Behind every “no” is a future win

I hate being rate shopped, it's the worst and I feel like a commodity. 

Matter of fact, it used to enrage me to have a homebuyer leave me for 1/8th of a lower rate to some random lender AFTER I invested hours educating them, updating pre-approval letters, and communicating with their Real Estate Agent. UGH!

Things changed for me when my personal friend and mentor, Shant Bonasian, the #1 Loan Officer in the country, told me he loses $100M+ YEARLY, minimum, in production from also being rate shopped!

I didn't feel so alone anymore, lol. 

It's part of the game, and understanding this has helped remove so much of the emotion of "losing".

Getting a no sucks, I won’t try to slice it any other way. 

So I want to talk about the right way to follow up on a “no”. 

Even though it feels like a door slammed in your face, here’s the truth:

“No” doesn’t mean “never”. It just means “not right now”.

Once you make that shift, that’s where things can change.

Here’s how you should respond to it:

Congratulate them, tag them as a “different lender client” in your database, and keep nurturing them in your marketing sphere. 

They won’t be living in that home forever - or they’ll at least refinance. Or maybe they’ll buy an investment property, my point is…

…by staying in touch and relevant to them, there’s a good chance that “no” turns into a “yes” someday. 

Now, if you want a more concrete plan, here are the 3 tactics I turn to: 

1. I do a sales anchor.

Even though they’re drifting, I keep them tied to me in some way. I express how excited I am for them, and I ask if it’s okay to call them if rates drop so I can help them refinance. They ALL say yes. Then I set up a "rate alert" in my pricing engine (Optimal Blue) and watch my inbox closely. 

2. I’ll send them a gift.

If I really want to impress them, I send them something nice and still express my excitement for them despite not getting their business. This also leaves a good impression on the referring Realtor. 

3. I let them leverage me to get a better deal.

I send them my rate, and encourage them to leverage me to see if their lender can match that and run with it. People are shocked by this one, but I truly just want them to win (and to consider me a little harder next time).

Here’s my assignment for you this week: 

Plan out your own “no” follow-up strategy. Script it out word for word. 

Bonus: I send them my Google reviews link. 

Have them post a 5-star review for you, why not. That is how I have 100+ currently.

Hope the above helps and accounts for an additional $10M+ (minimum) in volume for me during refinancing booms.

• Amir

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