Mortgage referrals are the bread and butter of any successful loan officer’s business, and they’re centered around the relationships you create day to day. In fact, the relationships you have with your referral partners are vital to the growth of your business.
But, how do you strengthen those connections to increase mortgage referral business? What’s going to keep you top-of-mind with your mortgage referral partners when it matters most?
8 Tips to Generate Mortgage Referrals
Want to know the secret for how to get new mortgage clients? It’s all about connecting with your mortgage referral partners — meaning real estate agents, title agents, financial planners, business people in your community, and more.
Below are eight tips to help you increase your mortgage referral business that will help you while you’re building relationships and meaningfully connecting to your network to land new clients today.
1. Nurture Current and Past Clients
To grow your business, you know it’s important to focus on how to get clients as a mortgage broker. It’s also vital to prioritize nurturing the relationships you’ve already cultivated. In fact, Hubspot reports that 92% of buyers trust referrals from people they know.
So, what are some ways you can strengthen your relationships with current and past clients to keep your referral business moving?
Start by expressing gratitude. It’s best to show gratitude face to face, and that’s where video comes in. Reach out to your clients and thank them immediately after they submit a mortgage application. Sending a personalized thank you video leaves a memorable first impression and demonstrates that, to you, clients are more than a number — they’re people.
After a mortgage purchase, consider sending a small care package to your clients. These moments of surprise and delight make your clients feel good about doing business with you — which leads to more referrals.
Finally, create a “new homeowners” packet for your clients. Include information for all of your favorite local restaurants, shops, landscapers, handyman services, and more to welcome them to the neighborhood.
(Tip: Partner with small businesses in specific neighborhoods when creating your “new homeowners” packet. Continuously building partnerships with new people will help you to grow your mortgage referral network!)
In addition to expressing gratitude and delighting your clients, continue to genuinely foster your relationships. It can be as simple as checking in anytime or reaching out over important milestones — like birthdays and holidays. It’s all about keeping a strong connection while they’re a client and after.
See how Steve Hougard of Hougard Loans does this with video below…
2. Connect With New Real Estate Agents
When you’re figuring out how to get realtor referrals as a loan officer, try to avoid agents with a lot of listings. More than likely, they have an experienced lender they already rely on. Instead select agents with around three to four listings. These agents know how to get business and may be open to spending more time with you.
Also, reaching out to recent real estate school graduates is a great way to grow your network. Use LinkedIn to begin developing relationships. After you’ve made the connection on LinkedIn, establish a rapport. Consider offering new graduates classes or one-on-one training sessions that will benefit them as they learn the ins and outs of the industry.
(Tip: Send a video through LinkedIn when you request to connect — this will help you stand out. If you’re not sure how to use video on LinkedIn, check out these ways to get started.)
Once you’ve established the relationship, it’s essential to stay top-of-mind with all of your real estate agents. Consider sending short weekly or biweekly market update videos.
When you send updates, provide something of value without asking for anything in return. Include information they can use, like current mortgage rates and home loan statistics. Providing valuable information is a great way to maintain your partnership. (And, it reminds agents that you’re still around, even when you aren’t working together.)
Take a look at how Loan Consultant Eric Peltier of Caliber Home Loans does this with video…
3. Overcommunicate Throughout The Lending Process
Clear and consistent communication is the key to a good relationship between a client, realtor, and mortgage broker. As a loan officer, this means that you should answer questions right away and continuously communicate. Be sure to keep everyone in the loop throughout the closing process.
According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, after finding the right property, the most difficult parts of the home buying process were understanding the paperwork and the steps to buying a home.
A great way to eliminate confusion with the lending process’s complicated paperwork is to use a screen recorder. It allows you to record yourself and your screen at the same time easily.
Being face to face is especially important when you’re covering contracts and complex financial information. Screen recording will allow you to walk your clients through complicated paperwork — just like you’re sitting next to them. Providing this level of communication will also help agents see that you’re taking care of their clients (and the deal)!
Another way to overcommunicate and eliminate confusion during the homebuying process is to offer consistent updates along the way. Video is a great way to do this.
Watch the video below to see Ruby Grynberg of Salmon Bay Community Lending walk her client through exactly what to expect when. This will help them avoid any confusion or missed deadlines.
