(TheNicheReport) -- When it comes to attracting referral partners, you've got lots of options. There are financial planners, accountants, lawyers, etc. So why bother marketing to Realtors? That's a good question! Here are five unique advantages worth considering:
- They have high referral capacity. According to a recent survey, 85% of the homes sold in the US are sold through a Realtor. Furthermore, at least 70% of homebuyers need a mortgage. What does all that mean? Simply put, Realtors hold the keys to the castle when it comes to capturing purchase business. They're in direct contact with more buyers than any other referral partner out there.Think about it for a moment. What other potential referral partner do you know of that has a higher capacity to send you more purchase business than Realtors? Exactly. Not to mention the fact that if you don't partner with Realtors, your only other option for capturing purchase business is to market directly to consumers – which usually involves the much more costly, painstaking process of mass marketing, otherwise known as "spraying and praying."
- They have high influence. They're the go-to trusted advisor for homebuyers and are in a position to endorse and recommend other service providers – such as you – whom that client may need to complete the transaction. Since these clients are referred to you, the chances of them "rate shopping" go down dramatically.
- They are contacted first. Homebuyers usually call the Realtor before they call their mortgage professional. Put another way, the Realtor is a little bit higher up on the totem pole in terms of the order in which your respective services are utilized. If it were the other way around, Realtors would be banging down your door to work with you.
- They have "buyer bait." What are homebuyers looking for? They're looking for properties for sale! Who has properties for sale? The Realtors! So the super-bait for a motivated homebuyer is, and always will be, listings. Let's take it one step further. What if you could help Realtors increase their listings? Increase not only the number of listings but also the quantity of buyer leads for each listing. Now you no longer have to wait, hope, and pray for the odd crumb to be thrown your way. Instead, you're a "partner" who has full permission to follow-up on every single buyer lead who inquires on the Realtor's listings. Now that's working smart!
- They need YOU. Every Realtor – especially top producers – needs a mortgage professional on their team to help them gain more control of their clients' experience. They need a mortgage advisor who knows what they're doing, who doesn't just meet expectations but exceeds them and consistently creates raving fans who send more referrals and repeat business. The Realtor needs you – a true professional who can get the job done, while providing counsel and advice every step of the way.
As you can see, the purchase market is the most reliable source of mortgage transactions. And out of all the other referral sources, Realtors are the highest leverage, most profitable source of hot, motivated homebuyer leads and, therefore, provide an unparalleled opportunity to penetrate the purchase market with the least amount of time, energy and money.
The question is, how do you capitalize on this opportunity? Well, before we get into all the finer details on exactly what to do, let's take a moment to address the elephant in the room...
Why Realtors® Hate Mortgage Brokers and How to Set Yourself Apart as an Irreplaceable Team Member.
It’s true. Most Realtors are absolutely repulsed by the typical mortgage broker who shows up unannounced at their open house or calls them up cold asking for referrals. They’re sick and tired of the same old song and dance about “great rates” and “great service.” They get the gag reflex every time a mortgage agent shows up at their office with rate sheets and doughnuts. It’s a classic case of marketing incest: everyone’s doing the same thing with ever-decreasing results!
If you’re starting to feel used and abused by bossy, arrogant Realtors who only send you a crap deal every once in a while (which is almost impossible to close) and still expect you to be on call 24/7, then it’s high time you started providing some unique value. Think about it for a moment. Give me one reason why a Realtor should recommend you over any and every other mortgage professional out there. I’ve got news for you…
If you don’t have a clear, concise, well-articulated unique selling proposition, you are by default, a replaceable commodity.
Today’s Realtors are looking for a mortgage professional with more than just great rates and excellent service – that’s a baseline expectation. They want someone who understands their biggest challenges and is willing to go the extra mile to deliver unique solutions.
Now, the question begging to be asked is, “What is the #1 biggest challenge every Realtor faces?” No, it’s not that they need better financing options, lower rates, snazzier feature sheets or a better economy. The single most important factor to their success in any market is their ability to attract quality listings and sell them FAST at top dollar! Period. That’s it! As simple as that sounds, very few Realtors ever unlock this mystery. The rare few who do, become the envy of the entire industry, enjoying an income most only dream about.
What if you – the mortgage professional – could address this #1 challenge by providing your Realtors with a selection of highly effective tools, systems and templates, specifically designed to help them attract more quality listings and sell them fast, for top dollar? Would that set you apart from the pack? Would that give you a greater position of strength? Would it make you irreplaceable?
You better believe it, baby!
In fact, if you’re able to provide this kind of unique value, you’ll have Realtors banging down your door to do business with you and endorse you to all their clients. What a refreshing change that would be!
OK, are you ready for me to hand you my very best, most effective Realtor marketing tools, systems and strategies, guaranteed to generate a flood of red-hot Realtor referrals?
If so, let’s giddy-up and get going…
How to Win Realtors’®Hearts and Coveted Referrals for Life
Throughout this article series, I am going to share several powerful strategies on how to set yourself apart from the pack and become an irreplaceable asset on your Realtor’s team. You’re going to learn how to be a refreshingly welcome guest (instead of an unwelcome pest) and have Realtors be open and receptive to you, eager to hear you out, compelled to work with you, and most importantly, committed to sending you referrals.
As I mentioned earlier, today’s Realtors are looking for a mortgage professional with more than great rates and excellent service. That’s what they expect as a minimum standard of performance. They also want someone who understands their biggest challenges, someone who takes the time to ask them the important questions, and digs deeper than the service level to identify their pain points, challenges, frustrations, and the things that keep them up at night.
It’s important that you find out, first and foremost, what those challenges, frustrations, anxieties, and pain points are. Next, you need to provide unique solutions to resolve those challenges for them.
Realtors want someone who is eager, able, and willing to help them attract more quality listings and sell them fast, for top dollar. Let’s face it, if a Realtor is serious about making big money, the path of least resistance will always be through attracting and selling quality listings. Yeah, you can make a few bucks being a buyer’s agent, but the big money is in having and selling listings. That is where you have control of the transaction; that’s where you’re able to make double-end commissions. That is where you’re able to attract a slew of buyer leads that can be monetized as buyers and/or sellers. The lion’s share of the cash has always been and always will be in having and selling listings.
You will win the hearts of Realtors if you’re able to help them to first, attract more quality listings, and second, get more buyer leads for those listings so they’re able to sell them faster for top dollar. Based on the law of large numbers, the more buyer leads they generate for each listing, the higher the likelihood they will stimulate a bidding war and get a quick sale at – or above – asking price. If you’re able to show them how to do that more effectively and efficiently, then I don’t care if they’ve been married to their mortgage broker for 20 years; they’re going to be eager to hear you out and in many cases, do business with you!
Now the pregnant question is, “How the heck do you help Realtors attract and sell more quality listings?”
I’m glad you asked. In my next article, I’ll reveal the four best ways to capture buyer leads and how you can set up an automated marketing system to fill your pipeline with more buyer leads than you can handle! Stay tuned…
Doren Aldana is considered by many to be nation's leading Mortgage Marketing Coach. Since 2005, he has been dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort, regardless of market conditions. For a free online workshop on "How to Turn Your Realtors' Listings into a Flood of Red-Hot Mortgage Leads," visit: www.UltimateRealtorMarketingSystem.com
