Barbara asked: "I have been a loan officer for almost 20 years. Many of my real estate agents have left the industry. I do have a small following of productive agents, but it is not enough for me to make a decent living. What is the best way to expand my reach within the real estate community?

In my earlier column, I focused on how to get introduced to agents by leveraging your sphere. I would be remiss in not addressing this question: what do you do/say after you met these Realtors?

Certainly, they are being introduced to, or hounded by, plenty of loan officers in this environment. Why would they respond to you? The introduction through your sphere is certainly better than a cold call, but it is only a start.

First, let's start with what not to say or do. Do not start the conversation by asking for business. I know you have been counseled to ask for the business, but to ask before you have established credibility, trust and a relationship would be futile. Just introducing yourself and asking for business is a recipe for failure.

The next question is: how do you establish credibility, trust and a relationship? You do that through social proof, listening and value delivery. We will address these within the next segment.

Let’s start with credibility. You telling the agent how good you are is not going to help. Every loan officer says that. You must have social proof—from your social media and website to recommendations from agents they know and admire. You need to make sure your credibility is established before you move to establish trust and a relationship. A referral from someone they know within both of your spheres is a good place to start.

Secondly, you need to listen. You can’t listen if you are talking. How do you get them to talk? By asking questions.

Learn about them by asking open-ended questions. How do they feel about today’s market? What challenges are they facing? What type of value can you add to their business?

Some research on their social media before the meeting should help you prepare topics of interest to the agent. These questions should lead to the answer to the value question. If you are not adding value to their business, you should not be part of the equation. And value is not providing great service—it is adding to their business.

Dave Hershman is Senior VP of Sales of Weichert Financial and the top author in the mortgage industry. Dave has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School – the online choice for expert mortgage learning and marketing content. His site is www.OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..