If you work in the lending industry, then you’ll know better than anyone how much the mortgage industry has been shifting in previous years. From the recent surge in fresh applications to the record-low mortgage rates on display, the mortgage landscape is ever-changing, as is the relationship between mortgage lenders and their customers.
And, naturally, as the hunt for mortgage loans has increased, so too have the potential leads, with customer focusing more on identifying and maximizing all channels of communication with their chosen lender. After all, a loan isn’t your typical sale – it’s an investment.
Thus, establishing personal relations with your clients is imperative, and you need to be able to create a connection and provide regular updates to any questions they may have. Because that connection is the difference between you and your competitors in the lending world., and not answering the phone could see customers going to competitors.
Therefore, if you want to find more mortgage leads for your business, it’s vital that you not only establish a good lender and borrower relationship with your customers but with any realtors you work with as well. Find out how to do this below.
How to establish a good lender and borrower relationship
If you’re a lender in the mortgage space interested in how to get mortgage clients, then there are several key things you and your call team should be doing to stay in touch with customers.
We’ve highlighted the most important areas below:
1. Be professional as a lender
When it comes to gaining more clients as a lender, one very important and early step to master is professionalism. There is an established etiquette for being a lender, one that not only helps you to display your professionalism in this area but also ensures that you know, understand, and can explain all the concepts and jargon around mortgages.
This in turn lets you provide accurate answers to your clients, who are naturally coming to you for answers. So, as their mortgage broker, you want to make sure you and your team them.
In addition to having the answers to most mortgage questions and a profound knowledge of the mortgage industry, you want to act as a representative and liaison to the mortgage world for them. So, if you don’t know an answer, tell them you’ll get one and then follow through on this promise.
By doing all of this, you’ll quickly earn your business a solid reputation amongst customers, helping you to find even more new clients in the future.
2. Share in customer excitement
Obtaining a mortgage shouldn’t be taken lightly. For most of us, it’s a big life step, one that can come with financial risks. But the undeniable truth is that – particularly with homebuying – it’s an exciting step to take!
So, as a responsible yet approachable guide, showing and sharing in the excitement of this journey is key. And a great way to do this is by displaying that extra bit of enthusiasm and creating a custom experience for each client.
More than anything, always try to remember each of your clients’ names and keep them in the loop on any major updates for their specific mortgage inquiry. And if there are no updates, then it never hurts to send a quick, unprompted email letting your clients know where things currently are in the process.
3. Demonstrate you availability
When a client shows interest in a property, they usually want to act fast so that it’s not snapped up by another potential buyer. But if they can’t reach you on the phone, chances are that they will turn to your competitor – one who is there when they need them.
Therefore, you need to make sure that your broker firm is available for 24/7 call answering in order to capture every customer call that comes your way. Because as much as we’d like, customers may not want or be able to call your business during typical work hours.
As you may have guessed, this would mean making your business available after-hours as well as during peak times, and potentially even over weekends, which could be tricky for smaller brokers.
Fortunately, there are many live answering services out there, like VoiceNation, whose team have mastered phone answering policy and procedure and can take on this role for you.
4. Always provide accurate information
At the end of the day, when a customer comes to you seeking a loan, you need to provide them with the information they need to make a decision. But more than this, you need to be able to ensure that the information you give them is as accurate as it can be.
It goes without saying that you won’t be able to provide a concrete answer for certain loan areas, such as rates and maximum loan values, as these are subject to regular change. However, what you can do is provide them with accurate information regarding different areas of their loan, repayment options, certain loan terminology, etc.
By doing so, and explaining to your customers why some information you provide may not be as accurate as they might like, you can establish a solid relationship with each customer based on trust and respect.
How to form a good real estate agent and lender relationship
Just as important as your relationships with your clients, having a good real estate agent and lender relationship is essential for capitalizing on any potential referrals you might receive. Here are a few top tips on how to do this:
1. Work with realtors you like and trust
First, and as a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to stick to only working with realtors you like and trust. Much like in your personal life, there are going to be realtors out there who you simply don’t get on with, and some whose practices you don’t agree with.
Therefore, by only working with realtors who you know deliver great work for their clients, and who you personally get on with, it’ll be that much easier to establish a good working relationship with them, enhancing the reputation of your business and sending more referrals your way.
2. Deliver good value to their clients
Next, once you’re working with a realtor regularly, the best way to improve your lender-realtor relationship is to always deliver maximum value for their clients. After all, the realtor has recommended you for a reason, and they might not work with you again if you don’t meet expectations.
So, when you start working with certain agents, make sure you can deliver on any promises you make while also providing their clients with a clear and informative explanation of the mortgage journey. Again, this will reflect well on both you and your realtor and help cement that sought-after relationship.
3. Stand out from the crowd
In the same way that you want to deliver good value to realtor clients, you also want to make sure that you stand out from the crowd compared to other competitors in a way that displays continual value and proactiveness to your estate agent clients.
For example, you want to regularly communicate with them when you might be unavailable to take on new clients as well as provide prompt communication at all times. On top of this, in much the same way as your customers, making yourself available outside of normal work hours will further boost your lender-realtor relationship.
4. Share your industry knowledge
Last, but not least, one final important step you can take when building a loan office and real estate agent relationship is to always be willing to share any industry knowledge you might have.
Any good partnership is a two-way street, so by sharing what industry knowledge you have with your clients, they’re more than likely going to share theirs with yours, helping to provide useful knowledge to both parties and build up that established trust.
Improve your mortgage broker service with VoiceNation
There you have it, those are our top tips on how to get more clients as a mortgage broker by building on client and realtor relationships. And as we flagged previously, one core way to do this is by making yourself available outside of standard business hours – which is exactly where VoiceNation can help.
We’re experts in the world of live answering and our virtual receptionists are professionally trained to answer all calls in a professional and empathic manner. Get in touch to learn more about our services and don’t forget to ask about our free trial period.