I have decided to take today and share 5 Steps you can take this weekend to establishing more referral partners. This will not be a post about 10 deals in 10 minutes or anything close… I am doing this to show you how to build new relationships that will lead to business opportunities. This is not about shoving your way into someone’s wallet; it is about gaining permission to begin a conversation. Where the conversation goes from there is up to you…

#1. Get the Hell Out! – I don’t care if you office out of a 17^th floor office building with posh furnishings, or your mother’s basement because times have been tough. You must get out and be seen. One successful friend of mine uses Facebook’s News Feed to discover events (most are free!) to get out and meet people. When she’s done with the event she goes home, finds the attendees she recognizes in the Facebook Group who sponsored the event, and invites them to be her friend. She didn’t build a friend list of 494 friends on accident and, if you are on Facebook, friend her up; while you are at it send me an invite as well!

If you aren’t a member of Facebook, take some old fashioned advice from a New Media Loan Officer: If you are pursuing purchase money business from Real Estate Agents then drop in on some open houses. When I first got started I went to 4-6 open houses per weekend just to stop in and say “hello.” Often times I would find out I was the only one that had stopped by and they appreciated the company. I would exchange cards and then, on Monday send them a quick email inquiring how the rest of the open house had been. The conversation has begun…

#2. Be Consistent! – When I was dating my wife 8 years ago I called her daily. I emailed her short bursts of quality “Prose by Daniel” (maybe I’ll share some in a future post!). I wrote, stamped and mailed her cards. I was consistent in my pursuit of the World’s Perfect Woman; finally she acquiesced and married me.

You goal, most likely, is not marriage with your referral partners but, it should be a quality relationship. The gold standard for any active relationship is consistent communication. Pick up the phone and say “hello,” don’t hide behind the relative anonymity of email. Go out and stop in an office. People are lonely. They are busy but, they are lonely. If you aren’t interrupting their lives with useless trash (i.e. rates sheets!) they will most likely enjoy your company. To make a friend you must first shake a hand. The rest will follow.

#3. Start a Blog – Brian Solis recently asked a question of his readers: “If a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear or see it, did it actually happen?” The answer? “Indeed. Conversations are taking place with or without you.” In one of my recent interviews with Dan Green he put forth the idea that he only works 8 hours per day but, the internet is on 24 hours per day. Your referral partners most likely do NOT work the exact hours you do. Who is giving them service, answers, knowledge, wisdom, when you aren’t there? Blogging gives you an online presence that continues to speak for itself long after you have gone to bed.

#4. Aggregate Real Estate News – You’re in the Real Estate Industry! Why the hell don’t you know the ins and outs of the industry news? Ricardo Bueno is incredibly busy but, has the time to keep referral partners informed of the “goings on” in real estate. He prints off his most recent blog post and takes it with him to meet the Real Estate Agents he works with. This simple act is enough to convince most of the individuals he connects with that he is at the very least knowledgeable. If you want to win the hearts of referral partners they have to know that you wouldn’t lose in an industry related quiz match against a 5^th grader.

#5. Don’t Waste Your Time – When life throws lemons at you… walk away! There are far too many agents out there that are looking to be intercepted by you that you don’t have to chase someone who isn’t willing or ready to chase you back. Revisit the relationship late but, as long as it’s raining lemons, walk away.

Twitter.

You have probably heard the name if you spend any amount of time on the internet at all. I don’t want to describe Twitter so I will let the experts at Webware do that for me:

“Twitter is an online service that enables you to broadcast short messages to your friends or “followers.” It also lets you specify which Twitter users you want to follow so you can read their messages in one place.

Twitter is designed to work on a mobile phone as well as on a computer. All Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters, so each message can be sent as a single SMS alert. You can’t say much in 140 characters. That’s part of Twitter’s charm.”

Ok, so I hope you get it but, for those of you who need a bit more; check this out. It’s a video by Lee LeFever at the CommonCraft Show and will walk you through Twitter as well.

