What defines an acceptable practice for brokers regarding past clients?

Encouraging past clients to refer friends is an acceptable practice for brokers as it fosters a mutually beneficial relationship. It allows brokers to maintain connections with former clients while also expanding their client base through referrals. This practice demonstrates the broker's confidence in their services and the value they provided to past clients. By asking satisfied clients to recommend them to others, brokers can build a strong reputation and increase their opportunities for new business.

While keeping in contact on social media can be a good way to stay top-of-mind, it is less proactive in terms of generating referrals compared to directly encouraging past clients to share their experiences. Recommending that clients switch brokerages could be seen as a conflict of interest and may damage the relationship. Sending holiday cards is a nice gesture, but it does not directly engage clients in an actionable way that could lead to new referrals. Thus, encouraging referrals is the most effective and acceptable practice among the options provided.