Ep. 131 - How to Close 212 Loans with Agent Teams and Client Events

Ryan Smith breaks down how he grew from 168 to 212 units in one year by going deep with 5-6 real estate agent teams, running three distinct client appreciation events, and building a video and review strategy that generates inbound calls. LOs who want a repeatable system for agent relationships and past-client reactivation should listen.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Target agent teams specifically: identify 5-6 active teams in your market, pitch your value by showing you run a mirrored team model (LOA, processor, dedicated communication) so you 'speak the same language' as team leaders.
• Call every listing agent the moment a purchase contract arrives: introduce yourself, ask what you need to know about the property, ask their preferred communication style, and commit to weekly status calls — use the opening when they say 'nobody does that' to request a 10-minute coffee meeting.
• Launch a 'Toys for Tacos' event in the first week of December: rent or invite a taco truck to your office, ask clients and business partners to bring an unwrapped toy for a local charity, wear a costume, and turn it into an all-day open house. Ryan has run this for six years and has had local news cover it.
• Host a summer picnic at a city park pavilion: grill out, hire a client's ice cream truck, add yard games and face painting for kids, and invite both past clients and realtor partners. The goal is extended face time you don't get at closing.
• Send a BombBomb video email to your database about rate/refi opportunities and track responses — Ryan sent one refinance video and received 19 email replies within one hour.
• Build Google reviews with a two-touch system: at first-payment-due courtesy call, ask 'how did we do?' and plant the seed for a review; one month later if no review appears, make a single follow-up call with a direct Google link. Ask for Google only — not Zillow — because that's where mortgage searches happen.

The playbook

1. 1. At contract receipt, call the listing agent: introduce your team process, ask about the property, confirm communication preference, commit to weekly updates.
2. 2. Each weekly update call doubles as a soft marketing touchpoint — mention you'd love to meet and build the relationship.
3. 3. After the meeting, plug the agent into a marketing sequence: weekend availability videos, ListReports market data, HomBot CMA requests tied to client equity alerts.
4. 4. For past clients: mail a personal 'letter from the heart' once per quarter — write about a family moment or book you read, not a rate offer. Keep it short. Have a spouse or teammate edit it.
5. 5. Run three annual client appreciation events: Toys for Tacos (December), Summer Picnic (July), Movie Event. Promote each with a funny video email via BombBomb.
6. 6. At loan funding, make a first-payment courtesy call, ask for honest feedback, and request a Google review with a direct link. Follow up once if the review hasn't posted within 30 days.

Worth quoting

“People tell me all the time that they were referred by their agent, but they read about me online.”

“Every time I've hired somebody, my business has improved because of it — it will happen if you follow the system.”

Best for

LOs doing 4-8 loans a month who are chasing individual agents but have no structured past-client event or review strategy.