THE ART OF REFERRALS

CONTENTS

3 Section One: The M illion D ollar “Trusted Advisor’s Edge”M indset

5 Section Tw o: H ow to Find M ore Q uality ReferralSources Than You Can H andle

8 Section Three: H ow to Contact and Set Appointm ents W ith Advisors

14 Section Four: H ow to Create Instant Credibility W hen M eeting W ith a CPA or FinancialPlanner

18 Section Five: Building and M aintaining Your CPA and FinancialPlanner D atabase

21 Section Six: H ow to Capture Authoritative Endorsem ents That Allow You to Leverage a Single ReferralInto D ozens

25 Section Seven: The Art ofReferrals—The N ew W ay ofD oing Business

2 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n On e : Th e M i l l i o n D o l l a r “ Tr u s t e d A d v i s o r ’ s Ed g e ” M i n d s e t

D ear M ortgage Professional,

Iam not going to start this report w ith the m echanics ofhow to develop alternative sources of
referrals from CPAs and financialplanners.That’s actually the easy part, because I’ve created a
proven system .The hard part is this…

Mindset.

H ere’s w hat Im ean.U nless you have the proper m indset, you’re never going to be able to use
w hat I’m teaching you… no m atter how easy I’ve m ade it for you.So, w hat is this m indset I’m
talking about?

The m indset is w hat Icallthe “Trusted Advisor’s Edge”.

W hat is the “Trusted A dvisor’s Edge”?

W hat m ost professionals don’t understand is that the m ost professional, credible im age you
can have doesn’t com e from your clothes, your car, or your office.The m ost bulletproofim age
you can have springs up from w ithin you.It com es from having a professional, “I’m here to do
business and you need the service Ideliver”attitude.You have to believe that your “advice”can
actually m ake a life-changing difference.

You have to shift your perspective around 180 degrees from the typicalloan officer.W hen you
have the Trusted Advisor’s Edge, you decide ifyou w ant to do business w ith a CPA or financial
planner, or not.It’s your decision, not theirs. You decide ifthey m eet your qualifications.

You can enhance their service offering and keep their clients happy, because you’re a trusted
and valued resource to them .

But first you’ve got to respect yourselfand the levelofexpertise you bring to the gam e.Stand
tall, look confident, and SH O W them how your advice m akes a life-changing difference to their
clients.

D o you need to be w ellgroom ed and m annered? O fcourse!But, ifyou don’t have that Trusted
Advisor’s Edge m indset, your lack ofconfidence and credibility w illquickly eat aw ay at the illu-
sion of“im age”you are trying to create.

W ith this Trusted Advisor’s Edge m indset that I’m going to give you the tools to

3 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n On e : Th e M i l l i o n D o l l a r “ Tr u s t e d A d v i s o r ’ s Ed g e ” M i n d s e t ( c o n t . )

create, you are going to build a huge stream ofreferrals.

W hen you finally realize that these CPAs and financialplanners, or “advisors”as Icallthem ,
need you because the know ledge, advice, and insight you possess w illhelp them im prove the
financiallives oftheir client and their influence over their clients you w illthen be holding the
cards.You are now the player they w ant to associate w ith.That’s w hy Ihave developed the
tools, techniques, and strategies you are going to learn to use.

Each and every strategy Ishow you puts you in a position ofbringing value to the table—
not begging for the crum bs that are falling from it.You don’t w ant to be like a little puppy, pant-
ing and w agging its tail, hoping you are going to get a referralthrow n to you.W hen you learn to
use these tools and strategies w ith skilland confidence, you are going to stand head and shoul-
ders above typicalloan officers and lenders w ho m ay be com peting for those referrals because
ofthe incredible advice and value you bring to a CPA and financialplanner.

And just as im portantly for those ofyou w ho w ork w ith realtors… you are going to develop a
rem arkably strong posture am ong the realestate agents you’re w orking w ith.W hen you bring
this type ofw orld class advice to the table, they w illuse you as a respected source ofadvice that
m akes a life-changing difference for their clients.The day you realize the pow er ofdoing busi-
ness based on the Trusted Advisor’s Edge is the day you w illgain an incredible sense ofcon-
trolover your grow th and the consistency ofyour business.

Let m e quickly cover a few m ore ofthe benefits you’llexperience w hen you learn to apply the
Trusted Advisor’s Edge m indset to your business.

First, the peaks and valleys in your incom e w illstabilize because you are broadening out your
referralbase.Im agine a pier stretching over the w ater.Each new referralsource you add is like
adding a pillar to its foundation.The m ore pillars, the m ore stable the pier.And so it is w ith
your business.

Second, you w illalso enjoy the levelofbusiness professionalism that com es w hen you begin to
do a lot ofbusiness w ith CPAs and financialplanners.You w illfind their dow n-to-business atti-
tudes and behaviors refreshing.

4 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n Tw o : H o w t o F i n d M o r e Q u a l i t y R e f e r r a l So u r c e s Th a n Y o u Ca n H a n d l e
So w hat’s the first step?

W ell, before you can put any ofm y strategies to w ork, you m ust first be able to find
potentialCPAs and financialplanners.

Ihave developed tw o w ays to get referrals.Let’s look first at the easiest w ay to get
started.

