Blog Post #17 R.E Attorney/Escrow Officer Primary Referral Targets

R.E ATTORNEY/ESCROW OFFICER PRIMARY REFERRAL TARGETS

JB:  That’s the base of the system in a lot of ways.  Let’s talk about the Real Estate Attorney.

MM:  The Real Estate Attorney is not in position to refer as much as some of the other professionals. 

JB:  Yeah, they are really at the tail end of the transaction.  

MM:  Yes, it’s more difficult, but there are some points that they need to be focused on where there are opportunities. 

In my opinion, the Closing Attorney needs to work twice as hard to make sure they execute on their referral targets because it is very easy for the Real Estate Attorney to receive a ton of referrals from the Core7 System, and it’s difficult for them to generate outgoing referrals, so every cross-sell opportunity should be maximized.  

JB:  This would be a great way for a Real Estate Attorney to really stand out.  Who are the primary targets for the Real Estate Attorney?

MM:  The first referral target for the Real Estate Attorney is the Property & Casualty Insurance Agent.  This is done when the client is signing the Purchase & Sales. 

Now, the Realtor and the Mortgage Originator may have already referred the client to the Property & Casualty Insurance Agent.  So, it is still something the Attorney should do each and every time on every deal, but the connection may have already been made so it’s good to re-inforce it. 

I think it’s really important because there are going to be many closings where the Attorney is not working with a Core7 Originator or Realtor.  The Attorney can achieve this simply by asking the client at the Purchase & Sale if their Realtor or Mortgage Originator has referred them to a Property & Casualty Agent to handle their insurance.  It’s a simple question at Purchase & Sale.  

JB:  That’s interesting.  Let me ask you a question.  What if the client was referred to the Attorney by a different Loan Officer that isn’t in the Core7 group? 

MM:  That’s a great question, Justin.  Many Real Estate Attorneys have voiced this concern to me, but it really should not be a problem.  You make sure it’s noted that this client is not to be referred to the Mortgage Originator.  The Real Estate Attorney, as a goal for later, are supposed to refer the Financial Advisor. As long as the Financial Advisor knows that this client belongs to another Mortgage Originator, everything works out great.  As long as they have the full coverage of the Core7 network.  

JB:  Yeah, we’re not looking to step on toes.  Let’s talk about the second Primary Referral Target for the Real Estate Attorney. 

MM:  The second Primary Referral Target is the Financial Advisor.  This Cross-Sell is very similar to the Mortgage Originator’s Closing Cross-Sell. 

The way that our Core7 Closing Attorney does it is that at every single Closing when congratulating the client, he simply asks the Referral Generator question.  It’s very simple. He says, “Congratulations on the Closing of your new home.  You have an estate now. How is your relationship with your Financial Advisor who specializes in that?”

JB:  This is huge, because again the purchase of a home kicks off so many other financial responsibilities and liabilities.  I think it’s worth repeating and it is the crux of our whole system, when someone buys a home, especially a first time home buyer, it is critical that they start their financial plan.  That’s why this should be done at every closing. 

Even when the Closing does not include your Core7 partners or even if they say no, it puts it on their radar screen.  Mark, would you say this is the case? 

MM:  Absolutely.  There have been many times where I’ve just done the scripting of the Core7 process, the client may say no, they are not interested at this time and I’ve had clients reach out to me months later asking for this referral.  At a minimum, it puts it in the client’s mind that I’m the resource when it comes to financial literacy and financial advice.   It happens.  It’s definitely something you always do. 

JB:  This is great for a purchase but what does the Real Estate Attorney do if it is a refi Closing?

MM:  It still makes sense to follow the system.  It’s just a small tweak to the scripting.  Instead of saying, “Congratulations you have an estate now” the Attorney would say, “Congratulations on your refinance.  You may have had some changes in your estate that need reviewing.  How is your relationship with your advisor who specializes in estate planning?”

And again, you want to refer the Financial Advisor because it’s better for them to introduce the Estate Planner once they find out what the assets and structuring goals are. 

JB:  Right.  So even small changes can sometimes make a huge difference.

So, on to secondary for the Attorney.  What are the secondary targets?

MM:  There are no secondary referral targets for the attorney.  All other efforts really are not the best use of their time.  Just focus on the primary.

JB:  That makes a lot of sense.  So, the Attorney should just stay focused on the P&C and the Financial Advisor.

MM:  Absolutely.  This is a huge opportunity for the Real Estate Attorney to add value to the Financial Advisor, which trickles down to value to the Realtor and the Mortgage Originator and eventually to everyone else in the group.  It’s a great way for the Attorney to make a difference. 

JB:  It’s definitely a tougher sell but it can create a ton of value when it’s successful. 

MM:  Yeah, you’re right.  The Real Estate Attorney is benefiting constantly from Realtor referrals, Mortgage Professional referrals and Financial Professional referrals.  This is the way they can give back.  

Again, it doesn’t have to be tit for tat.  It’s the effort and it will be beneficial and avoid any type of food chain thinking.  Everyone in the Core7 has a clear focus and an action plan that can benefit the whole group and ultimately, of course, the client. 

JB:  So, again, primary targets should always be reviewed at the Core7 Mastermind meetings. What are the questions that should be asked at these meetings?

R.E ATTORNEY/ESCROW OFFICER ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS

MM:  For the Real Estate Attorney, the questions to make sure are addressed are:

1. How many closings did you do this month?
2. How did the Financial Advisor Closing Cross-Sell go on those closings?
3. How many Purchase & Sales did you do this month?
4. How did the Property & Casualty Cross-Sell go at those Purchase & Sales?