We aren’t here today for a “how to” though are we? No. We are here to discover how to use Twitter as a lead generating app for mortgage related business! The next sentence is the most crucial part of this entire post. Are you ready?

It doesn’t work that way.

Mortgage generated leads from Twitter will be few and far between. Twitter will be best used by Loan Originators as a way to reach out and connect. Connect with the marketing guru (Chris Brogan) in Massachusetts. Connect with the Globetrotting Entrepreneur (Gwen Bell) down the street. Connect with the genius mortgage broker (Ricardo Bueno) who HAS received business through Twitter. Connect with the Agent right down the street.

Christopher Penn, in the interview found here, describes customers less as consumers and more as connections. The more we connect in authentic transparent relationships with those we meet in the Twittersphere, the more comfortable we become sharing that authenticity with our clients. We begin to bring transparency back into an industry that for the past decade has been shrouded in secrecy.

I know what some of you are thinking; yeah but what about this guy? He broadcasts rates and he’s sure to get “deals” that way. He might but, he’s missing the point entirely. He heard about Twitter ands asked the question “how?” “How can I implement this new technology called Twitter into my mortgage business?” “How can I turn Twitter into a lead churning killer application?” He then grabbed a username and threw himself into the fray. You couldn’t ask to be more commoditized!

The question we have to ask ourselves before jumping on the Twitter-wagon is: “Why?”

“Why am I thinking about using Twitter?”

IF your answer is “because everyone else is doing it;” well then that’s not good enough. If your answer is “I want to discover new connections” you might be on the right track. If that’s the case follow me and we’ll figure this thing out together.

Follow? I have to follow people.

Yes, that’s the terminology Twitter uses for individuals who connect with someone else. Want to know more about how? Click here.

So you want to connect with someone else but, you are a bit shy. No problem. For the most part there exists an unspoken rule in the Twittersphere “if you follow someone, they will follow you.” Start the people I follow, click the small gray follow button under their name and away you go.

Listen to what others are saying and when the conversation is relevant to you, or you see a stray remark fly through Twitter jump in and comment. We’re all actually waiting for you to do so. When you add your voice to the “noise” in Twitter, you lend your creativity, your expertise, your attitude, to the rest of us. Who knows? Someone may need your comment at the exact moment you “tweet” it out.

Twitter Etiquette is saying thank you!

When someone follows you, take the 15-30 seconds out of your busy life to say “thanks for the follow” through a direct message. I discovered this the fun way by being the individual thanked. Read my post here for the enlightenment that followed (no pun intended).

One more thing: Don’t fake it!

You aren’t here to impress. You are here to be yourself and connect with others. That being said I would recommend you work out some kind of Twitter mix. In other words while you don’t want every little tweet to be about rates and the market, don’t lose focus of what you do. You are a mortgage originator! Be proud of that. I try to make sure that I have about a 50/50 mix of work related to personal tweets. For every shout out to Bernanke I might send out a link to a weird YouTube video. Feel me? Nice.

Next week I will nail down Active Rain. Yes, Active Rain, I am coming for you.

So there has been a lot of buzz lately in the real estate industry about Social Media and Social Networking. I have some favorites that I believe are the starting point for those out there who are beginners in this brave new world.

Let’s get down to the question.

I NEED BUSINESS!

Ok, so that’s less a question and more of sobbing heaving moan in the night when you think no one is listening. Over the next few days/weeks I am going to introduce you different Social Media sites and some ways to implement them in your business without taking hours out of your day. I am not starting with the most important; I will save that one for last. However, all sites leading up to the final will be reviewed in random order. That being said and out of the way, let’s begin with Linkedin.

After much research I feel like this will be the safest place for loan originators who are beginning to get their feet wet in the waters of social media to begin. Linkedin is a social networking site for professionals who want to get “Linkedin” with other professionals. Many people I speak to reference Linkedin as an online resume only because they have no clue how/when to use it. So here a few quick tips to get the most from your Linkedin profile as a loan originator.

