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Referrals! Are we on a one way street?

By
Real Estate Agent with National Real Estate Pages

Over the past 7 years as a top producing RE/MAX agent, I have given my loan brokers andone way street service providers hundreds of referrals for my client's to use their services. In return, I have received very few if any over the same period of time from them . 

Why is this?  

lining up During the height of my career in 2004, I literally had lenders and service providers lining up to get my referrals.

When asked, most of them said, I don't get that many people asking to buy a house. 

My reply was always, I don't get that many people that ask me for a loan or a roof inspection or pest inspection etc.. either. 

They usually said, well, it's different for you

I always wondered, what makes us so different.  Do we as Realtors not have many choices of who we deal with?

Do we as Realtors provide the same great service to our lenders and service providers customers that they provide to ours?

 As the market has changed, I often wonder what many of the support businesses in our industry were doing while we were out in the trenches.  Were they out prospecting for clients for us, as we were for them? Who gets their referrals, or are they asking for them for us?

In all the other businesses I have owned and managed, in 5 different industry segments, mutually rewarding business relationships  were the foundation of success.

I rarely see this happening in this business at all.  It seems to me that in certain parts of this business, "it's every man/woman  for him or herself.

What do you suppose would happen if we all worked together as an industry, rather than for ourselves.

Is this even possible?

Could mutually rewarding relationships exist in our industry too?

 

I think we would all be better off if everyone felt this way in our industry, don't you.

We better all stop and think about this, or perhaps this will be the sign of the times!

 

Chuck Willman
Chuck Willman - Alpine, UT
NewHouseUtah.com
This is why ActiveRain is so good... I can actually "audition" the lenders here.
Oct 01, 2007 03:19 AM
Leigh Brown
Leigh Brown & Associates, RE/MAX Executive - Charlotte, NC
CEO, Dream Maker - Charlotte, NC
I've always just expected that my lender partners will treat my clients with kid gloves and make me look great.  But I have to say-the lender who used me to purchase his home?  He gets the most leads (and frankly does a fantastic job).  I really appreciated that he saw our relationship as a two-way street.  Doesn't mean that I think I should get everything-I know he has other Realtor clients as well-but I should get a shot once in a while.  I like the comment above that said lenders might want to think like Realtors.
Oct 01, 2007 03:30 AM
Anonymous
Jeff Selan
At the bottom, I meant to say, if you ( Mortgage lenders and brokers ) do not support your partners, they will leave you.  thanks Leigh!
Oct 01, 2007 03:47 AM
#25
Fred Miller
National Real Estate Pages - Roseville, CA

Wow, so many great responses. Thanks to all for your great insights.

Jeff, thanks for pointing out, that we are all salespeople and that it is all of our responsibilities to generate new business. 

Gita, very interesting insight on having many lenders and service providers to recommend to clients so they can choose which is best.  food chain

It seems that most of you agree that the agents are on top of the food chain, are we really?

Oct 01, 2007 03:47 AM
Anonymous
Nichole

The one piece that I saw that was missing here is how I am developing my relationships.  I run a mortgage counseling ministry. 

I invite realtors to attend my mortgage counseling workshops.  Several evenings a month I run workshops where we counsel potential homeowners, people looking to refi, people looking to be more educated, people who are in trouble and looking for info that might help, etc.  I ask realtors to attend in the hopes that they can bring some of their expertise to the table too.  It is a great place to make contacts with potential buyers and sellers for them. At the same time I get to build a relationship and best of all, the realtor gets to learn more about what I do.

These workshops are great, if anyone is interested in what we do, and how we do it you can email me.
Nichole - nichole@help2buyhomes.com

Fred, great post, tons of great info out there!

Oct 01, 2007 04:55 AM
#27
Kaushik Sirkar
Call Realty, Inc. - Chandler, AZ
I can say that in general I see Realtors providing more leads than they receive in general (definitely my case).  What can you do?
Oct 01, 2007 04:57 AM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

I'm not surprised.  The cost of a home is such that most folks prefer to keep their personal business to themselves.  With the exception of an agent's personal sphere of past clients, most agents rely on personal promotion and advertising to sell their services. 

Oct 01, 2007 04:58 AM
Jessica Horton Jessica Horton Realty
Jessica Horton - Jessica Horton & Associates - Griffin, GA
Jessica Horton: I'm not #1... You Are!
Wow.  I am floored by this blog.  Completely floored.  I have lenders that I barely even know sending buyers to us.  I have always felt guilty for not being able to return the favor because most people already have a lender in mind when coming to work with me. 