The easiest w ay to generate m ore advisor referrals than you can handle is from your
current custom ers.H ere’s how you do it.

Ihave found that one ofthe m ost professionalw ays to gather quality referrals is during
the initialm eeting w ith one ofm y custom ers.As w e are going over the application, they
m ay not have allthe necessary financialinform ation or tax returns.W hen that situation
arises, Iuse the follow ing script…

“Inotice that your financialinform ation is m issing (or your tax returns are m issing).Let
m e help you out.I’lljust go ahead and give your CPA a callfor you, w ith your perm ission.”

M y custom ers typically respond at this point, “That w ould be great.Iw ould really
appreciate that.”

N ow Iam calling their CPA for a business reason.D uring that business, Iraise the idea
ofchanneling other referrals m y w ay.I’lldiscuss the actualscripts Iuse just a bit later.
N ow , w hat ifthey already have their returns and alltheir financialinform ation?

IfIam m eeting w ith a custom er, and Inotice that a CPA has prepared their returns, Ipay
attention to the nam e ofthe CPA and w here his/her office is located.(Is it geographically
desirable?) Since I’ve been building m y business this w ay allthese years, Ioften know
the CPA.In that case, Iuse this opportunity to build even m ore rapport w ith the client.

“O h, you know so and so? H e or she is a client ofm ine.”

W hen Isee a CPA that is in m y target area, Iw ait for a point in the conversation w here
things are going really w ell, and Isay this…

“By the w ay, Ireceive the m ajority ofm y referrals from CPAs and financialplanners.W ould you

5 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Two: How to Find More Quality Referral Sources Than You Can Handle (cont.)

m ind ifIcalled your CPA?”

“M ay Iuse your nam e?”

This is a very easy (but highly effective) w ay to establish contact w ith CPAs and
financialplanners.

Ialso have a questionnaire that Icallpage 5 ofthe 1003.This is a separate form that Ifill
out for m y clients.Be sure to ask for the nam es ofeveryone:CPA, financialplanner,
insurance agent, hum an resource m anagers and any attorney relationships.See a copy
ofthis form at the end ofthis report.

H o w to G et G r ea t R ef er r a l S o u r c es F r o m th e N ew sp a p er a nd O th er Media

The second m ajor w ay to generate great CPA and financialplanner sources is through the
m edia.W hat do Im ean by m edia? Your localnew spapers, business rags, local
television show s, and the direct m ailpieces you receive at hom e from CPAs, attorneys,
and financialplanners.I’ve coined the term “counter solicitation”to refer to m y
approach w hen Icontact them because they solicited m e first.

H ere are som e hot opportunities that should catch your attention as you scan your local
paper and other m edia sources:

• Look for press releases by one ofyour targeted advisors.

• Look for an article w ritten by one.
• Look at the ads in the papers.(Yes, Iw illcontact them from an ad they have run.)
• Look for an article on “finances”or “taxes”w here the reporter m entions Joe Sm ith, financial
planner, as a source.

W hy do Iem phasize w orking w ith CPAs and financialplanners w ho are getting m edia
attention? PU BLICITY!You need to know w ho is actively m arketing them selves.

Typically, the professionals w ho are aggressively prom oting them selves have a better
clientele base, w hich m eans you w illbe receiving m ore referrals.You are, in a very real
sense, capitalizing on the financialassets they have invested in.These advisors are also
m ore likely to stay in the business long-term .They are m uch m ore stable and an
enduring source ofreferrals.W hen you think about it, they are practically annuities.

6 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Two: How to Find More Quality Referral Sources than You Can Handle (cont.)

Iusually go through the new spaper and localbusiness rags every m orning, and identify
the people Iw ant as m y clients.Ilike to choose m y clients, because Iprefer to do
business w ith people w ho are action-takers and im plem enters.

Think about this for a m om ent… by tapping into these sources that are already spending a
substantialam ount ofm oney prom oting them selves and their practice, you are essentially
able to tap into thousands ofdollars ofadvertising on a m onthly basis w ithout paying a
dim e.You are leveraging offrelationships w ith their custom ers that have taken them
years to build.Consider how long it has taken you to build the database ofcustom ers that
you currently possess and you can really see the value.

By tapping into these sources, you are tapping into years ofw ork, good service, and
thousands ofdollars ofm arketing and advertising expenditures.In addition, you are not
paying a single penny to do it!It is quite literally a hidden gold m ine ofbusiness just
sitting there, w aiting for you to take advantage of.

These professionals are also com m itted to their businesses and are here to stay.O nce you
are locked into this referralsystem , you w illhave lucrative, w arm , and friendly referrals
flow ing your w ay for years to com e.

7 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n Th r e e : H o w t o Co n t a c t a n d Se t A p p o i n t m e n t s W i t h A d v i s o r s

N ow that you have located potentialCPA and financialplanner referralsources to w ork

w ith, you need to:

N um ber O ne:G et through to them and…

N um ber Tw o:M ake a G REAT first im pression so you can begin the process of
developing a long-term business relationship.

CAU TIO N :D o not m ilk them for allthe referrals you can possibly get out ofthem in the
very first m eeting or conversation on the phone.Rem em ber… relationship building is a
life-long process.You w illhave a m uch better chance by taking it slow during the initial
m eeting for building a long-term referralsource.

