According to a press release issued by LendingTree, more than 24 percent of the nation's top 500 real estate brokerage firms (according to industry figures) are members of the LendingTree Realty Services Network.

Well, that kinda blows the notion out of the water that brokers don't want to do business with third-party referral services, doesn't it?

Said LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda, "These numbers demonstrate our mainstream acceptance by the real estate industry. Many brokers and agents have come to recognize LendingTree for what it is: an important channel that they can use to drive incremental business, shorten sales cycles and develop a steady, reliable stream of new clients at great customer acquisition costs."

So who's choosing to be part of the network? A short list includes names all industry folks should know:

• Michael Smith, broker/owner of Prudential Michael Smith, Bellevue, WA
• Michael Pappas, president of The Keyes Company, Miami, FL
• Steve Baird, president and CEO, Baird & Warner, Chicago, IL
• Ed Krafchow, president, Prudential Northern California,East Bay Area, CA

LendingTree's nation-wide real estate network is made up of more than 700 brokerages, and a surprising number of them are franchise affiliates. According to the company's numbers, 40 percent of LendingTree network brokers are independent, while the remaining 60 percent are franchise affiliates. Twenty percent are affiliated with Century21, 14 percent with Coldwell Banker, 12 percent with Prudential, 10 percent with ERA, and five to seven percent are RE/MAX, GMAC and Realty Executives affiliates.

This is interesting because most franchise affiliates join a franchise to benefit from a network of relocation associations. Cendant Mobility, for example, is one of the largest relocation companies in the world, and feeds relocation business to its Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and ERA brands' affiliates.

"We first started with the Employee Relocation Council," explained a LendingTree spokesperson to Realty Times. "Companies that do relocations know how to nurture consumers, and these are also the companies most likely to have multiple offices."

In fact, 70 percent of LendingTree network brokers are also members of ERC. "They know how to manage a team of agents," elaborates the spokesperson.

LendingTree works only with brokers that are members of the National Association of Realtors, that have a relocation specialist through which to process LendingTree customers, and that will commit to additional training and customer service.

One thing the company offers is a killer back-office software that takes lead management to a highly refined degree, which helps eliminate one of the major objections many agents have to online leads - that consumers often aren't ready to buy.

Realty Connection 3.5 helps the broker track, manage and maximize their LendingTree customer flow, says the company. It emails the clients through a client-care program, issues status requests which includes where the lead came from (Costco, airlines, Linens N Things, Teamsters, (yep, that's what I said), etc. It gives a call to action, whether to call or email the consumer; organizes the lead for further management, and it even encourages the consumer to give the broker a service rating. The system is designed so that the broker can monitor all leads from all offices and how they are being handled, including agent status management. There's also a certification process and a best practices manual for the brokers and participating agents to follow.

"Ninety-five percent of the brokers have their own lead management process, but they tell us ours is the best in class," Realty Times was told.

LendingTree, according to President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Reddin, can bring business to agents and brokers that they might not get otherwise.

"Fifty percent of the consumers that apply for a loan at LendingTree aren't working with a Realtor," he says, "so we want our loan officers and agents to build a rapport, because all consumers want is the best deal."

Lending assures a best deal by taking approximately half of the referral fee earned at closing and rebating it to the consumer, something the franchisors such as Coldwell Banker and Prudential don't do.

At least not yet.

Published: June 4, 2004

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.