Closing $80 Million in a Challenging Market

Paige Bowman breaks down exactly how she's closing $80M in 2023 by going all-in on purchase business, Instagram content, and tight realtor relationships. She covers her monthly batch-filming process, mailer strategy, client events, and personal branding philosophy. Best for LOs who want a concrete Instagram-to-closed-loan playbook from someone doing it at scale right now.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Deliberately refer out refinances to a refi-specialist and tell the client why: 'We're focused on purchase business so you get the best care — this person solely does refis and will serve you 10x better.' This protects realtor relationships and keeps your pipeline purchase-only.
• Send monthly postcards to your most recent 1,000 past clients using Reaching Neighbors — customize via Canva so you don't look like every other LO using the same template. In June, Paige sent 'Top 5 Things to Do in Houston This Summer.' Add a $5 Starbucks/Dunkin offer with a reply email to pull contacts out of spam and into active inboxes.
• Every Friday, have your assistant prep handwritten thank-you cards (pre-stamped, pre-addressed) with a $5 Starbucks gift card for every realtor who sent a referral that week. Keep 90% of the message personal — congratulate them on something real, skip the business pitch.
• Batch shoot 45–50 videos in a single 4–5 hour session once a month: ~10 podcast-style videos co-hosted with a realtor partner, ~25 solo educational videos, and ~15 featuring a team member. This gives you daily Instagram content without daily filming.
• Build your content idea bank in your phone's notes app: log any question asked by a realtor or client two or more times, plus any news story creating consumer confusion (e.g., loan-level pricing adjustments, skip-your-credit-card myths). Turn each into a reel. Newsjack misinformation by saying 'time out, here's what's actually true.'
• Host a VIP client event that has zero branding and zero sales pitch — Paige is doing a mommy-and-me photography session for 15–20 hand-selected past clients so they have Christmas card photos. Promote it via postcard, email, and phone call; invite their realtor to attend as a surprise touchpoint.

The playbook

1. Step 1: Tag your CRM contacts as A/B/C/D clients based on relationship depth and referral potential — use these tiers to determine who gets VIP event invitations.
2. Step 2: Monthly batch shoot — 4–5 hours, one realtor co-host, one team LO, and yourself. Produce ~45–50 videos covering guidelines most LOs don't know, market myth-busting, and buyer education.
3. Step 3: Post daily to Instagram Stories and Reels. On Facebook, post lightweight engagement bait (Oreo vs. Chips Ahoy debates) 2–3x/week to stay in the algorithm so event posts reach more people.
4. Step 4: Every Friday, send handwritten thank-you cards with $5 gift cards to every realtor who sent a referral that week. Keep the note personal, not transactional.
5. Step 5: Monthly postcard drop to 1,000 most recent past clients — topic tied to local lifestyle or season, not rates. Include a reply-to email to whitelist your address in their inbox.
6. Step 6: When mindset dips, call 10 existing realtor contacts in one sitting — ask about their life first, then 'how can I serve you?' Paige locked 6 loans the day after doing this when she had 1 lock on the 6th of the month.

Worth quoting

“Content equals contracts. If I can be producing content and I can be in front of somebody, that's the game.”

“We gained realtor relationships when loan officers were losing them because their pipeline was full of refis.”

Best for

LOs who are dabbling on Instagram or skipping it entirely and want a proven volume-producing system from someone closing $80M in a down market using content, mailers, and tight realtor friendships.

Links from the show notes

• The Mortgage Collaborative
• Instagram
• CLICK HERE
• HERE