Broker offers advice on staying afloat

“Yet at the same time, I’ve been sending quarterly check-ups. I’ve been giving them access; they know where their home value is because I have a tool that’s letting them know and keep informed. And they trust me enough to know that I’m not going to put them into something just to make a commission. Most of the clients I have I really try to connect with on a personal level. Whether that’s being friends with them on social media, sending them a birthday card, and if I do see something on social media that they had a kid, well then I’m going to send them a baby blanket.”

Particularly in these times of uncertainty in the industry, conveying stability is key, Ahles added. He suggested that firms address “pain points” in their own makeup to ensure a good image with clients and potential clientele.

“If you’re bouncing from job to job to job and we’re talking about building personal relationships, well I may question my personal relationship with you,” he said. “If you’re good at what you’re doing, why are you switching so much? To me, it’s the same thing for originators. Especially the top 1% of originators, they’ve been with their companies 15, 20 years. Let’s get past the point of ‘I’m going to make more money.’ It’s time now when you’re watching originations shrink to really look at those pain points and identify a road map to get to and alleviate those pain points.”

The same methodical approach needs to be taken when recruiting, he said. The husband-and-wife shop only had three people at its inception in 2011, and has grown “organically” since, Ahles said.