We were lucky to catch up with Trish Reedy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Trish, appreciate you joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

I had an internship after my freshman year at Kansas State. My boss made it clear how important it was to get everyone’s name correct, to give them your full attention and to ensure the client knew they were your priority when you were together. I accidentally spelled someone’s name wrong on outgoing mail and she “eagerly” corrected me. I felt ashamed at the time, but now – I commit to those little things because I notice when they are done for me. Great customer service is so hard to find that something as simple as being called by your name, correctly, can go a long way! I know if someone calls or emails me and calls me Patricia, they don’t really know me. So we make a point to get to know the simple things about our clients and take it from there to the more in-depth topics like what are their goals for their financial future!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been in the mortgage business nearly all of my career – almost 15 years now! While I didn’t grow up dreaming of home loans, now I cannot imagine doing anything else. It is so rewarding to help a client achieve the American Dream and buy a home. I get to play a small part in that story and take away a bit of the stress along the way.

Over time, I’ve worked at several different types of lenders and every time I pursued a new position, I was leaving a supervisor or a culture that didn’t fit me. I opened my own company – Planted Local Lending – in late 2022, for a few specific reasons:

I wanted to continue to truly care about our clients goals more than the profit of a corporate hedge fund.
I wanted to provide loan officers like myself a supportive environment where they could grow their business.
I wanted to be true to my values and give my coworkers a place where they can live out those values as well.

I’ve also been lucky enough to work with some of the best local non-profits including Safehome, Girls on the Run, The Salvation Army and the Overland Park Rotary Club. I find it very important and satisfying to give back to my community.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for us is our past clients! When someone is buying a house, they are so excited about it and are talking about it with all their friends and family. Inevitably, someone they know gets excited about it and wants to do the same thing. Good people always know other good people!

We also love to meet great real estate agents. We can be a great asset for their business because our loan products and low interest rates and no lender fee model is different than a lot of other lenders out there! If we can help realtors grow their business, it is a win-win!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

We love to host parties, happy hours and educational events. We also stay in touch with regular email updates on the real estate market, interest rates and other information financial news. I realize that mortgages are not very sexy but making money on the biggest asset you likely own sure is – so people want to know about that! Most importantly, I try to foster a real relationship with every person I work with. What they are doing is likely one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, and we want to treat it with a due amount of respect. If I can actually get to know them, their goals, their families, it makes it easier to truly help them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.plantedlocallending.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plantedlocal/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088543725411
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planted-local-lending
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@trishreedy