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Properly managed, your referral network can be your greatest asset. However, your referral partners are only as valuable as the relationships you maintain. Here are five common referral partner management mistakes to avoid in referral partner management.
Not all referral partners are created equal. If you’re not connecting to the “right” partners, you can miss out on referral opportunities that can build your business.
Focus on referral partners that align with your unique niche. If your lending practice offers programs for new home buyers, you might want to partner with local realtors. But if your specialty is refinancing, it might make more sense to partner with financial planners.
What makes your brand unique? Why might referral partners want to work with you? One of the most common mistakes lenders make is assuming that partners understand their business model. The more you can carve out a unique niche, the more local partners will want to work with you.
You might consider designing educational materials to communicate your vision and values to prospective partners. That way, you’ll be better equipped to tell your story and invite others to partner with you.
Forging a relationship with a referral partner is great. But to maximize the value of this relationship, you need a clear way to submit borrower referrals.
Email is great, but that places the responsibility on your partners. Lenders can simplify the process with a customer relationship management platform. The best mortgage CRMs offer a partner portal that partners can access through a mobile app.�
Having an app empowers your partners to drop referrals into your borrower pipeline as they receive them. That can be perfect when your partners meet potential clients on the road or at a networking event.
No relationship is truly permanent. Don’t just assume that today’s partners will be there tomorrow.
Instead, make it a point to regularly communicate with your referral partners. Some CRM platforms offer referral partner management tools to make staying in touch with your partners easier. Facilitating communication will help you avoid friction in the partnership and keep the relationship positive.
How valuable is your referral network? The only way to answer this question is through hard data. A mortgage CRM’s referral partner management tools can help you track the number of partners you have and the number of referrals they submit.
You can track this data to determine how valuable each referral partner is. Tracking data also lets you determine the best practices for your unique business and adjust your partner relationships accordingly.
A mortgage CRM enables you to manage your relationship with your customers and referral partners. The BNTouch platform offers a partner portal and other features for managing your partners and borrower pipeline. To see these features for yourself, contact BNTouch for a demo.
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Many lending practices have some type of mortgage referral partner program. These allow other individuals or businesses to refer potential borrowers.
However, you may not know if your mortgage referral partner program is working. With that being said, here are five key metrics for evaluating your referral partner program:
One of the most basic metrics is your referral rate. It simply refers to the number of referrals you receive in a given time period. Its true value may actually be in comparing the leads you receive from outside your business to the leads generated by your internal marketing strategies. In doing so, you can determine how much your referral partner program is contributing to your leads as a whole.
While your referral rate indicates how many referrals you receive, your conversion rate indicates how many of these referrals become borrowers. For instance, a low conversion rate means that you’re not convincing new leads to commit to the borrowing process. That might prompt you to redesign your introductory emails to better communicate your unique value.
A customer relationship management (CRM) system can measure the number of referrals you receive per partner. That can be helpful in showing what type of partner is the most effective. For instance, if most of your leads come from a real estate partner, then you might focus on developing more real estate relationships in the future.
Similarly, you can use that data to re-evaluate partner relationships. If you’re seeing a low referral rate from one partner, you might address points of friction or even consider severing that relationship altogether.
A mortgage CRM system can also help you evaluate your customers’ long-term value (LTV). For mortgage lenders, that translates into how much revenue they generate per referral.
You can compare these numbers to those generated by your internal marketing efforts. Determine how much actual cash you are generating through a referral partner program. These figures can help you decide whether it’s more profitable to invest in your marketing efforts or lean more heavily on your referral partner program.
The final metric is qualitative rather than quantitative. You can use a mortgage CRM system to request customer reviews and testimonials. Discover the kinds of experiences your referrals are having. See if there are ways you can improve the customer journey.
That can be challenging since there are no numbers attached, but customer reviews may highlight specific areas that you can improve. They can also allow you to maximize any features that customers find particularly helpful.
