Ep #109: Using Agent Classes, Video, and Personal Branding to Close 160 Loans

Kathryn Pedersen breaks down exactly how she out-produces her nearest competitor by 2x in a tiny market: monthly CE classes for agents, consistent pop-bys, video content, and an obsessive client follow-up system. LOs in small or mid-size markets will find her playbook immediately transferable.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Build a CE class library one class per year: Kathryn started with Mortgage 101, added 102, USDA, FHA/VA, a contract-and-lending class, and just filed a 'Rates and Rate Strategies' class covering rate history since 1971, economic factors, lines of resistance, seller buydowns, and cost-of-waiting strategies.
• Submit CE classes to your state board with an outline only (no PowerPoint required in Colorado) — include a speaker-experience resume and read the guidelines thoroughly. Kathryn has never been asked to revise an outline.
• Plan pop-bys 12 months in advance on a calendar so you never miss a month; use Oriental Trading Company for seasonal giveaways (e.g., hand warmers in winter, coffee gift cards). Kathryn carries items in her purse to hand out when she runs into clients at the grocery store.
• Call every client closed in the last 12 months by phone — personally or via a team member — right before Thanksgiving. Use a slio-dial broadcast for the 3/6/9/12-month anniversary calls triggered through your CRM.
• Google your own name and your market phrase (e.g., '[City] mortgage') at least once a week. Kathryn ranks #2 and #3 for 'Steamboat mortgage' by staying active across Facebook video, Instagram, her website, and now a YouTube channel.
• When an agent pushes the three-lender referral approach, respond with: 'How would you feel if I gave your buyers three agent options? Please Google all three of us and make your decision — I'm going to win the Google war.'

The playbook

1. 1. Identify gaps in agent knowledge (e.g., agents misunderstanding rates, USDA, contract-lending rules) and build a CE class around each gap.
2. 2. Submit class outline to state board for CE credit approval.
3. 3. Launch each new class by touring every real estate office in your market and presenting it as an in-office lunch-and-learn.
4. 4. Put the class on a recurring public schedule at the local board of Realtors so they advertise it for you.
5. 5. After class, identify agents you 'click with' and move them into a follow-up funnel: coffee meeting → marketing drip → referral partner.
6. 6. Track all clients in CRM with triggered 3/6/9/12-month calls via broadcast dial, postcards, and newsletters.
7. 7. Plan 12 months of pop-bys in advance; execute at least once per month to real estate offices with a themed leave-behind item.

Worth quoting

“Even before we know they exist, new agents show up at a class — sometimes before they even get their license.”

“You've got to be who you are 100% of the time. You can't be inauthentic ever — reputation is everything in a small town.”

Best for

LOs in small or mid-size markets who want to dominate their patch without cold-calling — especially those willing to invest in CE classes and consistent personal outreach.