Mortgage Exec Touts Client Referrals

The best and cheapest times for client acquisition is to ask a current client for referral business during or after the origination process, according to a speaker at the 2003 Turn On Your Million Dollar Brain workshop in Delray Beach, Fla.Before a transaction, getting a client can cost as much as $500 a loan, because the broker needs to market through the Internet, mailers, telemarketing, and newspaper ads, said Bill Hogarty, president of Olympic Funding, Pleasanton, Calif. During the process, it costs nothing, especially if the broker gives the customer a "wow" experience, he said. "Invest your marketing dollar back into people who know and love you," Mr. Hogarty said. After the process, maintain contact with client, which Mr. Hogarty said he does through letters such as "Evidence of Success" letters and "Letters From the Heart." The cost for this is approximately $35 per loan, he said. The workshop was presented by the Mortgage Speakers Bureau.