Make the most of your mortgage referral partner program with a mortgage CRM platform. BNTouch offers partner management tools that can put your most valuable data at your fingertips. You’ll also better connect with partners through your online portal. To see these features for yourself, contact BNTouch to set up a demo.
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Referral partners can add value to your lending practice. They can connect you to a wider range of potential clients, but the true value depends on the quality of your relationship.
Here are the best ways to build your referral network and nurture relationships with your referral partners:
You start building a referral network by connecting to the right referral partners. Common types of referral partners include the following:
Your referral network should be built around your industry’s niche. For example, if you focus on first-time buyer programs, you might partner with real estate professionals. If you focus on refinancing, you might partner with financial planners instead. The point is to design your referral network around your unique business offerings. Proper referral partner management will also make it easier to market your value to other potential referral partners.
Once you identify your ideal referral partners, you can come up with ways to connect with them. One simple way involves attending local networking events. Business conferences and meet-and-greets can put you in contact with other local professionals. There, you can begin a relationship with like-minded businesses and real estate companies.
A mortgage customer relationship management (CRM) platform can assist in the process. A scanning feature will make it easy to capture business card info and store it to follow up on later.
Ask yourself what makes your lending practice unique and what you might offer to a potential referral partner. Answering these questions will make it easier to “sell” yourself to future partners.
In some cases, a partnership can be mutually beneficial. For instance, you might send referrals to a real estate agent. They may send some your way, too. It just depends on who makes the first contact.
Technology can also add to your value. If you use a CRM system to build a borrower pipeline, partners may be more eager to assist a lender with a well-organized system.
A mortgage CRM system makes it easier to manage your referral network. Your referral partners can connect with you through an online portal. That not only streamlines communication but also empowers referral partners to submit referrals online.
The portal is available both on your desktop and through a mobile app. The latter gives partners the ability to submit referrals from anywhere in the world. If a real estate professional meets a new buyer at an event, they can instantly drop their information into your borrower pipeline.
A partner portal will also collect data on your referral network. You’ll be able to see how many referrals come from each partner, as well as the end results of each new lead.
A CRM platform makes it easier to connect to your referral network. The BNTouch system offers marketing tools, a partner portal, and other features to augment the quality of your lending services. To schedule a demo, contact BNTouch today.
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The loan process is all about relationships. Some of these can serve as referral partners that connect you with a wider network of potential clients.
Knowing how to manage that network of partners, however, can prove challenging. As such, what follows is a complete guide to referral partner management. These are some worthwhile tips and best practices for loan officers seeking to manage their referral network.
First, it is crucial to understand what (or who) a referral partner is. A referral partner recommends your services to someone else. They can be any individual or organization.
Referral partners might include any of the following:
These relationships don’t always need a formal agreement. Still, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform can help you keep track of your partners. Some even offer partner portals. In these, partners can “drop” new referrals into your borrower pipeline through an app, even when on the go.
Referrals matter because relationships matter. Your “brand” is more than your logo or marketing materials. It represents the reputation you carry and is often best expressed by your past clients and business associates.
Potential clients will respond to direct recommendations from someone they trust (word-of-mouth advertising). That’s especially true for referral partners who have specialized knowledge and experience. Determine whether your referral network contains other real estate professionals or financial planners. These authoritative voices can be strong advocates for your services.
Here are some of today’s best practices for referral partner management:
Start by finding the right referral partners. These can be former clients, but you can also tap into the authority of other industry professionals.
In any case, the “right” partner depends on your niche. If you focus on first-time homebuyer programs, then you might partner with real estate companies or local builders. If you instead focus on refinancing, then you might be better off considering a partnership with a financial planner.
As for how you build a local network, you might want to attend local networking events. Don’t oversell yourself when you first meet. Focus on building a relationship with like-minded professionals. You may even discover that the best relationships happen on their own.
A CRM platform also makes it easy to add new contacts to your referral network. An added scan feature will let you scan business cards and store the contact information in an instant.
A borrower pipeline can help in referral partner management, and it is more than a collection of possible clients. Mortgage lenders can create customer segments that track borrowers at every stage of their journey.
