The new year can be a great time to set personal and business goals around productivity and planning. It’s a fresh start and helps to set the tone for the rest of the year. In this article, we’re going to look at some of our favorite tools that we use that we hope can help you achieve your goals!

Task Tracking & Planning

Monday.com is a step above your typical paper and pencil to-do list and agenda. Monday helps you keep track of time-sensitive deadlines for major projects, industry conferences, personal work tasks, event planning, and more. Monday also has the ability to share specific workspace boards with the whole team to help keep everyone on the same page and up to date. It also allows you to assign specific tasks to team members, leave notes and attach relevant files.

Social Media Content Planning

If you have your own social media pages or help publish content for your business pages, there are different tools available to help you reach any social media goals you may set. Canva is a very helpful tool to make quick social media graphics. With free and paid versions, you have options for every budget. You can even upload all your branding elements, create video posts and create branded templates.

Once you have the content ready to be published, SocialPilot is a helpful tool for social media scheduling. Schedule your posts for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and many more social media platforms. And if you need a quick graphic put together, you can use your Canva account right in the SocialPilot platform. SocialPilot allows you to see your social media posts in a calendar view by month, week, or day. You also have the ability to track analytical data on your posts, to adjust your strategy appropriately to reach your goals. If you want your content to be lined up in a specific way across all your platforms, SocialPilot will be a huge help.

Spark of Inspiration

Copy.ai is a helpful tool to help give ideas for social media captions and content ideas. It is an extremely helpful tool for creating social media captions and copywriting support. If you’re looking for a specific word that you can’t quite find, Copy.ai can help spark inspiration. It is as simple as typing in some keywords, picking a tone, and generating the content. This could give you ideas for a blog post, social media captions, or even hashtags for content.

Schedule Planning

Calendly is a helpful resource for booking appointments and/or meetings. It allows you to easily share your calendar’s availability, making setting up meetings easy and painless. The need to send emails back and forth trying to find a time and date that works for everyone is eliminated, giving you more time for productivity!

Now that you have some inspiration and resources for setting yourself up for success and reaching your goals in the new year, another valuable resource to add to your toolbox is our Bridge Loan Network Platform. Through utilizing Bridge Loan Network’s Loan Management System, you can help increase the volume of your closed deals and bring in additional revenue for your company. Connect with our team to learn more!

Now that you’ve had a successful show, it’s time to determine how successful this venture was for you and your business. How you determine success is ultimately up to you. You may decide to base the success on how many deals you closed with connections made at the show. Or maybe you base your success on how many new connections you made while there. Ideally, you should set these success metrics before the show begins, to help ensure tracking post-show success runs smoothly.

When it comes to following up with new connections, start by reaching out through email. Thank them for coming to the show, connecting with you and recap your business and how you can work together towards a common goal. Include any application links you may have, as well as general information about your business as a refresher, based on any conversations you had while at the show. If one of your success metrics is to set up meetings or product demos with your new connections, Calendly can make scheduling these meetings simple. If you have a Calendly account, you can include your appointment link for simple scheduling through email.

Reflecting on the show, it’s important to review your performance, but it’s also important to reflect on the overall atmosphere of the show. What did you do throughout this show that worked well to reach your success metrics? And is there anything that you can do for the next one to make it even more successful?

If you are exhibiting at the show, it’s helpful to review the logistics post-show. What were some specifics of the floor set-up? Your booth location on the show floor can make a significant difference in the overall performance throughout the show. Centralized locations and those near main egress doors usually provide ample foot traffic, which can present relevant deal scenarios. It may also be possible that you found your booth location was surrounded by companies or brands not in line with your customer base, and your booth performance lacked as a result.

Overall, consider if the show was right for you. Was it worth your time and effort to attend, and would it be beneficial to go again? Or maybe you determine you didn’t have success, and that’s okay. Take time to reflect on this show and figure out what you should change for the next show. Now you have determined your success metrics and what you’re looking for in a show you can better determine what is needed to be successful in the future.