4. Ask for Reviews
While they might not be direct referrals, online reviews play an equally important role in increasing your mortgage referral business. In fact, according to a BrightLocal consumer review survey, 87% of consumers read online reviews. And 94% of respondents said positive reviews make them more likely to use a business.
When it comes to reviews, it might seem simple, but just ask! Watch the video below to see how Alan Christian of the Alan Christian Mortgage Team uses video to request a review.
Watch how Alan expresses to his clients what positive reviews mean to him. He also includes that leaving a positive review will allow him to help others. Because he’s face to face, his clients can hear his tone’s sincerity that he wants to help home buyers and feel his genuine appreciation for a positive review.
5. Build Community Relationships Virtually
The relationships you build within your sphere of influence are the cornerstone of how to grow your mortgage business. And maintaining these relationships should be the core of your business.
There are a few ways you can create relationships virtually with people in your community to build your network and get even better mortgage referrals:
Host Educational Webinars
Get involved in your alma mater, a nonprofit, a local college, etc., and educate them on a topic you’re skilled in by hosting educational webinars. For example, talk to high school or college students about the value of saving money or building and protecting credit.
Provide Ongoing Value
Video email campaigns are a great way to provide ongoing value to your sphere of influence. Video email campaigns should focus on something your recipients need during a specific time in their lives. For instance, they should include helpful information about community events during a season or over a holiday. The key to a good campaign is to provide value to your recipients and leave the door open for ongoing conversation.
6. Use Social Media Platforms
According to a survey by The Close, 82% of real estate agents plan to focus on and improve their social media presence in 2021. This means almost an entire professional network is available at your fingertips.
But, it isn’t just real estate agents that you should be connecting with on social media platforms. It’s homebuyers, too. There are multiple ways you can reach out to past, present, and future clients on social media. Whether you use direct messages on Facebook, comment on Instagram home listings, or connect directly with buyers through the agents in your LinkedIn network, actively using social media allows you to create connections within your sphere of influence.
Directly connecting with buyers isn’t the only way to use social media to grow your mortgage referral business. You can also use social media to…
• Search for relevant events like garage sales. (You know who’s holding garage sales? People planning to move.)
• Join specific neighborhood pages and maintain an active, helpful presence by commenting and offering suggestions when members ask questions or for referrals.
• Like and share posts from local businesses.
• Post photos of closings to your social media platforms — with permission.
(Tip: Tag everyone involved in the buying process — the real estate agent, home inspector, title representative, etc. The more people you tag, the higher the chances of someone sharing the photo. This helps you establish credibility.)
7. Send Home Anniversary Videos
Buying a home is a big deal! But, how do you stay connected to your clients after the process has ended? By reminding them of the incredible investment they made and congratulating them on their home anniversary.
Sending anniversary videos is a small gesture that makes a big difference in maintaining relationships with past clients. It reminds them that you were there to help them through every step of a complicated, life-changing event. Also, remember to include the real estate agent involved in the process in your video and copy them on the email.
Not only will sending home anniversary videos keep you connected to your network of past clients, including your agents is doing their marketing for them. Because you’ve helped them and reminded them you’re still around, these agents will be more likely to remember you for future business.
8. Put Technology To Work
There’s a world of tech at your fingertips to help you grow your mortgage referral business. Below is some of the best technology available for loan officers that will maximize your productivity, help you organize leads and referral partners, and connect you with your clients.
BombBomb: A video email platform that puts you face to face with clients to eliminate confusing, plain-text emails by focusing on human-centered communication.
BNTouch CRM: Customizable customer relationship management (CRM) software that will help you organize and grow your pipeline with lead marketing and a premade content database.
DocuSign: Electronic signature and agreement cloud. with encryption to upload and send documents quickly and securely.
You Might Also Like
- The Mortgage Action Plan (more ideas and examples)
- 15 Mortgage Sales Tips to Close More Loans
- 9 Mortgage Markeing Ideas for Loan Officers to Generate More Business
- Inaugural Mortgage Video Influencers Guide (learn from 25 people)
- Follow-Up Mortgage + Real Estate Video Influencers Guide (learn from 60+ people)
Want to Start Increasing Your Mortgage Referral Business Today?
Now that you have some ways to help you create and cultivate connections to increase mortgage referral business, why not take your relationships one step further and communicate face to face using video?
What are you waiting for? Try BombBomb free for two weeks!
