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By Chip Poli
CEO
Poli Mortgage Group Inc.
Top 10 Tips for Working with Realtors
Stand out from the crowd when you forge new relationships
Savvymortgageoriginatorsknow that the key to a steady loan pipeline is forging relationships
with top-performing real estate agents.
If you are struggling to build and maintain relationships with realtors, consider the following 10 tips.
1. get creative when contacting a real
estate agent with whom you want to
do business. When you call them,
be sure you have something of
value to offer. just mentioning your
name and the company you work for
isn’t enough. For instance, you may
offer to co-host a first-time home-buyers’ seminar.
2. seek new offices or new agents and
send a handwritten congratulatory
note. This will make the agents
more receptive to a follow-up meeting request. If your first attempt
doesn’t work, try something different, such as offering to help advertise by developing a co-branded
listing in a well-known magazine.
3. ask real estate agents with whom
you are friendly if they know of
anyone you should be calling.
Mentioning a colleague or a friend
who referred you to potential realtor
partners may encourage them to
consider working with you.
4. don’t underestimate the power of
your marketing dollars. Offer to
split ad costs with agents and co-brand marketing collateral. Many
agents are strapped for ad dollars,
and by providing materials they
need to do their job better, such as
sign riders, you can increase your
value to them.
5. show that your service goes the extra mile. When you get the opportunity to help realtors’ clients secure
a mortgage, you must come through
and take care of their customers.
Before you get that chance, you
must take care of the agents — they
are the gateway to closing deals.
6. use the multiple-listing service to
find agents with deals processing.
you can save this information and
prepare open-house fliers with a
few different rate and loan scenar-
ios customized especially for them,
or you can send collateral like “just
Sold” or “just Listed” mailers. Bring
these marketing tools to events to
show other agents how you can
help them.
Chip Poli, CEO of Poli Mortgage Group Inc.,
has 20 years of broad-based experience in the
mortgage and real estate industry. His expertise includes management of highly successful
loan originators and sales teams, real estate
sales, recruitment and leadership abilities.
Poli Mortgage Group Inc. has more than 100
staff members and writes more than $1 billion
in loans annually. Contact Poli at (781) 801-
1400. Visit polimortgage.com.
By Douglas Smith
President
Douglas Smith & Associates
How to
Rack up
Referrals
Follow three suggestions
to have more people sent
your way
They say that referrals are the life- blood of a successful mortgage originator’s business. If that is
true — and I believe it is — maybe now
would be a good time to check your
blood pressure to see how well your referral business is doing.
Check your vital signs by answering
these three questions:
1. in a typical week, how many calls
and inquiries do you receive from
people who were personally referred
to you?
2. Where are the bulk of your refer-
rals coming from? Past customers?
your database? realtors? Financial
planners?
3. are you leveraging every client and
contact for a referral opportunity?
Most top producers generate much
of their business through referrals.
Some even claim to do their business
by referral only. Clearly, the number of
referrals sent your way each month can
greatly impact your current income —
and your long-term success.
If you are interested in accelerating
the referral-based part of your business, consider these three suggestions.
1. Request referrals
Many loan originators expect referrals,
but they never ask for them. Either they
are too shy or they feel they shouldn’t
have to ask — or maybe they just forget. In any event, the originators who
openly ask people for their referrals always get more.
and when you ask people for their
referrals, you have to ask the right way.
The clearer your request, the more likely
the other person will comply. If you want
to gain more referrals from your real
estate agents, for example, change:
“Do you have anything for me today?”
to something more specific, such as:
“Will you give me an opportunity to talk
with your next buyer?”
When talking to a borrower currently in
process, rather than saying, “Don’t forget
to tell others about me,” say, “If anyone
you know mentions to you they are think-
ing about buying a home, would you
please recommend me? I’d like to help
your friends the way I am helping you.”
“If you are not openly
asking for referrals,
that’s probably why you
aren’t getting them.”
In sales, you get what you ask for.
If you are not openly asking for referrals, that’s probably why you aren’t
getting them.
2. Ask again … and again
remember when you were a little kid
and you wanted something from your
parents? you asked repeatedly until
hopefully they gave in. The same approach holds true here, as well.
Don’t think that if you ask once
you’ve really done your job. It pays to
remind people continually that you
want them to refer or recommend you
when they see the opportunity.
Some loan originators have a tagline
on their website that reads, “I always ap-
preciate your referrals!” or “ninety per-
cent of my business is done by referral.
Do you know someone who I can help?”
Other originators will add a sentence
to the postcards and letters they send,
such as, “By the way, I truly appreciate
your referrals!” or “If you know some-
one I can help the way I helped you,
please give them my name.”
People are busy and have a lot go-
ing on in their lives. just because you
continued on page 56 »
Douglas Smith, president of Douglas Smith
& associates, is an authority on sales and
marketing in the mortgage industry. Smith is
a 28-year industry veteran and a nationally
known speaker and sales trainer. He shows
lenders and loan officers how to find more
customers and make more money. Smith is
the author of Climbing the Ladder of Success
and the newly released Green Zone Selling. For
more information, visit DougSmithOnline.com
or call (877) 430-2329.
