Are you looking for the secret to successfully marketing your business as a loan officer? It can be summed up in one word - relationships.

Okay, maybe this sounds like an old saw - create relationships with real estate agents and watch business come to you. So what's the problem? Well, the probelm is that you may have contact or an acquaintance with agents, not a real relationship; and the reason you don't have a relationship is that you are focusing your efforts on too many agents - not targeting your efforts to the ones that are the best fit for you business.

So Many Real Estate Agents, So Little Time

Regardless of what state or city you live in, there are tens of thousands of real estate agents competing for business. To a loan officer, this may sound like a great ratio for business, but as you know, not all agents are created equally.

If you take the total number of property sales in your area and divided it by the number or real estate agents, it would appear that most agents sell about three properties a year. Could that possibly be true? If it were, there would be a lot of starving real estate agents. Obviously it's not an accurate average. Some productive agents will close on hundreds of properties, while others will be lucky to sell just one.

Establish a Profile

Of course, you don't want to focus efforts on those agents that are likely to sell just a handful of homes during the year. You want to focus your efforts on agents that meet your criteria in a number of ways - you want to focus your marketing efforts on real estate agents that meet your demographic.

• Years in Business - How long an agent has been in business is important. A new agent may be highly motivated to work with you, but they may not have much experience marketing, they may not have much referral business, etc.

• Marketing Budget - How much money annually will the agent spend on their marketing efforts? If they can't afford to market their business, they may not have enough volume to make it worth your effort.

• Sales Volume - What is the average monthly sales volume of the agent? You want to focus on someone who has a strong and growing client base.

• Type of Buyer -Some agents work with specific buyers - first time buyers, retirees, investment buyers, etc.

• Employment Type - Does the agent work full-time or part-time?

• Realtor Type - Is the agent a listing agent, buyer agent, or both?

• Values - One of the most overlooked components of a relationship is finding someone who shares your values, especially as it relates to your business.

The more information you have about your target, the better you are able to focus your efforts. Instead of taking a "shotgun" approach to your marketing, you can take aim and focus on the people that will make the most difference to your business.

Work Your Profile

After you have a better idea of your target agent, you still need to find ways to market your efforts to the target audience. One great tool for getting a list of prospects is working through title representatives.

Just as in the same way that agents get a farm kit listing from title reps, you can get a list of agents that meet your demographic. You may have to take the time to explain what you are looking for a few times, but eventually you'll get the information that helps you focus your efforts on the best prospects.

You can also contact real estate offices in your area. Keep your eye on real estate magazines and guides. Contact agents that meet your criteria and get their email or web address.

Make sure that whatever method of prospecting you use that you capture email addresses for those prospects. Sending emails is a great way to prospect quickly and cost effectively.

Your time is precious - when you use your time to focus on your ideal target market, your marketing efforts will pay off in business success - both for you and the real estate agent.