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My wife mentioned to me the other day that there was some pudding in the fridge with my name on it. Now, most people would be thrilled, but the best I could muster was “cautiously optimistic.” Don’t get me wrong — my wife is an amazing cook, but I’ve had a wide range of puddings in my life, from stove-top stirred to instant, from chocolate to butterscotch to pistachio, from rice to chia. I can’t say I’ve tried figgy pudding, but I digress. At best, they were velvety and rich. At worst, they were chalky and tasteless. The thing about pudding is, you can’t always tell the quality just by looking at it. Sometimes you have to taste it, because quite literally, “the proof is in the pudding.”
I find the same concept to be true as I read through the countless testimonial statements gathered through STRATMOR’s MortgageCX program in 2024. We’re so quick to congratulate ourselves on flowery feedback from our borrowers, but the true quality, or value of these statements must be judged based on their results. Are they leading to repeat and referral business? To find the most valuable comments, I make a habit of looking for ones with the phrase “I’ve already recommended you” because the desired results are already baked into the comment. These comments are pure gold in terms of revealing the building blocks of loyalty and advocacy.
Our question this month: “What are the top loan officer behaviors that are proven to earn mortgage referrals?”
For most loan officers, the revenue landscape was fairly flat this year. According to STRATMOR data, the industry as a whole is on pace for about a 10% volume gain, all due to a meager resurgence in refinances, with purchases actually retreating for the third straight year. The mortgage industry is not for the faint of heart! That said, there are still loan officers out there that made serious gains this year. How did they do it? Are they buying Meta ads? Are they posting every day on TikTok? Are they purchasing tools to promote their brand and increase their searchability online?
Now, as we wind down 2024, is a perfect time to take stock of our results for the year. This includes both our own scrappy efforts to “stay alive until ‘25” as well as the promises made by various tech vendors and marketing tools to fill our pipelines and build our referral networks. What worked and what didn’t? Is it time to change strategy? Is it time to write up a new game plan? We all know what “doing the same thing and expecting a different result” gets you.
Insanity.
This holiday season, my gift to you is the distilled wisdom from tens of thousands of borrower testimonials; a proven recipe for success in 2025. The following are borrower comments submitted this year through the MortgageCX survey process, which show beyond a doubt that “the proof is in the pudding”:
Borrower comment: “The whole team was very professional and easy to work with. They communicated each step of the process and were very accessible. I have already recommended your company to several of my friends. Our loan officer, Nicko, was also very knowledgeable on how to process Veterans Administration loans and has a great reputation in our county.”
Recipe for Success: During my time at STRATMOR for the better part of the past decade, one of the overarching principles I’ve learned is that deep knowledge in your area of expertise is key to winning respect, trust, and ultimately business. If you want to earn not just the borrower’s current business, but their next three loans and those of their friends and family, demonstrate deep understanding of the market, of niche products and of underwriting guidelines. Your expertise simultaneously builds their trust and calms their nerves — two of the most important contributors to advocacy and loyalty.
Borrower comment: “Jill was very helpful in every step of the process, clearly explaining everything I needed or wanted to know. She made us feel prepared and confident in our experience buying a new home. It was a pleasure working with her from the very beginning, and I have already recommended her to someone starting their home buying process. We can’t thank her enough for making this as easy as she did.”
Recipe for Success: It’s been said that great coaching is 10% how you guide your team during the game, and 90% how you prepare them before the game. How well are you preparing your borrowers for their closing event? According to STRATMOR data, it’s important to be available for questions that arise with closing documents, but the highest satisfaction scores come from borrowers who say, “I was so prepared that I didn’t need my LO to be available during doc signing.”
Borrower comment: “Amber did a wonderful job making things clear and easy to understand. She and her team communicated in a very professional and timely manner and overall appeared to go above and beyond any of my expectations. This was truly a great experience, and I have already recommended the services of this team to another individual.”
Recipe for Success: The ability to articulate complex ideas plainly is a superpower. The good news? It’s a superpower that can be learned. Start by removing mortgage industry jargon from your vernacular and replacing it with layman’s terms:
Next, take the time to explain why you’re asking for documents, especially when they’re in addition to the first round of requested docs. Explaining the underwriter’s thought process will humanize them and help the borrower see that they’re not the enemy. And always, always, always take the blame and apologize for missing the ask the first time around. The borrower is much more likely to forgive an LO, with whom they’ve developed a relationship, than a nameless, faceless, behind-the-scenes employee.
Borrower comment: “Eric made the process simple! Great communication throughout the process. A true customer service professional, I have already recommended one of my friends to him.”
Recipe for Success: We all know that skilled communication is an important, if not the most important, element of producing a raving fan customer. But what exactly does it look like? According to STRATMOR research from its MortgageCX program, it comes down to three main contributing factors: Is it frequent? Is it clear? Is it proactive? To nail all three, consider defining a communication template with your borrower at the point of application. You might say something like, “This is my standard communication plan. I will email you every Friday with a weekly update on progress. At certain milestones, like when we receive underwriting approval or when your appraisal value comes in, I’ll call you so we can celebrate together. If I need something quickly from you, I’ll text you. Does that work for you?”
Borrower comment: “Alice was fantastic. She was recommended to me by a friend. I had dealt with two other well-known lenders previously and did not have a good experience with either of them. Within a few minutes of talking to her I knew I had made a good decision. The thing I liked the most about working with her was the feeling of ownership. I knew that if a solution existed to finance my loan, she would find what I was qualified for. The other thing I was impressed with was her work ethic. I trusted her completely from the first conversation. I have already recommended her to friends of mine that I know are looking for homes.”
Recipe for Success: No borrower wants to be “just another transaction.” They want someone to go to bat for them, fight for them, and use every available resource to make sure they’re taken care of and that the loan process is successful. The phrase that is often associated with this quality in an LO is “going above and beyond.” Is the borrower struggling to get through the application? Hop on a screen-sharing session. Are they too busy to find insurance quotes? Look some up and provide contact details. Are they calling you after hours on a weekend with questions? Take a minute to respond. It just might win you your next three deals.
Here are three practical ideas you can begin to put into practice today to start earning more referral business:
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