As a broker, your main goals are to successfully close deals and create lasting relationships with industry partners and clients. But closing deals can be a challenging process, especially if you’re just getting started in the industry.

There are a few skills and characteristics that set apart the brokers who are champions and those that struggle to get deals across the finish line and in this blog post, I’ll outline five essential skills for closing deals efficiently as a broker.

1. Setting Expectations Up Front with the Borrower

One of the keys to closing a deal is setting the right expectations with your borrower from the start. It’s important to be upfront about the fact that there are no guarantees in getting a deal done and to anticipate any potential issues that could arise during the process.

By setting realistic expectations, you can help your borrower understand that funding may not be exactly what they anticipated due to the various details that can come up in the approval process. As the saying goes, “It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver.”

To set the right expectations, it’s important to thoroughly understand your borrower’s investing goals and the challenges they may face. Before submitting deals to a lender, be sure to interview your borrowers and ask pointed questions to get a better understanding of their needs. By preparing in advance and being proactive, you can set expectations that will strengthen your relationship with your borrower and show that you’re the financing expert.

2. Don’t Withhold Information from the Lender

One of the biggest mistakes brokers can make is withholding information from their lenders in the hopes that negative issues won’t be discovered. This not only creates issues for the borrower but can also damage the long-term relationship between the broker and the lender.

It’s important to understand that lenders are on your side and want to fund deals. It’s always best to communicate openly and be direct with your lender so that you can work together to overcome any challenges before they become roadblocks. Don’t be afraid to bring up any skeletons that may come up in the due diligence process, as it’s better to address them upfront rather than risk losing the deal, or the relationship.

3. Know Your Lenders’ Requirements

Brokers who are successful at closing deals are often those who have a thorough understanding of the requirements of their chosen lenders. Take the time to study all the requirements thoroughly, and if there are any items you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask your loan officer for clarification.

Knowing the requirements of your lenders will help you quickly determine which one is the best fit for a particular deal your client has brought forward. This can be especially important in the private lending space, where deals need to move quickly, or risk being lost to the competition. By knowing which lender is a good fit for each circumstance, you can get deals done more efficiently.

4. Create a Sense of Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency can be an effective way to move deals along more quickly. By letting your borrowers know that you are working hard to get the deal done and that time is of the essence, you can help build trust and establish a sense of urgency that will help move the deal forward.

It’s also important to keep your borrowers informed throughout the process and to be responsive to their questions and concerns by being proactive and transparent.

5. Stay Organized

The final, and most important, key to closing deals quickly is by being organized. You could be the most professional broker, but if you can’t find the files needed to submit or have all the files for different clients and lenders mashed together, then it will be impossible to do your job effectively.

Lenders appreciate a full package and organized submission, as it shows that you understand what needs to be submitted and that you’re reliable. Don’t simply forward an email from the borrower to your lender without going through and understanding what has been received and if it is the correct information needed. An organized submission can help speed up the process and get you to close the deal more quickly.

Bridge Loan Network

As the leading software in the private lending space, Bridge Loan Network’s Software is designed specifically for real estate brokers and lenders alike. Brokers utilize Bridge Loan Network’s Loan Management System to provide clients with a secure and centralized location to submit their applications and loan files for the Broker to review. With Bridge Loan Network’s software, the loan process is simplified and organized every step of the way

Overall, closing deals as a broker requires a combination of skills and characteristics, including setting expectations up front, being transparent with lenders, understanding lender requirements, creating a sense of urgency, and staying organized. By mastering these skills and utilizing Bridge Loan Network’s Loan Management System, you can increase your chances of successfully closing deals and bringing in revenue for your brokerage. Connect with our team to learn more!

There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into tradeshows, and it isn’t just what you see in the exhibit hall. Behind every exhibit are months of pre-planning, and post-show reflections. A successful tradeshow is the outcome of good planning and the right preparations. And as cheesy as it might sound, you really do get out of a tradeshow what you put in.

