On this episode of rokrbox TV, Josh sits down with Spencer Richardson of Premiere Mortgage Resource. As a Division Manager, Spencer has a unique story to share with us after 27 years of experience in the mortgage industry.
[1:00] Spencer explains to Josh that he started out as a loan officer in 1996, while he was still in college. Shortly after, he started his first company at only 23 years old. “It was a pretty large company,” Spencer says. “I got about 5 billion a year.”
“That’s billions with a B, right?” Josh jokes. Laughing, Spencer nods, going on to say that he eventually sold his company and embraced the opportunity to experience every avenue of business: retail mortgage, interactions with realtors and real estate, wholesale mortgage, correspondent lending, and more.
Spencer explains that PMR also managed a number of call centers and consumer direct models at one point, giving him valuable experience with lead management and lead flow over the years. Spencer’s journey led him to Premiere Mortgage Resources 5 years ago, and he eventually found Josh and his rokrbox team 3 years later.
[2:20] “It’s been a great fit,” Spencer tells Josh. “With that past experience [with leads], I really value what you guys bring to the table, and how you guys [at rokrbox] help us and the realtors.”
Our viewers have probably already picked up on a unique element of Spencer’s story: unlike many other special guests we’ve had the pleasure of meeting on rokrbox TV, Spencer isn’t a real estate agent. However, Spencer and his fellow loan officers maintain an ongoing partnership with a number of realtor partners, to whom rokrbox offers significant value.
[3:00] “We focus on being able to kind of invert the ISA model, and approach it from a mortgage perspective,” Spencer explains. “Get those leads, get them qualified, and give them to the realtor partners.”
Spencer goes on to say that the loan officers and realtor partners at PMR tried making the calls that Josh’s rokrbox callers are making today, an effort that lasted a couple years.
“They would call occasionally,” Spencer admits, exchanging a knowing smile with Josh. “They would call sometimes. Sometimes they’d call quickly; sometimes they wouldn’t call at all. And that’s just the nature of the beast. People get busy, right?”
Spencer’s first attempt to remedy the company’s lead-related woes was to create their own call center, but he quickly realized it wasn’t an effective solution to the problem. “That’s a full-time job,” he admits. “That’s a full-time business. It’s just a different business. I like to originate mortgages, and work with referral partners, not manage callers.”
[4:00] When the call center failed to produce the results he wanted, Spencer started reaching out to his contacts, seeking referrals. That was when he discovered rokrbox.
“I came across you guys, luckily,” Spencer tells Josh. “To be able to outsource all of that energy, [and] effort—there’s cost savings in there as well. Time savings, which is enormous. But what caused me to [reach out to rokrbox] is the frustration of not getting the ROI at the end of the day.”
Nodding in agreement, Josh replies, “You’re right: in order to grow and scale and leverage your business, you’ve got to bet on your strengths, and delegate your weaknesses.” Pivoting to the next topic, he asks Spencer about his onboarding experience with rokrbox 3 years ago.
[5:40] “You guys have followed through with everything you said you’d do,” Spencer answers. “I’ve had experiences with other [similar] companies, but nobody’s even close to rokrbox. I’m not just saying that because we’re doing the interview. That’s just the truth.”
He tells Josh that the onboarding process was seamless and smooth, two words that other rokrbox clients have also used to describe their onboarding experience. “The experience has been great,” Spencer says. “What it’s really allowed us to do is give true value to the real estate partners that we work with.”
He adds that instead of getting burnt out making calls—something Josh and his team of callers refer to as lead fatigue—Spencer’s team members are actually excited to call the warm leads that rokrbox sends over.
[7:00] “They [already] have some information on that lead,” he points out. “And we can utilize that information when we reach out, and reference the notes [from rokrbox]. You guys get pretty granular. You get quite a few good notes in there.”
These quality “notes” inside the CRM is a direct result of rokrbox’s mission: to deliver the greatest phone call on earth. It’s this mission that enables Josh’s callers to drop vetted, high-quality leads in agents’ laps, and sets rokrbox apart from similar services.
