For mortgage entrepreneurs, word-of-mouth referrals can be a powerful source of business to keep their pipeline flowing smoothly. Think about this type of marketing in your own life. You’re looking for a service, perhaps someone to repair something in your home or maybe a financial advisor to help navigate your investment options. With a quick google search, you could easily pull up tens of names, many with great branding and a flashy website. How do you know who you can trust? Then you mention your search to a friend, and they share a positive experience about someone they’ve worked with. It’s almost a no brainer. Most consumers value trust, and they’re much more likely to feel a sense of trust with a recommendation from a friend as opposed to an add or website. So, how you can encourage more word-of-mouth referrals? Here are some important strategies:
Emotional Connection
Your clients will likely be the largest source of word-of-mouth referrals since they’ve worked with you and experienced your services firsthand. How can you turn the interactions you have with your clients into motivation for them to spread the word about your business to friends? Building an emotional connection is key. As I mentioned before, trust is so important to today’s consumers. When you build that emotional connection with someone, you’re also building a level of trust. This helps give your clients the confidence to share your name with friends.
Go Above and Beyond
When is the last time you told a friend about an average experience? Probably not very recently. And if you did, they’ve probably forgotten about it by now. You need to give your clients a reason to talk about you. Not everyone is going to ask a friend for a loan officer recommendation, but that doesn’t mean they can’t share their experience. With every client, commit to going above and beyond when it comes to meeting their needs and delivering high-quality service. Always bring more value than is expected! It’s this type of customer experience that gets clients talking, and rave reviews are sure to leave an impression.
Maintain an Active Presence
So, you’ve asked a friend for a recommendation or remember a name they’ve shared in the past. But when you go to look this person up online, there isn’t much there. This can leave many consumers feeling suspicious, or at least motivate them to continue searching before making a decision. You want to create and build your online presence so that when a prospect hears your name from a friend and looks you up, all the positive things they’ve heard are reinforced. They should be able to easily find a modern website and active social-media pages. This reaffirmation of the word-of-mouth referral can be just the nudge they need to give you a call.
Ask for It
Finally, mortgage entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to ask for referrals. Especially for a service like home loans, people don’t always think to share their experience with friends and family. As long as you’re polite and not pushy, there’s no reason to shy away from the fact that referrals are greatly appreciated. Especially if you’re confident that you delivered top-notch service, you should feel comfortable mentioning a referral to your clients. Simply letting them know you value their business and are eager to assist anyone they send your way is often enough to motivate clients to share their experience.
Word-of-mouth referrals can provide a significant flow of business for loan officers. Unlike making up in-print materials or regularly posting on social media, this type of marketing can feel a bit elusive or out of your control. The key is tuning into the experience your providing to your current clients and giving them a reason to talk.
Kirk Brewer
Branch Manager | The Loan Geek | NMLS #150287