I don’t know about you, but when I got started, on day one, as a loan officer, I was told to hit the newspaper up and call the agents who advertised and ask for business. I was just dumb enough to do it too. I closed some, but most told me to “take a piss” as my English friends would say.
When you’re brand new and limited on funds, resources and a network, being a LO isn’t easy. Generally speaking, it takes a while to build up one, let alone all three.
This is why most new Loan Officers quit in the first 6 months.
If you don’t get your business fired up and closing loans fast enough, you’ll end up running out of money. From there most people quit. A few moonlight at service industry jobs, but most flat out quit.
Like any sales job, being a mortgage originator is not for everyone.
In today’s competitive and connected world, cold calls to real estate agents are about the worst way to get a loan there is. Agents get tons of calls a day. From sign callers to vendors selling shit, an agent’s phone is constantly filled with sales pitches.
Needless to say, if you’re new and you’re pitching an Agent, they’ve already heard anything you can say. Especially since Agents could care less about rates, fees, or days in underwriting.
In one of the loan officer groups I belong to, a guy posted and asked what would be the best line to give to an Agent to get business from them. My reply was simple
“Hey Agent, I have a hot lead that I’ve qualified that is looking to sell a home in your market and move to a larger home. Are you free to take on new clients? Are you able to speak about this in detail now?“
You may be thinking “Sure, Ryan that sounds great but I don’t have a lead and I’m not going to call and lie to an Agent I’m trying to build an honest relationship with.”
You’re right! I’d never tell or ask you to lie. Salesmen who lie are weak. Strong salesmen don’t need to lie to close deals. You mission is to make that statement true.
In other words, YOU NEED LEADS TO GIVE TO AGENTS!
We live in a what can you do for me? world. Everyone who’s calling on Agents are asking them for business. It’s not just one person per industry ether. It’s dozens of LOs, title companies, inspectors, sign companies and everyone else in the world, asking for business.
In order for you to stand out and get their attention, you need to make the offer to give not take.
By hitting an Agent up and offering to give them business instead of asking to take business from them, you’ve taken away their ability to give you the same old ‘I already have a lender” response.
If you’re on a budget, don’t know anything about technology but still need to get leads, you’re screwed. Just kidding! In all reality, it isn’t that hard to get a lead that you can hand off to an Agent.
If the Agent doesn’t close the lead, it doesn’t matter. The fact that you gave first, puts you in control and enables the law of reciprocity to kick in. When you ask for business, it will be super hard for them to give you a NO.
Leads are all over Facebook. You can get leads from Facebook groups like it’s going out of style. From garage sale groups, to community insider groups, Facebook group prospecting is where it’s at.
Think about it: If someone is having a garage sale, there’s a good chance they are moving. If they are moving, they definitely need an agent. Once you spot this need, you make the connection and BAM! BOOM! ZIP! You got yourself a hot lead and a potential Realtor partner.
What about going to an Agent’s fan page and sharing their listings in some of the local Facebook groups you belong to? Wait. You do belong to local Facebook groups, right?
You’re job is to let the community know you’re a banker and you have money to lend. You can’t go door to door, so instead you go Facebook group to Facebook group.
When you’re new, time is your biggest luxury. You can spend that time looking for leads by driving to offices, cold calling or going to networking events, or you can just use the power of social media to prospect effectively.
Make sure to leverage every lead you get to start as many new relationships as possible.
Sometimes you can’t do anything for a lead. Say they have shitty credit and need to sell their home to pay off debt. You can’t do a loan for them and the average LO would turn them down and move on. A good LO will get them to an Agent to sell their home, then ask the Agent for a client in return. An even better LO will get them to credit repaid and close them on a new home in 6 months.
If you’re new, looking for Agents, and struggling to get in good with the ones you want, try my method first. Work the biggest sphere you can in social media and then network and leverage those leads as many ways as you possibly can.
I’ve got a program called The Social Media Syndicate that shows you (over the shoulder screenshot views) exactly how to get fast leads and leverage them here on social media. The program only costs a one time payment of $97 and you can even get free videos before you buy it. Check it out here
Lastly, share this with the new LOs in your office. Don’t you wish you had got some solid advice when you first got into the business? I know I wish I would have.
