Follow a simple strategy to build a network of potential borrowers

Sheila Savar, founder and president, Savar & Associates

As published in Scotsman Guide's Residential Edition, February 2008.

The phenomenal boom the mortgage industry experienced just a few short years ago has declined considerably. Many people have been laid off or forced to find other career opportunities until the market takes an upswing again.

But what if you love what you do and don't want to leave? One of the best things to do is to build a powerful network.

You can build this network by going where your prospects go. Determine the type of borrowers you are seeking and where to look for them. Then get to work.

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Within your market segment, you need to identify your best prospective buyers. Look for people who are not only interested in buying, but also for those who are qualified to buy. Let's consider one prospective-buyer group, for example -- C-level executives. These are senior executives such as chief executive officers, chief financial officers and chief information officers.

Seeking out this group of professionals can be helpful for residential and commercial brokers. If you work strictly on residential loans, C-level prospects are valuable because they can afford to buy. If you work on commercial deals, too, the C-level developers or investors you meet may be in the position to make the decision to use your services throughout their organizations.

To target these prospective buyers, you need to attend the events they attend and go the places they go. For senior-level executives, here are some places to look:

• Local association chapters: Check out area homebuilders' and real estate developers' associations, as well as area chambers of commerce. Serving on a committee for one or more of these groups will give you maximum exposure.
• Community-service groups: Executives often serve as board members of nonprofit organizations.
• Country clubs or golf clubs: Many high-profile people who can pay expensive fees belong to such clubs.

Once you've identified the organizations, associations and clubs that your prospects belong to, go to these groups' Web sites and view their calendars of events. Choose to attend the more-expensive events -- because senior executives generally attend the higher-priced events.

The advantage of attending functions rather than attempting cold sales calls is that you meet face-to-face in a neutral environment, eliminating the potential clients' home-court advantage. You also have an opportunity to engage in dialogue to determine whether mutually advantageous business opportunities exist.

You can follow up with these prospects by scheduling a business meeting. Because they have already met you in person, they will be more likely to take your call or respond to your e-mail requesting the meeting.

They are also less likely to ignore you because they may run into you at another event. In the business world, everyone tends to know one another, and it is not good to develop a reputation for being rude to fellow networkers -- especially if you and those people are members of the same professional organization.

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If you are just starting out in your profession, networking puts you in contact with people who can jump-start your career. Further, networking with your prospective buyers has high financial worth because it will put you in front of key decisionmakers quickly. Not only can it help you to reap earnings during good economic periods, but it can also sustain you in today's struggling economy.

Sheila Savar, founder and president of Savar & Associates, is a transformational speaker, trainer and recent author of her first book, The Power Of Networking. She is an in-demand speaker and keynotes at such notable locations as Freddie Mac, The World Bank, State Farm and more. Her topics center on her core competencies of sales, customer care and professional development. For more information or to have Savar speak at your event or conference, visit www.savar.biz or call (703) 766-6550.