United American Mortgage exec offers tips on building stronger relationships with real estate agents
One of the most valuable assets a mortgage broker can have in his career is strong business relationships with real estate agents. But as the mortgage market faces uncertain times, prioritizing networking may slide to the bottom of a broker’s to-do list.
However, rather than hunkering down and waiting for the storm to pass, United American Mortgage president Dean Rathbun would tell you now is the perfect time to take control of your career and take advantage of opportunities to connect with others in the industry.
“It’s everything right now,” Rathbun said in a recent MPA Talk podcast episode. “For the last 24 months, it’s been low-hanging fruit, so you may have ignored some of your people. Today, you have the opportunity. You have the time. You set those dinners. You set those lunches, you set those coffee meetings at 10 or 10:30, and you go and reconnect. It’s never too late. It’s funny. Sometimes we’ll go and say, ‘Gosh, I haven’t called that person in 12 months. I’m just embarrassed to even call him at this point.’ But pick up the phone and say ‘Hi, how are you doing? We haven’t talked, my bad. I should have reached out. How are you doing? Do you have time for coffee tomorrow?’
“I’ll tell you, if you’re a beginning loan officer, one thing that I will share is don’t try and schedule a meeting, lunch, or dinner a week from now. Do it a day or two from now. Be prompt about it because otherwise, they’ll always cancel the meeting when it comes time to the meeting, ‘Hey, can we change the day? Can we do something? Can we move it?’
“That’s not what you want. You really want to have a meeting. So, try and do it for a day or two, and just be casual about it. ‘Hey, what are you doing? Do you have time for coffee tomorrow at 10:30?’ Go do it, and it’s a great opportunity and way to catch up and rekindle that fire.”
How are you building stronger networks during these turbulent times? Let us know in the comments below.