Research the individuals who will be attending. Who are they, and what might they be looking for while there? Learning who is attending can also help you plan out who you will talk to. If you see someone that you have either done business with in the past or someone you’ve had conversations with in the past and want to reconnect, reach out and see about setting up meetings with them. 

In addition, create goals for the tradeshow, both personal and business, and create a plan of action on how you can achieve those goals. By setting your expectations realistically for the event, and how you can best use your time and resources, you’ll be able to achieve or exceed those goals.

If your company has a booth location, schedule a time for your team to do a test setup before shipping the items to the tradeshow. Ensure everything works the way it should, and that nothing is broken or missing pieces. It makes it easier on yourself and your team if you know how to set up your booth before you get to the tradeshow floor. You might only get a few hours or less of set-up time, so it’s best to use the time wisely. The more time you have can be used for any last-minute emergencies that might pop up. 

Alongside ensuring your booth setup is good to go, print materials and handouts are key in sharing your company’s offerings with potential customers. If you think you have enough print materials, you probably don’t have enough! It’s always better to have over-estimated how many print materials to send than not having enough. The worst thing that can happen to you is someone wants information about you, or your company, and you don’t have any more print materials to hand out. If this does ever happen, and it might, the best course of action is to take their contact information down and send them a digital version of your materials.  

Be sure to bring materials to market yourself and the business you represent, including business cards. You are there to make connections. The people you meet may end up being a very useful resource down the road. So, bring a decent-sized stack of your business cards with you so that you can share your information with people.

Networking and making connections are key components of tradeshows. Even if there are no formal networking opportunities, speaking sessions, cocktail hours, parties and other events associated with the tradeshow are a great way to meet other people in your industry. While you’re networking, it is also a good idea to have some way to organize business cards and contacts that you made during the event. Some shows have an event-specific app with contact info for all the confirmed attendees, but sometimes you will need to store a contact on your own. This may be as simple as pen and paper, but some apps allow you to scan business cards and record their contact info and any notes in one place. You can also jot notes down on any business cards you collect from people, to help personalize your follow-up when back in the office.

These are just some of the things you can do pre-show to prepare yourself. There is a lot more on the technical side of tradeshows that is equally important. But these are great starting points to keep in mind regardless if you are going to your first tradeshow or your 500th.

Being active on social media is important in many industries, including the real estate industry. And keeping your social media pages like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, for yourself as a real estate professional and your company’s social media pages, up to date shows that you are an active member in the industry as well as your company. Updating your social media pages allows your followers and clients to stay in the know about your company, new features, programs, events, sponsorships, and partnerships you are involved in. 

Holiday Promotion: 

Holidays are a great chance to showcase important updates like holiday hours or closures and also have a little bit of fun in the posting. If there is a national holiday that is “on brand” for your company, get creative! Our company, Bridge Loan Network, recently posted celebrating National Video Games Day, which matched other promotions we’ve published throughout the year. A quick search on National Holidays can turn up fun and easy ways to add content to your social media profiles each month.  

Event Participation

Events are a great opportunity to network and make new business connections and partnerships, so it’s a great idea to promote these to your audience! Sharing the general timeline of the event, the educational content and how you and your company are participating are great ways to create engagement online. For example, our company uses headshots of our team members who are attending in our content so that if people go to the event, they know who they are looking for if they are interested in talking to us. When possible, it’s also a great idea to link to relevant pages in your post for more information on the event, even if it’s a blog post on your own company’s website. That helps push potential customers to your website from your social media pages and from there, people can choose to learn more about your company, and then decide they are interested in working with you.  

Meet The Team Showcases:  

Show off the faces that your followers and clients are working with or could work with. It helps to make it a more personable experience, and it is always helpful to put a face to the name. It also helps for tradeshows and events to know who you are looking for if you want to connect with someone at the company. If clients want to talk to the featured person to learn more about the company, this is a great opportunity to send a LinkedIn request and start that professional connection!  

Hashtags: 

Don’t be afraid to use keyword hashtags to help reach more people. Even just a handful of keywords that relate to your content can help it reach a relevant audience, full of potential clients. You can even search hashtags of relevant content to make connections with other folks in the industry and set up potential partnerships.

