Getting business

[raeoflyte]

I jumped into sales (mortgage loan officer) 4 months ago.  It's as cushy as possible since I have my managers business to work and keep my income at a reasonable level, however the business leveled off right after I came over so business is a little slower than originally expected.  

I planned on using this as a stepping stone to building up my own book of business between 8-12 months, but need to move that time frame up.  So for all the sales, commission, and self employed people out there, I'm asking what your best way of getting leads in the door is?  I've been in this business on the operations side for over a decade, so I'm very comfortable with the technical side of things.  The sales side is definitely a leap of faith for me and pushing me out of my comfort zone.  I'm determined to give it 9-12 months to see if I can make it work because this is my best way of increasing my income which will give me a lot of other options.  

What I'm doing/have done in the past: 
1) Joined networking group--I actually did this a few years ago when I had my real estate license and it was a waste.  I never got an actual lead, and the group in general didn't give a lot of leads to each other.  I know that at least part of the issue was that specific group because shortly after I left a regional person contacted me to try another group because of how slow that one was.  I'm hesitant to drop a couple hundred dollars on another one though.  If you think this is something worth looking into again--how do I pick a good group?  There are realtor groups who look for sponsors and affiliates that I've looked into joining, but I think that would fall under the same category.

2) Working convention tables--this was great for me to watch "typical" sales people in action and hear their scripts, but not so great for me to get actual business.  

3) Social Media/networking with friends/family.  A few deals have come from this, but I really need to get realtors and/or builders that can refer a steady stream of clients to me.  

4) Marketing myself to the listing agents on the deals I'm closing (so I'm not taking business from my managers).  


I'm really considering targeting 50-100 realtors based on #'s of deals they close a year and their certifications and start a marketing campaign of cold calling and emailing, and hoping that I can get 10% of them to give me a shot.  

What would you suggest?  

[Deleted]

start cold calling the real estate offices

drop off cards, drop off rate sheets

and make sure you let them know that if they need a quote, you are there for them

depending on your area, you can decide how much of an area you want to cover

my SIL also has done lunches for some of them, just to get her name out there

refi's are easy....getting the new loans is crazy hard

good luck!

[chen35]

Do you have much new building going on where you are at? We went with the builders preferred lender, because they had worked out incentives on upgrades for our home. If you could offer some discounts to a builder, they may want to give you a try.

[Deleted]

"I'm really considering targeting 50-100 realtors based on #'s of deals they close a year and their certifications and start a marketing campaign of cold calling and emailing, and hoping that I can get 10% of them to give me a shot. "


I think that is the key right there. You need to partner up with some successful realtors.
You can look through MLS online as well as go to some of the more pricey areas and drop into realtors offices with some promo items to drop off. 
Also realtor offices often have weekly meetings, you can ask to be a part of that meeting.
Going to open houses and introducing yourself to realtors is another idea. Make sure you have some presentable brochures and or business cards to drop off.

[Deleted]

Marketing myself to the listing agents on the deals I'm closing (so I'm not taking business from my managers).


I'm really considering targeting 50-100 realtors based on #'s of deals they close a year and their certifications and start a marketing campaign of cold calling and emailing, and hoping that I can get 10% of them to give me a shot.

Sure it's a numbers game but you need to target your audience so your return is higher.

Can you "farm" the clients you closed for when you were a processor?

What about "farming" busy mortgage officers for their "lesser" clients i.e. maybe they don't want to really do the FHA or VA for a past client's kids?

Not sure how active your real estate market is but you might find some old fashioned face time works. If you can give up a couple of hours to visit Sunday open houses you'll certainly stand out. You won't have to do this forever but it should drum up some business during the slow time.

And it goes without saying to "farm' the clients that you've already closed loans for during your last 4 months. We did two refis earlier this year. I thought about doing a 3rd but my unit's value was just a little short of 20% equity. Between principal pay down and appreciation it's sitting very pretty. Now all that I need to do is wait for rates to drop again.

One more idea. If you've closed a loan in a condo complex, pull the owner info for the rest of the complex and see who might need to refi. As in the above example a lot of people may have not been able to refi a year ago due to LTV but might now.

Anyway hope this helps


ETA: LOL, just as I posted I got an e-newsletter from a lender I contacted a year ago. Business MUST be slow. He didn't respond when I contacted him in the spring. Whoops, you snooze you lose!

[Deleted]

Nothing new to add, just that when we first closed on our house we used the loan officer our realtor recommended. She was good and everything worked out smoothly so we used her for our 3 refis even though she had changed companies (each time, I think).

[raeoflyte]

Oct 28, 2013 15:05:30 GMT -5 chen35 said:

Do you have much new building going on where you are at? We went with the builders preferred lender, because they had worked out incentives on upgrades for our home. If you could offer some discounts to a builder, they may want to give you a try.

We support one builder on the team I am on.  My sister in law works for another builder and I've been really hesitant about asking her to introduce me to her sales people, but I'm going to bite the bullet and do that this week.  She knows I'm not going to pressure her about it if she isn't comfortable, so I really just have to do it.    

