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Mortgage Broker / Loan Officer: Best Referral Sources

Who should be sending you clients, and the rooms they are already sitting in.

Get the networking events worth showing up to

Tell us where you are. We will send you the best rooms for mortgage brokers and the next meeting dates. Add a ZIP and this page will also show your local chapters and which seats are open.

Most business owners network where their competitors are, not where their referral partners are.

Your own trade group is for learning. Your partners' groups are where the work comes from. Everything below starts with one question. When something happens that makes people need mortgage brokers, who else gets a call that same week?

Mortgage brokers sell to individuals and households, and most of the work starts when somebody buys a house. It moves fast, so being the name already in hand matters more than being the cheapest. Clients return now and then, so the introduction has to keep paying off.

What starts the work
  • Home purchasewhen somebody buys a house
  • Financing or refinancewhen somebody needs a loan closed
  • Divorcewhen a marriage ends
  • Job changewhen somebody changes jobs or gets relocated
  • Retirementwhen somebody retires
  • Death / probatewhen somebody dies and an estate has to be settled
Block one

Who should be sending you clients

Ranked by what starts the job, not by who sounds close to your trade.

  1. 01

    Real Estate Agent (Residential)

    They send you work
    82

    Trigger: somebody buys a house

    Residential real estate agents hear about it when somebody buys a house, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  2. 02

    CPA / Accountant

    Two-way
    65

    Trigger: somebody needs a loan closed

    You and CPAs both get the call when somebody needs a loan closed, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  3. 03

    Attorney Real Estate

    Two-way
    64

    Trigger: somebody buys a house

    You and real estate attorneys both get the call when somebody buys a house, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  4. 04

    Mental Health Therapist

    They send you work
    63

    Trigger: a marriage ends

    Therapists and counselors hear about it when a marriage ends, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  5. 05

    Title Company

    You send them work
    61

    Trigger: somebody buys a house

    You hear about it when somebody buys a house, before title companies do. Expect to give more than you get back here.

  6. 06

    Home Inspector

    You send them work
    58

    Trigger: somebody buys a house

    You hear about it when somebody buys a house, before home inspectors do. Expect to give more than you get back here.

  7. 07

    Insurance Property & Casualty

    You send them work
    58

    Trigger: somebody buys a house

    You hear about it when somebody buys a house, before P&C insurance agents do. Expect to give more than you get back here.

  8. 08

    Real Estate Appraiser

    You send them work
    57

    Trigger: somebody needs a loan closed

    You hear about it when somebody needs a loan closed, before appraisers do. Expect to give more than you get back here.

  9. 09

    Financial Advisor

    Two-way
    56

    Trigger: a marriage ends

    You and financial advisors both get the call when a marriage ends, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  10. 10

    Insurance Health & Benefits

    They send you work
    55

    Trigger: somebody changes jobs or gets relocated

    Health and benefits brokers hear about it when somebody changes jobs or gets relocated, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

Block two

Where those people actually are

Ranked by how many of your best partners are in the room, and how much work each one can send you.

Start here

Your local Realtor board or association

Your partners are in this room: residential real estate agents, real estate attorneys, and title companies.

Join as a vendor and you are in front of hundreds of agents. They need people they trust at every closing. Ask about the vendor committee and the classes for new agents, not just the parties.

Your partners' association Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
Find your local chapter →

Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.

  1. 01

    Your local Realtor board or association

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: residential real estate agents, real estate attorneys, and title companies.

    Join as a vendor and you are in front of hundreds of agents. They need people they trust at every closing. Ask about the vendor committee and the classes for new agents, not just the parties.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  2. 02

    Land title association

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: real estate attorneys, title companies, and appraisers.

    Title agents and closing lawyers. They touch every deal on its last day.

    Quarterly Under $500/yr ~2 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  3. 03

    Your city or county chamber of commerce

    Chamber of commerce

    Your partners are in this room: residential real estate agents, CPAs, and therapists and counselors.

    Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  4. 04

    State CPA society

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: CPAs and financial advisors.

    A CPA is the person most business owners trust most. Sponsors can go to chapter meetings and classes.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  5. 05

    Your local estate planning council

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: CPAs and financial advisors.

    Estate lawyers, CPAs, bankers, and insurance people in one room on purpose. It was built for this kind of referral.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  6. 06

    LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities

    Online community

    Your partners are in this room: residential real estate agents, CPAs, and P&C insurance agents.

    Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.

    Always on Free ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  7. 07

    BNI

    Structured referral group

    One seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.

    The biggest referral group in the world. You meet every week. Only one person per job. They expect you to show up.

    Weekly $500–$2,000/yr ~8 hrs/month One seat per category
    Chapter finder →
  8. 08

    LeTip International

    Structured referral group

    One seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.

    Weekly referral chapters. One person per job. Strong with trades and home services.

    Weekly $500–$2,000/yr ~7 hrs/month One seat per category
    Chapter finder →
The competitor trap

Local mortgage bankers or brokers association

Most mortgage brokers join this room first. It is also the one most likely to be the wrong pick. Loan officers know a house is selling 30 to 60 days before anyone else does. Everyone in it does what you do. Join it for the training, the licences, and the ties to manufacturers. Do not join it for referrals, and do not join it instead of the rooms above.

Local mortgage bankers or brokers association →

Let us be straight with you. For mortgage brokers, a weekly referral group is not the best pick. Your partners gather in professional groups instead, so spend your time there. We would rather say that than sell you a seat you do not need.

Block three

Is your seat open?

Prime Time takes one mortgage broker / loan officer per chapter. Put in a South Florida ZIP above and we will show you which seats are open.

Add a ZIP code at the top of the page to see which seats are open.

Get the dates

Have the next meetings sent to you

The rooms above are the answer. This is when they meet. Tell us where to send it and we will email you the next dates for mortgage brokers, with the one page plan.

We already know your trade and your area from this page, so there is nothing else to fill in. We do not ask for a phone number. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.

Take this with you

Your one-page action plan

Five partners, five things to say, three rooms. Print it and keep it in the car.

Networking plan: Mortgage Broker / Loan Officer

The five people who should be sending you clients

  1. Real Estate Agent (Residential) (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: somebody buys a house
  2. CPA / Accountant (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: somebody needs a loan closed
  3. Attorney Real Estate (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: somebody buys a house
  4. Mental Health Therapist (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a marriage ends
  5. Title Company (You send them work)
    Shared trigger: somebody buys a house

The three rooms to be in

  1. Your local Realtor board or association: Your partners are in this room: residential real estate agents, real estate attorneys, and title companies.
  2. Land title association: Your partners are in this room: real estate attorneys, title companies, and appraisers.
  3. Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: residential real estate agents, CPAs, and therapists and counselors.

Don't confuse this with networking: Local mortgage bankers or brokers association. Learning and supplier access, not referrals.