H ave you ever had the opportunity to sit in a m ajor port or harbor and w atch them bring
in those m onstrous 600-foot oiltankers or cargo ships for docking? The cables they use
to tie these vessels to the dock are m assive.It is an im possibility to throw one ofthese
lines from the ship to the dock.In fact, it is im possible for a hum an to even pick up one
ofthese cables.

So, here is w hat they have to do.

First, they throw a thin rope that has been w eighed dow n on the end, over the dock.Even
a child could throw it a long distance.W hen that rope reaches the dock, a longshorem an
begins to pullthat thin rope to shore.D o you know w hat is tied to the end ofthat thin
rope? A m uch thicker rope.N ow , the thick rope is pulled to shore, and you probably can
guess w hat is attached to it… that’s right, the m assive cable that is used to pullthe ship
in.

Keep that im age in m ind during your initialcontact w ith these professionals.G oing for
every referralthey have during the first callw ould be virtually im possible.You could
end up dam aging a viable long-term referralsource.

The goalduring the initialcontact is tw o-fold:

First, you m ust qualify this individual.D o you w ant to invest your precious tim e
developing a relationship w ith this prospect?

Secondly you w ant him /her to see you as an honest, extraordinarily know ledgeable, and

8 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n Th r e e : H o w t o Co n t a c t a n d Se t A p p o i n t m e n t s W i t h A d v i s o r s ( c o n t . )

totally credible trusted advisor loan officer.

W ith that said, let m e first go into the exact steps and scripts to use w hen you are first
m aking contact w ith a financialprofessional.

Before you m ake the first m eeting, Ihighly recom m end doing som e quick research on
google.com so you have a basic understanding ofhow this professionalpresents
them selves to their custom ers.Be sure to use the “LIN K’S Search”before every
m eeting—review chapter nine for som e advanced G oogle search tips.

N ow let’s start w ith a referralyou have received from one ofyour ow n custom ers.The
best w ay to approach a referralis to m ention the referring parties’nam e first, before you
m ention your ow n nam e.H ere is an exam ple:

“H ello, Joe.Suzy Funding suggested that Igive you a call.Iunderstand you prepare her
tax returns?”

“Yes, Ido.”

“M y nam e is D ave Savage w ith XYZ M ortgage, and Iam currently in the process of
processing a m ortgage for her (or just closed a loan for her).”Ithen let them know
that Ispecialize in w orking w ith CPAs and financialplanners by saying,

“D o you ever have clients w ho have a need for realestate financing?”

“Sure.”

“D o your clients ever ask you about realestate financing?”

“Yes.”

“G reat.Iw illsend you a letter introducing m yselfand the kinds ofservices Iprovide to m y cli-
ents, along w ith a few testim onials from past clients.Then, Iw illgive you a follow -up calland
schedule an appointm ent w ith you.”This is a key first step because Iw ant to create som e credi-
bility and differentiation before w e continue talking.M ost loan officers w illskip this step and
just go for the close, notto m ention they w illnot have a credibility building package like m ine.

9 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n Th r e e : H o w t o Co n t a c t a n d Se t A p p o i n t m e n t s W i t h A d v i s o r s ( c o n t . )

I’d especially like to point out the im portance ofsending the advisor som e
actualexam ples ofthe analysis and advice you provide to your clients.If
you are a M ortgage Coach M arketing M achine user, send them som e
sam ple reports and analyses you created using it.These exam ples ofthe
professionalservice you provide w illm ake a huge im pression on the advi-
sor and cause them to see you as the professionalcolleague you are.

The next tim e Icallthem up, Iw illschedule an appointm ent.After the

opening pleasantries, Iuse som e form ofthe follow ing script…

Examples of reports and analyses created

u si ng th e M ortg ag e C oach M ark eti ng “W ell, I’d like to schedule an appointm ent w ith you so that Ican explain
M ach i ne to you how m y
advice is different than that oftypicalloan officers and lenders.W ould
Thursday at
8:00 am w ork for you?”

That is the best w ay to get the first appointm ent.

Ifyou are calling from an article, advertisem ent, or other m ailing piece that you have
seen, the only changes are your opening rem arks.It’s very sim ple.You just need to
m ention the piece, and they are going to take your call.

“Inoticed the article you w ere quoted in on Tuesday.The reason for m y callis I
specialize in w orking w ith CPAs and financialplanners.Iw ould like to schedule an
appointm ent w ith you to show you how m y advice is different than that oftypicalloan
officers and lenders.W ould Thursday at 8:00 am be good for you?”

After that, the process is identicalto how you w ould w ork w ith an advisor that w as
referred to you from a custom er.

W hat ifhe is already w orking w ith a m ortgage broker?

“Ihave a guy Ihave already been referring business to.”

“IfIsend you m y business cards, w ould you have a problem offering your clients a
choice?”

“Yes/N o.”

1 0 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n Th r e e : H o w t o Co n t a c t a n d Se t A p p o i n t m e n t s W i t h A d v i s o r s ( c o n t . )

“W ell, it sounds like he has been doing an adequate job for you.” Suggestion:Iw ould
like to share w ith you som e criticalinform ation that m akes m e different from other loan
officers.M y advice m akes a life-changing difference for your clients because:

“W hat really m akes m e different is that Ihave a very unique approach—m ost loan officers just
quote rates and fees… Ido w hat is called a TotalCost Analysis to help them m ake an inform ed
decision.I’m com m itted to providing your clients w ith advice that m akes a difference for them .

