Whether you are just getting started with loan officer and realtor co-marketing, or have been doing it for years, it’s important to stay abreast of how to track co-marketing expenses for compliance reasons.
If you want to read more about the value of co-marketing, check out these six things you should know before marketing to realtors. Today though, we will go over everything you should know about co-marketing expenses. So, let’s do this!
Why You Should Track Co-Marketing Expenses
Are you currently keeping track of your co-marketing expenses?
If you are not, you should start in order to be RESPA compliant.
If you just thought to yourself “RESPA what?,” here’s the deal: any expenses associated with your co-marketing efforts must be tracked to remain compliant. The National Association of Realtors explains all the nitty gritty on RESPA’s guidelines here.
So, as a loan officer or realtor, you’ll want to abide by these guidelines to avoid violations. According to MetFund Markets, if you are found to be non-compliant with RESPA, you could face a civil lawsuit or penalty by HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development),
Sarah Young with RISMedia explains, “When two or more settlement service providers co-market their businesses through advertisements such as printed flyers, online banners or real estate portal web pages, the advertising efforts may be subject to analysis under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).”
How Should You Track Co-Marketing Expenses?
There are many ways to track co-marketing expenses. If you want to start simple, try jotting down notes on the back of co-marketing expense receipts. Then, develop a filing system for them.
If you prefer electronic records, another great option is to keep records on an electronic notepad. Options include the Notes section on your computer, or even a spreadsheet like Excel or Google Sheets.
Want something a bit more comprehensive? You can also choose to utilize an electronic contact database. That’s where Jungo’s expense reports comes in. We know how important strong referral partner relationships are, and a huge part of that is co-marketing. This is why tracking co-marketing expenses can easily be done within Jungo’s Mortgage CRM.
Already a Jungo user? Read on for details on how to use Jungo as your co-marketing expense tracking wizard.
Not yet a Jungo user? Check out more information about how Jungo can help streamline your co-marketing process, including how it can make co-marketing expense tracking a breeze.
Getting Started: Co-Marketing Expense Tracking in Jungo
- Add the expense object to the loan officer (LO) or realtor contact page. If this is not setup yet, you can open a case with support here.
- Then, go to the LO or Realtor contact page that you wish to track expenses for…
- Next, click on “add new expense.” From here, you can enter in all the expense details, such as the date, expense type (i.e LO concierge pack or parking), dollar amount, and expense description
Once you’ve added your expense, along with all the details, you can then easily run a Realtor Expense Report as a summary to see the total. (Pro Tip: Also, upload receipts as an attachment for auditing.)
Next, you can filter your reports by realtor partner, date range, and type of expense. Depending on when and what you need the report for, you can save the report within Jungo or export on the spot.
And that’s it! Not only will your co-marketing expenses be compliant, you’ll also be able to easily track your co-marketing efforts with referral partners.
Lastly, tracking expenses will can also help you determine which marketing initiatives have been the most mutually beneficial over time, and how to best approach co-marketing efforts in the future.