1. Place the Linkedin logo in your email signature and reference it on your business card. Give the people you email and talk to most the chance to see who you are, what you’ve done, and how many recommendations you have. That being said…
2. Get recommendations! Connect with your Real Estate Agents, Title Reps, Stagers, Past Clients, etc. and ask each and every one of them to give you a recommendation. The worst they are going to say is “no!” Recommendations look great on your profile and, according to Sean Nelson, author of Linkedin 101, getting recommended by past client will rank you higher in Linkedin’s list of Service Providers. Encourage agents you meet to check out your profile to discover what others have said about you.
3. Learn from the best. Anytime you invest a part of yourself and your valuable time do it right. I have included some resources for you to start with:
   1. Wikipedia
   2. Sean Nelson’s Blog
   3. Scott Allen’s Blog
   4. Chris Rollyson’s Executive Guide to LinkedIn
   5. Peter Nguyen’s LinkedIn User Manual
   6. Chris Brogan
   7. Christopher Penn’s Video on Using Linkedin to Build Your Personal Network
4. Be consistent. I spend about 1 hour per week on Linkedin spread out over a few days. Try to make 3 new friends a week. That’s it. Over the course of a year your network will be 150+ strong and you will be very well connected.

I want to end this post with a quote from my friend and colleague Brian Kludt, “there is no magic bullet, what a bunch of morons.” Many Originators are out in the Lendospere (I just made that up) chasing their tales. In this day and age it is not how many people you get your services in front of, it is who you get your services in front of correctly. Linkedin will place you into a group of professional seeking professionals. While you are at it connect with me on Linkedin!

Next week – we will talk about Twitter. What it is and how the most successful Originators have included it in their business.

More about the author Daniel Martin.

“He’s just not that in to you.”

My wife loves Sex and the City. She is going out with her girlfriends this Friday night. They have rented a limousine, booked a table at local hotspot and, have picked out 6 outfits with two alternates - each.

So in preparation for her night out she has been watching old episodes.

Every night.

For 4 weeks.

Last night she watched an episode that included the phrase “he’s just not that in to you.”

Four women were sitting around a table with one guy. One of them details out a date she had the previous night. She had a great time. He kissed her… TWICE. He said he had an early morning meeting. He said he’d call.

All 4 of the dynamic “sex and city” gals gushed over the story. The singular guy at the table, looking uncomfortable, spoke up, “he’s not gonna call. He’s just not that in to you.”

It got quiet and awkward fast - the truth does that.

We go out into our days. We date Real Estate Agents. Tall. Short. Guy. Girl. Fat. Skinny. Boring. Sometimes Funny. We buy lunch and drinks. We call and talk shop. The conversations all end the same.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll toss you a deal… the very next one. I’ll call you.”

Then we wait. He’s gonna call. Do I call Him? She said it’d be the very NEXT deal. Should I call her? Has it been long enough?

HE’S NOT THAT IN TO YOU!

SHE’S NOT THAT IN TO YOU!

Move on and find your soul mate.

She’s out there. He’s hoping you’ll call. She’s looking for you. He/She needs what you have.

He doesn’t want your cheesy “broker open” emails- he wants loyalty. She doesn’t want a script -she wants a trusted relationship.

He wants information. She wants valuable strategic ideas.

So… if you want to get lucky… throw away your freaking 100% No DOC flyers and go commando.

More about the author Daniel Martin.

Read Daniel Rothamel’s Full Bio Here

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Show Notes:

• Running Time: 42:50
• Audio comment line: Sound off and let your voice be heard by the Mad Mortgage World Community at +1 303-468-0570
• Please send in questions, comments, suggestions, snide remarks, kudos to iammad@madmortgageworld.com
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Dan Green, CMPS
Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist

Dan Green is going to challenge you beliefs about originating in the Digital Age. In this call he explains how he used his blog to help generate $18 Million of his $34 Million closing last year. You do not want to miss this!

Read Dan’s Bio Here
Download the MP3 Here! (right-click and choose save target as…)

Show Notes:

• Dan’s Website
• MyLoanBiz
• BringtheBlog