How Realtors Can Leverage Lender Relationships to Get More Leads
Apr 19, 2021It’s no secret that leads are the oil that keep your Realtor engine running. They’re essential to your business, and there’s no way around that.
But buying leads? There has to be a better way, right?
Seeing as you’re here, reading this, we’ll assume buying leads is not going as well as planned. The good news is that you don’t need to spend big to get quality leads. In fact, we’d advice against it. One of the best tools you have for generating quality leads is right in front of your face: your lender relationships.
Now let’s preface this by saying not every lender out there will go the extra mile to help you out. You might even find that they are few and far between. The key is for you to form meaningful relationships with one or two lenders that you trust, and no more than that. If you put the work into the relationship, it could pay dividends for your business.
Here are a few tips for getting started:
Turn buyers into yet another listing
One thing that we’ve found to be true time and time again with SellWell agents is that clients are much more willing to share information with lenders than with agents. It makes send when you think about, right?
-Agents are there to sell, sell, sell — and this can feel like a lot of pressure.
-Lenders are there to help walk you through one of the most essential parts of any real estate transactions — the money.
So how does this benefit you?
Your clients are much more likely to spill the beans with your lender. And your lender can then spill those beans with you.
For example, say you ask a potential buyer on your listing to speak with your lender to cross-qualify their offer. Your lender might happen to find out that the buyer actually needs to sell a property of their own. Could you be the agent on that transaction as well? This is important information you can do to shape your relationship with the potential client.
Give your sellers a major confidence boost
Another incredibly relevant way that your lender partner may play a role in your business is when it comes to reviewing offers. Especially given today’s market, and the influx of multi-offer situations, your lender can be an incredible resource for vetting and cross-qualifying offers. Sometimes a quick call with your lender is exactly the confidence boost your seller needs to accept an offer and move forward. Win, win, win all around.
Nurture leads 6-12 months out
This is a big one and an area where a lot of Realtors struggle. We all meet potential clients, whether it be at an open house or through day-to-day life, who are a little ways away from making a real estate transaction. Despite that, the fact that they are even entertaining making a real estate transaction means you 100% should be keep them in your pipeline. (Rule #1 of real estate: keep them in your pipeline!)
But this is where a lot of Realtors fall short. Life gets busy and you may forget to contact them, or they may forget you altogether (we had to say it). Or, maybe they are 12 months out from buying and there just isn’t much to discuss at this point.
That’s where your lender can be a huge asset for leads who are 6 to 12 months out. They can use that time to work with the client on getting their finances in a position to meet their real estate goals — whether that’s selling, buying, or both. Make sure to stay in close contact with your lender about these leads so you’re clear on when it’s time to get back in contact and where they are in the process.
All that you just read? Oh, that’s just the start of what you can do to leverage your lender relationship. But remember. Without a strong lender relationship, you won’t see success with these tactics or others. Put the effort in. Nurture that relationship like you would any important person in your life. And the results will come.
