As we all work towards creating new referral relationships, a few words of caution are in order...

First of all just because someone is in a position to refer you business doesn't mean you should do business with them. Starting, building and nurturing relationships is difficult anyway and doing it with the wrong people is just brain damage. Those who constantly complain, demand too much or have questionable ethics, will most always prove to be a counterproductive waste of time.

Let's take Realtors for example. Most Loan Officers have a difficult time establishing referral relationships with kind, experienced, honest Realtors because they are already taken. Bad Realtors, on the other hand, are usually easier for the Loan Officer to "get in" with because many of them have already been through most of the other lenders in town who couldn't work with them either. They care about one thing... their commission, and many will do whatever they feel they can get away with to get that commission with little or no regard for you or the customer.

"You can not cut a bad deal with a good person and you can not cut a good deal with a bad person." This old adage is as true today as it was the first time someone said it. Lousy clients produce lousy returns!