Ep# 77: Training Buyers Agents How to Refer You and Turning Listing Agents into Referral Partners

Brent Palmer breaks down how he trains his buyer's agent referral partners to refer him effectively, how he cross-sells listing agents on every transaction, and how he uses Reach 150's 'follow me' retargeting technology to stay visible to agents he's courting. Best for LOs who close purchase-heavy pipelines in competitive, multiple-offer markets.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Train each buyer's agent partner on your exact process: tell them you'll CC them on all emails, run weekly pipeline update calls on shared buyers, and reach out proactively to listing agents the moment an offer is submitted — so they know exactly what to promise clients when they refer you.
• On every transaction, call the listing agent to introduce yourself, walk them through your six-milestone file update system (sent every Wednesday), and at closing ask: 'Is there anything your current lender does that we're not doing?' Then evaluate them on two criteria: did they answer the phone, and was it a quality conversation worth following up?
• After closing with a listing agent, send a handwritten thank-you card, add them to Reach 150's 'follow me' retargeting so your reviews and testimonials appear while they browse Amazon or other sites, and add them to your CRM for soft email contact (no more than twice a year) to stay top of mind without spamming.
• Use Mortgage Coach on every purchase transaction to show buyers a side-by-side total cost analysis — comparing your loan options and any competing lender's loan estimate — so you can expose hidden fees, explain discount point ROI relative to their 5-year horizon, and eliminate rate shopping.
• Send all purchase files to underwriting for a full credit-underwritten approval before the buyer finds a home, so you can offer shortened closing windows in multiple-offer situations and remove stress once the buyer is emotionally attached to a property.
• Host a 'Happy Hour Headshot' event: hire a professional photographer, co-sponsor with a title company, and invite agents for free professional headshots plus networking. Budget ~$500 and expect strong agent turnout.

The playbook

1. 1. Identify listing agent on any active transaction.
2. 2. Call listing agent immediately upon receiving the purchase contract — if they answer, assess conversation quality; if voicemail, note and follow up.
3. 3. Introduce your team and commit to six-milestone Wednesday file updates with estimated due dates on pending items.
4. 4. Send a thank-you card introducing your team to the listing agent during the transaction.
5. 5. Enter listing agent's email into Reach 150's follow-me tool to serve your reviews/testimonials as display ads while they browse the web.
6. 6. Add listing agent to CRM for soft email contact (max twice a year).
7. 7. At transaction close, call listing agent: ask 'How did we do?' and 'Is there anything your current lender does that we're not?' to surface coaching and referral opportunities.
8. 8. If they show quality engagement, invite them to refer buyers and offer rescue assistance if a deal is going sideways with another lender.

Worth quoting

“It's on you to train your realtors on how to make you referable.”

“Most of the time, somebody only shops a lender when they don't understand the process.”

Best for

LOs doing purchase-heavy business who have agent relationships but have never systematized how those agents introduce them to buyers or how they follow up with listing agents after each transaction.