There’s always something to howl about.

ASK THE BROKER: How does a Lender AE get business from a Mortgage Broker?

We received an inquiry today :

I am a Wholesale Lending Account Executive and work for a bank. After the subprime market plummeted, it has been hard for me to get loans from mortgage brokers. What do you think is the best route to re-pump loans back in the pipeline, not necessary the same volume as before, but at least a reliable broker source that keeps funding mortgage loans through me?

I don’t need to tell you that loan originators are a suspicious breed. Now, more than ever, we are hesitant about trying new capital sources.

Here are five tips I have for a Wholesale Lending Account Executive:

1- You MUST have a unique selling proposition. Price, service, or product niche. Define that USP in your first ten seconds very specifically.

EG: “I am Brian Brady with Gateway Bank and I offer the perfect 100% loan solution for teachers, police officers, or firefighters. You’ve heard about the collapse of 100% loans but this loan program has been around for 9 years and I know exactly how to get these loans approved with my bank.”

Don’t worry about limiting yourself. Start with the niche and let the conversation develop.

2- Don’t focus your efforts on a few brokers; market to many originators. If an originator is worth one $200,000 loan a month and you want to fund $10 million a month, you’ll need 50 good originators considering you. You should have four times that amount in your “prospect file”. Spread it out over at least twenty accounts.

3- Write a web log. You can get a free web log at Active Rain Real Estate Network (click the link). There are 2000 loan originators registered there. Point a domain name at the web log and make it catchy (www.placeyourloan.com is available). That will cost ten bucks a year. You can start by posting programs that go out on your e-mail. Try to accompany the loan program with a story about how you funded the loans. Instruct your originators to read it.

4- Visit the originators at least once a week. If you visit five offices a day, you’ll have one day to work on “office stuff” and work the phones. Forget lunches and presentations. Brokers will try to get you to buy the office lunch; it’s a shakedown. Win the war belly-to-belly with the originators at their desk. Start early and visit the folks who are in the office at 8AM; they’re successful.

5- Never, never, never lie. An originator is a skeptical animal. We understand that loan programs change and underwriters get “hawkish”. However, if docs didn’t go out, don’t say that they did. More importantly, train your inside staff to avoid the temptation to lie.

One last thing. Don’t bring those silly “stress balls” to us. They are useful objects to throw at the unsuspecting AE who walks in after a stated-income submission gets declined by your underwriter.

Start hustling. It seems bleak today but the sun does rise tomorrow. THAT, I will guarantee you.