Okay, maybe this sounds like an old saw - create relationships with real estate agents and watch business come to you. So what's the problem? Well, the probelm is that you may have contact or an acquaintance with agents, not a real relationship; and the reason you don't have a relationship is that you are focusing your efforts on too many agents - not targeting your efforts to the ones that are the best fit for you business.

So Many Real Estate Agents, So Little Time

Regardless of what state or city you live in, there are tens of thousands of real estate agents competing for business. To a loan officer, this may sound like a great ratio for business, but as you know, not all agents are created equally.

If you take the total number of property sales in your area and divided it by the number or real estate agents, it would appear that most agents sell about three properties a year. Could that possibly be true? If it were, there would be a lot of starving real estate agents. Obviously it's not an accurate average. Some productive agents will close on hundreds of properties, while others will be lucky to sell just one.

Establish a Profile

Of course, you don't want to focus efforts on those agents that are likely to sell just a handful of homes during the year. You want to focus your efforts on agents that meet your criteria in a number of ways - you want to focus your marketing efforts on real estate agents that meet your demographic.

• Years in Business - How long an agent has been in business is important. A new agent may be highly motivated to work with you, but they may not have much experience ma
  Running a Business is Like Gardening
  Having had a busy week, I was only too happy to don my gardening clothes and get outside to do some planting, weeding and pruning last weekend. “It’s interesting”, I thought, “how business refers to a slight improvement as the green shoots of recovery”. I then began to think of other gardening analogies that could be applied to business. OK so now I’m being a bit sad and if I can’t just go outside and enjoy the air, maybe I should stay in more! But hang on, this can be a useful exercise. Think about it. If you “can’t
  gents, not a real relationship; and the reason you don't have a relationship is that you are focusing your efforts on too many agents - not targeting your efforts to the ones that are the best fit for you business.

  So Many Real Estate Agents, So Little Time

  Regardless of what state or city you live in, there are tens of thousands of real estate agents competing for business. To a loan officer, this may sound like a great ratio for business, but as you know, not all agents are created equally.

  If you take the total number of property sales in your area and divided it by the number or real estate agents, it would appear that most agents sell about three properties a year. Could that possibly be true? If it were, there would be a lot of starving real estate agents. Obviously it's not an accurate average. Some productive agents will close on hundreds of properties, while others will be lucky to sell just one.

  Establish a Profile

  Of course, you don't want to focus efforts on those agents that are likely to sell just a handful of homes during the year. You want to focus your efforts on agents that meet your criteria in a number of ways - you want to focus your marketing efforts on real estate agents that meet your demographic.

  • Years in Business - How long an agent has been in business is important. A new agent may be highly motivated to work with you, but they may not have much experience m
    7 Tips to Speed Your Long-Distance Job Search
    Tip #1: Looking for work can be difficult. Looking for work long-distance is even tougher! Fortunately, the Internet makes long-distance job searching easier than it has ever been before. Using a job search engine is a great way to find and apply for job openings in the geographic area of interest. Job search engines like Monster can usually be searched by state or zip code. There are also many websites dedicated to job openings in a particular locale. A well-constructed Google search
    s competing for business. To a loan officer, this may sound like a great ratio for business, but as you know, not all agents are created equally.

    If you take the total number of property sales in your area and divided it by the number or real estate agents, it would appear that most agents sell about three properties a year. Could that possibly be true? If it were, there would be a lot of starving real estate agents. Obviously it's not an accurate average. Some productive agents will close on hundreds of properties, while others will be lucky to sell just one.

    Establish a Profile

    Of course, you don't want to focus efforts on those agents that are likely to sell just a handful of homes during the year. You want to focus your efforts on agents that meet your criteria in a number of ways - you want to focus your marketing efforts on real estate agents that meet your demographic.

    • Years in Business - How long an agent has been in business is important. A new agent may be highly motivated to work with you, but they may not have much experience m
      Choose Your Words Carefully
      Mark Twain sagely noted that “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.”Choosing the right words is essential for crafting professional business communications. Would you be satisfied with almost closing a sale or almost getting a promotion? Do your marketing materials urge customers to almost contact you? Then why settle for the almost right words?Your writing will be most effective if you select words that expr
      f it were, there would be a lot of starving real estate agents. Obviously it's not an accurate average. Some productive agents will close on hundreds of properties, while others will be lucky to sell just one.

      Establish a Profile

      Of course, you don't want to focus efforts on those agents that are likely to sell just a handful of homes during the year. You want to focus your efforts on agents that meet your criteria in a number of ways - you want to focus your marketing efforts on real estate agents that meet your demographic.

      • Years in Business - How long an agent has been in business is important. A new agent may be highly motivated to work with you, but they may not have much experience m
        America's Busiest Copywriter Reveals His Secrets for High-Impact Business (and Product) Names
        This may seem obvious to the veteran marketer, but you’d be surprised at the number of business owners who disregard the name of their business as a marketing tool. A business name that is short, easy to remember, easy to spell, descriptive of your business, and capable of drawing attention, will always win out over an otherwise boring, generic name. In fact, the name of your business could easily be worth millions to you, or it could easily mean certain failure.There really are no rules regarding business name
        . You want to focus your efforts on agents that meet your criteria in a number of ways - you want to focus your marketing efforts on real estate agents that meet your demographic.
        • Years in Business - How long an agent has been in business is important. A new agent may be highly motivated to work with you, but they may not have much experience marketing, they may not have much referral business, etc.

        • Marketing Budget - How much money annually will the agent spend on their marketing efforts? If they can't afford to market their business, they may not have enough volume to make it worth your effort.

        • Sales Volume - What is the average monthly sales volume of the agent? You want to focus on someone who has a strong and growing client base.

        • Type of Buyer -Some agents work with specific buyers - first time buyers, retirees, investment buyers, etc.

        • Employment Type - Does the agent work full-time or part-time?

        • Realtor Type - Is the agent a listing agent, buyer agent, or both?

        • Values - One of the most overlooked components of a relationship is finding someone who shares your values, especially as it relates to your business.

        The more information you have about your target, the better you are able to focus your efforts. Instead of taking a "shotgun" approach to your marketing, you can take aim and focus on the people that will make the most difference to your business.

        Work Your Profile

        After you have a better idea of your target agent, you still need to find ways to market your efforts to the target audience. One great tool for getting a list of prospects is working through title representatives.

        Just as in the same way that agents get a farm kit listing from title r