No matter the market, strong referral partnerships are a source of leads that keep on giving. Top-producing loan officers (LOs) and mortgage brokers know firsthand that relationships with real estate agents can be the difference between sparse and full pipelines. In fact, just a few long-term partnerships with successful agents can supercharge a loan officer’s career.
So how can LOs sustain these relationships over time? What keeps an agent referring deal after deal?
First and foremost, the answer is good service and communication with them and their clients. Agents require timely, knowledgeable assistance that captures and closes deals.
Here are three ways loan officers can employ real estate agent marketing to fuel long-term referral relationships.
- Look Past a Single Deal to Help Real Estate Agents Build Their Prospect Lists
It can be tempting for an LO and a real estate agent to focus solely on the shared deal in front of them. But with a little help from a strong mortgage CRM, a loan officer can help close the current deal and set themselves up for future sales.
Consider single property sites. With the Surefire℠ CRM and Mortgage Marketing Engine, loan officers can stand up cobranded single property listing sites that include lead forms for interested buyers in just moments. Agents can even use these sites to advertise open houses, create property flyers and register guests for the event.
Not only does this help agents close deals, it lets LOs provide lists of registrants and prospects gathered from the site and the open house. Now the agent has potential buyers and sellers ready for the next deal, too.
Cobranded real estate marketing is another way mortgage brokers can help agents build their prospect lists. For example, LOs can create informative landing pages with educational interactives or mortgage calculators that also feature a response form for new prospects.
LOs can also package value for these partners into periodic emails that provide useful information in your market. For example, Surefire enables LOs to provide agents with a quick summary of borrower trends, and even education on loan products that are helpful in the current market (for example, how a temporary buydown works). LOs are positioned to provide “insider” information that real estate agents can use and share with colleagues. Use those insights to gain their attention and forge a strong relationship.
- Ensure a Surprise-Free Purchase Process with Automated Milestone Marketing
Homebuyers and borrowers typically say the single most important thing to them is knowing what’s happening and what to expect as they purchase and finance their home. And since they often go to either their real estate agent or their loan officer for updates, it’s important for both service providers to be able to respond quickly with answers.
That’s where Surefire’s in-process real estate agent marketing comes in. When both agents and clients stay informed throughout the process, surprises are less likely to happen, and everyone walks away feeling good about the deal.
Constant communication with every agent and every client at every step along the way may feel overwhelming, but this type of communication is easy to accomplish with automated milestone messaging through an advanced mortgage CRM.
- Keep Relationships Strong with Co–branded Post-Close Communication
Even if loan officers and mortgage brokers close just one deal with a particular agent partner, it’s easy to stay top of mind for years. Simply start the client on a co-branded post-close marketing campaign, and inform the agent when those communications are sent.
Again, this may seem difficult to manage, but with a strong mortgage CRM like Surefire, post-close communication can be automated from the very start.
A Mortgage CRM Makes Real Estate Agent Marketing Easy
Forging close relationships with RE agents is one of the most valuable things you can do to advance your lending career. Surefire’s mortgage CRM will facilitate the best real estate agent marketing programs for loan officers. It’s a CRM designed specifically for the mortgage industry with compliance controls and cobranding capabilities that generic CRMs may not offer. Plus, Surefire offers the industry’s best content library with marketing messages that make it easy to educate and inform buyers and agents alike.
Ready to fuel your real estate agent relationships with Surefire? Join us for a demo today!