Relationships Not Transactions Summit Shares Strategies to Attract, Engage, and Retain Referral Partners

On February 28th and March 1st, UMortgage brought together more than 150 of its loan originators, Operations staff, corporate leaders, and team members for its Relationships Not Transactions Summit.

This two-day event hosted at the Four Seasons in UMortgage’s hometown of Philadelphia sought to emphasize the importance of genuine, authentic relationships to turn referral partners from surface-level business transactions into life-long alliances.

The event broke down these relationship-boosting tactics into three key actions: attract, engage, and retain. By hitting these three measures, individuals can connect on a deeper level with their referral partners and foster a working relationship that can stand the test of time.

“The Relationships Not Transactions Summit was an incredible couple of days for us to come together as a team to strengthen our relationships, learn, share, and get better individually and collectively,” said UMortgage President & CEO, Anthony Casa. “Our people are what makes us special, our relationships are what makes us most valuable, and when we share that value with members of our local communities, we can really make an impact.”

During the event, overarching themes included the importance of establishing a foundation of trust, ensuring your relationships are reciprocal instead of one-sided, and that consistently providing value can make oneself a go-to resource. After all, with rates rising once again, a world-class client experience for both borrowers and agents is even more paramount.

To help one another grow as a team and continue to improve that client experience—which has earned UMortgage an industry-best 95 net promoter score—attendees shared their personal experiences and tactics to attract, engage with, and retain those partners and clients, as well as ideas to further build upon that experience.

In fact, a highlight of the event’s first day was a panel led by four UMortgage’s LOs: Jay Bunte, Keena Gehringer, David Koch, and Kristen Morgan. They shared specific strategies that they employ in their local communities to lift one another up and connect with others in the real estate industry on a more-genuine level, such as charming charity events, engaging educational seminars, locally sourced baked goods, and friendly neighborhood forums.

Success also requires recognition to maintain a positive environment centered around individual and collective growth. Along with a record month for funded loans, Casa presented awards to individuals within the organization who exemplify each of UMortgage’s five core values. Recipients were a mix of loan originators, operations leaders & team members, and corporate team members. The award winners were as follows:

• Create Strong Communities Award: David Koch (Loan Originator) & Natalie Mothorpe (Closer) 
• Experience is Everything Award: Sonja Thomas (Loan Processor) & Denisa Hyseni (Operations Team Leader) 
• Get Better Every Day Award: Melanie Lynch (Director of Talent Acquisition) and Adam West (Loan Originator) 
• Relationships Not Transactions Award: Bill Kessler (Human Resources Team Leader) & Shaun Hamman (Branch Manager) 
• Own the Moment Award: Victoria Blackie (Loan Originator) & Roberto Rellini (Operations Team Leader and Escalation Manager) 

The UMortgage platform has grown in a shrinking market by identifying the pain points of our current loan originators in their previous companies—whether that be a retail shop or their own brokerage—and addressing those pain points with value-based solutions.

After a record month for loans funded this February, it’s clear that UMortgage’s platform allows loan originators to win over referral partners and clients in any market. If you’d like to learn more about the platform’s four-pronged approach to success, sign up for the weekly UMortgage Discovery Meeting, which is hosted by Casa every Thursday at 2pm ET.