W hat Iw ould like to do is sit dow n w ith you, since Iget m ost ofm y business from CPAs and
financialplanners, (Let them know that you dealalm ost exclusively w ith CPAs) and explain the
advisory softw are that Iuse and show you how AD VICE m akes a difference.The advice that I
provide your clients help them m ake better decisions.W ould that m ake any sense for you? D o
you have any interest in that?”

The answ er is alm ost alw ays, “Yes.”

“Let’s do this.It should only take about 30 m inutes to go over the report and analysis
that Iuse that has been very successfulassisting other CPAs to provide advice that
generates m ore referrals.”

N ow , ifI sense that this guy isn’t going to be a great source ofreferrals, I m ay not w ant
to take tim e out ofm y schedule to personally m eet w ith him . In that case, I use this
alternative w rap-up.

I’m going to send you a letter ofintroduction, business cards, a few sam ple reports (e.g.Rate-
W atch, TotalCost, Equity Repositioning Analysis), and a couple ofletters ofrecom m endation
from past clients.

Then Isend him the InfoFAX on a regular schedule, but w on’t com m it m y tim e for a
personalvisit w ith him .InfoFAX is a new sletter that focuses on educating professionals about
interesting rates and the econom ic factors influencing them .G iven today’s m arket, Ihighly rec-
om m end Barry H abib’s M ortgage M arket G uide (w w w .m ortgagem arketguide.com ) to provide
you w ith the content for this strategy.

Let m e point out to you how strong this m akes your posture w hen approaching advisors
and w hen battling w ith com peting brokers for referrals.

1 1 02/2007
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THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n Th r e e : H o w t o Co n t a c t a n d Se t A p p o i n t m e n t s W i t h A d v i s o r s ( c o n t . )

H ere are three sim ple strategies that m ake m e different from the com petition:

1. The fact that m y advice m akes a life-changing difference to your clients.

2. U sing the M arketing M achine, Iam going to continue to provide them w ith a m onthly
RateW atch report to m ake sure they have the best loan today and for m any years to com e.
3. Every tw o w eeks, Iw illbe either faxing or e-m ailing m y InfoFAX using M ortgage M arket
G uide’s content.

1 3 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n F o u r : H o w t o Cr e a t e I n s t a n t Cr e d i b i l i t y W h e n M e e t i n g W i t h a CP A
o r F in a n c ia l P la n n e r

In this section, Iw ant to teach you how to conduct your first face-to-face presentation
w ith CPAs and FinancialPlanners.The prim ary goalis to establish credibility as a
professionaland develop a strong rapport.

First, Iuse relevant questions to take control.Ialso establish credibility as a know ledgeable
professionalthrough the questions Ichoose to ask, and by visually show ing them sam ples of
the advanced reports in the M ortgage Coach and the M ortgage M achine service delivery vehi-
cle.Iusually start w ith the RateW atch report because everyone is im pressed w ith the unique
value it represents.It dem onstrates tw o pow erfulm essages:First, it im m ediately dem onstrates
that Ihave advice and tools they haven’t seen from other lenders.Secondly, it show s them m y
com m itm ent to m y clients after the sale to ensure m y clients alw ays have the best loan avail-
able in the m arket.This report establishes trust and credibility that gives you an im m ediate
com petitive advantage.

It is im portant that you continue to build instant credibility for yourself.

After you establish rapport, use questions that show you have an understanding ofhis/her
business.Ask them personalquestions about the last tim e they financed a hom e.Iask
them contrast questions, such as:

“D id the last loan officer you w orked w ith do an analysis such as a TotalCost Analysis?”
Then drilldow n on the value ofdebt reduction and asset accum ulation.“D oes your
lender or loan officer track your m ortgage on an on going basis, show ing you how

1 4 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n F o u r : H o w t o Cr e a t e I n s t a n t Cr e d i b i l i t y W h e n M e e t i n g W i t h a CP A
o r F in a n c ia l P la n n e r (c o n t .)

today’s loan program s and interest rates com pare to your current m ortgage?”(See sam ple Total
Cost Analysis >> See sam ple RateW atch Report>>)

Rem em ber—in m y situa-

tion, Iearn m ost ofm y busi-
ness from CPAs and finan-
cialplanners.Because of
this, it is criticalthat Idem -
onstrate that Ihave know l-
edge oftheir
business.

Iuse questions Ihave devel-

oped to dem onstrate a ba-
sic understanding ofhis/her
business.Iw illgive you a
sam ple dialog ofthe inter-
view process Igo through.
T h e reports from T h e M ortg ag e C oach —a cru ci al k ey to referral su ccess.
You w illnotice that Iam
also qualifying them to see ifthey m eet m y criteria as som eone Iw ant to spend m y tim e on.

Idon’t have a specific script that Igo through every single tim e.The goalthat Iw ant to accom -
plish is tw o fold.First is to m ake this person like, trust, and respect m e.Second is
to com pletely qualify this individual.

