Send this to your Mortgage Broker. I give this to all our new brokers and remind everyone regularly
Secret to our success.
You don't need to buy a "system" to get organized & create partnerships with local agents,
Do it yourself.
All it really takes is going back to basics, & investing in some quality hard work, and don't expect results overnight. It takes a little time to build.
Here are some tips that can help you.
Figure out what the agents need:
1. they want you to be accessible. All the time, really.
2. they want you to know what you are doing. Not your manager, not your processor, YOU.
3. They want you to communicate & keep everyone informed.
4. They need help with advertising, & marketing.
5. They want you to help them keep their clients loyal, just like you want them to do for you.
6. They want you at the closing ( this is soooo easy, )
7. They want a "REAL" pre-approval, run DU, pull credit, review income & assets, etc.
8. They want you to help structure the offer ( explain & suggest seller concessions, DPA, reserves, etc.)
9. They need education on the current state of the mortgage market & process.
10. They want to trust you, so don't make them look bad, or gouge.
Now, most if not all of those items above cost nothing. ( DU & Credit aside) Here are some items where you need to spend a little.
1. Help them market. What is their product? It is the listing & themselves( their service) They need nicer flyers, (in color), & glossy, folders, pens, pads, promotional items. You see these everywhere already, why aren't you investing in this stuff to give out? You can charge them a nominal fee for cost of prinitng & paper for the % of space dedicated to them to remain RESPA compliant.
2. Help them ( & yourself) advertise. RE ads are cheap. Get in on the action by taking a piece of the ad space & paying for your space. Offer creative concepts & ad design. This is easy to do, & is RESPA compliant if you pay for yours & they pay for theirs.
3. Piggyback on their Farm mailers & help pay postage. Get the local Pizza guy or dry cleaner to pony up & include his coupons, too...bring down the cost of their mailing with this simple trick.
4. Sponsor Broker Open houses for them. ( what better way to make the agents COME TO YOU?) It costs @ $75 to do a nice broker open. ( tray of wraps, chips, cookies, soda/water) Meet anywhere from 3-30 agents you can start a relationship with, & it takes 2 hours.
( even better, use the agent roster, get email addresses, buy a email product like the Xsellerate from A la mode, & email blast 1000 agents in a day with broker open invites. This takes you to a new level, & is a great tool... COST? @ $150 yr.)
Here's a freebie. WORK SUNDAY. spend time at your new agents' open house. get to know them. 3 hours of face time? for FREE? are you kidding???
If you don't have an open house, go find some. Introduce yourself. Drop off some goodies. Show off samples of flyers, & promotional stuff you have developed. Make follow up calls & appts to meet again.
hit 6 of em in a Sunday, & in 2 hours, you will have a new agent, almost every time. --I met one particular agent this way last year, & have closed 8 deals with her so far, & she introduced me to 2 other agents. This from a 10 minute cold call. You just have to be different than the avg LO.
Another Freebie, develop a distribution list in your email program, & once a week email somethig topical & useful, like details of the $7500 tax credit, or how to write an offer with a sellers concession, & the limits for different loan types, etc...include a "gentle" reminder of your services & incredible 24/7 availability.
A couple last things:
DO NOT bring Donuts to the office. I don't go to the offices, it is a waste of time. They are not there. If they are, a receptionist will prevent you from gaining entry. They will throw your cards & ratesheets in the big pile of other useless stuff, & eat your donuts.
They don't care about your rates, as long as they are competitive, & you have loan programs to meet the buyers needs. If you meet an agent that is constantly wanting to know what you charge, tell them to beat it. You don't need them. They sell the house, you sell the loan. Period.
Don't promise something you cannot do. Ever.
Don't bad mouth the current mortgage relationship ( oh yeah, they have one, if not more than one)
Just position yourself as someone looking for the right to HELP THEM WITH THEIR BUSINESS. Ask what they need, & see if the other guy is doing it, if not, there is your way in.
Good luck!
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