Our company has been trying to get a handle on how to successfully bring in new REO business with as little of a headache as possible. It's definitely not an easy task bringing in new accounts and listings in this business. What we're finding is that it's all in perseverance. As much as many readers of this blog were hoping that we came up with some magical solution, I'm sorry to disappoint. Truth be told, getting out there and registering with all of the REO/BPO sites is where it begins. We registered with HUNDREDS of them. Then we called them. Then we emailed them. We weren't total pests, but made it clear that we wanted the business. From there, it came down to how fast and efficiently the response time was with the work being offered.
Before I get into the part about being quick, precise and efficient it's important to mention that we were willing to do ANYTHING! If there was some shack in the middle of nowhere - we'd take it! This is how you get in the door. I'm beside myself when someone tells me they're trying to break into the biz but aren't willing to do the grunt work first. Guess what - You ARE the grunt! As were we in the beginning. So please, either don't cherry pick, or find another line of work. ;)
OK, back to efficiency. First of all, you should know that many companies grade you on your efficiency and hand out work based on that grade. Essentially, we would find opportunities to sneak in the slightly-cracked door, either because other REO specialists were too put off by the distance, location or value of the property, and we'd accept the work. In the beginning we didn't prosper. There was a break-even business being managed, if that. But that soon changed.
Once we proved our worth and our reliability our clients wanted us to handle all of their business. Now we were able to tell the asset managers what would make US happy. The relationships were built, the listings were coming in and then, before you knew it, asset managers were calling us not the other way around.
The greatest piece of advice that we could offer anyone trying to break into the business is to commit, educate yourself, be patient, persevere, and offer quality services.
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