By Chris Jones
Branch manager
City 1st Mortgage Services
Build Business by Helping Others usi y
Sharing your contact list could win partnerships and new clients
GROWING YOUR REFERRAL NETWORK
doesn’t require extrasensory perception. All it requires is the ability to offer potential partners what they need.
Consider the following scenarios.
Scenario No. 1: • A man walks into your
office, makes small talk and asks
how business is going. He says he’s
with a local title company and would
like to start receiving some of your
business. He tells you about his company’s great service and low fees.
Before he leaves, he gives you his
business card and a rate sheet.
Scenario No. 2: • A woman walks in,
shakes your hand and without sitting down tells you she represents a
local title company and would like to
start referring borrowers to you. All
she asks is that you give her company a try on title work. From there,
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she outlines a program that will help
increase your marketing punch and
that seems likely to generate new
business and new connections.
Although the first scenario might
seem more likely, the second almost certainly would make a stronger impression.
Now consider how you go about trying to
make your own industry inroads. When
you introduce yourself to real estate
agents, do you ask for business or do
you offer to deliver business?
Your list of contacts represents an
untold amount of business — to you
and those with whom you choose to
partner. Although you might not want
to give away the list, one great way
to connect new referral partners with
your contacts is to write testimonials
about them. You also can give referral
partners space to advertise or write in
newsletters or other communication
pieces you send out.
Another way to build partnerships
and extend your reach is to start going
to lunch with small groups of others in
the real estate industry. These don’t
need to be pricey affairs, and all people
can pick up their own tab. The idea is to
share time with like-minded professionals. The more real estate professionals
you know, the better.
Helping others with their business
development also can lead to good
things for brokers. One way to do this
is to introduce potential clients to a real
estate agent and work together to fill
the clients’ needs. While the real estate
agent discusses what the clients seek
in a house and begins looking for the
perfect match, you can help the clients
get into the best-possible position to
afford the home when the time comes
to apply for a mortgage.
This might seem simplistic, but many
brokers and real estate agents fail to
work cooperatively despite sharing clients and delivering each other referrals.
These suggestions represent a few
ways mortgage brokers can set themselves apart when it comes to establishing new referral partnerships.
Remember, it’s not about what others
can give you but rather what you can
offer others. Take care of that, and the
rest will follow. •
The opportunity is now!
888.444.9664 // www.jacobdeanbranch.com
Looking for branch offices and loan officers in:
CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, KS, ME, MD, MA, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV
Chris Jones, branch manager with City 1st
Mortgage Services, is a seven-year industry
professional in brokering and banking. Previously in financial services, national politics
and Main Street entrepreneurialism, Jones
brings a local-community perspective with
a national understanding. Raised outside
Washington, D.C., Jones lives in Lehi, Utah,
with his wife, Jeanette, and their eight children.
He blogs for Zillow.com and can be found at
www.lehilender.com, chris@lehilender.com or
(801) 787-2162.