The objective is not to see how m any referrals Ican m ilk out ofhim /her in a single
m eeting.M y goalis to establish the beginning ofa long-term relationship.People
like it, and are im pressed w hen you m ake it a point to know a lot about them and their
business or industry.H ere are som e questions Istart offw ith to get him /her to open up
to start telling m e about their business, and establish m y professionalcredibility:

• H ow m any CPAs are in this office?

• H ow m any partners do you have?
• H ow long have you been in business?
• Is your em phasis m ore on getting individualor business clients?
• H ow m any tax returns do you prepare a year?

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THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n F o u r : H o w t o Cr e a t e I n s t a n t Cr e d i b i l i t y W h e n M e e t i n g W i t h a CP A
o r F in a n c ia l P la n n e r (c o n t .)

• W hat is your m ix betw een corporate clients verses individuals?

• G eographically, w here do your clients com e from ?
• H ow do you m arket? (Som e CPAs from the old schooldo not like to m arket.)
• H ow aggressively are you looking to expand?
• Are you looking to expand your practice or are you happy w ith your current flow ofbusi-
ness?
• H ave you referred business to other lenders in the past?
• H ave you seen the types ofreports and analysis that Ihave show n you today?
• D oes you current lender send you a RateW atch report?

You should not ask allofthese questions in one sitting. You are not w riting a book, you
are sim ply trying to find a little about this advisor’s business and w arm him /her up a bit.
It is very im portant that you ask these questions in a casualm anner and be yourself.

At this point, Iam in controland Ihave peaked their interest.Iw ent from being som e guy
offthe street looking for a referral, to being an interesting trusted advisor.

W a tc h O u t f o r T h ese C r edib il ity L a nd Mines

D uring this interview , there are tw o serious credibility land m ines that can blow both
your professionalism , and any chance ofever seeing a referralout ofthe w ater.
The first land m ine is acting like you need the business.D esperation is like bad
cologne… you can sm ellit!Rem em ber, earlier Iadm onished you to throw aw ay the
“little puppy hoping for a crum b to falloffthe table m indset”and take on the “Trusted
Advisors Edge”m indset.N obody likes doing business w ith som eone w ho seem s
desperate.But they w illstand in line to do business w ith som eone they respect w ho’s in
dem and.

The second land m ine is forgetting you are there to provide them w ith valuable
know ledge and advice.Rem em ber, you are there to help them .You are not there to ask
them for business or help.You are there to provide them w ith life-changing advice and
inform ation.You are there w ith the attitude of“Ifyou don’t do business w ith m e you are
m aking a m istake.”You are there w ith totalconfidence in w hat you have to provide.
You’re not there to sellthem som ething.You are show ing them “Iam here to m ake an
im pact and this is ofno cost to you.”That is the attitude you should carry.N ot having
the trusted advisor’s edge is your biggest land m ine.By visually show ing the reports

1 6 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n F o u r : H o w t o Cr e a t e I n s t a n t Cr e d i b i l i t y W h e n M e e t i n g W i t h a CP A
o r F in a n c ia l P la n n e r (c o n t .)

generated by the M ortgage Coach, you w illclearly separate yourselffrom any loan
officer he has m et in the past.

The beginning ofm y advisor com m unication program starts w hen Ifirst m eet w ith them .
But, Iam carefulnot to ask for referrals every single tim e Icall.Im ay only ask every
other tim e.Iuse the other contacts to give them updates on the m arket or other valuable
inform ation.

Ialso add them to m y InfoFAX list and begin to fax a new sletter every tw o w eeks—again, using
Barry H abib’s M ortgage M arket G uide’s e-m ailnew sletters.

In addition, Idon’t lim it m yselfby m erely asking for loan referrals.These CPAs and
financialplanners can be great sources ofleads to other CPAs and attorneys, etc.H ere is a sim -
ple w ay to ask.Let’s assum e you just asked for a loan referraland they didn’t have
one for you.

“Idon’t have anybody right now .”

“That’s ok. W ho do you know that is a financialplanner or perhaps another CPA in

your office? W ho is your m ost successfulfriend in the business? D o you m ind ifI
use your nam e?”

You w illsoon have m ore CPAs and financialplanners than you can possibly follow up
w ith using this system .So, it is going to be vitalthat you develop a system atic w ay to
Follow up and capitalize on these valuable referralsources.This is w hy Ithink it is
im portant for m e to teach you this system for keeping track ofallyour advisors,
determ ining w hich ones you should spend your tim e and attention into cultivating.

You m ust train and condition your advisors on how to refer business back to you. At the
beginning, m any ofthese advisors that you contact w illnot have been trained on how to
keep a look out.It w illtake an attentive ear (on the advisor’s part), trained to listen for
those cues and clues that are opportunities to send you business in addition to giving
value-added service to their clients.

1 7 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Se c t i o n F i v e : B u i l d i n g a n d M a i n t a i n i n g Y o u r CP A a n d F i n a n c i a l P l a n n e r D a t a b a s e

This section is the heart and soulofm y system .

W hile the principles are easy enough to apply, you need to keep this fact in m ind:ifyou
do not continuously and professionally follow up and keep in touch w ith the CPAs and
financialplanners, allthe w ork you have done up untilnow w illhave been a totalw aste
oftim e.

