Every loan officer knows that Realtor referrals are the best source of purchase business. What most LOs get wrong is the approach. They take Realtors to lunch, drop off flyers, and wait for the phone to ring. Then they wonder why they only get one referral per quarter from agents who close 20+ deals a year.
The problem isn't the relationship. It's the value exchange. If you want consistent referrals from top-producing Realtors, you need to bring something to the table that makes their business better. In 2026, that means co-marketing systems, automated updates, and shared lead generation powered by HighLevel.
Let's be honest about why the old approach doesn't work anymore:
Co-marketing flips the script. Instead of asking Realtors for referrals, you create a system where both of you generate leads together. You split the cost, you split the leads, and both parties have skin in the game.
Here's what a co-marketing partnership looks like with HighLevel:
Run Facebook ads that feature both you and the Realtor. The ad promotes a free homebuyer guide, an open house event, or a "homes available in [neighborhood]" landing page. Leads fill out a form on a HighLevel funnel that captures name, email, phone, and timeline.
Both of you follow up. The Realtor works the real estate side (showing homes, listing presentations). You work the mortgage side (pre-approval, rate quotes, education). The lead gets a coordinated experience from two trusted professionals.
Cost: $500-1,000/month split two ways. Results: 20-40 leads per month depending on your market and ad spend.
Set up a HighLevel form or QR code for your Realtor partner's open houses. Visitors scan the code and enter their information for a "monthly payment estimate" or "see similar homes in this area" offer. The lead goes into both your systems.
This gives the Realtor a tangible tool for their open houses (most agents just set out a paper sign-in sheet that nobody fills out), and it gives you direct access to active buyers who are already looking at homes.
Build a landing page for your Realtor partner: "Get notified when new homes hit the market in [area]." The page captures leads who are actively house hunting. The Realtor provides the listing data and showings. You provide the mortgage education and pre-approval.
When you pitch co-marketing to a Realtor, lead with what they get: "I'll build the landing pages, run the ads, and handle the tech. All you have to do is follow up with the leads I send you and keep doing what you're already doing. We split the ad cost 50/50, and you get access to 15-20 new buyer leads per month." That's a pitch that gets a yes.
One of the biggest complaints Realtors have about loan officers: they never know what's happening with their referred clients. "Where's the pre-approval?" "Are we clear to close?" "When is the appraisal?" These questions create friction in the relationship.
Solve this completely with HighLevel automations:
Set these up as workflow triggers in HighLevel, tied to pipeline stage changes. When you move a deal to "Submitted to UW," the Realtor gets an automatic email. Zero manual effort after the initial setup.
This single automation will put you ahead of 95% of loan officers. Realtors will love you for it.
Treat your Realtor outreach like a sales pipeline. Use HighLevel to track it.
| Pipeline Stage | Action | Automation |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect | Identify target agents (10-30 deals/year) | Add to Realtor nurture email sequence |
| Contacted | Initial outreach (LinkedIn, email, or in person) | Follow-up reminder if no response in 5 days |
| Meeting Scheduled | Coffee or Zoom to discuss co-marketing | Calendar confirmation + reminder |
| Partnership Active | Co-marketing campaign running | Monthly performance report email |
| Top Partner | Consistent referral exchange | Quarterly check-in + appreciation gift trigger |
Don't chase the top agent in your market who closes 100 deals a year. They already have a lending partner (or five). Target the "rising agents" doing 10-30 transactions per year. They're hungry, open to new partnerships, and willing to invest in co-marketing because they're still building their business.
Look for agents who:
Co-branded content strengthens the partnership and generates leads for both of you:
Every Realtor partnership should be measurable. Use HighLevel's reporting and custom fields to track:
Review these numbers quarterly with your Realtor partners. Share the data openly. When a Realtor can see that your partnership generated 30 leads and 4 closings last quarter, they're invested. They'll send you more referrals because the data proves the relationship works.
Not every Realtor will say yes to co-marketing on the first conversation. Some need to be nurtured, just like buyer leads. Build a Realtor-specific email sequence in HighLevel:
Email 1 (After first meeting): "Great connecting. Here's a recap of the co-marketing ideas we discussed. I put together a sample landing page to show you what it could look like."
Email 2 (Week 2): Share a case study or example of a successful LO-Realtor co-marketing campaign. Include real numbers.
Email 3 (Week 4): Market data for their area. "Thought you'd find this useful for your listing presentations." Provide value with no ask.
Email 4 (Week 6): Social proof. "I just wrapped a co-marketing campaign with [Agent Name] that generated 25 buyer leads last month. Would something like that be useful for your business?"
Ongoing (Monthly): Market updates, rate commentary, and the occasional co-marketing opportunity. Stay on their radar without being pushy.
RESPA rules govern how loan officers and Realtors can work together. The key principle: any co-marketing arrangement must involve a genuine sharing of costs and risks. You can't just pay for a Realtor's ads and call it co-marketing. Both parties need to contribute financially and receive a proportional share of the leads.
Work with your compliance team to structure co-marketing agreements properly. Document the cost-sharing arrangement, the lead distribution method, and each party's responsibilities. HighLevel makes this easier by tracking lead sources and attribution automatically.
"The best Realtor partnerships aren't built on lunches and rate sheets. They're built on shared lead generation, transparent communication, and systems that make both parties more successful."
Don't try to build 10 Realtor partnerships at once. Find one agent who's open to co-marketing, build the system, prove it works, and then replicate it. Your first partnership is your proof of concept. Once you have results, the pitch to the next agent is easy: "Here's what I'm doing with [Agent Name], and here are the numbers. Want in?"
HighLevel makes the entire system repeatable. Once you've built the co-marketing funnel, the follow-up workflows, and the Realtor update automations for one partner, duplicating them for the next partner takes minutes, not hours.
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