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Now that you have some ideas about how to stay active on social media, go out there and share some content! And feel free to follow Bridge Loan Network on INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, and LINKEDIN.

In the real estate industry, whether you are a private lender, broker, or investor, networking is a key factor of growing your business.

Conferences, local meetups, and networking events are everywhere in our industry and will help you stay ahead of the curve if you are a contributing member. Plus, they are an investment in yourself and your company, and you’ll want to make the most of the time spent away from the office.

And as you’ve undoubtedly gathered, networking entails a lot more than just showing up, grabbing some free food, and exchanging business cards. It’s about connecting with people, sharing about yourself and what you do, and collecting valuable contacts and knowledge to grow professionally.

To make the most of it, all it takes is a little preparation and practice. Here’s what you need to know before you grab your business cards and head to your next industry event.

BEFORE

Set Reasonable Expectation

When preparing for a networking event, establish goals for your time there. Is your goal to find a specific service in which your company has a need for? A goal to meet five new people in the industry? Or are you hoping to connect with one particular person or company? By setting specific goals you can better prepare yourself and use your time wisely at the event.

Dress to Impress

Research the event you’re going to attend, the location, and the general theme of the event. First impressions matter, and this way you can set yourself up for success in putting your best foot forward. Think of it as a more informal interview, you’ll want to dress the part.

Bring Business Cards

This one seems obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say they’ve forgotten their cards at home, or that they just gave their last card away. Bring more cards than you think you may need and keep them on hand for the entirety of the event. One sided business card exchanges can leave a bad taste in folks’ mouths and could hinder their desire to follow-up with you in the future.

DURING

Focus on Making a Connection, Not a Sale

The overall goal for any event is to grow your network and allow for follow up with the appropriate folks after the event. With this in mind, don’t focus so much on making the sale right on the spot, but on making a connection. Show folks that you’re interested in more than just your opportunities. The best questions you can ask are ones that can’t be answered by just “yes” or “no” and allow for more fluid conversation.

Take Notes

After you ask for someone’s card, take notes on the card after they walk away or immediately after the event. This will help you to be more specific with your follow-up efforts. Even if you can’t write on their card, utilize your Notes app on your phone to highlight key topics and important information from your conversation. This can be as simple as the product or service they are looking for more information on, to favorite local food spots you discussed, to times that work best for follow-up.

Don’t Spam People with Cards

The closest thing to you throwing all your business cards away in the trash is by just passing them out to everyone you meet without having the actual conversations. If you haven’t built enough rapport with someone to encourage them to ask for your card, and vice versa, don’t just offer one because you think it’s what you’re supposed to do.

AFTER  

Follow-up

Making the connection is just the first step. To cultivate the relationship, you need to follow up with the folks you networked with. Make sure to personalize each phone call or email, letting each person know you enjoyed meeting them and mention something specific you talked about. A quick tip: One of the fastest ways to stop a connection in its tracks is to send everyone the same generic follow-up or LinkedIn connection request.

One of the best tools you can utilize in your career is networking, and you can make the most of it by preparing in advance, acting professionally during the event, and being proactive with your follow-up. Beyond that, simply try to enjoy yourself!

Article originally published in the American Association of Private Lender’s PL Magazine Q3 2021

This past March, Covid-19 disrupted everyone’s day to day life. From curfews and lockdowns to wearing a mask when going out in public places, to schools and workplaces shutting their doors and moving to virtual formats, the real estate industry as we knew it also did not walk away unscathed.

Not surprisingly, the private lending industry was affected in an unprecedented way. The economy was shaken, and it was uncertain as to just how much damage was done. During this time, private lenders approached these new market challenges with different strategies as this was uncharted territory. Two main strategies were prevalent: one was to press the pause button on lending on anything new during this time to focus on managing existing loans, and two was to maintain lending with very strict and specific guidelines.