When it comes to the perfect phone call, Josh’s callers at rokrbox practically have the qualification process down to a science. The rokrbox ISAs not only strive to collect a prospect’s home-buying criteria and timeframe, but they also strive to connect leads with financial resources, confirm whether they have property to sell, and clarify any existing commitments to other agents.
Lastly, the callers attempt to gather the lead’s motivation for buying—an often-underrated component that offers valuable insight, particularly when an agent is attempting to establish rapport with a potential client.
The high quality of rokrbox’s notes and conversations over the phone are just a couple of the reasons Josh’s team can help prevent lead fatigue among teams like Spencer’s.
“There’s so many cold leads,” Josh stresses. “There’s so many uninterested buyers. So it’s nice for us to be able to take that off your plate, because that’s what we specialize in. That’s what we’re excited about, and proud of doing each and every day—calling those leads to free up your time, and free up that mental space.”
[8:30] Moving on, Josh asks Spencer how himself and his team of loan officers have utilized rokrbox to leverage their relationships with real estate professionals.
“It’s been really critical to the growth of our model, because it allows us to focus on what we do well,” Spencer replies. “Generally, all the realtors we’re looking to partner with are doing some form of leads, right? Our whole goal is to add value.”
He explains that most teams have an ISA or two, or even an ISA team, assuming they can afford that. But, he points out, smaller teams and individual agents often can’t afford to hire ISA services. “So we’ve been able to leverage [rokrbox],” he concludes, “which is very cost effective.”
[9:50] Spencer adds that partnering with rokrbox has not only allowed his company to grow, but is also the thing that catches the agent’s attention when they consider partnering with a lender team, setting his company apart.
The value that rokrbox adds often opens the door to conversation, during which Spencer asks potential real estate partners, “Hey, if we can increase your conversion by 2%, or help you get another 6 to 12 transactions closed this year, is that worth having a conversation?”
To many of us, the answer probably seems obvious.
“With your help, we can do that,” Spencer tells Josh. “Without rokrbox, we wouldn’t be able to follow through with that.”
Circling back to the subject of cost effectiveness, Josh explains that his rokrbox callers are students at Texas A&M University, Josh’s alma mater and go-to source for top talent. “Not sure if you’ve heard any good Aggie jokes out there,” Josh teases, “but it’s actually a very prestigious university.”
The influx of top-tier talent coming in, Josh adds, are students seeking ways to build their resume, master new skills, and gain new experiences that will set them up for success post-graduation.
Once these students are hired onto the rokrbox team, they undergo extensive training, receiving 20 hours of in-depth coaching before they start making calls. They have the opportunity to increase their hourly pay rate by ascending to higher positions within the company—with plenty of room for growth.
But the true value of rokrbox is far greater than monetary compensation: it’s the invaluable skills and experience gained in the Many of Josh’s dedicated callers will graduate and move on to new opportunities in which they can utilize the skillset they acquired at rokrbox, impressing or even surprising new employers with their high level of expertise—especially fresh out of college.
“That’s our talent pool back in College Station,” he says. “We’re just so excited to be able to share our resources with all of our clients. That’s what makes it so cost effective.”
“I would certainly recommend that, if they’re going to spend money on leads, to engage rokrbox on doing that front-end work for them,” Spencer replies, adding that potential partners should “really spend the time” when it comes to lead management, lead flow, and most importantly, lead follow-up.
“Spend time on what comes after the transfer,” Spencer stresses. “It’s still a lead, and you still have to call them. You have to call them quickly after you get the transfer…Read the notes, see what the situation is. There’s still a lot more work to do after the front-end. At the end of the day,” he repeats, “it’s a lead.”
“You have to think of this as your personal assistant,” Josh agrees. “You know, cutting out 90% of the labor and the work—but there’s still some work left to be done. And that’s where your expertise comes into play…We’re handing over the gold [to you], but you still got to do something with it to turn it into a commission check, or help realize their real estate dreams.”
Thank you for joining us for this very special episode of rokrbox TV! Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Kevin & Amy Smits, owners of The Smits Team in Colorado. Their incredible success story is one you won’t want to miss!
