As a mortgage loan officer, it’s easy to want to work with those considered the who’s who of real estate. Finding success in building relationships and growing your professional network, however, depends not on who you’re reaching out to but why you’re reaching out to them.
Loan officers are often advised to reach out to real estate agents and builders. This is not bad advice, per se, since these two kinds of professionals have regular and repeat business.
Nonetheless, there are two important questions to ask yourself before reaching out to these, or any, professionals you target to grow your network:
- What unique value proposition do I have to offer them?
- Why would these people do business with me?
Profession-Based vs. Personality-Based Networking
To answer the first question, you as a loan officer need to consider whether the person you want to contact is profession-based or personality-based. Why do they do their jobs? Does the satisfaction of helping a buyer or a seller come from the satisfaction of a job well done, or does it psychologically fill a need for them? Properly assessing this will help you determine the way to present yourself when seeking to grow your network.
Your unique value proposition may change from person to person depending on whether they work for a paycheck or from a place of passion. Profession-based individuals conduct business with a focus on getting the job done, rather than a focus on how it’s done. More often than not, those who identify as personality-based professionals have a stronger drive to work with loan officers they can count on because they want to deliver the best for their clients and earn a reputation as the best. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and find an agent or a builder who has the perfect personality (or passion) for their profession, but those instances are few and far between.
How Loan Officers Can Earn Trust and Build a Genuine Network
And in this lies the answer to the second question. Research shows that four out of five professionals do business with people they know, like, and trust. How do you become someone they know, like, and trust? Chances are, especially if they are well-known in their field, your potential connection is also getting messages from 99 other loan officers. When they ask you why they should work with you, what do you say?
The answer comes from getting to know what they value and rising to the occasion. One common answer real estate agents give when asked what they appreciate about their network of mortgage loan professionals is there’s never any surprises. They never have to worry a deal will close on time. Ask your potential connection what they appreciate in professionals they do business with, and if they share this answer, continue to build the relationship and show them you’re someone they can trust.
No matter what stage you’re at in your career, coming back to these two integral questions will help you develop a more genuine, invested network.
Legacy University instructor Drew Nichol, a former loan officer, shares insights like these on how to find success both personally and professionally once a month at Legacy’s Bellevue office.
The next class (Aug. 20), Strategic Relationships, further discusses the most important element of your business – your network. Drew will teach attendees how to change their philosophy and shift their approach so they can get the most out of their connections. Register today: Strategic Relationships – Legacy University.
If you’re interested in Drew providing your team with a private class, call 425-890-2160 or send an email to drew@legacygu.com.
