>Larry from Texas asks: What is your opinion of calling on accountants to get loans? I am having trouble breaking in with real estate agents.

[caption id="attachment_9654" align="alignright" width="268"] Dave Hershman[/caption]

I will not address your comment about having issues with agents, but instead focus on your main question regarding accountants. I believe that accountants are a very important "alternative" referral source--both for refinances and purchases.

This is especially true around tax time when high-income renters are paying too much in taxes and/or the accountants may be suggesting changes in the client's portfolio. Many accountants also serve as financial advisors for their clients.

However, let me address two issues. First, which accountants are you "calling" on? I am not in favor of cold calling accountants. What I am in favor of is getting introductions to accountants through your sphere. Start with your own accountant of course.

Doing your own taxes? In my opinion that would be a big mistake for a loan officer because you also need to be referring business if you want referrals. They key is developing a relationship and delivering value. That means in both directions.

Secondly, don't be calling on accountants if you don't understand tax returns or don't understand the economics of homeownership. That includes tax deductions, leverage and inflation hedging. Consider this fact--if you were an accountant, would you want to refer business to a loan officer who does not know what a K-1 is and why it is important?

I actually recommend that loan officers take tax preparation courses. These courses will not only enable you to become an expert in the topic, which is of major importance within the industry, but also place you in a class with potential referral sources. That is a major example of marketing synergy. Synergy entails being able to achieve more than one objective with one activity. During the next segment, we will delve more deeply into the marketing side of the equation.

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..