For more information specific to Insurance Professionals, Click Here.

Financial Planning: 

The same principle applies. “I can’t afford it” is no longer an acceptable excuse. 

For more information specific to Financial Planning Professionals, Click Here.

Wills and Trusts:  

Without a will or a trust, when the client passes, their property may end up in PROBATE. What an ugly word.  With every loan application a mortgage professional should ask the client if they have this in place.  If not, (80% of them don’t) refer them to an attorney that can do this for them. 

In conversations I have had with family planning attorneys, many of them recommend to their client, “If you are thinking of refinancing, do it now instead of waiting on this process (establishing a new trust).  It could cost you more in the future to accurately reflect the trust.”   

Attorneys: 

David Ward a well-respected marketing consultant for the legal profession recently received numerous emails with a common theme.  What many attorneys wanted to know was “tips on how to accelerate payment for services rendered, politely, while retaining the client and in the process not turning into a bill collector or pushing the client away.” 

His recommendation was to introduce a mortgage professional to the client for a debt restructuring refinance and in the process of the closing having the attorneys bill PAID IN FULL!

Top professionals use mortgage lenders as a tool for their practice. Check out point number 4 below!  Having this type of relationship is not an option, it's a matter of economic survival!

For more information specific to Legal Professionals, Click Here.  

2. Add Real, Non-Self Serving value while leveraging your referral potential.

What good is a database if it’s not being marketed and communicated to? 

By networking with another professional and introducing the new professional's products, services or solutions to the client base, the referring professional has created another excuse to market and “stay in the mind of” the client.  Our Preferred Providers find this helps maintain their hard earned client relationships.  Additionally, for those clients referred to us from our Preferred Providers, we help strengthen the Provider-Client relationship through our Client Retention Contact Program, which helps our Providers increase their monthly business & income.  To see how our Client Retention Contact Program helps our Preferred Providers grow their businesses, Click Here. 

An example:  A mortgage professional was introduced to a client from an Estate Planning Professional and the professional recommends that the client refinance and in the process have the loan documents accurately reflect “the new living trust” during the creation of the trust. 

This could save the client time and money from needing to do this once the trust is created.  A financial planner may want to semi-annually send out a joint marketing piece promoting a “debt evaluation check up.”  During a refinance market this is critical. Please read item number 4 farther down this page.

3. Maximize the Profit potential per client.

Most financial planning professionals that sell mutual funds set up IRA’s or other retirement vehicles to get paid a commission for services rendered and continue to get paid as those accounts accumulate wealth. 

This does vary from professional to professional.  One financial planner I work with shared with me that he is compensated 1 to 3% of the total monthly deposits his customers make into their retirement mutual fund account.  “Replace credit interest debt by refinancing and rolling credit debt into your mortgage (now a possible interest deduction) and deposit those monies into your retirement account.”  

Financial planning professionals need to maximize their client’s retirement planning potential!  

4. Protect your relationships.    

Recently a firm tele-marketed over 100,000 Legal, Financial, Taxation and Financial Planning firms across the country and one question they asked was; “in conversation with your clients does the topic of mortgage lending or refinancing ever come up” or “can refinancing be used as a tool for any of your clients needs?”  Two out of three responded, “YES.” 

They would then follow up with a second question: “Do you have a strong referral relationship with an existing lender or do you let the client select his or her own professional?”  NINE out of TEN respond; “I pretty much let the customer select their own lender.”  

Hopefully, one can understand that by not introducing the client to an associate for their other professional needs, the client has the opportunity to develop a relationship with a non-competing professional that may have a strong referral relationship with your competitor.  The professional that does not provide the referral solution for their client could be left behind or their services challenged by a competitor.  Having a trusted mortgage professional to refer your clients to, and to guard your relationship with them is not an option, it's a matter of economic survival!  

Small Community Banks

Why are small community banks anxious to establish relationships with local mortgage brokers? 

If the community bank cannot provide a financial solution for their customer due to a limited supply of mortgage lending products, then that customer has to go to a competitor (another bank) for their solution.  If the customer goes to a Bank of America or Washington Mutual, those companies will solicit all of their checking and savings accounts to be moved. 

A local mortgage broker is a safe solution because they do not provide checking and savings account services.  From the smaller banks point of view, establishing this referral relationship is not an option, it’s a matter of survival and protecting their existing relationships (deposits).  

I have heard stories of Financial Planners referring their customer to the large nationwide lenders with a presence in their markets.  Do these planners realize what a business risk this is?  Don’t they know that Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Citibank and the other major financial institutions have divisions that provide the same financial services the referring professional provides? 

If you are a non-lending professional reading this outline hopefully you can see the value in creating this type of referral environment and developing a strong professional relationship with a mortgage professional.

How Do You Select the Right Lender?

A common question is “how does one select the right lender?” 

To find the answer we should look to the industry that works with lenders the most, as they would have the most experience with a lending professional. That would be a TOP Producing Realtor.  I didn’t say “any” Realtor, I said a TOP Producer.  How do these top producing Realtors select a lender? 

First of all, top producing Realtors do not switch lenders very often.  Why?  Because good lenders are hard to find. 

When we think of a lender, most consumers automatically think of “lowest rate.”  The lowest rate for a lender can probably be found on the Internet.  Just like the lowest rate for a stock trade or direct mutual fund investing can be found on the Internet.  Just like the lowest insurance premium can be found on the Internet.  Just like the family planning “do-it-yourself” solutions can be found on the Internet.  Eliminating the middleman always seems to be the least expensive route, but, be careful what you wish for, don’t eliminate yourself in the process. 

The best loan for a client, believe it or not, many times is not the lowest rate available.  It’s always about matching the proper loan with the client’s life style or finding a loan that can accomplish a more important goal like retirement planning investment, adequately providing insurance protection for ones family, refinancing to make the IRS go away, providing conclusion to a drawn out nasty divorce, avoiding bankruptcy, etc. A successful mortgage professional doesn’t provide loans, they provide integrated financial solutions. 

The most important elements in selecting a lender are:

*  First, can they do what they say?  Most don’t. 

*  Second, are they competent and professional?  Most aren’t. 

*  Third, is the lender you are working with out to earn a quick buck or are they in the relationship for the long haul? 

*  Fourth, the referred professional is an extension of the referring sources of business...will they live up to the referral? 

And last, from the referring professional’s point of view, will the referred lender have a referral mindset as well as protect the referring professionals interests in the relationship?   

As hard as it is to find a good lender, the task of finding a good legal, insurance, taxation or financial professional is equally as tough.  Just because a person passes the state bar exam, insurance exam or receives professional licensing doesn’t mean they are good.