In one chapter Harvey tells the story how after a round of golf, his friend tells the foursome that he got a call the night before at 2 a.m. from a guy he used to know years before. This friend was in serious trouble and needed $20,000 to cover some payroll checks he wrote for his business and without the money he would probably be sent to jail.

The caller was asking Harvey's friend for the $20k. He didn't get it.

Then the foursome started talking about how many people they knew that would come through for them in the clutch if called at 2 a.m. And that got me thinking to how many people I could call if I was in trouble.

How about you? How many people could you call at 2 a.m. if you needed help? With either money, the name of a good doctor, to get bailed out of jail, or a shoulder to cry on. The more names you come up with, the stronger your network is. And the stronger your network/database is, the better you will do in the mortgage business and life in general.

The best way to have people you can depend on, is to be someone they can depend on first. This comes with words and actions. It's funny, I have always thought of myself as someone who my friends could depend on, but when I meditated on it, I realized that I never made sure that they knew that they could depend on me.

Sure, I tell my clients that if they ever need anything to give me a call, but they don't. Unless it is mortgage related. So this is something I need to change. And to do so I wrote a special letter to most of my clients from me, as a person, not as their loan officer. No company stationary. None of that 'From the desk of' stuff.

Just a simple letter from a friend. I thanked them for their friendship, told them about the story above, and told them that if they ever needed anything they could call me at any time. And then I gave them my home phone number, which is a huge deal for me because I value my privacy very much.

Since I work only be referral, I like most of my clients. They are easy to work with and become friends by the end of the loan process. If your lead generation causes you to deal with people you would rather not spend time with, you shouldn't be sending a letter like this to anyone you would not sincerely want to help. It is of no use if you tell someone to call you and turn your back on them when they do.

And if money is short, that should not stand in your way. People need more than money. The author of the book reported that he has called at least 50 people for help and none of the calls were for money.

So far, no one has called me. I guess that is good news. But four people took the time to approach me to tell me how much they appreciated the gesture and that if I ever needed anything to let them know as well.

So how many people do you know that would help out at 2 a.m.?