Funding $25 million a year in referrals is no small feat for a business that's only three years old. Hope Pagano of Hope Funding in New York can't help but chuckle about how surprised the banking examiner was during his last visit when he saw a company of their size suddenly doing so much business. "He couldn't get over it. He even asked me what our secret was to getting so much business."

During her first six years in the mortgage business, Hope Pagano never had a website. Early this year, she decided the time had arrived. "Everyone else has one.
I figured that having a website would give my company the same credibility that others are getting from their sites," Hope confided.
"I never really expected to get much business from it. As it turned out, because we do business in four states, people from out of state use our site a lot."

Pagano confessed to being "completely computer challenged" and confided, "I was relieved that bringing a web presence into my business didn't turn me into some kind of computer geek. It didn't even change the way I do business. I like what I do and I still do all the same things as before. I'm in a great location.
I bought my own building. I treat my employees as I want to be treated. Now I just make more money."

Hope heaped praise on her Myers consultant. "Whenever I need to figure something out, he is always just a phone call away. He is extraordinary, far beyond the call of duty. He gives me great tips on how to market my company on the Internet, and he helps me figure out creative ways to link my site to referral partners." When asked what her biggest challenge has been with the Internet, Pagano responded, "My brain. Good thing I have my Myers rep."

Pagano's business success is due to consistently keeping her word and not letting people down. She trains her agents to deliver personalized service, to identify with customers, and advise them about what actions to take to further their own best interests. "I've trained everyone to put customers first, and that the money will always follow," Pagano explained. "Almost all our business is by referral. That's because of service. All lenders have the same rates. When you do the right thing, people come back. We're not looking to 'explode' overnight; but to grow at a pace that allows us to continue giving good service."

Pagano is reluctant to reveal her competitive secrets, but she did disclose that she received twenty-two leads from the Myers Sweepstakes alone. "The links are great too. I ask people to exchange links so that if someone is on my site who happens to be looking for a Realtor or home improvement company, they will be directed to my referral-partner and vice versa," stated Pagano. "When a visitor clicks on a referral link, the partner's web site populates my own site. I can make a referral while keeping the client right on my own site. It's really great when Realtors reciprocate by making my tools, content, and application available to their clients at their sites as well."

"A lot of our business is still phone work, and we want to keep it that way. I still take applications over the phone instead of making people do it online. It's more personal. And the people we're talking to can see our pictures on the site, which is even more personal.

I think it makes people feel safer and more comfortable about talking to a stranger," Pagano continued. "And the customer testimonials on our site definitely help establish my credibility. I refer them to our site to see our pictures as reinforcement that we're real people and a real company."

When asked about her business strategy for the next twelve months, Hope responded, "We have a good Internet presence where we can send people to get their questions answered in the middle of the night, and we're doing a good job with networking and referrals. My next project is to improve our search engine optimization. Beyond that, we plan to continue what we're already doing, to grow steadily and continue to make sure we can support our growth with great customer service."

Visit Hope Funding at http://www.hopefundinggroup.com

With a Myers web site you not only get a custom site you can control, you have the resources available to be like Hope and generate referral links of your very own - call Myers today to find out how!