Introduce yourself to attorneys and financial planners for productive referrals
Referral relationships with real estate agents and past clients are always a staple of a mortgage origination business. These sometimes slower winter months are a great time to devote some extra effort into feeding and watering existing relationships, and cultivating new ones.
When considering mutually beneficial partnerships, make sure you don't limit yourself to agents and past clients. Size up the market in your area. After the recent mortgage and housing boom, are you seeing a lot of people scrambling to refinance adjustable rate and interest only loans? Or are you seeing a lot of people who bought more house than they could afford?
Partnering with professionals in your area that strapped homeowners contact for financial help — financial planners, bankruptcy attorneys, even divorce lawyers — can be a great idea. Here are some tips for introducing yourself to these professionals and pitching them your services for their clients.
(With any referral arrangement, take care that you stick to HUD's guidelines about disclosures and mind the laws' do's and don'ts.)
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"Speak to their pain." You've probably heard that marketing expression. When you market yourself to a borrower or homeowner, you're telling them how you can lower their monthly payment, consolidate their bills or help them afford the house of their dreams.
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When you introduce yourself to an attorney or financial planner, tell them how you can help them, not (directly) their clients. "I'm a mortgage broker who works with a number of lenders. I sort through dozens of loan packages every week and have tons of experience matching individuals up with the loan that's right for them. Why not take advantage of this experience?"
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Act, speak, and write professionally. Speaking or writing informally can be a good thing when communicating with individual borrowers or homeowners, because it helps foster a level of trust.
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Like your message, the way you deliver it should be different when introducing yourself to lawyers or financial planners. You foster a level of trust with them by emphasizing clarity and persuasiveness over attention-grabbing. Avoid slang in your writing, and generally portray yourself as a professional.
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Printed material is better than a phone call. With many lawyers and financial planners you're going to have an assistant or secretary who will decide whether you get to talk to your prospect on the phone or not. A simple postcard is far more likely to reach them, and can also sit on a desk with your website, phone number and other contact information on it till needed.
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E-mail is also a better bet to get your message across to your potential clients; your targets are more likely than the rest of the population to rely on PDAs and smartphones, so use a text-only e-mail to introduce yourself.