The engine that keeps m y referralm achine going year after year is the follow -up system
Ihave developed that keeps m e in constant contact w ith m y advisors.Ifyou are not
using a contact m anagem ent softw are program to m aintain your database, you need to
invest in one.Ihave put m y entire system on com puter, so allIhave to do is push a
button and the letter or fax is on the w ay.In fact, the program even rem inds m e w hen to
send w hich docum ent.

Iknow that you have heard about the 80/20 rule.

You w ant to spend 80% ofyour tim e and energy on the top 20% ofyour advisors.Ihave
developed a system that easily allow s you to focus your tim e and energy on these very
valuable relationships.H ere is how Iclassify and keep track ofallm y advisors and advisors-to-
be.

A dvisor/Suspect: Any kind ofCPA and financialplanner that has been given to m e as a
referralor, Ihave seen a lot ofm edia attention given to.The actions Itake are:

1. A qualifying phone call;

2. Sending an introduction letter, clienttestim onials, and printed exam ples ofm y services,
including RateW atch, a credit report, and an equity review ;
3. Ifthe advisor sees prom ising, Im ay take an appointm ent.

A dvisor/Prospect—I had 399 prospects in this segm ent: Anyone Ihave talked to w ho
has m et m y criteria and qualifies.Ipersonally w illtake a CPA, for exam ple, w ho has at
least 100 clients.(These num bers vary for financialplanners.You w illhave to
develop your ow n criteria for each category ofadvisor.) H ere are m y action steps:

1. At least four calls per year;

2. Six m ailpieces a year;
3. Follow -up letters;
4. Send sam ples ofRateW atch, a credit report, and an equity review .

1 8 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Fiv e: B uilding and Maintaining Your CP A and Financial P lanner D atab ase (cont.)

A dvisor/Silver—I had 161 clients in this segm ent: These people have
identified
them selves by telling m e that they w illdefinitely refer m e business and
they have at least
200 clients.H ere are the action steps:

1. At least four calls a year;

2. Six m ailpieces a year;
3. Follow -up letters;
4. Thank-you cards;
5. InfoFAX—fax/e-m ail;
6. Send sam ples ofRateW atch, a credit report, and an equity review .

A dvisor/G old—I had 118 clients in this segm ent: These are the top 30%
ofm y
advisors.They have referred business m y w ay and Ihave established a
strong
Sample RateWatch Report
relationship w ith them .These are the action steps:

1. Six or m ore calls a year;

2. Printed exam ples ofm y services;
3. Six m ailpieces;
4. InfoFAX—fax/e-m ail;
5. Send sam ples ofRateW atch, a credit report, and an equity review ;
6. Thank-you cards;
7. Follow up letters.

A dvisor/Partners—I had 115 clients in this segm ent: These are m y

best 20 to 30 clients
or the best 15% .This is m y sales force.They are constantly calling m e w ith
referrals.I
do a lot ofspecialthings for these advisors.You w illrealize that by looking
at the action steps that Itake to m aintain the relationship.

1. Six or m ore calls a year;

Sample E q u i ty Repos i ti on i n g A n aly s i s
2. Printed exam ples ofm y services;
3. Six m ailpieces;
4. Invite to lunch and/or dinner annually;

1 9 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Fiv e: B uilding and Maintaining Your CP A and Financial P lanner D atab ase (cont.)

5. InfoFAX—fax/e-m ail;
6. Send sam ples ofRateW atch, a credit report, and an
equity review ;
7. Send Christm as card;
8. Thank-you cards;
9. Send birthday cards.

N ote:Iuse the M ortgage Coach M arketing M achine to cre-

ate the printed exam ples ofRateW atch, credit reports, and
equity review s.

Isee m yselfas a source oftrusted know ledge and advice.IfI

have identified and established contact w ith a CPA or finan-
cialplanner that has the ability to refer business to m e, I C reate referral-g enerati ng pri nted reports
need to send him m y InfoFAX, interest-rate updates, and, and rev i ew s u si ng th e M ark eti ng M ach i ne.

callup occasionally.Ifhe sees som ething com e overthe fax

from m e every m onth or so, and he sees things com e across his desk from m e in the m ailevery
other m onth, it w on’t be long before he is referring business.

Itry to keep contact going for 3 to 6 m onths, and then ifthe advisor never returns m y
calls or sends m e any referrals, Iw illreduce his priority.There are just too m any fish in
the sea to keep w asting m y tim e on som eone w ho doesn’t w ant to refer business to m e.

H ow ever, don’t forget the im portance ofpatience.Som e ofm y very best referral
generators took a long tim e to harvest.

This system w orks w ellfor m oving people through a series ofstages that gradually
increase their loyalty to you and helps m axim ize how you invest your tim e.

This is the system and approach that helped m e close 252 loans and generated over
$962,500 in annualcom m ission—w ithout talking to realtors.W hile Ido not expect
you to take this to the extrem e that Ihave, Iw ould like you to fully realize that you can
develop a new source ofreferrals this w ay and dram atically expand your present incom e.

20 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Six : How to Cap ture A uthoritativ e E ndorsem ents That A llow You to
L ev erag e a Sing le Referral I nto D oz ens

In the finalsection ofthis report, Iam going to revealone ofm y m ost recent and pow erfulde-
velopm ents in getting floods ofreferrals calling m e.Ifbuilding and m aintaining your CPA and
FinancialPlanner database is the heart and soulofm y system , then capturing authoritative
endorsem ents are the brain.W hy? It’s the sm art w ay to turn a single referralinto dozens.