Now that the private lending world has begun to readjust to the current market fluctuations and uncertainties, new lending trends have emerged in the bridge loan market and are switching up customer demand and investment strategies.

Bridge Loans Are the New Comeback Kid

Bridge financing has always been and will continue to be, a great resource for real estate investors due to its ability to provide quick turnaround times and competitive pricing. Bridge loans provide short-term financing options, typically until another financing source, usually conventional financing, is acquired.

Bridge loans also give investors time. Time to get a property ready and cash-flowing, whether that be as a rental property or a flip to be re-listed in this fast-paced market. And with the current pace of the market real estate investors need every possible tool to keep up. The mix of having very low inventory, quick turnaround times, and properties selling at a higher cost is a great cocktail for bridge financing to literally close the gap needed for investors looking to acquire additional investment properties.

According to Realtor.com®’s October Housing Data Release, it revealed that nationally, a typical home for sale spent only 53 days on the market, which is 13 days less than this same time in 2019. This is the first time in Realtor.com’s records that homes sold faster in October than September, like occurred in 2020, and indicates a continuance of an unusually active and aggressive fall/winter seller’s market. This data sets up the market well for investors continuing to acquire investment properties in the upcoming winter months, as the real estate market shows no sign of slowing down.

Though something to keep in mind when determining an investment strategy and when to utilize bridge financing, inventory of newly listed properties has declined by over 7 percent nationally throughout this year, increasing the competition on properties listed and driving up prices. Realtor.com®’s October Housing Data Release revealed the median national home listing price increased by 12 percent over 2020, to $350,000 in October. This is up from the 11 percent growth seen in September. This is also why the speed bridge financers can provide when closing a loan to acquire a property is a must-have in this competitive market.

Bridge Loans Lucrative Option for Investors

The increased demand for bridge financing can also be attributed to the historically low-interest rates and the fast pace with which bridge lenders can provide funding. Although bridge loan rates are dependent on experience, credit score, term, and the size of the loan, the rates generally range from 4 to 13 percent which is extremely lucrative when considering the swiftness at which bridge loans can be acquired.

Speed is another major factor as to why bridge loans are thriving in this market. As stated previously, properties are only spending, on average, 53 days on the market creating a fast-paced, and competitive space for investors. By choosing to work with bridge financers to purchase properties investors can close on these properties much faster than conventional funding, typically in 7-15 business days.

Combine the experienced investors with the folks who left the unstable stock market to invest in real estate, like was seen in 2008, and the number of loan requests to bridge financers has significantly increased this year.

For example, between July and October of 2019 Bridge Loan Network received over 797 loan requests through the software. Now with this same timeframe of July through October in 2020 Bridge Loan Network has received over 1,988 loan requests in the software.

Market Trends Move Towards Longer-Term Options

Although short-term bridge financing hasn’t slowed down, seasoned real estate investors have switched up their investment strategies this year. The days of buying distressed properties to renovate and quickly sell are no longer feasible due to new safety restrictions and protocols in this “new normal”. Getting one appraisal done on a property could be challenging enough, and then adding multiple inspection reports for rehab draws and a project’s timeline increases substantially. With this, short-term bridge loans for fix and flip projects are not as lucrative now, as they were back in January/February.

This does not mean that investors are walking away from bridge financing altogether though, in-fact, it is the exact opposite. Real estate investors are just adjusting their investment strategies and therefore require different types of bridge loans from private lenders. Since investors are pausing on the flip projects and moving towards acquiring and holding long-term rental properties and building their portfolios private lenders have adjusted how they market their short and longer-term bridge options to attract more clients.

Article originally published in the American Association of Private Lender’s PL Magazine 2021 Winter (Q1).

In email marketing, engagement and action rule the court. As email is both about content and creating action with that content. It’s about motivating folks to do something, whether that be a click, share, respond.

Here are a couple of email templates you can personalize to help kick start your next email campaign.

Introductory Email 

Hi (Client’s Name),

My name is (your name), and I am a (job title) from (company name). (Insert one or two introductory sentences about your experience in the industry and your company).

