Full Transcript is Below:
– Welcome into another edition of NFM TV. I am your hose Greg Sher with one of NFM’s top producers, Justus Sharp. This is gonna be great for those originators, Justus, that are closing three to five loans a month. You work out the Columbus, Ohio area, and just want to thank you for being with us live on the set at NFM’s headquarters in Linthicum, Maryland. Thanks for being with us.
– Thanks for having me, I really enjoy it.
– It is a pleasure. So just to give people some context around you, you are closing between 10 and 15 loans a month consistently. And so again, this is, this is designed to give some insight to those people that want to get that breakthrough, that want to go from three to five loans, to that 10 to 15 level that you’ve achieved. What was the defining moment for you and what advice do you have to people out there that are trying to get to that, punch-through next level?
– Yeah, well obviously, a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication and just great relationships. Really focusing in on great realtor partnerships, great business partnerships, and just taking care of families, each and every one that we touch.
– Alright, so that’s a lot of high level stuff. Get granular for our folks. When you say, a lot of deep relationships, what does that really mean, what does that entail? What are some things that you do to go deep?
– Yeah, sure, so I mean, I think that we really, not only do we care for the business partnership, but also every one of our real estate agents that we work with, we have a friendship with them too. So it just forms over, over time, that they continue to trust us. And it goes, goes even further when we’re taking care of their own individual deals, and even their families are referred to us, so, I think that that’s very, very important.
– So you, I think you call that loving on your realtors? Right?
– Yes, absolutely.
– So I think some people get intimidated by that because, you know, do I gift my realtors, do I love them? How majestic do I have to be to really stick out? But, I know that it, that’s not what it takes. Sometimes it’s the littlest things that make the biggest impact. What are some examples?
– I mean, I do a ton of thank you cards. Just scratching out–
– [Greg] Hand-written. Yeah.
– Hand written thank you cards. I get a ton of those, I actually just had a message from two of my realtor partners today for the handwritten birthday cards that they received from us, so it’s just taking that, a lot of people don’t go that extra mile any more, so.
– Yeah, so your sphere of influence, give us a window into that. How many realtors are you hitting on on a weekly basis that are new? And then if you could also, like a two-parter, tell us the people that are already in the inner circle for you, what’s the goal? Is it to have five realtors that give you the majority of your business? Do you spread it out thinner? I know that’s a lot but, see if you can answer.
– Yeah, sure, sure. So, we like to go as, as deep as possible so I think that it’s not really the number of relationships, I think it’s the quality of relationships. So we do target some of the newer agents that we feel have a great upside, and we can really help their business. So, for the newer ones that we help, it’s anywhere from 10 to 12 that we’re looking at reaching out to on a weekly basis, just to see if there is an opportunity for us, our team concept, to really help them catapult their business.
– So how do you, how do you recognize that? What are some qualities that, that realtors you think can get to that next level will have?
– Yeah, so I think if they have a business plan. I think it’s, we really want to try to sit down with them and get an individual snapshot of what their goals are, what maybe pain points they have in their business. But also some of the successes that they’re having and kind of strengthen those successes and move them forward.
– Okay, so in order to close 10 to 15 loans, it’s pretty impossible to do it, just one person doing everything in the loan process. I know you’ve got some LOAs and assistants that are helping you. What’s that look like?
– Yeah, so we have a loan partner that I have. He’s been with me for about a year and a half. His name’s Billy, so he–
– What’s up Billy?
– He has really helped out with great relationships and our real estate agents and business partners really trust him too. We’ve introduced him and taken him out to meet them, and again, I think it’s all about the relationship.
– Okay, what else? What other components, ’cause he could be a front guy for you when you’re busy, but you’ve got other people and other things in place that allow the loan to continue to move, even if you’re not the one touching it. So what do those pieces look like?
– Right, well obviously from a corporate level, we have some great underwriters. We have also, some fantastic technology that is really supporting us. So I think it’s the right mix. It’s that individual touch, but also the technology that you can leverage to streamline the process and really make it buttoned-up.
– How about co-marketing, lunch and learns, do you do any of that stuff?
– Yeah, yeah. As a matter of fact, we’re doing a lunch and learn for our real estate agents. We’re bringing them a CE class that is with one of the bond programs, the Ohio Bond Program. So that’s, the feedback that we get from them, we try to bring them relevant and value adds anytime we can.
– So the lunch and learn, what does that look like? Just explain that. How do you get all those agents together? How long does it last? Do they have to commit to sending you deals? Just answer those questions.
– Yeah, sure,, so we, we look for value adds. So we just kind of ask them, “Hey, what are you looking to bring in?” And for this one that’s up, up and coming, we found out that the first time home buyer programs and the OHFA program, lot of questions around that. So, we brought in this, the subject matter expert. So we bring them value adds like that. Just announcing it, getting it out on our Facebook, social media platforms, emails, and most of all, just calling and talking to them.
– How many realtors will attend that?
– Anywhere from 15 to 20.
– Okay, and how many will you already be doing business with?
– Probably about half of them, so–
– Okay, so the other half, it’s a captive audience and you can impress them and try and woo them. I’m sure there’s incredible follow up too.
– Yep, yep it’s all about the follow up.
– See how they, see how they enjoyed it. Appreciate you coming in, Justus. Thank you so much. And we wish you continued success at NFM and this has been great watching you grow and we look forward to continuing your ascent atop the leader board at NFM.
– Awesome. Thank you sir.
– Alright talk to you soon. Hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of NFM TV. I’m Greg Sher, see you next time.