What account???  I didn't know an "account" was required to use a lender's services.  What does she have to offer??  Geez.  She'll be back if she knows your phone number.

I've been using the same mortgage broker for 12 years because he gets the job done on time, works like a beaver, knows EVERYTHING that goes on with my buyers because he knows I don't deal with processors, gives me good rates, eats the lender fees for VA buyers and generally does a great job.  He's with a BIG company, Chase, but it's the loan officer that gets the job done.

Lenn 

Lenn-

The relationship between the Lender and the Broker is called an 'account' not to be confused with the traditional meaning.

I'm glad you found someone you can trust - don't let him go!

MARC -

I recall similar production requirement threats with large lenders when I was a small Wholesale Broker.
Now I work with many of those same lenders through correspondenet relationship channels.
Service and pricing is much better - the challenge is being large enough to mange your end of it.

Some of the smaller lenders I used to work with are not able to offer the same programs/pricing.

Obviously there are pros/cons to the size not only of your company but those you work with.
We all must work within the parameters we are given - hopefully without senseless requirements.

Good Luck...  

Marc, a large part of sales is service and knowledge, when size starts getting in the way of that, then it is time to take a closer look at things.  If they keep on doing business this way, they are not going to be that size for very long.

I'm a believer in the 'smaller' company theory.  Being a Title/Settlement company of 12 people ('half' doing abstract/searches), I find we have the staff to provide intimate services, yet the resources to accuratly please the client's needs in speed.

Marc,

Great blog.

I don't believe you can rule out either end of the spectrum, mortgage brokers are more dependent upon their people than their size.

Here in Las Vegas two of the best brokerages are Nevada Finical and Mortgage Consultants, a Ma and Pa shop, he takes the applications and his wife processes them. At the other end is Custom Home Loans one of the biggest.

We are in the people business, attitude and a sufficient well trained staff are everything. A small to medium company with an over worked staff can be just as surly as an overworked staff in a large company. It's exactly the same with wholesale mortgage bankers.

I write about this extensively in my latest book "Get The Money / A Consumers Guide To A Successful Mortgage Application."

Keep up the good work, and Happy New Year!

Bill

William J Archambault Jr

The Real Estate Investment Institute

http://www.reii.org

Good point Bill.  It's "execution".  I've dealt with one man shows as brokers, and they work REALLY hard.... but they seem to be so swamped, they lack communication time (describing their REAL question/concern/etc.).

Marc,

I agree to an extent that customer service tends to fade as compnay size increases.  Yes, smaller companies tend to have time to focus more on customer service, while larger companies are trying to keep a customer service appearance alive.

Walmart, being a giant company, still tries to keep its customer service to a high level.  However, if you go to the mom and pop store to get a couple small items, the service there is a million times better.  People are foregoing the service for the convenience and cost savings.  Yet, they still complain when they getted poorly treated and can't get any help.

I do not believe that company size equates to the quality of the company - AT ALL.  I for one would much rather bi a big fish in a small pnd than the little fish in the big pond.  I just left an office with over 300 agents and growing.  Talk about feeling special, huh.

No, I prefer the flexibility that a small botique office can offer.  Much more rewarding for everyone involved.  No one is part of the churn in a smaller company, the way it feels in the mega-offices.

George-

The only thing those companies see are the $ $ $ $ floating around.  Customer service is a distant second, or third......

Rob-

Exactly!  I use a smaller title company in my area, they are very flexible, easy to reach and the owner has no problem getting in there and doing whatever is necessary to get the job done.

Bill-

Thanks!

True, you can't rule out either end.

I just hate it when those Reps come in thinking their company is great just because of the size -'We're so big we gotta be good!' Ahhhhh, no - bye!

Like you said: "We are in the people business, attitude and a sufficient well trained staff are everything."

Happy New Year!

Jason-

I have a feeling you know several of the Lenders I'm talking about!

John-

Flexability and pricing too.  Consumers think that bigger companies are cheaper- yet they don't stop to think about the fact that THEY are paying the millions of $$ for all of the advertising that cons them into believeing that in the first place!

