I am not certain if you said it but I agree that calling around is simply a matter of finding the biggest liar if asking for rates.
Want to get your thought on asking more relevant question such as par rates, indexes the loasn are based off of, qualifying standard in terms of debt to equity, fico score etc.
If you know the box that you fit then it make it easier to narrow down who is going to be most competitiive for your loan.