I was a mortgage broker in the height of the refinance boom. I knew people who were doing 20 mortgages a month. Guys who were only doing “A” paper and making less than $2k a loan were still making 40 grand a month. Several times a week the office would be invaded by affiliate managers from various loan companies pitching their latest product in an attempt to get your business.

The thing is that their rates were generally within a quarter point, the credit terms were virtually the same and they charged about the same fees. Yet they always came in pitching the same product every one else has.

The question I aways had in my mind was always the same, “When I call you at 5 p.m. with a loan scenario are you going to pick up the phone and give me a useful answer? When I send in the paperwork with that same scenario will the loan get approved? Will you ’suddenly’ get some new loan stipulation that will prevent me from closing a loan on those terms five days before the closing, making me look like a liar and losing the deal for me? Will you make sure someone will actually process my loan in a timely manner so I can get my stipulations well before my closing date?

It was like a chiropractor telling you about their fancy equipment and cool waiting room when you just wanted to know, “Are you gonna fix my back?”

One day a guy came into the office just like everybody else and handed out his rate sheets with loan programs, got all the brokers together and said, “We have the same programs as everybody else. Some of our fees are a little higher. Some of our stipulations are a little stronger. But I guarantee you that if you send me a loan, I will do everything I can to get it closed. I will drive here to pick up your loan packages so you don’t have to lose a day shipping them. I will answer the phone when you call. And when I tell you the parameters of a loan, they will not change.”

We sent him a few loans and he did exactly like he said he would. He got every one of my loans that qualified for his programs after that.

Affiliate managers, here is what we want from you: Make my life easier and you will get all of my business.

Please stop telling me you have a new ringtone campaign that pays $12. Yes, I know you have a zip submit that pays $1.40. Could you at least look at the names of my domains before suggesting a program?

I know the true.com video ads of the flirting girls are converting but no, I might lose some niche authority on my minister’s resource site by placing it there. Please … think.

So here is my list of tips for the hungry AM:

1. Invest in your affiliates. Get your network to pay someone to write a decent ebook and give that to your affiliates with promise. Most of these ebooks are useful but not worth $100. Get one done that covers affiliate marketing. When an affiliate calls you and expresses interest in ppc advertising tell him you have a free ebook that might help.

2. Return phone calls and emails. (period)

3. At least act like you care about their business.

4. Try to take note of affiliates heavy in specific niches and send them a group email when a new product comes that might be of interest. (wade tonkin of USN is really good at this.)

5. Put more than product announcements in your communications. You talk to so many marketers. Yo are in the industry. You may be the only other person that we know who is in the industry. Could you throw us a bone? ex. “Many affiliates report that structuring your ppc ad like this blah blah is working. You don’t have to give trade secrets but come on!

6. Set incentives. Azoogle had a thing where if you converted like$10k you got a $50 gift card. So if I make $10,000 I will get an extra $50? Am I the only one who thinks that is stupid? Offer your smaller affiliates a t-shirt if they increase 25% or feature them in your newsletter or something like that. Get creative.

7. Get to work. (period)