Ep# 57: How this Loan Officer Made $6K Teaching His First Class

Brandt Stohr shares how he made $6,000 in commissions from his very first agent class, with only six people in attendance. The episode covers the mechanics of setting up, filling, and following up on agent education classes as a prospecting system. Best for LOs who want a repeatable way to meet multiple agents at once without cold calling.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Host your first class at a venue like Total Wine where agents attend voluntarily for the content, not just CE credit — Brandt found this attracted agents who were genuinely hungry for marketing help, not just hour-collectors.
• When agents register on Eventbrite, add a custom question like 'What's the main thing you want to learn from this class?' then call each registrant the same day to confirm and make it personal — Brandt's show rate jumped from 27% (6/22) to 74% (20/27) between class one and two after adding phone confirmation calls.
• For no-shows after class one, send a follow-up email or call using this framework: acknowledge they missed it, offer a one-on-one coffee meeting, and bring all class materials. Brandt booked a meeting, presented the millennial class content 1:1, and received two referrals within a week from an agent he had never met before.
• At the end of every class, hand out a feedback form that asks two things: (1) which areas of their business do they need the most help with, and (2) what frustrations do they have with their current lender. Use the answers to personalize every follow-up call and position your communication style as the solution.
• Immediately after the class, post a recap on Facebook and tag every attendee — Brandt got three unsolicited friend requests from agents the morning after posting, none of whom he had spoken to directly.
• If an attendee's colleague or broker hears about the class secondhand, call that broker personally to thank them for the referral — Brandt parlayed one such call into an invitation to teach at that broker's entire office, gaining potential in-house lender positioning.

The playbook

1. 1. Choose a non-CE, practical topic agents want (e.g., video marketing, Facebook marketing, millennial buyers) — not mortgage 101.
2. 2. Set up an Eventbrite event with 1-2 qualifying questions (how did you hear about us, what do you want to learn).
3. 3. Partner with a co-sponsor (e.g., title rep) to split food costs (~$300 total) and share the invitation list — each party calls their own invitees to confirm.
4. 4. The day before the class, call every registrant personally to confirm attendance; connect with them on Facebook and send a Messenger note saying you're looking forward to seeing them.
5. 5. Keep the class to 60 minutes, close with a brief 60-second value-add about your services (app, co-branded materials), and hand out feedback forms.
6. 6. Within 24 hours post-class: post a recap photo on Facebook tagging all attendees; send Facebook Messenger follow-ups to everyone who attended.
7. 7. For no-shows: call or email within 48 hours, acknowledge they missed it, offer a 1:1 coffee meeting with the same materials.
8. 8. Schedule the next class or a follow-up meeting with at least one agent before leaving the venue.

Worth quoting

“What other system of prospecting meeting agents do you have where you can meet less than 10 agents and get two loans?”

“It might even be to your advantage — if you're just getting into it, you're fresh on that learning curve and can relate.”

Best for

LOs re-entering origination or starting from scratch with few agent relationships who want a low-cost, high-leverage alternative to cold calling.