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Loan Officer Marketing: Target Agents In Your Marketing Strategy

If you're a loan officer trying to market to REALTORS, you might've heard horror stories about how badly these relationships sometimes go. In fact, some loan officers don't pursue marketing to agents because they don't even want to deal with what they see as a quagmire that will only turn out to be a negative experience for them.

Face Your Fear

However, it doesn't have to be this way; you can, indeed, form positive relationships while marketing to agents. Ignore what others have said -- maybe even what you've said to others. Whether you have had a bad experience yourself or are relying on what your contemporaries have told you, don't let past experiences turn you off completely from marketing to agents. They can be your greatest source of purchase transactions. If you ignore them, you could be losing out on an awful lot of earning potential.

Take The Wheel

In fact, you're in the driver's seat here, because you know something others don't. Agents need you more than you need them.

Let me say that again. Agents need you more than you need them.

I'll explain. You can earn income by generating loans from many sources of business. An agent can't do this. If a purchase transaction is to be completed, an agent needs you to handle the mortgage financing, unless it's a cash sale. But cash sales happen very rarely. Here's the thing; you can choose which agents you attract. To an extent, it depends on your marketing strategy.

Market to Agents the Right Way

Remember, finding an agent is just like hiring an employee. You need to "hire" the REALTOR who's going to benefit you the most. He or she will be your strategic partner, in effect. You want the candidates for this job to match your targeted audience and comply with your marketing strategy.

Look For Specific Traits

There are certain things you look for in the agent you want to hire. These attributes are also called 'agent demographics'. Things to consider include:

1) Whether you want to work with part-time or full-time agents,

2) The type of buyers you want the agent to work with, and

3) The loan program the agent's buyer uses most frequently.

You basically have two objectives, which are: to determine your segments or subgroups in the overall agent population, and to determine exactly what the characteristics are of a typical agent for each segment.

You'll want to attract people you're going to like to spend time with, and who can be efficient. That means, they're probably going to be a lot like you. One possible way to determine this is called the DiSC Learning Model.

Without going into too much detail, it basically helps you understand different behavioral types and styles, across four different primary dimensions. This, in turn, helps you match your behaviors and preferences to someone you'd be working with. It's a good tool to use if you want to figure out what a harmonious match for you might be.

Because different communication styles work better for different types of people, you'll want to pick someone who matches your communication style. Some will want facts and supporting data right away, while others will want to know how you'll benefit their team or organization. Some need statistics before they make a decision, while others can make a decision with relatively little information.

However, you and the agent may need to change your communication styles to what the prospect can best understand. Therefore, you'll need to learn to adapt to other communication styles if the situation warrants it.

Treat Agents As You'd Like To Be Treated

Finally, be clear upfront as to what the ground rules are. You want someone who has integrity and is honest, and who can handle stress with equanimity when situations aren't going that well. Of course, if you expect this from someone else, you'll have to offer the same benevolence. Therefore, don't expect stellar behavior from others unless you're willing to deliver as well.

If you want to really keep an agent's attention, learn about their values. Asking them about past experiences in dealing with other loan officers can tell you what to expect. Listen for behaviors that get repeated, but with different loan officers. Although there are two sides to every story, when you develop a perception, it's usually on the money.

In following these guidelines and trusting in your intuition, you'll be able to use your marketing strategy to find those agents best suited to work with you. Once you realize that what's keeping you from marketing to REALTORS is that you're standing in your own way, you'll have no excuse but to move.

Jeffrey Nelson helps loan officers increase loan originations by getting referrals from real estate agents.

Click here to get a free Video Book. It shows Jeffrey's exclusive marketing solution for getting clients from real estate agents in as little as 30 days.

Visit us at http://www.AgentMagnet.com