email address — it comes from RateMyAgent with your name attached.

• Will RateMyAgent market to my clients?

  No. RateMyAgent does not use client email addresses for any internal or external marketing. The only follow-up communication a client receives after submitting a review is a confirmation email letting them know the review went through successfully. That's it.

• How many follow-ups does the system send?

  After the initial request, the system sends up to six email reminders if the client hasn't responded — spaced over roughly three weeks, starting daily and stretching to weekly. If SMS is included in the initial request, one SMS reminder is also sent at the one-week mark.

  In practice, most reviews come in early. RateMyAgent reports that 85% of clients who submit a review do so within the first week, meaning most clients never receive the full reminder sequence. The platform averages a 65% conversion rate on review requests.

  After a client leaves a RateMyAgent review, the system separately invites them to share the same review on Google. That sequence is one initial Google request plus up to three reminders over about twelve days.

• Can a client opt out of receiving the RateMyAgent email?

  Yes, several ways. Before a request is sent, you can omit the client's email, turn off the automated requests, archive the review opportunity, or use the 48-hour delay buffer to cancel before it goes out. After it sends, the client can unsubscribe through the link in any RateMyAgent email, or you can stop reminders under Reviews → Request → View Pending Requests → Stop Reminders. Reach out to RateMyAgent Support or to us for any assistance.

• What happens if a client leaves a negative review?

  Every review is vetted. Four- and five-star reviews are published automatically. Reviews of one, two, or three stars go through an additional vetting process by RateMyAgent's support team to check for terms-of-service violations such as vulgar language or inflammatory content. Assuming the review is from a verified party to the transaction and doesn't violate the terms, it is published in the interest of transparency.

  One important distinction: reviews under four stars are not pushed out to Google or social channels. They remain on your RateMyAgent profile but aren't amplified across the broader distribution network.

  You can respond to any review. Responding to critical reviews professionally is one of the strongest credibility signals you can send to future clients.

• Does Hawaiʻi Life see my client list inside RateMyAgent?

  No. RateMyAgent doesn't operate from an uploaded client list. Review requests are triggered off your closed transactions, one at a time. Your sphere, your past clients, and your prospects stay yours. Hawaiʻi Life's role is limited to getting you connected and supporting you on the platform.

• What happens to my client data if I stop using the platform?

  If you stop using RateMyAgent, the platform may retain personal information to comply with legal record-keeping obligations, and will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify data no longer needed. You can request deletion of your data directly by contacting help@ratemyagent.com. Their privacy officer typically responds within 14 business days. California residents have additional rights under CCPA.

For the full policy, see RateMyAgent's Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.