I don't think I want to try to go after any other builders at this point though just because they are a tough animal and all of the deals are transactional.  The buyers are only using you because of the incentives from the builder and it seems like people who buy new, will continue to buy new for their next home, so they will just use the new builders preferred lender. 

[raeoflyte]

Oct 28, 2013 15:06:37 GMT -5 @joey said:

"I'm really considering targeting 50-100 realtors based on #'s of deals they close a year and their certifications and start a marketing campaign of cold calling and emailing, and hoping that I can get 10% of them to give me a shot. "


I think that is the key right there. You need to partner up with some successful realtors.
You can look through MLS online as well as go to some of the more pricey areas and drop into realtors offices with some promo items to drop off. 
Also realtor offices often have weekly meetings, you can ask to be a part of that meeting.
Going to open houses and introducing yourself to realtors is another idea. Make sure you have some presentable brochures and or business cards to drop off.

Open houses is a great idea I had forgotten about. I even have my "script" ready, just need to figure our a schedule and babysitting.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 28, 2013 15:09:11 GMT -5 @bonnap said:

Marketing myself to the listing agents on the deals I'm closing (so I'm not taking business from my managers).


I'm really considering targeting 50-100 realtors based on #'s of deals they close a year and their certifications and start a marketing campaign of cold calling and emailing, and hoping that I can get 10% of them to give me a shot.

Sure it's a numbers game but you need to target your audience so your return is higher.

Can you "farm" the clients you closed for when you were a processor?

What about "farming" busy mortgage officers for their "lesser" clients i.e. maybe they don't want to really do the FHA or VA for a past client's kids?

Not sure how active your real estate market is but you might find some old fashioned face time works. If you can give up a couple of hours to visit Sunday open houses you'll certainly stand out. You won't have to do this forever but it should drum up some business during the slow time.

And it goes without saying to "farm' the clients that you've already closed loans for during your last 4 months. We did two refis earlier this year. I thought about doing a 3rd but my unit's value was just a little short of 20% equity. Between principal pay down and appreciation it's sitting very pretty. Now all that I need to do is wait for rates to drop again.

One more idea. If you've closed a loan in a condo complex, pull the owner info for the rest of the complex and see who might need to refi. As in the above example a lot of people may have not been able to refi a year ago due to LTV but might now.

Anyway hope this helps


ETA: LOL, just as I posted I got an e-newsletter from a lender I contacted a year ago. Business MUST be slow. He didn't respond when I contacted him in the spring. Whoops, you snooze you lose!

My boss and other loan officer who I supported are still there, so I can't market to their borrowers, and I'm working the managers referrals right now and there aren't any other big producers.right now. If rates drop I'll definitely offer to help on refi overflow though.

I really like the open house idea.

Great idea on the condo! We have an in house condo approval desk which gives me a leg up there anyway. I have a condo refi right now so I'll start checking public records for the other units.

And I definitely need to keep up on marketing to closed loans. Our marketing department handles all of that for the borrowers but I am trying to come up with what marketing I want to send to listing agents to hopefully get them to send me their buyers. Keeping organized on everything is going to be a task in itself.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 28, 2013 15:00:32 GMT -5 @gdgyva said:

start cold calling the real estate offices

drop off cards, drop off rate sheets

and make sure you let them know that if they need a quote, you are there for them

depending on your area, you can decide how much of an area you want to cover

my SIL also has done lunches for some of them, just to get her name out there

refi's are easy....getting the new loans is crazy hard

good luck!

My last boss didn't think much of dropping in the real estate offices, but I think I will talk to my new boss' about a plan. Figure out where my agents are that I want to talk to and pick days to drop by.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I would definitely highlight your operations experience (underwriting?).  Having a background in getting deals through to closure is a huge advantage for you and will make realtors more likely to give you a chance.

[chen35]

Oct 28, 2013 16:58:07 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Oct 28, 2013 15:05:30 GMT -5 chen35 said:

I don't think I want to try to go after any other builders at this point though just because they are a tough animal and all of the deals are transactional.  The buyers are only using you because of the incentives from the builder and it seems like people who buy new, will continue to buy new for their next home, so they will just use the new builders preferred lender. 

I don't know about them necessarily buying new again. building is such a hassle, I can't see doing it more than once!

[giramomma]

I'm out of my league with the mortgage industry.

I do have a part time night business. I'm at the point where I really can't accept any more clients. I haven't marketed/advertised my services for maybe 5-7 years now. All my business comes from word of mouth. It's sad, but I don't even have a facebook page or web site...

I think you do have to be careful about how much advertising you do. One of my clients' mom is building up her own financial practice and is rather pushy with her marketing efforts. Even if I were in a position to need her services, I still wouldn't choose her.

[greeniis10]

I agree with GRG: make sure your long history is known and you aren't "new" to the business.  Your knowledge and experience should be highlighted as much as you can.  And, as giramomma said, word of mouth is invaluable!  It takes some building to get there, but with persistence and your making getting through the process and all that paperwork as easy as possible for each client you'll reach your goals.  (um, don't like that last sentence but not sure how to rephrase it; sorry)

[Iggy aka IG]

raeoflyte, congratulations!