I have to add that the same applies to real estate companies.  The bigger the company the more homes they sell because it is the agents who sell the homes and the bigger companies are big because they have more agents.  Do they sell more homes?  Yes they do.  Are the agents better at selling homes? No.  They have great agents and really bad agents just like small companies do.  The bigger the real estate compnay the more likely it is to have a training program and a lot of new agents.  So the consumer gets a brand name and thinks gee that company sells a lot of houses but what they don't see is that the actaul agent they choose got a license last week and never actually sold a home.

Bigger is not an indication of better quality service.  In real estate firms you will find a big name company with quality agents and you will get good service if you manage to get the service of one of these agents.  Put this same company will have a lot of rookies, their inexperience can really bring down the overall impression of the firm.  I know of very small firms who offers top notch services and others who don't .

Hi Marc,

"Don't I know who she works for?!?! Damn!  Sounds like a loan shark as opposed to one of the top 10 Lenders! "

Right, who cares!

"Now, being a polite young Italian boy from NY, I told her what she could do with her attitude as I pointed to the door."

He He He, there is an in house title rep out here that tried to strong arm me a few years back.  I too am from an Italian neighborhood in NY, lol, she never made that mistake again, lol

Theresa-

True - Consumers look for that brand name and assume it has to be great!

Jennifer-

There's definitely good and bad across the board, for the most part I do prefer the small guys.  The smaller companies seem to put more effort into working with the rookies.

Laurie-

That sleezy strong arm stuff used to really get me PO'd - now when it happens I just laugh at them!

My blood pressure stays lower and it drives the "salesman" up the wall!

Thanks for the insite.  I agree; small and personalized is better than a "factory mentality" anytime.  I suspect that the "new" generation of homebuyers, being better informed than past generations, will seek out concerned, tech-savy realtors, settlement service providers. etc.

Marc... good post. I didn't read all the comments. But I would first go back and add in your post, what you meant by AE and that you are referring to other lenders that you deal with. Just to clear the air at first. Because when I read the title and the first paragraph or so, I know the difference, but didn't know who you were talking about at first.

When it comes to other lenders that I have to sell to, which is rare...  If I don't get the service, I move on to another company. Not unless they have a specific product that nobody else has or that not to many have....  then you are sometimes stuck with them.

I would have liked to have seen this post take a spin on the big names....  Wells, Countrywide... people that we compete against. My biggest complaint is that some of these clients go to them because they have a big name, big presence. And they can offer the same as I can, no matter who I use or go to. But I had one client recently tell me that they chose Countrywide, because their rate was better than mine. Not true ...  they were trying to do it undere stated and not a true No Doc...  my whole point, doesn't matter if it's Wells, WAMU, etc etc... the big boys have the same rates and programs that I do. It comes down to the loan officer or sales person. And nothing more.....

Back to your thing Marc...  she was just trying use her weight as the big company being better....   "bye, bye"    

Answer - It depends.  It depends whether the "large" company was built over time with a solid recruiting process that screened in the best candidates - or whether they hired anyone who could fog a mirror!

Hey Marc,

Great Blog! I've never been worried about such threats...There are too many other companies that will step up to the plate for the business. That is one of the best things about owning your own company..you get to choose who YOU do business with...

Scott

Marc,

Thanks for the post. I hope her demeanor is not something fostered by the company, it does not make for good relationships.

Ed-

I'm hoping for the same thing!  All we can do is keep trying to educate, educate, educate.

Agreed: Size does NOT equal QUALITY. I think you've actually hit more on customer service training - I mean we train our people to provide QUALITY over QUANTITY. And your last comment "All we can do is keep trying to educate, educate, educate." You've read me enough to know I am all for education!

However size matters when:

You need more "eyes" on the details
You need a larger back office (procesors, underwriters, fraud investigators, etc)
You get better pricing for your clients for higher volume submitted to the lender

We work with many brokers who do their 2 or 3 loans per month - they do deliver a high quality loan but sometimes at a cost to either theirself or their client. Brokerage "B" down the street who submits 20 loans per month gets better pricing which they can pass along to their client. They don't spend $350 per file on outsourced processing and when they talk to the underwriter they get exceptions that broker "A" who submits one loan every three months. Same goes for lenders who sell to the secondary market.

Jeff-

I was wondering when you'd show up!  Good point about explaining things a little better - I just started to edit a bit.

Also - I was wondering about actually naming companies - it's kind of funny that you mentioned the ones that you did.......................

I wish I had a pic of the rep I was talking about - 'weight' was a pretty accurate comment!

