You’re breaking into a business where many people already have relationships with a Mortgage Broker. Don’t expect to burst onto the scene and break up those relationships easily, not with your zero years of experience. You need to be prepared to give something of value to win a client’s business. Experts in many fields offer free e-books (a thing you might value) in exchange for your email address (a thing they value), and they do this to build a database of prospects around which they can expand their business.
Gaining a mortgage application will, in most cases, require more than something so simple and impersonal. Although mortgages are far from simple, offering something like a free e-book on the topic of mortgages is unlikely to result in a mortgage application, much less a completed transaction. Many Brokers try to “buy business” via a $500 gift card in exchange for a completed mortgage transaction, or a referral that results in one. It rarely works. Five hundred dollars is not enough to inspire strangers to call another stranger and off er them all of their personal financial data. What will happen is that those Brokers will wind up handing out $500 gift cards to all the people who would have done business with them anyway, or worse they will not give this promotion to their friends or family, reserving it instead for “new” business. A major mistake.
Inevitably, your phone will ring and there will be conversations and meetings with potential clients that simply go nowhere, at least initially. But every time you talk with somebody about mortgages, you’re planting a seed. It may take a few days or weeks or months or even years for that relationship to blossom. It depends on how high quality that seed is. Were they a warm referral? And it depends on how well you tend to it. Are you staying in contact? Were you knowledgeable, trustworthy and polite?
From your first day as a Broker the first script you will need is one that clearly explains your new career to people. Especially those you already know, your financial planner, accountant, insurance agent, Realtor, lawyer or notary. First you must be able to clearly articulate what it is that you do, what service you off er and what differentiates you from the pack. Only then will you let them know you are not so much looking for their personal business, but rather a referral if the opportunity arises. This puts less pressure on them, and it keeps things lighter.
Pursue these connections only modestly, if at all, before you’re licensed. You may want to talk in greater depth about the business with a few people whom you trust and respect. Again, you’re planting seeds, requesting help and expertise to guide you as you enter the business.
Sometimes new Brokers and new Realtors work well together because neither has established relationships in the business yet. Rookies who grow together stay together, often going through various “trial by fire” experiences, which makes for lasting bonds
Realtors aren’t typically privy to clients’ finances. Individuals retain them to negotiate the purchase price of real estate. Buyers often tell real estate agents as little as possible about their finances. Clients are concerned that if they disclose they have plenty of money, then Realtors may not work as hard negotiating the price of the property. As a result, Realtors aren’t always the ideal referral source, but if they see the value that you deliver they can be amazing supporters. Some Brokers swear by Realtors as the backbone of their business, others deal with no Realtors at all. I prefer a healthy balance.