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Subject: 2 reasons why most LOs don’t ask for referrals… and how to fix it

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I’m going to show you the 2 reasons why most LOs don’t ask for referrals, and then How To Fix It… read on…

Most loan officers rarely, clearly and specifically, ask for referrals, or as some say it, “ask for the business”.  (which is costing them a true fortune by not doing it)

There’s two reasons they don’t ask for referrals…

First, most people think that asking clients for more business is begging. And it makes them appear weak or that they can’t get business on your own. 

(Most of the time, this is being taught by somebody that’s trying to sell something that you very likely don’t need, or by somebody that has never actually been a successful loan officer themself)

But here’s the thing…

Rather than looking at referrals as a favor, that Realtors, past clients, and friends do for you… 

Understand that the ONLY reason people refer is because it makes THEM feel good about themselves!

They want to feel like an insider. They want to feel like a trusted advisor to their friends… and raise their status in the herd.

Remember this: Referrals are never about you. They’re about the person who is doing the referring.

And the second reason why most loan officers don’t ask for referrals is… 

They don’t understand that all referrals happen as a result of a conversation.

And in order for that referral to take place, three things need to happen…

Number one. Your client has to notice the conversation is about whatever it is that you do. In our case, helping people with their mortgages, buying homes, and / or debt consolidation.

Number two. Your client needs to think about you.

And number three… they have to introduce you to the person they’re in conversation with.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Referrals do happen spontaneously all the time. The problem is, you don’t have control over what happens next.

Think about it. How often do you meet somebody and they say, “Oh yeah, I tell everybody about you…” or, “Hey, did Bob call you? He was looking for a mortgage and I told him to contact you…”

How often do these things happen to you but people never show up at your door?

The reality is, for every referral that you do get, there’s probably five or seven more that never happen…

And therefore, once you understand WHY referrals happen, and HOW they happen… then it becomes all about engineering situations where they can happen more often.

Look at it this way: At the end of the day, orchestrating referrals is all about creating opportunities where…

You make people feel good about themselves.

The more referrals they give you, the more they feel good about themselves. 

It’s actually a byproduct that you happen to get more closings, thus more $$$.

A friend of mine, Dean Jackson, helped me out with this years ago, and I’m just paying it forward by sharing these words of wisdom to you now.

So go out there and help as many people feel good about themselves as you possibly can.  It’s the right thing to do and it’s very, very profitable without having to buy yet another shiny whistle.

It’s your turn now ☺

If you want some help with scripting, let me know. 

I got your back!

Oh, and can I count on you to forward this email to 3 of your friends that are also LO’s?  <ppssst, I just asked for a referral from you ☺ >

Your homie,
Carl White


New Year Message

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This time of year can put people in the mood to reminisce, get nostalgic, and think about the good – and not so good – things that happened in the last year.

Personally, I go a little further in my thinking about things because I know somebody is smiling down on me. Because there is just no way a guy like me could achieve what I have on my own.

Let me just say upfront that God has been good to me.

Things have not always happened in what I thought was right timing but, in hindsight, they happened in the best possible timing.

Like when I had to take a chemistry course that I really wasn’t interested in but, once I got there, I was really interested in a beautiful young lady that was also taking that class.

Naturally, she was way better at that class than I was, so I made the best of that and got her to share her notes with me.

I charmed Maria with all my best moves (which, if you know me, are pretty limited).

Somehow she looked past all that and married me anyway.

To this day, that was the single best thing that ever happened to me. The second best thing was having my kids.

It’s really important to give credit where it belongs, whatever and whoever that means to you.

By giving thanks, you acknowledge that you are open to receiving more help and abundance and opportunities.

You remember that there is a bigger picture in everything that happens in life and, sometimes, the best skill you have is to enjoy the ride and give thanks for what you know is coming – especially if you can’t see what that means yet.

When it comes to my business, I give thanks to every ADGO (Another Darn Growth Opportunity) I’ve had in the past year.

Why?

Because they challenged me to rise to the occasion.

I needed to get outside my comfort zone and show up in a different way.

I had to learn something new to get through it. And yes, those things have happened in my business in 2021 in a special way.

People sometimes look at my life and think it’s all roses and sunshine but I am not here to blow smoke – it gets real for me too sometimes.

The bigger the stakes, the greater the potential for a fall.

I may not always handle it with the sophistication and refinement I’d like to have in the moment, but I am transparent with whatever is happening and look to help create the best possible outcome for everyone.

