As a lender on the rise, you already know that the relationships that you have with real estate agents can quickly escalate your production to the next level.
Yet many lenders struggle to take those valuable relationships to the level that they need to in order for both parties to get the most value out of the connection.
Just as we know that it cost more to obtain a new customer than retain a current one, we know that it requires more resources to attract a new real estate agent as a referral partner than it does a current one.
In order to help you make the most of the relationships that you already have with your real estate agent referral partners, I have prepared five tactful relationship development tips you can implement today.
Read them now, share with your team, and save them for later as a helpful reminder.
1. Connect Over Your Commonalities
One of my favorite ways to take a professional relationship to the next level is to take a break from all the formal real estate talk. Take some time during each interaction with your contacts to get to know them a little better and maybe even share a bit more about you. Help them to see that you recognize them as more than a potential paycheck, but as a person, and a partner in progress. It’s always a good idea to take notes about personal nuances and save them in your CRM so you can reference them again later and impress people with how well you listen and that you truly care.
2. Practice Your Communication Skills
As a lender, you are in the business of people and dream making more than you are in selling loans. Unfortunately, if your communication skills are a touch underdeveloped, you can come across as a sleazy salesperson both to homeowners and agents alike. It is imperative to your success that you regularly practice working on communication skills like active listening to make sure that you are aptly drawing out the right information at the right times and conveying your own messages in the best way.
3. Personalize Your “Touches”
In the pursuit of obtaining more business without spending more time, we are all guilty of wanting to can or mass produce our follow up messages or touches with our network. The problem is that they are usually transparent and infrequently achieve the desired results. Instead, you should take a few moments to send off a more personalized message to each contact to show them that you really care. The ROI will be worth the time and energy spent.
4. Come From An Altruistic Place
If you are constantly putting your hand out asking for more like the young Oliver, you won’t make it as a lender. In order to rise to the top and maximize your production, you need to lead with altruism. The more that you give to others, the more you will receive in return. Just be careful that you don’t give for the sole purpose of gaining returns because that too may become obvious to some people and have negative repercussions.
5. Exceed Expectations
There is perhaps no better way to advance a relationship than to consistently exceed someone’s expectations of you. If a real estate agent you’re working a loan with is in a bind, go out of your way to help them out. If someone expects you to fail, get the job done perfectly. If your clients are in a whirlwind panic, find a way to ease their minds. Every time that you go above and beyond as a professional and a partner, you will do wonders towards instilling value into those relationships. Those feats of professionalism are investments that will pay dividends for years to come!
How To Do It All In One Easy Move
I know that making new connections and transforming them into valuable relationships is a lot of work and can feel very time-consuming.
Implementing all of these methods into your mortgage business will definitely deliver results and referrals but it will require a lot of effort on your part.
In order to make it a lot easier on you, I have prepared something special that will allow you to accomplish more, in less time. You can check it out here.
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