Better communication means better business

Communication is the key to success as a commercial mortgage originator. In today’s market, networking with professionals means marketing your services to potential clients. This is fundamental to mortgage marketing.

While many brokers are not confident in their ability to clearly communicate their brand and business strengths to prospective business partners, the good news is that by adopting a few basic practices, you can take a significant step toward honing in your communication skills.

Silver Hill Funding offers some basic communication techniques that can help you to improve your ability to communicate with borrowers and referral partners.

Step 1: Always respond in a timely manner

“A commercial mortgage broker should always strive to show clients that they care,” said Silver Hill. The best way to ensure this is to attend to their needs by responding quickly to emails and phone calls. While the world of commercial mortgages is highly competitive, the time spent neglecting a client’s message could cost you and “give competitors the opening to steal a lead,” said Silver Hill.

The realities of your business may make it impossible for you to respond to emails or calls within 30-45 minutes. Establishing certain times of the day that you can devote purely to communication responses will allow you to have a set period of time that you will always be available. A quick email acknowledging you received something and including a window in which the sender can expect a full response will help effectively manage expectations without breaking your concentration.

Learn the steps on how to become a commercial mortgage broker in this article.

Step 2: Seek out referrals whenever possible

The power of a positive referral reflects in your relationships and credibility in the mortgage industry. Relationships are key and “the credibility that comes from a trusted source’s referral can have a much greater impact on your business than a traditional advertising campaign,” said Silver Hill.

It is important to know when to ask for a referral. Try waiting until you’ve provided a service for an individual before asking them for business opportunities, explains Silver Hill. Reaching out at random and asking for new business often hinders any potential relationship as no real connection has been made.

The commercial mortgage industry offers many avenues to explore potential referral options. “If you’ve developed relationships with bank loan officers you may be able to get the first look at scenarios they are unable to qualify,” said Silver Hill. “Your bank partners will feel more confident about keeping their clients’ depository relationships if they can direct the clients to attractive financing alternatives, the borrowers will save time by not having to search for alternative lending options, and you’ll receive a steady stream of new leads that have already been qualified by your banking referral partner.” 

The referral relationship is beneficial to all involved.

Step 3: Audience feedback is a priority

One of the most invaluable assets for any commercial mortgage broker is client feedback. Sending your clients an online survey following the closing of their loan is one way to obtain this information.

There are many online survey services so be sure to learn how each can best deliver and manage your surveys. Email platforms and customer relationship management software (CRMs) can help streamline the process.

As you put together your survey, be sure to ask yourself:

• What is your objective for the survey?
• When is the best time to deliver the survey?
• How many questions do you want to ask?

It’s important to know why you want to run your survey, possible objectives to learn more about your customers’ experience, whether a short or longer survey is appropriate, and the balance between too many and too few questions.

“Simply calling your clients and asking about their experience can help strengthen relationships and obtain off-the-cuff responses,” said Silver Hill.

Step 4: Maximize your social media potential

LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media platforms aren’t just limited to residential business purposes. These outlets “give you the ability to develop your personal brand and connect with a wider range of potential business partners,” said Silver Hill.

While it may be appealing to put your business on as many platforms as possible, it may be best to focus on expanding your reach with the platform where you are receiving the most referral opportunities. LinkedIn is a popular platform that is professionally-driven and designed to help create those lasting and beneficial connections.

Step 5: Stay proactive

Be the first person to reach out rather than waiting for the conversation to begin. “This hands-on approach demonstrates confidence, determination, and positive communication skills,” said Silver Hill. Being proactive means giving yourself more opportunities to anticipate your clients’ needs.

Adapting to new communication techniques takes time and commitment. Set goals and take it one step at a time because better communication means better business.