When you come down to it, it's all about the rep's personality and work ethic regardless of who they work for.

We had an AE from a big bank leave a whiney voice mail.  She was apparently dropping us because we had not sent her enough business.  We had to explain to her that her big bank never had the best rates, great service, or good niche products.  Clients shop us and we shop for them.

On the other hand we have a large wholesale bank that we do a lot of business with because they have competitive programs and the AE is top notch.

One concern I had when deciding to move the team to Keller Williams was that recent growth at our former brokerage - which had been known as a place for "experienced" agents - consisted of many new licensees.  Nothing wrong with that - as long as you have the training and support in place to help them be successful.

Big company, small company....I think you're right, the larger company tends to see you as a number and the smaller companies see you as a person.  Not a rule that applies to all but in general unless you're one of those "100 Best Companies To Work For" type companies, a lot of them see you as name without any substance.  Doesn't seem to make a difference what industry you work in.

Ken

Suzanne-

I don't think some of those people COULD fog a mirror!

Scott-

I don't worry about them - I AM annoyed by them though!  Having your own company is definately a big advantage.

William-

We had 2 reps from that company - the lady I was talking about was on the 'A' side and there was a guy for the 'B/C' stuff.

The shame of it was that the guy - even though he was a little more polite - was just as Customer-Service challenged as she was.

There actions were so similar that I would say that thier company DID foster that type of demeanor!

Very sad.

As a Realtor, I'm in agreemenI with Teresa B., yes the larger companies do sell more, primarly because of the numbers, like Mc Donald's sells the most hamburgers on the planet.  But then ask yourself, who makes the BEST hamburgers? The answer will most likely be different. And we're not talking about cheapie burgers here, selling a home is normally one of the biggest financial decisions a consumer will make in life-time.

All too often, unfortunately, consumers who use the "body shop" type offices often get lost in the shuffle.  Informed consumers understand it's the Realtor (or lender) they hire and not the company that's the most important. It's also our job as professionals to do what we can to educate and inform our consumers.  Yet, like many things...somethimes they get-it and sometimes they don't.

Ken (Cook)-

Thanks for the comment - but I think it think it's just back to the whole quantity vs quality thing.  I've worked with Lenders that had huge staffs and they didn't have a brain between them due to poor training and management. 

Dennis-

Ya gotta love it - THEY'RE dropping YOU.  However they don't seem to realize that they aren't being used because their rate, service and products aren't competitive!

DUH!

Marc... the bottom line. Everyone wants your business. Some just try to use the fact that they are bigger, hence the fact that they must be better.

Hate to use this example....but Countrywide.... they aren't the biggest because of their retail side.... but because they buy so many loans from other brokers. But can I go to bank ABC and get a better deal... yes, I can. But some people just feel comfortable with others...depending on their rep., the company..etc etc.

I knew a loan officer that used one sub prime company, whose rates were 1/2% higher to 1/2% higher, because our rep. was very pretty and sexy..... that's it, nothing more. As long as he could sell the client. Me?  I am just the opposite. Again, good post. 

Tony-

Training and support are #1 - that's why I joined the RE company I'm with now.  Even though the Broker is extremely busy he always has time to help out - and the initial company training was excellent!

So, if anyone in SE Florida is looking for a new company..........

Ken (Spencer)-

True - it's the same with all industries. 

I just hate how the general public gets fooled.  I had a Client last week who came to me convinced I couldn't beat BIG BANK!  What a joke. 

Lynda-

I liked the 'Body Shop' comment - very accurate!

Unfortunately there aren't enough informed Consumers - too many people are drawn to that BIG COMPANY like metal to a magnet.

Jeff-

Good example!

I know the type of rep you're talking about - I have one down here just like that.  Luckily, once you get past the physical thing she is one hell of an AE.

Marc - Rick and I work for a big company - Coldwell Banker - but our marketing is about us and people hire us for us, not the name behind us.  The lenders we use is because we have established a personal relationship with and it doesn't matter where they go or what company they work under.  I think our goal as Real Estate Professionals is to establish ourselves in our communities in such a way that we could switch companies and no one would even know the difference.  Thanks for a great post and loved some of the comments as well.

Ines

Rick & Ines-

Good points - same with me, when I switched companies several people mentioned that they wanted me, it didn't matter where I went.

Thanks & Happy New Year!