realtors and mortgage officers -
a great combination
Realtors and Mortgage Officers share a common goal - to help people buy or
sell their homes.By working together, these two professions can create
strong marketing materials that can establish a comfort zone for everyone involved
in a real estate transaction. Realtors recommend a mortgage officer,
mortgage officers recommend a realtor, and ther clients feel taken care of
by both. It's an ideal situation for marketing.
Combined Marketing
Realtors and Mortgage Officers can use a professional graphic design company,
such as Purple Dragonfly Designs, to create elegant, distinctively different
marketing materials they can exchange, helping each other through reciprocal
recommendations. This works because they both interact with clients who want the same
things - to buy or sell a home.
Listing Flyers with Financial Rates
A great combined realtor/mortgage officer marketing tool is a Listing
Flyer that has current mortgage calculations for a particular home for sale. The
realtor provides the selling points of the house, and the mortgage officer
uses current interest rates to show detailed, specific numbers for a
30 year fixed loan, ARM, or even a grant or HUD loan, including projected
down payments and up front closing costs.
The home buyer and
seller will love this marketing tool because they don't have to guess what
the re-finance or new mortgage costs would be for a home they are considering
buying or selling. Taking the time to provide this information tells
a client that you care and are willing to go that extra step.
Listing financial flyers could also be turned into an email, which opens
a new target audience for the home buying and selling market.
Working Together
Work together to brainstorm ideas - what are current market trends? Large,
or "jumbo" homes, or small family type homes?Are there programs
for first-time home buyers that both realtors and mortgage officers can present
as options to clients? What
homes are selling, what homes are not selling, how can you help people get
into or out of a house? If you can idenitfy a niche, or a piece
of the real estate market that others haven't discovered yet, you can get
a jump on the competition.
Focus on a Product
Kristi DeMoss, a mortgage officer who runs the mortgage branch of Green
County Bank, suggests finding a financial product, such as government
grants, FHA loans, or first-time home buyer programs, and learning it, "inside
and out." Know the product so that you can sell it to your
client, and be confident doing so.
"Find something no one else is using, like reverse mortgages, or local
grant and FHA loan programs, and focus on learning all you can about that
particular product," she says. "If you can focus on a product
everyone else avoids because they don't understand it, or know how to do
it, then you could find a potential gold mine."
And it's all about presenting the product to the client. Don't skimp
on flyers, postcards, newsletters, any marketing material. To
make money, you must be willing to spend money intially, so make an investment
in presentation, it does make a difference.
Don't forget apartments!
Imagine
yourself 5, 10, 20 years ago, when you just got married, graduated, or finally
decided it was time to stop paying rent and to start investing in a home
of your own - what were questions that stopped you from taking that big step?
What marketing materials would have helped you face the daunting task
of buying your first home? Develop a marketing strategy to target apartments,
and work with a realtor or mortgage officer to find programs to help residents
find and purchase a home.
Flyers are a great way to introduce yourselves and give residents a reason
to call you, if only to learn more about how they can make their home buying
dreams come true.
Consider an informative flyer, where real estate and mortgate terms are
explained, or a flyer or newsletter that discusses current real estate marketing
trends or local programs that could benefit first-time home buyers. In
essence, think like an apartment resident, and find a way to present yourself,
your services, in a way that will make them want to contact you.
Marketing yourself is not easy, but if you can develop a relationship with
a person who works in a profession that can complement yours, you can work
together to reach a common goal.
- Kimber Malone
Purple Dragonfly Designs
Purple Dragonfly Designs offers these services and more to you, and we are
committed to helping you define and present your image to all your clients,
past, present and future. Please contact
us if you would like
more information about any of our products or services.
Traditional Marketing:
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