What I have learned after many years of having my own insurance agency, is people do people with people they know, and referrals are invaluable.  I joined the chamber the month after I opened my doors and went from knowing almost no one to being the one who helps newbies, or shy folks, at networking events feel more at ease.  I'm also on the chamber board for the second go around in ten years. 

The other thing which has really helped is volunteering.  I belong to a service club, hold two officer positions for a recreational club, and an executive officer position for a local political party.  I also do what I can for the local animal shelter (I can't adopt due to allergies).

Re: dropping in to the real estate agencies:  They love when you bring them treats.    Last year I brought numerous real estate and mortgage offices St. Patrick's Day treats (homemade choc chip cookies w/ a hint of mint), and other businesses and acquaintances plates of homemade goodies at Christmastime.  The drop off visits included my business card, a wall calendar, and relative insurance product brochures.

Currently, I've been doing what I call a Halloween Blitz to commercial prospects:  Two weeks ago I dropped off company logo goodie boxes.  Inside the color coordinated tissue were fun size candy bars, a few of my business cards, and a brochure.  I dropped them off with a 2014 calendar.  Tomorrow evening I'll bake brownies (Betty Crocker - on sale at the store at .67 an envelope) and Thursday I'll do the same to other businesses.  Along the way, I bring calendars to current clients and other acquaintances.

Good luck, and again, congrats!!! 

[Deleted]

Iggy aka IG said:

Re: dropping in to the real estate agencies: They love when you bring them treats.

For sure agents love free food!

I got a great reputation back in the dinosaur ages because I made sure my broker and general open houses had first rate food. I would pick up bakery goodies from our local French Pastry shop and served Martinelli's sparkling cider.

All the agents went to my open houses first to get the good stuff!

[cronewitch]

Word of mouth works. Be really good to people you do get and give them extra business cards. My brother keeps using the same real estate agent. She has staged his current house and done a few open houses for him. I might ask for her name when I am ready do sell my house.

Give thoughtful small gifts. The office I close my loans at gives me a free pen with their name on it. I like that even if I don't need a pen. The last real estate agent had a lock smith change my locks for me. One years ago subscribed me to a decorating magazine at closing. A tin of store bought cookies goes a long way to being remembered. Office supply people bring me small gifts like a cute basket of treats or coffee shop gift card. I don't even want them but it was nice so I appreciate the gifts then regift them.

You could show up at real estate offices with a big tin of assorted cookies with a stick on label with your info. We have an engineering company send us a big tin every year like that. We all eat the cookies and think of them when we need an engineering company but might have anyhow.

Calendars and pens are the old standby gifts but cookies, flowers or something for the office to share would work too. Poinsettias are nice after Thanksgiving for an office gift.

[Deleted]

#4 and #3 plus establishing yourself on the web as a loan officer with the bankrate.com referral program.

[Deleted]

I'm not in the rainmaking end of my business anymore, but when I was working with a small consulting firm I got "Selling for Dummies", which I highly recommend. As with most of the "Dummies" books, they're well-written, practical and have a sense of humor.

[raeoflyte]

I know I owe a lot of people responses--and I really appreciate all the input!

I met with my manager and team today and we are going to do a group effort on drumming up business with a big push through the end of the year.  I made a list of everyone's suggestions here and added in some of the personal marketing things we have provide and was able to provide real input for our game plan--so thank you everyone!

I'm excited about this because it will be more structured and I'll get to tag team with people who are really good at the sales side. This will build business for the team I'm on, but I can build my own business at the same time if I ever wanted to leave the team.  

[Sam_2.0]

DH quit the formal networking groups, and found a bunch of guys that would hang out at the cigar shop instead. Couple of mortgage brokers, insurance guys, and financial brokers. There's about 8 that meet once a month or so. They get together for dinners with their wives & kids, have lunches sometimes during the week, etc. I also shot you a PM

[bean29]

Oct 29, 2013 12:07:50 GMT -5 chen35 said:

Oct 28, 2013 16:58:07 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I don't think I want to try to go after any other builders at this point though just because they are a tough animal and all of the deals are transactional.  The buyers are only using you because of the incentives from the builder and it seems like people who buy new, will continue to buy new for their next home, so they will just use the new builders preferred lender. 

I don't know about them necessarily buying new again. building is such a hassle, I can't see doing it more than once!

This is what I was thinking.  My DN just asked me this week about builiding.  It is cheaper to buy than to build.  Lots right now are smaller than they were even 8-10 years ago.  We built the house we are in now, but if we sell this one, we will probably buy an existing house.

We refied the last house 2-3 times and we refied the current one once.  I would not neglect the refi angel.

DH is an insurance agent.  He came out of the CBO network, so has always had strong ties there.  He is in a lower income neighborhood.  He has always been asked to do homebuyer seminars.  They have DH present on Homeowners insurance.  He gets really good new business results from doing this.  I do think it is the Mortgage Loan officers that team up with the CBO's to do the seminars in the hopes of generating business.  DH does about one seminar a month.