For example, a borrower might enter your pipeline by clicking an online ad or visiting your website. You might follow up with them by sending an introductory email. Then, as they move through the process, you’ll adapt your communications to guide them toward a borrowing decision.
A borrower pipeline helps you manage your referral network. It can impress potential referral partners who may be more willing to send leads your way. The leads you receive from a local referral partner may have greater value than the clicks you get from your online content.
The right CRM provider can give you the tools you need to create a pipeline and develop strategies to connect with varied customer segments.
A referral network is meaningless if your partners aren’t familiar with your services, so here’s where you need to “sell” yourself. Think about your answers to questions like these:
Many lenders already have pre-made marketing content. These pieces explain the lending process to potential customers. You might also consider designing some basic email and video content to explain your services to other professionals. You could even devote a section of your website to referral partners. Provide videos, charts, and more to showcase your unique value proposition.
Give your partners a reason to work with you. Depending on the exact focus of your lending practice, you might offer discounts or commissions. You might also serve as a referral partner for another business.
For instance, if you receive a lead from your website, you might share that lead with a real estate professional. In other words, you could share leads back and forth. It all depends on who makes the first contact.
By offering these incentives, you may have an easier time recruiting referral partners. It may even encourage your partners to send customers to you first instead of to a local competitor.
A mortgage CRM platform can help you with referral partner management. It does so by linking you through a digital portal. Most CRM platforms already have a self-service portal for borrowers, but the best offer tools for your referral partners as well.
An online portal lets your partners send you referrals through an online interface. Likewise, a mobile app allows your partners to connect to your business even when on the go.
Imagine that you have a partner in the real estate industry. After a local event, they meet several people searching for their first home. The realtor can assist in their house-hunting process, but they can also send you the names of these borrowers before they even leave the event. You can then follow up with these leads with emails or even direct phone calls.
When you rely on online portals and other digital tools, it can be hard to maintain a personal touch. Make an effort to connect with your partners at least once per month. Regular communication improves the quality and efficiency of your referral process. Even a simple phone conversation can reduce any friction from it. It can also serve as a moment to sort out the benefits and success rate of your referral program.
Take the time to express gratitude to your valued partners. Doing so can help them feel appreciated and valued. Your gratitude may also encourage them to stick with you even when they are being bombarded by other lending companies.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, you can even honor your partners by featuring them on your website. For example, you might feature a post from a local real estate agent or financial planner, encouraging them to do the same. At the very least, you’ll solidify your relationship and cultivate a stronger partnership.
With the right mortgage CRM, you can determine a quantitative answer to just how well your partnership is going. The right software can track the number of leads submitted by each referral partner. You can then correlate these leads to the entire borrower process to determine the exact value of each referral partner.
Your data will also enable you to identify the best practices for each referral partner. You can make recommendations to your local partners based on what’s working and what’s not.
Reviewing your data may also show you when you need to let go of certain partners. If they’re not adding value to your lending business, it may be time to look elsewhere.
Your ongoing referral network is typically made up of other professionals. Still, you should not neglect the power of your past clients, as they may prove to be a valuable source of future referrals.
You might request referrals directly from your clients, though not everyone has someone in mind right off the bat. Instead, it may be better to send them a follow-up a month to a year after they secure their loan.
Doing so keeps your company at the forefront of their minds. In the time since they secured their loan, your former clients’ friends or family members may also be shopping for a home or refinancing. If you stay in touch with your clients, they may be more willing to recommend your company to those people.
A mortgage CRM system makes it easier to store data on previous clients. It can even send automated emails and e-cards to celebrate loan anniversaries or other occasions.
The best way to manage your referral partners is with a mortgage CRM system. The BNTouch platform offers many advanced features that assist with marketing, team collaboration, and other aspects.
Partners will especially love its online portal because it makes it easier to submit referrals. The platform’s advanced analytics will help you keep track of the return on your investment. To see all of these features in action, contact BNTouch to schedule a demo.
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