By Desirée Patno
Owner and founder
Ask Yourself: Who Am I?
Build business by marketing your personal connections and demographics
F or many mortgage brokers, build-
ing a solid business depends on
expanding their market audience
or developing a deep connection in a niche
market. Instead of looking outward for that
elusive untapped market, brokers should
first look inward and identify their own cir-
cles of association.
Ask yourself which niches you belong to
as a consumer. You often can translate your
personal demographics to find business
demographics. The markets in which you
live and work can provide intercommunity
and cross-marketing opportunities for your
business.
If you are a female, veteran or minority
business-owner, for example, you’re build-
ing on and participating in a community
to which you already belong. The key is to
identify what certifications or associations
are available and leverage them when mar-
keting your business and services.
You often can certify and market your
business based on any niches or demo-
graphics into which you fall. If you own your
mortgage business and are seeking gov-
ernment or subcontracting opportunities,
for instance, it is imperative to be certified
as female-, minority-, disability- or veteran-
owned and to use this certification as a mar-
keting tool.
Set-asides, which are contracts specifi-
cally allocated for a type of business, tar-
get these and other demographics. If you
fall into one, the business you own likely
does, too.
There is no one-stop shop for business
certification. A business can be certified
based on its owner’s gender, race or sta-
tus, as well as its location, through local,
state or federal agencies. Finding the right
Desirée Patno Enterprises Inc.
combination of certification for your busi-
ness can be daunting, but the authenticity
it can provide to your customers is invalu-
able. There are companies that can walk
you through the process for each certifi-
campaigns, to foster locality-based
recognition. This can show customers
where you come from or what areas your
business impacts.
Ask yourself what your big-picture goal
cation and help you ensure that you ap- is for your business and what you care
ply for all designations applicable to your about personally. Keeping these answers
business. in mind, join, support and even start initia-
From there, you can partner with, net- tives that help achieve these goals. Bro-
work with and support other businesses in kers who can identify what is important to
that segment and market yourself to oth- them and to their business can use that
ers who may connect to you based on that to market themselves to a broader audi-
recognition. ence or deepen their existing connections
Brokers looking for new marketing an- within a niche market. •
gles should identify the communities they
are a part of as an individual and incorpo-
rate that into their marketing strategy.
Don’t just market a loan program. Market
yourself. Promote what you care about to
property-owners and potential buyers. This
can help you meet new people, build rela-
tionships and earn repeat business based
on shared concerns.
You can translate your personal demo-
graphics into marketing tools in the follow-
ing ways:
•• Partnering with nonprofit organizations
that work to achieve local or agenda-
specific goals that are either personally
important or impact your business. If a
disease or an event personally impacts
Desirée Patno is owner and founder of a leading
you, you can tell your story to consumers real estate owned brokerage, Desirée Patno
through a partnership, repeat donation Enterprises Inc., and president and founder of
or volunteer service. the National Association of Women REO Broker-
•• Joining professional associations based ages. Patno incorporates 19 years’ service with
on gender, race, ethnicity or other repre- major financial institutions, managing high vol-
umes of pre-foreclosures, short sales and fore-
sentations. This can help show prospects
closures. Her expertise allows her to meet each
who you are even if they don’t meet you client’s unique needs. DPE and NAWRB donate
face-to-face during the transaction. a portion of proceeds to heavily foreclosed com-
•• Using personal connections, such as munities. Contact desiree@desireepatno.com or
hometown, alma mater and support (949) 559-1300.
Reprinted from Scotsman Guide Residential Edition and scotsmanguide.com, September 2010
All rights reserved. Third-party reproduction for redistribution is prohibited without contractual consent from Scotsman Guide Media.