Severalm onths ago, a m arketing consultant said to m e, “Your referralsystem is great,

but you are m issing the realleverage ofw hat you are sitting on.Ibet that ifyou actually
had these CPAs and financialplanners m ailout a very strong endorsem ent letter disguised as
an im portant financialupdate, you could turn those passive referralstream s
into running rivers ofreferralgold w ithin days.”(Yes, he really does talk like that.) I
thought about w hat he said and figured it w as at least w orth a try.O nce Iw as able to get
the first test out in the m ail, Iw as stunned.

W ithin hours ofthat letter hitting people’s desks in the m orning, Iw as getting calls.
Actually, ten calls the first day!Ihadn’t even m ailed that m any (about 400).Som e of
the calls are people w ho w ere presently refinancing, and others w ere people just seeing if
they got a good dealw hen they recently refinanced, but at least 20% ofthose
calls are lay dow n, highly qualified clients.

Yahoo!Yahoo!Yahoo!

W hat is the point to this little story?

Ifyou presently have even a casualrelationship w ith CPAs or financialplanners, you

could generate dozens ofnew loans w ithin days ofm ailing this letter.In fact, this letter
w ould w ork for a strong realestate agent’s custom er base ifyou w anted to try that out.

Ifyou have not yet been convinced that you need to add another pillar to your business
by developing relationships w ith advisors, this little letter and m arketing concept should
graphically show you the num ber ofdeals that are just slipping aw ay though your fingers.

This section should serve as a w ake up callto that part ofyour brain that w ants to m ake
m ore cash in a hurry, w ithout having to w ork really hard to get it.This is alm ost better
than the D om ino’s pizza slogan “H ot pizza delivered to your doorstep in 30 m inutes or
less”.

21 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Six : How to Cap ture A uthoritativ e E ndorsem ents That A llow You to
L ev erag e a Sing le Referral I nto D oz ens (cont.)

This slogan could be “H ot, qualified referrals delivered to your doorstep… ”

Anyw ay, Ithink you get the point Iam trying to m ake.Let’s get to the exact steps you
need to take to m ake this dream a reality.

Tw o ofthe m ostim portantthings Ihave found in getting the endorsem ents are:

• One: Finding a selfish intereston their part.A m otivation for them to do this letter.You have
gotto find outw hat m akes them tick and go, “YEA H !Iw antit.Let’s do itnow .”G etthem inter-
ested, getthem to say, “Yes, thatis a greatidea and Ican see how thatw ould benefitm y busi-
ness.”K eep sending differentinform ation over to them , discussing w hy this alliance m akes
sense.You have got to tie it to how itis going to m ake m ore business for them .
• Tw o: M ake itsim ple.O ffer to take care ofallthe folding and labeling, offer to com e over and
dow nload the inform ation rightonto your com puter.O ffer to w ork w ith their adm inistrative
assistant.Justm ake itas painless and hassle-free as possible for them .

D o notgetthese tw o turned around.W hen Ifirststarted, Iw ould say how easy Iw as

going to m ake this for them and they keptforgetting to send itoutin their new sletter or
m onthly m ailing.They w ould say they did nothave the tim e or had justforgotten.

A fter Ilearned to convince them that“this w illm ake your telephone ring, this w ill
generate leads for you,”they forgotthatIhad even m entioned Iw as going to take care of
the cost.Iw ould actually have to rem ind them ofthat.

A nother m istake w as thatIjustcharged in there.Ididn’task enough questions.Iw entin

w ith a presentation, “H ere’s a hot strategy and letter.Itcan m ake your phone ring.Itis
going to generate leads.Itis tim ely inform ation for your clients thatIknow you w illw ant
to give them .”Idid notsetitup properly—they need to believe that this w as in their ow n
bestinterest.

H ere is a very effective and proven w ay to get this endorsem ent letter sent out quickly.

“D o you send out new s pieces to your clients about taxes and interest rates, etc.? G reat.
W hat is the purpose for you doing that?”

“Iw ant to provide m y client w ith inform ation and keep m y nam e in front ofthem .”

22 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Six : How to Cap ture A uthoritativ e E ndorsem ents That A llow You to
L ev erag e a Sing le Referral I nto D oz ens (cont.)

“That’s great.So, the m ore w e can keep your nam e in front ofthe clients, the better?”

“Absolutely.Ialw ays like to do that.”

“W hy don’t you do it m ore often?”

“Idon’thave the tim e.”O r “Itcosts m oney.”

“A nd do you like itw hen your clients callyou aboutthe things thatyou send outto
them ?”

“O fcourse.”

“D o you like itbecause thatis an opportunity to getm ore referrals?”

“Yes.”

“H ere is w hatI’d like to do, since itis m utually beneficialto both ofus.This is
som ething thatcan benefit m e, as w ellas you.Since you are putting up the database and
w e are sending this letter outto your clients, Iw illpick up the costand w illfold, stack,
stuffand send outallthe m ailers.”