That’s one of my secrets – just show up and try to help things be better.

I also give thanks for each and every member of the Loan Officer Freedom Club because they inspire me to do better and go farther in my business so I can report back what’s working and what isn’t.

I am grateful for those who listen to the Loan Officer Freedom Podcast, and the people who connect with me on social media, and my business partners. 

Without all of you, I wouldn’t have the ability to help as many people as I / we can today.

To my mortgage loan customers who entrusted me with their future, I have been honored to use my skills, network, systems and experience to help you have the home to support you and your family in living your best life.

You help me stay on my toes so I can pay it forward to my students, my colleagues, my peers and my industry.

Another secret that has served me well is to honor each of my mentors – you know who you are – along the way has been a game-changer for me.

From deep conversations to mindset shifts to paradigm busters to war room strategies to busting my chops on stepping up, I appreciate each of you more than words can say. 

Because of you, I have the ability to help more people in ways that I couldn’t even imagine before you.

Did I make it to where I am on my own?

In a word, no.

Have I screwed up along the way? Have I fallen short sometimes?

Sure, a few times epically.

But I just got up and worked on being a better person because / despite it.

I am one blessed guy to be where I am and it all happened because I just kept showing up, putting one foot in front of the other, with God’s guidance and Maria at my side.

But I wish everyone who reads this to have that same kind of blessings and the smarts to know where the credit really belongs.

Being grateful for what you have only opens the door to receiving more of what you want. I’m living proof of it.

Forever grateful

That’s way close enough

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Shoot for great, not “perfect”.

80% gets you close enough.  This will keep you from “Analysis Paralysis”.

The cool part is you can get to “80%” in just 20% of the time.  It’s that final “20%” that takes all the time and may not even be necessary.

For example, I trained an assistant to call prospective referral partners on my behalf to set up coffee appointments for me.  (I get it, doesn’t sound sexy but has made me millions of $$).

After his first 2 weeks of training, he was able to schedule about 80% as many appointments as I could do if I made the calls myself. 

That’s close enough!!!
It took another 6 months or so, (relying on my memory here) for him to get about the same results as me.

But truth be known, the extra time I spent training him, from week 2 to 6 months, may have not been worth the effort of going from 80% to 100%.

I see so many LOs worry about “getting it perfect”.

Which inevitably leads to the analysis paralysis which results in no action being actually taken, which results in zero results vs 80% results.

Just know that your “80%” far exceeds most people who are striving for 100% but never actually take action.

It’s really sad to see the wonderful things passed by that life can give them if they would simply take “imperfect” action.

I believe in YOU!

Loan Officer with endless amount of “lives”…

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I was talking with Mike Cardascia yesterday and he told me that loan officers are playing a video game and have an endless amount of lives.

At first, I thought he may have gotten into his roommate’s “stash”, but then he explained himself and I thought it was absolutely game changingly brilliant.

Here’s the thing, when we call prospects, both borrowers and referral partners, sometimes we fear those calls that if they say “no thank you”, that somehow we are going to die.

I mean after all, some are going to say “I’m already working with somebody”, or “I’m not interested”, or “Can you call me next month”…

And let’s face it, we do have to push through rejection, and we will talk to some people that aren’t having a good day…

But also in those conversations, you do find people that want you to help, they want to get a loan from you, they want to send you referrals.

As long as you keep prospecting, you will close more loans.

So what Mike told me is, we all need to treat this like a video game with endless lives.

And what he meant by that is, when you make your calls, some are going to say “no thank you”, and when they do….

…you aren’t going to get hurt, you aren’t going to get sick, you aren’t going to get a bad reputation, you aren’t going to lose your business.

Treat it like a video game with endless lives. 

You only get the upside of doing the activities, which is getting more loans, which gets you more $$$, which gets you more freedom.

You aren’t going to “die” by getting some “no thank you’s”.  Nothing bad is going to happen.

There is no “boogeyman”.  There’s only loans that you aren’t getting because you may not be making some of those calls.

We just have to be ok with not everybody wanting to work with us.  We don’t “die” because of that.  Nothing bad happens at all.  It’s all just crap in our own head.

After all, it’s like you are playing a video game of endless lives…

You have everything to gain, and nothing to lose!

If you would like some help with scripting or setting up “who does what” at a top loan officer team, we can set up a call here.

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