The tried and true method of referrals
Of course, a good portion of your residential business depends on referrals from others, so why not carry that over to the commercial arena? Forging strong referral relationships and growing these relationships can provide a strong foothold to your foray into the commercial arena. Two great sources of referrals can come in the way of commercial bankers and commercial realtors. Due to strict underwriting guidelines, commercial banks often reject borrowers that you can help land a loan for. Discuss with the banks the many ways in which you can assist the borrowers who they have no choice but to reject due to their stringent guidelines. Commercial realtors can be utilized the same way. These realtors are constantly working with those who transact commercial real estate, and the rates that you may offer may be an ideal fit for their clientele.

Networking through association and community involvement
Being involved in the mortgage industry, there are a number of industry trade associations that can assist in your networking needs. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has recently formed a new Commercial Mortgage Committee. The Mortgage Bankers Association hosts the annual Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF)/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo geared toward all commercial aspects of the industry. Even the National Association of Realtors has a section of their website dedicated to the commercial sector. All of these national associations will help broaden your scope nationwide, as well as share ideas and business dealings with other minds in other states.

You can also make big strides in your commercial marketing initiatives locally by involving yourself in your community's Lion's Club, Kiwanis Club or Rotary Club, just to name a few. Most of these associations meet monthly at a set location, thus serving as an ideal breeding ground for drumming up new referrals and establishing key contacts. The key is regular involvement. The time spent at these meetings pays off in the long run as you can quickly become the name that's thrown about when other members of these clubs and associations are in need of someone to close their commercial deal.

Mining your own database
Most don't realize it, but they are sitting on a very valuable marketing resource that's right under their nose. That database you've built up over the years is a great one-stop shop for marketing your commercial business. Perhaps one of your established residential contacts is in need of a commercial loan or knows someone needing commercial financing. You are there for them. You have already served as a trusted advisor of one of the largest financial decisions they may ever make. Do you think they would turn to you for a similar transaction in the commercial market? Odds are that answer is usually a resounding “yes.”

Print and Web ads and utilizing the media
The advent of the Internet has brought about a number of new avenues of marketing to supplement the more traditional methods. Putting your name out there on realtor sites through banner ads is an option. You could arrange a barter agreement with industry peers to advertise on each other's sites. You could even turn to a free posting on a site such as Craigslist for those seeking out commercial financing.

Depending on your advertising budget, print advertising in your local classified ads is a bona fide and more traditional marketing technique. To this day, the classic print ad is still one of the better courses of action in trying to market and promote yourself.

One unique media outlet in building your brand is through Webcasts and podcasts. One possibility is a weekly podcast or Webcast where, for as little as 10 minutes, you could address the current state of the commercial real estate market and build credibility as someone who is “in the know.” These Webcasts and podcasts can be linked to your website as downloadable audio files and can also be uploaded through services such as Apple's iTunes.

When utilized properly, these cost-effective methods of marketing will take your commercial business to the next level. When combined and used in concert with one another, your persistence and marketing prowess and expertise using these techniques should result in closed commercial loans at the end of the marketing rainbow for years to come.