Lender · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2022 · 30 posts · 16 votes
Hey everyone - so I have taken your advice in growing my realtor partner base, but now I want to ask how do I sustain these relationships? What are realtors looking for from me? Because I do not want to scare them off but I also want to remind them that I can originate better and faster than any of their preferred lenders. Any and all advice is welcomed and much appreciated :)
Hey everyone - so I have taken your advice in growing my realtor partner base, but now I want to ask how do I sustain these relationships? What are realtors looking for from me? Because I do not want to scare them off but I also want to remind them that I can originate better and faster than any of their preferred lenders. Any and all advice is welcomed and much appreciated :)
> You have to be competitive with your products.
>I always enjoy a quick response and a sure one.
>Can you follow through and actually close.
I agree with the meet ups or hosting an event, it shows you want the business and are willing to put yourself out there.
Realtor · Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 925 votes
4y
@Kate Glassman honestly look for new realtors that have not set up their team. They may be very green when it comes to lending and you can educate them, offer them guidance and make them look good to their buyers. Best wishes
Have you tried sitting Open Houses with the Realtors? Gives you a chance to chat with them and potentially pick up clients. Not quite easy to scale, but its an approach. (not sure if you are looking for yourself or your business)
Like any other sales profession, I'd say keep in touch with your relationships. Not necessarily a hard sell, but ask about their business. Invariably they'll talk about their "headaches" and maybe you can either help with an existing one or show how you would have solved. Educate your realtor: an educated client is good client. This will show your value. As mentioned, maybe there are additional loan products you need to look into providing to meet the current needs. As I've posted on BP before, many loan officers are also new and inexperienced/ignorant. So, if you really know your stuff you can chat about existing features/techniques/solutions in the lending world that can help the buyers/sellers. I find its a catch-22 problem: the Realtor is the one face to face with the buyer/seller and thus the most face/chat time (obviously). But, many Realtors say that financing is not in their "wheelhouse" (granted, we are trained that way), but it leaves such a wide gaping hole in strategizing. Realtors need to know enough that specific lending solutions exist to have it brought to your attention.
On a slightly different note, aAre you affiliated with a Brokerage? If you can create that relationship it will drive traffic to you.
As far as reaching out to new agents, try to get the training lists. Hopefully, you've already made friends with brokers or office managers who have already made inroads to getting them. With the pandemic sort ofwaning, in person gatherings especially for new agents are coming back. See if you can get invited to those, legally.. Can you easily search your State's licensee website? Our license numbers are serialized so you just need to look at the newer numbers, and the contact info is posted. Same for our MLS... Just "keep your chin up" given the NAR statistics on agent drop out rate...
Real Estate Agent · Mesa, AZ · Member since 2017 · 230 posts · 169 votes
4y
@Kate Glassman What has always stuck out to me are lenders who don't want a free ride. Generally speaking lenders reach out to me and want me to send them clients and they all say they can close more deals faster. If I take the time to go and prospect and get a client I don't want to send them to a lender I'm not familiar with and have the deal go sideways. If a lender is willing to help me prospect or market with me and actually put a little skin in the game then I'm all for sending them clients. The problem is too many lenders want to just get relationships with agents but don't want to do the hard work of getting clients. If a lender does a good job and can help build the business I'll reciprocate and help them build their business as well. I had a lender meet up with me once and we both just called through my database together and we didn't get anything going that night, but I kept sending them clients because they showed they'll work.
Real Estate Agent · Orlando, FL · Member since 2017 · 38 posts · 11 votes
3y
@Kate Glassman So I read a while ago that most people read / open emails on Tuesdays actually. I send out weekly market updates on Tuesday and my open rate is like 43% which is pretty unheard of.