Generally you can tell how well a loan officer runs his business by the amount of referrals he gets for new loan applications. Successful mortgage professionals tend to get a large percentage of referrals give to them by former customers and referral partnerships with real estate agents, attorneys, financial planners, etc.
Mortgage professionals that are struggling tend to have very few, if any, loan officer referrals. They typically generate almost all of their loan business from prospecting. And while prospecting does have its place and is very important, creating a system that produces loan officer referrals should be the top priority.
Why such focus on getting referrals?
They are easier to work with. Which loan would you rather have? Loan A was generated from a prospect call on one of your classified ads. Loan B is a referral from a satisfied previous customer of yours.
Loan B of course! From the outset, the prospect from Loan A doesn’t know who you are, and you don’t know them either. There is no trust formed yet.
In the case of Loan B, you have already been pre-sold by your former customer. Before you even meet, you will have already developed a high level of trust with this person.
So how do you go about getting more loan officer referrals?
1. Ask for them. It’s amazing to me how few mortgage professionals ask for referrals. You may still get a referral or two here and there, but you drastically increase the chances of receiving referrals by just asking for them. The worst case scenario is that the person says no. So what? Maybe right now they just don’t know anyone.
But then again, maybe they do know someone. The point is that if you don’t ask, you will never know.
And asking for a referral doesn’t have to be a difficult or unpleasant task. Don’t ask for a referral in the sense of asking for business. Ask in the sense that you would like the opportunity to help someone out in a field that you are an expert in.
DON’T SAY: “My goal is to close ten loans this month. Do you know anyone who may need to get a mortgage?”
DO SAY: “My goal is to provide not only you with professional financing assistance, but also your friends and family. Do you know anyone who may need help with a financing situation?”
2. Provide awesome customer service. And to me this basically means keeping the client informed throughout the financing process. I know of too many originators that only talk to their customers at application and at close. Maybe once or twice during the process to get a updated pay stub or bank statement, but that’s about it. You want to do your best to take away as much of the stress involved in the mortgage process as possible.
If your service stinks, you just won’t get any recommendations. Don’t just see the current customer. See all of the people that this customer is involved with on a daily basis. Good or bad, he’s going to talk about you. Providing stellar customer service ensures that people are saying positive comments about you.
3. Ask in different ways. Besides asking more frequently, you need to ask for referrals in different ways. You can ask for a referral in person right after the application. Or maybe mail out a survey asking for referrals. Or do a post closing phone call to ask for referrals. People respond to differently to each form of communication. By offering more avenues of receiving referrals you will increase your chances of receiving them.
How many referrals did you receive last year? The amount of loan officer referrals you got is a fair barometer of the direction your business is heading. By following the tips I suggested and making referral generation a higher priority, you can have a successful loan officer career closing more loans with less effort.
Joe Pahl
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