Recently, I’ve been shopping around for a new mortgage broker to refinance a rental property.
My local real estate agent referred me to a couple different people in the area.
Since mortgage rates are at all time lows right now, the refi market is alive and thriving. Loan officers have more prospects coming in than they can keep up with.
But even though that’s the case, it’s no excuse to completely blow off an inquiry, let alone multiple phone calls and emails, from a prospect. At a minimum, a one-sentence email reply to say they’re swamped and will get back to me as soon as they can should be in order.
But no, zero response at all.
When I relayed this back to the real estate agent I work with, that agent contacted the loan officer, and was told that she would get back to me when she could, but just didn’t have time to even tell me that directly.
My real estate agent wasn’t pleased at that response, and will not be sending any further referrals to this particular loan officer.
Referral source: Burned.
That mortgage broker is going to regret doing that when the refi market slows down. Dumb move. Very, very dumb move.
The ironic part is that this is the second time I’ve experienced this in the last couple years, in different markets.
Perhaps even more ironic is the fact that the real estate agent I work with here is somebody I selected because they were the only person that bothered to return my phone calls back in 2015. Since then, she’s earned three commissions from my transactions. Three. Simply because she bothered to return my phone calls 5 years ago.
Your referral sources are the single most valuable source of new business that you have. They’re more valuable than your SEO. More valuable than your social media presence. More valuable than the perfect direct mail piece.
Burn your referral sources, and they’ll simply stop referring. Even if you’re slammed with work, have the common courtesy to get back to people to schedule a future appointment, or let them know that you’re slammed and will get back to them by a certain time. Don’t just “ghost” them.
If you want to grow your referral base, I’d encourage you to snag a copy of the July 2020 issue of The Profitable Accountant newsletter. Until now, this paper-and-ink publication has only been available to Tax Resolution Academy® members. But now, it’s finally available at a much lower price as a stand-alone subscription.
In the upcoming July issue of The Profitable Accountant newsletter, we’ll be covering:
- How to get the most out of “leads groups”.
- The characteristics to look for in a good referral partner.
- The 80/20 (or, more like 90/10) rule as it applies to referrals.
- How implement “give to get” in order to secure more referrals.
- A step-by-step look at a very successful type of targeted marketing campaign to generate referrals from your best clients.
To start your monthly subscription to the newsletter for profit-focused tax and accounting firms, checkout directly here:
