"push and pray" approach is to PULL agents in by providing useful information that helps them overcome their nagging business problems. One way to do this is by hosting WOW! factor seminars for your local agents that add value to the agents business while positioning you as a leader and becoming a valuable resource for their business. Only then do you begin to earn the right to pursue a relationship with them. What you’ve now done is engage in ‘reverse prospecting’ by having agents seek you out and what you have to offer. Of course, some oil wells produce better than others. By hosting seminars, you expedite the process of locating the producing oil wells because you’re now sifting through hundreds of agents at a time vs. onesy-twosey. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Just what are WOW! factor seminars? These are not seminars dealing with the latest contract changes, by-laws, committee meetings etc. Here’s a sample of proven topics that putt a

With the end of the first quarter of 2007 arriving, a more challenging, shrinking market for refinance originations, overall loan volume down, and the number of originators competing for that shrinking pie still being higher than ever, I have a question for you; How are you doing so far? Are you on track? How many sources of business do you have and what would happen to your income if one of those sources disappeared or suddenly under performed? By my observation and through non-scientific surveys of originators across the country, it appears that too many originators’ business is weighted heavily on the refinance side of the scale. The old “live and die by the refi.”

How would you like to own six, seven or even ten oil wells that consistently spew rivers of ‘black gold’ from the ground and all you have to do is hold your bucket out to catch enough oil and you’ll be richer than ‘ol Jed Clampett himself? Just imagine; you could follow in the footsteps of the Beverly Hillbillies and “move to the land of swimming pools and movie stars!”

So what’s an ‘oil well’ in our business? An oil well is any source of business that once located, drilled and tapped, continues to produce business without significant, continual effort on our part. If part of your business plan this year is to grow your purchase business and no longer “live and die by the refi” there simply is no better oil well for originators than our friendly local Realtor®. Now, stay with me here. I know what you’re thinking; “Realtors® are ___________________” just fill in the blank because I’ve heard it all before.

Before your shut the door on getting agent referral business, let’s take a look at some interesting facts. According to the National Association of Realtors® 40% of homebuyers get their mortgage from whoever their agent recommends and 28% of homebuyers already have a mortgage person they know or have worked with before. That means if you’re counting on advertising or prospecting to fill your pipeline with purchase money loans, 68% of the market is already gone. So all your advertising is chasing just 32% of the market! Even worse, for every $100 you spend on advertising to attract homebuyer’s, you’re immediately down to just $32.00 because 68% of every dollar spent is skimmed off the top, already “spoken for” in the marketplace. Would you put your money in an investment that took 68% of your money right off the top?

Most of the frustrations in working with Realtors® comes from originators lacking a proven ‘system’ for finding, drilling and tapping those agents who will become referral producing ‘oil wells’ in our business. If you were going to drill for oil, would it make sense to have a plan? First you have to find the oil. Doing open houses, dropping by offices without an invitation, cold-calling, running “me-too” advertising is about as effective as drilling for oil by throwing darts on a map. It’s completely random, produces unpredictable results that lead to burnout and frustration yet most originators keep repeating this insanity ‘hoping’ that they’ll hit pay dirt. Eventually, you fall prey to the belief that there’s no oil in your backyard and you go back to doing refi’s, buying leads, trying direct mail or even cold-calling – ugh!

Let’s quickly look at how we locate and dig for oil wells in our business. First we have to locate where the oil is among the local Realtor® population. One of the biggest mistakes originators make trying to find agent relationships is to simply PUSH information about their services and themselves out to agents and hope that this will result in attracting referrals. Because agents are already bombarded daily by other originators using this same approach, it rarely produces the response from agents you want.

An alternative to what I call the "push and pray" approach is to PULL agents in by providing useful information that helps them overcome their nagging business problems. One way to do this is by hosting WOW! factor seminars for your local agents that add value to the agents business while positioning you as a leader and becoming a valuable resource for their business. Only then do you begin to earn the right to pursue a relationship with them. What you’ve now done is engage in ‘reverse prospecting’ by having agents seek you out and what you have to offer. Of course, some oil wells produce better than others. By hosting seminars, you expedite the process of locating the producing oil wells because you’re now sifting through hundreds of agents at a time vs. onesy-twosey. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Just what are WOW! factor seminars? These are not seminars dealing with the latest contract changes, by-laws, committee meetings etc. Here’s a sample of proven topics that putt ag

footsteps of the Beverly Hillbillies and “move to the land of swimming pools and movie stars!”

So what’s an ‘oil well’ in our business? An oil well is any source of business that once located, drilled and tapped, continues to produce business without significant, continual effort on our part. If part of your business plan this year is to grow your purchase business and no longer “live and die by the refi” there simply is no better oil well for originators than our friendly local Realtor®. Now, stay with me here. I know what you’re thinking; “Realtors® are ___________________” just fill in the blank because I’ve heard it all before.

Before your shut the door on getting agent referral business, let’s take a look at some interesting facts. According to the National Association of Realtors® 40% of homebuyers get their mortgage from whoever their agent recommends and 28% of homebuyers already have a mortgage person they know or have worked with before. That means if you’re counting on advertising or prospecting to fill your pipeline with purchase money loans, 68% of the market is already gone. So all your advertising is chasing just 32% of the market! Even worse, for every $100 you spend on advertising to attract homebuyer’s, you’re immediately down to just $32.00 because 68% of every dollar spent is skimmed off the top, already “spoken for” in the marketplace. Would you put your money in an investment that took 68% of your money right off the top?

Most of the frustrations in working with Realtors® comes from originators lacking a proven ‘system’ for finding, drilling and tapping those agents who will become referral producing ‘oil wells’ in our business. If you were going to drill for oil, would it make sense to have a plan? First you have to find the oil. Doing open houses, dropping by offices without an invitation, cold-calling, running “me-too” advertising is about as effective as drilling for oil by throwing darts on a map. It’s completely random, produces unpredictable results that lead to burnout and frustration yet most originators keep repeating this insanity ‘hoping’ that they’ll hit pay dirt. Eventually, you fall prey to the belief that there’s no oil in your backyard and you go back to doing refi’s, buying leads, trying direct mail or even cold-calling – ugh!

Let’s quickly look at how we locate and dig for oil wells in our business. First we have to locate where the oil is among the local Realtor® population. One of the biggest mistakes originators make trying to find agent relationships is to simply PUSH information about their services and themselves out to agents and hope that this will result in attracting referrals. Because agents are already bombarded daily by other originators using this same approach, it rarely produces the response from agents you want.

An alternative to what I call the "push and pray" approach is to PULL agents in by providing useful information that helps them overcome their nagging business problems. One way to do this is by hosting WOW! factor seminars for your local agents that add value to the agents business while positioning you as a leader and becoming a valuable resource for their business. Only then do you begin to earn the right to pursue a relationship with them. What you’ve now done is engage in ‘reverse prospecting’ by having agents seek you out and what you have to offer. Of course, some oil wells produce better than others. By hosting seminars, you expedite the process of locating the producing oil wells because you’re now sifting through hundreds of agents at a time vs. onesy-twosey. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Just what are WOW! factor seminars? These are not seminars dealing with the latest contract changes, by-laws, committee meetings etc. Here’s a sample of proven topics that putt a

with before. That means if you’re counting on advertising or prospecting to fill your pipeline with purchase money loans, 68% of the market is already gone. So all your advertising is chasing just 32% of the market! Even worse, for every $100 you spend on advertising to attract homebuyer’s, you’re immediately down to just $32.00 because 68% of every dollar spent is skimmed off the top, already “spoken for” in the marketplace. Would you put your money in an investment that took 68% of your money right off the top?

Most of the frustrations in working with Realtors® comes from originators lacking a proven ‘system’ for finding, drilling and tapping those agents who will become referral producing ‘oil wells’ in our business. If you were going to drill for oil, would it make sense to have a plan? First you have to find the oil. Doing open houses, dropping by offices without an invitation, cold-calling, running “me-too” advertising is about as effective as drilling for oil by throwing darts on a map. It’s completely random, produces unpredictable results that lead to burnout and frustration yet most originators keep repeating this insanity ‘hoping’ that they’ll hit pay dirt. Eventually, you fall prey to the belief that there’s no oil in your backyard and you go back to doing refi’s, buying leads, trying direct mail or even cold-calling – ugh!

Let’s quickly look at how we locate and dig for oil wells in our business. First we have to locate where the oil is among the local Realtor® population. One of the biggest mistakes originators make trying to find agent relationships is to simply PUSH information about their services and themselves out to agents and hope that this will result in attracting referrals. Because agents are already bombarded daily by other originators using this same approach, it rarely produces the response from agents you want.

An alternative to what I call the "push and pray" approach is to PULL agents in by providing useful information that helps them overcome their nagging business problems. One way to do this is by hosting WOW! factor seminars for your local agents that add value to the agents business while positioning you as a leader and becoming a valuable resource for their business. Only then do you begin to earn the right to pursue a relationship with them. What you’ve now done is engage in ‘reverse prospecting’ by having agents seek you out and what you have to offer. Of course, some oil wells produce better than others. By hosting seminars, you expedite the process of locating the producing oil wells because you’re now sifting through hundreds of agents at a time vs. onesy-twosey. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Just what are WOW! factor seminars? These are not seminars dealing with the latest contract changes, by-laws, committee meetings etc. Here’s a sample of proven topics that putt a

ctive as drilling for oil by throwing darts on a map. It’s completely random, produces unpredictable results that lead to burnout and frustration yet most originators keep repeating this insanity ‘hoping’ that they’ll hit pay dirt. Eventually, you fall prey to the belief that there’s no oil in your backyard and you go back to doing refi’s, buying leads, trying direct mail or even cold-calling – ugh!

Let’s quickly look at how we locate and dig for oil wells in our business. First we have to locate where the oil is among the local Realtor® population. One of the biggest mistakes originators make trying to find agent relationships is to simply PUSH information about their services and themselves out to agents and hope that this will result in attracting referrals. Because agents are already bombarded daily by other originators using this same approach, it rarely produces the response from agents you want.

An alternative to what I call the "push and pray" approach is to PULL agents in by providing useful information that helps them overcome their nagging business problems. One way to do this is by hosting WOW! factor seminars for your local agents that add value to the agents business while positioning you as a leader and becoming a valuable resource for their business. Only then do you begin to earn the right to pursue a relationship with them. What you’ve now done is engage in ‘reverse prospecting’ by having agents seek you out and what you have to offer. Of course, some oil wells produce better than others. By hosting seminars, you expedite the process of locating the producing oil wells because you’re now sifting through hundreds of agents at a time vs. onesy-twosey. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Just what are WOW! factor seminars? These are not seminars dealing with the latest contract changes, by-laws, committee meetings etc. Here’s a sample of proven topics that putt a

"push and pray" approach is to PULL agents in by providing useful information that helps them overcome their nagging business problems. One way to do this is by hosting WOW! factor seminars for your local agents that add value to the agents business while positioning you as a leader and becoming a valuable resource for their business. Only then do you begin to earn the right to pursue a relationship with them. What you’ve now done is engage in ‘reverse prospecting’ by having agents seek you out and what you have to offer. Of course, some oil wells produce better than others. By hosting seminars, you expedite the process of locating the producing oil wells because you’re now sifting through hundreds of agents at a time vs. onesy-twosey. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Just what are WOW! factor seminars? These are not seminars dealing with the latest contract changes, by-laws, committee meetings etc. Here’s a sample of proven topics that putt agents butts in the seats and loans in your pipeline: Instant Tax Relief™ for Realtors®; Gain the Inside Edge – Secrets of America’s Top Producing Realtors®; The Power of Focus – How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Absolute Certainty; Survival of The Fittest – How to Thrive and Profit In Today’s Real Estate Market.

Hosting these types of events for your local agents is the first step to quickly finding lots of potential ‘oil wells’ that you can then move to the next step, which is drilling for the oil or in our case – getting loan referrals!

You’ll have a mixed bag of duds and studs among your oil wells and some that just take a little longer to produce than others. It’s important to recognize this upfront so you don’t get discouraged or stop drilling prematurely. But that’s equally true whether you’re diggin’ for Realtor® referrals the same ‘ol slow painful way everyone else does or hosting WOW! factor seminars. It’s just a lot easier and quicker finding those referral producing oil wells when you’re first appointment is with 187 agents at once vs. the slow death of open houses, board meetings, cold calling or any other method you’ve tried with little results.

When you’re drilling for a large number of Realtor® wells which, you will be when you host your own seminars, the only way to effectively manage the process is by having a system to handle most of the ‘heavy lifting’ for you. There are a lot of moving parts involved in hosting seminars that are most likely not your core competency. Staying focused on your mortgage business is a better use of your time and resources. Things you should consider outsourcing include:

· Marketing/Promotions (Filling the Room)
· Speaker Selection/Topic
· Venue Selection
· Reservations/Confirmations
· Co-sponsor Selection/Support
· Database/List Management
· Post Event Marketing/Follow-Up

Once you’ve experienced the feeling of seeing and a room full of 50, 100, 200 or more agents eager to listen to you, heard the positive feedback, booked appointments, closed loans and cashed your commission checks, you too will become a true believer in the power of hosting seminars to quickly boost your agent referral business, eliminating the common frustrations many originators struggle with when working to build a Realtor® referral business. Better yet, you’ll have more fun working with agents because you now have a ‘system’ you use to dig for oil wells that will continue to produce a steady, reliable source of purchase business for you. It’s really just a matter of how many oil wells do you want and how fast can you find them. Now go get yourself some oil wells ya hear!