Ep# 46: How Susan Meitner Originated $40M and Became CEO

Susan Meitner shares how she went from a 23-year-old new LO to $40M in personal production and eventually founding an Inc. 5000 mortgage company with 75 employees. The conversation covers prospecting agents, handling rejection, building a team, and branding yourself in your community. Best for LOs who want real, experience-tested strategies from someone who built it from scratch.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Create a color-coded folder system (or spreadsheet) tracking every closed loan by borrower name, loan amount, and referral source — review it annually to cut time spent on low-producing agents and double down on your top sources.
• When an agent says 'we already have a lender,' respond with: 'I don't want to take any of that business away from them. But if you want to grow your business, let's set up a time to talk about how I can help you do that.' Then have a concrete offer ready (e.g., co-branded social media, home-buying seminars).
• Host social media marketing classes for agents — either in your office or theirs. Teach them how to build their Facebook presence, offer a direct link to your application, and help with content. This gets agents into your office who would never respond to a cold pitch.
• Block Monday mornings to call every active agent partner — give a loan status update if there's a deal in process, ask for business or offer help if there isn't. Make it a phone call, not an email.
• Attend every closing, or send a representative if you can't. Use those 15 minutes to ask the listing agent, the buyer's agent, and the buyers for referrals — and photograph the moment to post across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn immediately.
• When an agent threatens to give out multiple lenders' cards, don't push back — let them give the cards and compete. Telling a top agent 'then don't give out mine at all' cost Susan a long-term relationship and years of referrals she admits she regrets losing.

The playbook

1. 1. Identify your top referral agents by reviewing closed loans by source (use colored folders or a spreadsheet).
2. 2. Rank agents by volume produced for you — cut time on high-maintenance, low-volume agents; increase contact frequency with your top producers.
3. 3. For new agent prospects, lead with a value offer: 'I help agents grow their business through co-branded marketing and social media' — not a rate pitch.
4. 4. Host a social media or marketing class for agents at your office; provide hands-on help building their Facebook presence with a link to your application.
5. 5. During every transaction, overcommunicate: notify the agent when the appraisal is ordered, when the file goes to underwriting, when you get commitment — every milestone.
6. 6. Block Monday mornings for agent calls — status updates on active files, business asks on dormant relationships.
7. 7. Attend closings. Ask the listing agent, selling agent, and buyers for referrals. Photograph and post to all social platforms immediately.

Worth quoting

“The low-maintenance realtors always gave me so many more referrals than the high-maintenance realtors that were just not producing as much either.”

“People love to talk about themselves and you learn a lot when you are open-minded.”

Best for

LOs who are chasing too many agents indiscriminately and need a framework for focusing on fewer, higher-value relationships while building a local brand.