"How Many Leads Have I Gotten?" Ask Not What Active Rain Can Do For You But What You Can Do For Active Rain

I have built my mortgage business on referrals.   The way I get most of these referrals, the first time, is through education.   My newsletter, my mailings, this blog, nearly everything I do is meant to help educate. 

I don't send recipes and football schedules and postcards that scream, "rates as low as 1%" or any of that sort of thing.  Although there is nothing wrong with that, I choose education as the core of my marketing.

To me, when you educate people, they see you as an "expert."  They trust you, the expert, with their business and that of their friends and family.   That has worked well for me through the years.

Education, for me, is not just about teaching others, but also learning. 

Its just as important for me to stay on top of changes in lending, changes in the local real estate market, and changes in my business. 

If I don't learn new things, how can I educate about new things?  And, for me, thats why Active Rain is such an amazing community. 

I am convinced that if you are a new real estate agent or mortgage professional or title officer, if you simply spent a week or two reading the volumes of real-life information on this website, and asking questions when you "don't get it," you will end up knowing more than 95% of the people in your office. 

You will know more than 80% of your competitors in the marketplace. 

The experts here have made nearly all of the mistakes on the challenges you will likely face.  They are willing to help you not make the same mistakes we did.   And get you out of the jam you are in today. 

Man, how I wish this was around when I first started in real estate and mortgages.  And that's why its so frustrating for me to read emails like two I got last week. 

"Aaron, I read your blog.  Its really great.  I am just getting started on Active Rain.  How many leads have you gotten from AR?"

"Aaron, thanks for inviting me to join Active Rain.   How much business have you gotten from it so far?"

WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT??    I have gotten some leads from here, but I couldn't care less.  I could be way off base, but to me, that's not the point of Active Rain.

Join in.  Invest some time here.   Be a member of the community.  Help educate us all with your experiences so we can all learn and grow as professionals and hopefully not make the same mistakes you did.   

If you are new to the business, lean on us "old-timers" for our experiences.   Most of us here are glad to help.  We "get off" on helping you.   It makes us feel great about ourselves and our knowledge.

Participate.  Learn as much as you can from the millions of years of experience you will find here.  This will help make you a better agent or lender. 

Go to Q&A and help someone who needs your help. 

Join a group.   Join as many as you want and chime in.  We want your opinions.  We thrive on them.

Ask questions.  If you have a question about something it will get answered here.  And it will get answered with more options and with more experience than by anyone else of whom you could ask your question.

However, please don't ask me how many leads I have gotten from here. 

Don't worry.  If you participate fully, you will get leads.   When you become a better professional, and you will get better by participating here, no matter what level you believe you are at today, you will get more business.   And, if you can become perceived as an "expert," you will get even more.

However, that should not be the reason you are here.  It's certainly not why I am.