If you are looking for an industry expert and have a loan scenario I can help with, I would love to shop around for you and get you a competitive quote. I’d also be happy to discuss the different lending resources I work with, and if any fit your lending needs.

Contact me anytime via phone (phone number) or email (email address) with any questions or scenarios you may have.

Looking forward to working with you and helping you achieve your investment goals.

Sincerely,

(Signature)

Request for More Information Email 

Hi (Client’s Name),

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me earlier, and letting me know your real estate investing goals and the type of projects you usually work on.

As promised, I have attached additional resources and materials to help you better understand how I can help you reach your goals. (Describe a bit more about the materials attached)

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

(Signature)

Phone Call Follow-up Email 

Hello (Client’s name),

I enjoyed speaking with you and learning more about your financing needs. I wanted to follow up with more information on the program I believe can be the best suited to your investing needs:

(Insert a couple of bullet points about your products based on your phone conversation)

Looking to get a quote? Contact me anytime, phone (phone number) or email (email address).

Looking forward to working with you and helping you achieve your investment goals.

Sincerely,

(Signature)

TouchPoint on Cold Clients 

Hi (Client’s Name),

It’s been a while since we last spoke. I hope all is going well on your end.

First of all, I’d like to catch up to hear how you and your business are doing and see if there’s a chance to help you further.

I remembered, last time we spoke, you were interested in (product X). We have made significant progress on this product which has been impressively received by many of our clients.

I would love to share these key updates with you when you have a moment. Please let me know if (date and time) fit into your calendar, if not, feel free to suggest a time that works best for you.

Please let me know if you have any questions prior so that I can have those answers lined up.

Best,

(Signature)

In today’s marketing world, marketers have emphasized the new technologies available such as chatbots, social media, and influencers to reach customers. But these new marketing methods shouldn’t dissuade folks from one of the most effective messaging channels – email marketing.

Folks might be wondering if email marketing is still a worthwhile effort in connecting with current and prospective clients, and well yes, yes it is. According to HubSpot, there are on average 3.9 BILLION daily email users and 80 percent of business professionals believe that email marketing has increased their customer retention.

Here are some important aspects to consider when crafting your next email campaign.

Subject Line

The main items to consider when creating a subject line for your email campaign is to keep it short, limit punctuation, be descriptive, and add some personalization. Low open rates typically show that the subject line is not relevant or interesting enough for your subscribers to want to open the email.

The best way to know what resonates with your clients is to test out different subject lines to increase your open rates. An effective subject line clearly describes what’s inside your email and is intriguing enough to get folks to want to learn more.

To test the subject line craft two to three versions that differ slightly, and then set them up in an A/B Testing Campaign. Most marketing email platforms will have A/B Testing as part of their software, but if not, you can segment your list of contacts evenly, with each list receiving one of the subject lines you are testing. This will allow you to see which subject line had a higher open rate, and you can craft your future emails using this similar style of subject lines.

Email Structure

Get to the point quickly. Most folks will skim through their emails first, so it’s important to keep your email short and right to the point, so it grabs their attention and, they respond right then and there.

Make the email personable. Greet your client by name, add in something you’ve talked about before and thank them for their business.

Provide a Call to Action (CTA). Make it easy for your client to respond or make it clear how you want them to respond. Include a calendar invite with your next planned call, your phone number, and any required information or documents you need.

Building Your List 

Segmenting your client lists can help increase engagement, open rates, and follow-up efforts. You can have folks on more than one list but split the list’s into contacts with similar demographics, interests, lending patterns, and where you met them, so you can send the right content to the right people. Research shows that a segmented email campaign can have a 14 percent higher open rate than non-segmented campaigns.

Additionally, if your combination of contacts in a segment is not receiving the engagement you’d like to see, experiment with the lists until you find the most effective way to reach your contacts.

Overall, emails are necessary to maintain relationships with your current and prospective clients. Email marketing is an increasingly preferred communication method, but like other forms of marketing still works hand-in-hand with phone calls as well to keep your interactions personal.