Top-5% Realtor Referral Targeting
Focus outreach on the small group controlling most property listings
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 96%
Davis proposes concentrating referral outreach where listings are concentrated. He says the top 5% of realtor teams account for 90% of listings, while the remaining 95% share only 10%. An originator should therefore identify and approach that productive minority rather than treating every realtor as an equal prospect. The entry point is useful product knowledge: show the realtor how non-QM programs can put more borrowers into homes, then explain investor products that may also fit the realtor's own portfolio. Adoption can spread because realtors routinely work with self-employed title professionals, appraisers, contractors, builders, roofers, and plumbers. The mechanism combines account prioritization, consultative education, and network expansion around a high-value referral partner.
Origin
Extracted from Coffeez for Closers, where Tom Davis explained how Deep Haven trains mortgage partners to target productive realtor teams with non-QM products.
Core principles
- 01Allocate prospecting time according to listing concentration
- 02Lead with products that help a partner serve more borrowers
- 03Demonstrate a product through the partner's own use cases
- 04Use one strong referral relationship to reach adjacent self-employed networks
How to run it
- 1
Map listing concentration
Identify the realtor teams with the strongest listing production in the target market. Treat listing control as the first signal of potential referral value.
Pro tip Rank teams before beginning outreach so prospecting time follows opportunity.
Watch out Do not assume all realtor relationships offer equal access to purchase transactions.
- 2
Select a relevant product wedge
Choose non-QM products that can help the realtor serve buyers who fall outside conventional agency criteria. Prepare to explain exactly how those products can put more borrowers into homes.
Pro tip Include self-employed and investor solutions because realtors encounter both groups.
- 3
Teach through partner use cases
Show how an investor program could apply to the realtor's own investment activity as well as to clients. Personal relevance helps the partner understand and adopt the product.
Pro tip Use the realtor's likely business and investment needs to make the product concrete.
- 4
Expand through the network
Once the realtor understands the product, extend the conversation to the self-employed professionals around their transactions. These adjacent relationships can create additional borrower and referral opportunities.
Pro tip Map title, appraisal, construction, and trade relationships around each productive team.
Watch out Do not request introductions before demonstrating useful expertise.
In the wild
Davis describes teaching a top realtor about an investor program. Because many realtors own investment property, the realtor may first understand the program through a personal use case and then recognize similar opportunities among clients and professional contacts.
→ One targeted education conversation can open both purchase referrals and a wider self-employed network.
Common mistakes
Prospecting every realtor equally
Davis argues that this spends too much time on the large majority of realtors who collectively control few listings.
Leading without a useful product
The approach depends on showing how a product helps the realtor place more borrowers or finance investments.
Stopping at the first referral partner
Realtors work with many self-employed professionals, so failing to map that network leaves adjacent opportunities untouched.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for originators seeking purchase business through high-producing realtor teams and their professional networks.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for originators who cannot confidently explain and structure the products they use to open the relationship.
From the transcript
“the top 5% of Realtors they account for 90 or realtor teams they account for 90% of the listings”
“go after the top 5% be more strategic and tactical and use these products as an end to go into into those those Realtors”
“show them how you could put more borrowers in the homes”
From the episode
Getting Deep with Tom Davis