The bestw ay to handle this is to say, “I’llcom e in and dow nload your inform ation into
m y laptop.”Then, handle everything yourself.

Anything you can do to make it simple for them.

Say, “Let’s schedule tw o hours on Saturday afternoon.”O r “Let’s schedule tw o hours on

such and such.Iw illsitdow n w ith your assistant, and I’lldo w hatever
needs to be done to help you getthis job done.”

Thatis the best w ay to do it.

The bottom line is to have them m otivated to w hy they w antto do it, w hy itm akes sense
to them , and w hy itw illbenefittheir business.Then, you have to go in and m ake iteasy.
Take as m uch controlofthe process as possible, because itw illshorten the tim eline on
getting those m oneym aking endorsem ents outthe door.

23 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Six : How to Cap ture A uthoritativ e E ndorsem ents That A llow You to
L ev erag e a Sing le Referral I nto D oz ens (cont.)

This is im portant:W hen these people startcalling you up and things are going w ell, do
notforgetto startasking for referrals.Your profits are going to grow geom etrically by doing this.
A lw ays ask for the referral!

24 02/2007
THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Sev en: The A rt of Referrals—A Rev olutionary W ay of D oing B usiness

In this report, I’ve told you how to take charge ofyour referral-creation process.First, Itold you
about the m illion dollar “Trusted Advisor’s Edge”m indset you need to have.This m indset
com es from having a professional“I’m here to do business and you need the service Ideliver”
attitude.W hen you believe that your advice can actually m ake a life-changing difference and
you possess the know ledge and insight financialadvisors need to im prove the lives oftheir cli-
ents and them selves, they w illrealize that you are a professionalthat they cannot afford to do
business w ithout.

In the second section, Ishow ed you how to find m ore quality referralsources than you can han-
dle.The w ay is to establish relationships w ith financialadvisors.The best w ay to do this is by
going through your ow n current clients.You can either ask them w ho their financialadvisors
are or glean their advisor’s inform ation directly from your clients’financialdocum ents.Another
great w ay to locate financialadvisors is to find them in new spapers and other m edia.A diligent
effort on these tw o fronts w illyield m ore referrals than you can handle!

Third, Ioutlined a m ethod ofcontacting and setting up appointm ents w ith advisors.As w ith
anything w orthw hile, contacting and m eeting w ith advisors needs to be done right.Itherefore
broke this m ethod into tw o basic steps.The first is to getthrough to the advisors so that you
can establish the foundations ofa future relationship.The second is to m ake a great first im -
pression so you can begin the process ofdeveloping a long-term business relationship.

As exciting as getting leads to financialadvisors can be, don’t just charge out ofthe gate!Iw rote
Section Four to help you build your relationships w ith advisors by gradually establishing credi-
bility and rapport.As a M ortgage Planner, your initialgoalis notto m ilk an advisor for allthe
referrals he can give you.Rather, it is to establish a long-term relationship that w illafford both
you and him professionalsuccess and advancem ent throughout the years.O nce the relation-
ship is firm ly footed in professionalrapport, personaltrust, and m utualbenefit, the sky’s the
lim it.Just w atch out for credibility land-m ines along the w ay!

In the fifth section, Irevealed the “heart and soul”ofm y referralsystem :building and m aintain-
ing your CPA and FinancialPlanner database.Allthe w ork you’ve done up untilnow requires
m aintenance.You need to continuously and professionally follow up and keep in touch w ith
your advisors.H ow do you do this? Sim ply use m y tried and true follow -up system to focus the
appropriate am ount ofattention on each advisor.In general, this involves categorizing your

25 02/2007
 THE ART OF REFERRALS

Section Sev en: The A rt of Referrals—A Rev olutionary W ay of D oing B usiness (cont.)

contacts and then expending the bulk ofyour effort on the m ost productive ofyour contacts,
w hile stillm aintaining appropriate contact w ith the rest ofyour contacts according to m y care-
fully devised contact and m ailing plan.By using this plan, you can nurture your advisors so that
they becom e steady stream s ofreferralw ealth!

Finally, Italked about how to capture authoritative endorsem ents that allow you to leverage a
single referralinto dozens.Ido this by using a sim ple, enterprising letter and m arketing cam -
paign in close cooperation w ith the financialadvisors w ho are m ost successfuland w ith w hom
you have the closest relationship.This approach w ill, in the w ords ofone ofm y m arketing con-
sultant friends, “turn those passive referralstream s into running rivers ofreferralgold w ithin
days”!

N ow you know the Art ofReferrals.You have before you a slam -dunk m ethod ofgoing from
being a typicalloan officer w ho is banking on future new custom ers to being a trusted advisor
w ho has a steady, predictable, and m ultiplying referral-driven business.This revolutionary w ay
ofdoing business has w orked for m e and thousands ofsuccessfulM ortgage Planners.And it
w illw ork for you too.Allthat is left is for you to do it.W elcom e to the w onderfulw orld ofrefer-
ral-driven business!

For more information on my ideas and insights, subscribe to my blog, Savage Insights,
at w w w . savageinsights. com.

For more information on T he M ortgage C oach and T he M ortgage C oach M ark eting
M achine, p lease visit w w w . mortgagecoach. com or call 1 -8 0 0 -9 5 1 -2 6 9 6 .

26 02/2007