New to the lending side—how can I actually be helpful to builders and brokers?

Question

Hey everyone,

I just joined BiggerPockets and wanted to introduce myself, but more importantly, ask for some candid advice from the people in the trenches.

I recently started working as an AE/originator for a direct private lender. We fund residential flips, DSCR, and ground-up builds nationwide using our own capital. My managers have given me the standard corporate playbook on how to find clients, but I'd rather hear directly from actual investors and brokers about what you actually want from a lending partner.

Since I'm new to this side of the business, my main goal is just to figure out how to be useful. For example, I’ve been talking to a builder who lives in CA but does ground-up projects in Iowa and Florida. He mentioned he was having trouble finding decent vacant lots under $50k. I have access to PropStream and some spare time at my desk, so I spent an hour digging through data and sent him 5 lots that fit his parameters.

As experienced flippers, builders, or brokers—is this the kind of thing a good originator does? Or am I completely missing the mark on where I should be focusing my energy?

Our company handles the standard stuff pretty quickly (we do digital appraisals and our draw process is managed via photo uploads to our internal architects, which speeds things up), but I know money is a commodity.

What makes an originator someone you actually want to do repeat business with? I’d love to hear your thoughts so I can start building my book of business the right way. Appreciate any advice!

Scott Wolf · Answer

@Ken M. makes a great point. A few other things:

"I don't know" is a perfectly fine answer, just work to find out the response and don' give wrong information

Stay responsive, delivering bad news is part of our business, but the quicker it comes, the better.

Say no. Don't give false hopes on deals you think you can do, they will fall out and leave a bad taste in your borrower/brokers mouth.

Most important. DIG DEEP. Find out everything you need to as early as possible. Surprises kill deals and it's our job to make sure that doesn't happen.

Good luck!

Mark Schutzeus · Answer

What is meant by "the plan" in this case? On my company's side it has mostly been about making sure we understand our loan products, but beyond that they just want to build contacts. Is there something else you mean?

Mark Schutzeus · Answer

Ah now I see how I misinterpreted you. Yes we have training, much of it is just keeping our product information memorized and calling from our list of leads. I'm developing my comfort with that, and dedicate a large portion of my workday to it. However, it is quite clear that many of the successful sales people on our team do not just call in such a manner, they also go beyond. I am trying to do likewise and come up with strategies to add on top of routine cold calling.

My use of the term "standard corporate playbook" was meant to be rather euphemistic, just filling in for "training in sales."

Joseph Cacciapaglia · Answer

Good for you for taking some initiative, but I'd recommend learning the "standard corporate playbook" first. Get really good at it, and understand why it works. Once you've mastered that, then it's time to start trying to tweak the plays and build your own strategies. I've trained a bunch of new agents over the years, and the ones who've found success were all able to execute the plan exactly as given to them first. It's very difficult to try to go your own way, when you haven't mastered the tried and true method.

New to the lending side—how can I actually be helpful to builders and brokers?

New to the lending side—how can I actually be helpful to builders and brokers?

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