I am sure you have heard this from an Agent you are prospecting:

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“My lender’s pay [insert a dollar amount] monthly for my co-marketing spend…”

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I am sure you have wanted to 🤦🥊🙄🖕in those situations.

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Today’s LO Launch Letter will help you navigate those conversations better moving forward so you can vet those opportunities better.  

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The quality of your discovery questions will help you determine if the Zillow Co-Marketing opportunity (for example) is viable and enhance your ability to negotiate the investment amount from the quality of your questions.

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In other words, the quality of your discovery will showcase you as an intelligent leader (and someone who's a good business person).

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Let’s put the needle to the record and dive right into the conversation mechanics.

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First, always control your annoyed emotions and lead with gratitude:

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"I am honored you thought of me for this business opportunity.”

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Secondly, hit ‘em with this impact statement:

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"...with that being said, I take business partnerships seriously. 

If I were to ask you for co-marketing partnership dollars, I wouldn't sleep until I got you at least a 2x return. I believe that is a good partnership principle..."

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Ask your for permission to discover (permission-based selling):

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"...with that being said, do you mind if I ask some questions to better understand your needs, goals, and strategy with this co-marketing opportunity to see if it’s a good fit?"

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Ask the discovery questions (change from past tense to present tense where needed)

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"Have you ever been in a co-marketing relationship with another lender?"

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"How did it go overall?"

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"What went well?"

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"What didn't go well?"

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“If the lender wasn’t investing in these Zillow leads with you, would you still do business with him or her because they’re actually really good at their job?”

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“Do you even like this lender?” [serious question]

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"What's the longest-running relationship you've been in overall with a Lender partner?"

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"What caused the end of that co-marketing relationship?"

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"On average, how many new qualified leads come in?"

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"Walk me through your lead conversion and management process…"

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"..as in, your 'speed to lead, speed to need, speed to meet' process."

“Is that process documented on a playbook that all your Agents adhere to?”

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“Are you training your Agents on how to convert better?”

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"How are you nurturing or incubating your leads?"

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"Tell me a bit about your past results with these leads"

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“How long have you worked with [Zillow]?”

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"Let's talk through your organic lead generation -- on average, how many organic leads are you generating monthly?"

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"How do you typically introduce the lender? In other words, what do you say to influence the buyer to connect with your lender partner?"

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Quick time out: 

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What have you observed thus far?

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Do you notice the quality of your discovery?

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I don’t know about you, but if someone is asking me for money to invest in their business, I am asking whatever question I damn feel like, and if he/she/they/them and/or their mama has a problem with that, I’m on to the next. 

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Needless to say, your pace and tone of delivery have to be soft, and you can’t be condescending. 

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Once you have the above answers, take notes (there is power in the pad). 

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You can either say:

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“…cool, can you give me 1-2 days to think this through and circle back?” (do the math, and determine if the opportunity makes sense)

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Or

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 “…I will consider this, but would like an informal contract signed between us that guarantees X amount of word-of-mouth referrals from you. If my money is guaranteed, I want a guarantee of leads from your organic network.” 

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Or

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“...I am interested, but would like the first 3 months to be at $X investment and then ramped up to $X by month 4. 

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Or

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“Thanks very much for all the feedback. It’s not something I am interested in right now as the math does not make sense (or money).”

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Voila, that’s it. 

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My last thought on this subject is this:

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Zillow Co-Marketing is sometimes a “loss leader” for big accounts already referring you so that you can position yourself against any other LO coming in.

I would stay away in 99% of the cases though, unless the math works.

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