I really enjoyed this.  It made me realize that I really need to do something nice for these guys that send me business.  I mean, more than just a simple thank you.  Thank you for sharing.
Oct 01, 2007 06:17 AM
Richard Sweum
1st Security Bank - Everett, WA
I refer to agents all the time, especially ones that flow from the tree of their referrals to me. 
Oct 01, 2007 06:50 AM
Robert Spaight
Homestar Mortgage - Barrington, RI
I have been a mortgage originator for 10yrs and I have to agree with most here that the opportunity for a mortgage broker to refer buyers to realtors are few and far between.  When a buyer contacts a mortgage originator they are most likely already working with an agent.  I've had this discussion with my realtor partners and they seem to agree that what they are looking for in a mortgage lender is someone who is going to take care of their clients and make sure the transaction goes smoothly.  Believe me I would love to have the opportunity to reciprocate a referral more often but unfortunately it doesnt happen that way.  I try to make up for this by providing marketing materials and doing some joint advertising.
Oct 01, 2007 06:58 AM
Alan Mills - Creating Closer Communication
ACN - Spokane, WA

I know precisely where my clients come from - their referral tree. That means I can make certain to refer these people appropriately - rewarding the source be that person one, two three or more steps back. My wife is a Realtor - when I have the chance to work on a cold call or with someone who has spotted my advertising, I have choice. If the prospect/client has come through my BNI Chapter then it is my BNI Realtor who gets the referral. Simple, honoiurable and reliable.

As for the number I get - I've referred many, many people to my non-Realtor contacts but calls for a Realtor are few.

Oct 01, 2007 08:35 AM
Darleen McCullen
Raleigh, NC
Broker - Raleigh, NC Real Estate

I have been fortunate to have loan officers who send me clients. And I certainly appreciate it!

If REALTORS want referrals from loan officers, the key is to build relationships with them. Loan officers do run into buyers sometimes and need to refer them out to REALTORS.

I most definitely believe that the relationship should be a reciprocal one and that loan officers should be actively seeking to find their own clients--who they can then refer out. Who better to begin the discussion with a potential buyer than a loan officer? After all, they're the ones who can educate on how much a Buyer can afford to buy.

While I have educated myself about mortgages, I'm sure a loan officer knows even more than I do as a REALTOR. (If s/he doesn't, then there's definitely a problem!) :-)

Oct 01, 2007 09:44 AM
Lewis Poretz
Apex Home Loans - Annapolis, MD
Business Development Manager

Great post Fred ---

What I would like to know is how do you get so many comments on your posts? I must be your picture????

 

Good luck with your business venture. I am very interested and will be monitoring it closely ............ thanking for taking your time on a Saturday night explaining your product

Oct 01, 2007 12:29 PM
Karen Anne Stone
New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Real Estate
Fred:  I think all mutually rewarding ventures must be, by definition, two-way streets.  I have usually found that many one-way streets... often end up... "dead end" streets.
Oct 01, 2007 05:38 PM
Darrel Quebedeaux
Evergreen Realty & Associates Inc. - Newport Coast, CA

Fred, I think referrals should be a two way street but most people are not very conscientious of how to seize upon referral moments because they have never really understood the power of referring people to people you trust.  It can be a wonderful thing and I think it is sad to see so many short sighted people.

Give them a referral and they love you till the business they are doing is done then all is forgotten.  They do not recall how many times you kept your ears open for their benefit.

Oct 01, 2007 07:01 PM
Patrick Brady
The Danberry Co., Realtors - Sylvania, OH

I think some of this depends directly on how the loan officer runs his business.  If they spend all their marketing resources talking to agents to get their referrals, it stands to reason that they are not going to have leads to pass to everyone.  I have multiple loan officers that want my business and they usually report that they just to not get many unattached leads. 

 I will say that sometimes just having a loan officer keep a prospect attached to you is worth more than a random lead.  It is important to know that a loan officer will talk to a prospect that your referred and say great things about you.

Oct 02, 2007 02:05 AM
Paul Durry
Collateral Specialist Inc - Lawton, OK
Former Broker Associate, CDPE, CIAS, CHMS

Television, internet, newspapers, magazines, all are means for the lending institutions to solicit clients. I know I put out homebuyer guides stressing the buyer get pre-approval before going out home shopping. I am sure many of you do the same. So when I hear that most buyers usually have a REALTOR prior to seeking loan information is not as accurate as it once was. As one writer above said, lenders can advertise their services just as an agent would, 1st time homebuyer seminars etc, are great referral databases.

Oct 02, 2007 03:59 AM
Robert Johnson
Your Family Realty llc - Eau Claire, WI
Fred, I've never seen the favor returned and neither has my broker.  It seems like a one way street to me.
Oct 02, 2007 04:39 AM
Gena Riede
Riede Real Estate, Lic. 01310792 - Sacramento, CA
Real Estate Broker - Sacramento CA Real Estate (916) 417-2699

Fred,very insightful. Yes, most Realtors are on a one-way street. We feed quite a few and if not reciprocated the dead end street and closed sign may be more of what we see down the line. The Paranas are out...

Congrats on your feature!

Oct 02, 2007 05:54 AM
Fred Miller
National Real Estate Pages - Roseville, CA
Thanks Gena, and thanks to everyone else who continues to comment on this blog.  It's obvious that there are soooo many different opinions on this subject.  Keep em coming. 
Oct 02, 2007 01:39 PM