SEO For Loan Officers!
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Today we begin a 2 day exploration of using SEO as a mortgage marketing tool. Many loan officers find this topic intriguing, but few know how, or where to get started. Today and tomorrow we’ll spend 1 hour each day showing you everything you need to know to start marekting your business online, and slef generating leads for your pipeline.
Join us by registering here:
Final Loan Officer Unleashed
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Marketing to realtors is one of those strategies that nearly every loan officer dreams about doing, but few ever truly master. There always seems to be something standing in your way, keeping you from enjoying the ongoing flow of excited referrals ready to use you as their loan officer.
Frustrating isn’t it?
That’s where Loan Officer Unleashed steps in… We’ve been hosting 4 – 5 day webinar series this year teaching loan officers how to quickly, and efficiently turn this frustrating “roller coaster ride” into a reliable source of referrals. Next week we end the series for 2010. In other words, if you want to benefit from this free step by step online workshop, then this is your last chance for 2010.
Here’s how to register:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/346619458
See you there! We’re prepared to teach you some of the most effective mortgage marketing strategies available to you… You won’t have to spend a penny to begin implementing what you learn.
Mortgage Marketing Works? Look At This!
By · CommentsI am called on to help provide marketing plans, strategies, techniques etc. Nothing wrong with this at all – In fact, it’s a great way to shortcut the learning process… Learning from others who have already made all the mistakes and fine tuned a particular marketing strategy. But there’s one part of the process that absolutely cannot be short-cut. And that’s the part where you get your own hands dirty with the taking of action.
I bring this up because of what happened on yesterdays Loan Officer Unleashed webinar. I don’t mean to over-do my praise of the two gentlemen on the call, but right as I was discussing the scripts and approach methods to reach your target Realtors, one of the loan officers spoke up by telling me: “Chad, I called my local title company and asked if they could access the list you told us about. They said of course and gave it to me.”
So I stopped the webinar and inquired further. His name was Michael, and it appears he took action almost immediately, and secured a list of the top 250 Realtors in his area based on performance in a matter of minutes. I get excited every time I hear live success stories, as they are a testament to what happens when you make a determination to just “get it done” and stop worrying about all the “what ifs”.
Once Michael spoke up, Roy then chimed in and mentioned something similar. He also landed a list as described from a Realtor friend of his who was only too happy to help. He then added that he “cheated” a bit and had skipped ahead to day #2 and read the phone scripts, picked up the phone, and spent nearly 1 and a half hours calling the agents on his new list.
This intrigued me enough to where I violated my own rule of never putting a listener on the spot, and I asked Roy if I could un-mute his handset and ask him some questions live. He agreed thankfully, as it would have been mighty embarrassing had he said “no”. The results? 20 – 25 phone calls fired off in an hour and a half, and he managed to speak with about 12 agents. Out of those 12, 7 gave him permission to continue marketing to them, and 1 actually wanted to schedule an in person meeting right away.
The reason I’m making such a big deal out of this? Because Roy now has a lead generation tool at his disposal whenever needed! Let’s say that he wanted to completely transform his pipeline in 30 days. Could he do it? Well, using his first day of results as a baseline (Normally your results improve as you get more familiar with the approach) and imagine 20 days of dedicating 1 and a half hours to making those calls. That would mean:
- 240 agents spoken to
- 140 agents who have given permission to continue marketing to them
- 20 agents who have asked to meet in person (When was the last time a high producer asked you for an appointment?)
All of that in just 1 month? This is even more amazing when you consider that Roy is calling on high producers. Do you think that out of 140 high producers who have agreed to continue listening to Roy, and 20 who are eager enough to ask for an appointment, that he might be able to land several of these agents as a regular source of referrals?
I’d say the odds are extremely good that the answer is a loud “yes!” To think, all of this is possible primarily because Roy took the time to learn a new approach, but then made that determination that “theory time is over, and the time for action is here.” See, Roy could have easily decided to wait a few more days until he added more Realtor names to his list, or until he asked my opinion on this approach, or that objection, etc.
But there’s no better teacher than experience is there? So hats off to both Michael and Roy for taking that action. I’m excited to see who else will take action before Day #5 of Loan Officer Unleashed gets here! Keep the momentum going!
Loan Officer Unleashed Round 2
By · CommentsSo we wrapped up our first round of Loan Officer Unleashed last week Friday. We had more than 600 loan officer participate. We spent 5 days going through the proper steps to generate more referrals from Realtors. I had a blast, and we had loan officers telling us about their results before we even finished up with day 5!
Exciting to be sure, but we did have 1 small problem… Nearly 2,000 loan officers registered! No matter how badly I’d like to help everyone at the same time, it’s just not realistic to pack that many on 1 webinar and expect that your questions will be answered.
So what does that mean? It means that we’re hosting a second round of Loan Officer Unleashed! If you missed round 1, and want to join us for Round 2, then you need to register now before I send out the email invitation to the 1,400 that registered for our waiting list. Here’s the link:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/666206915
Come see an effective mortgage marketing strategy laid out for you step by step in just 1 short week. See you there!
So What’s up with “Landing Pages”?
By · CommentsLanding pages are a great way to generate real estate leads through your website. But many agents don’t know what a landing page is to begin with, and how to use them to produce leads. In today’s lesson, I’ll talk about each of these things. I’ll also give you a sample landing page to reinforce the lesson, and to get your marketing wheels turning.
So What Exactly is a “Landing Page”?
Within the context of Internet marketing, a landing page is where a person “lands” upon reaching a certain website. So in a sense, every page of your real estate website could be a landing page, because you never know where somebody will land upon finding the site.
But you can also create specific landing pages for specific purposes. For example, people who use sponsored search / PPC in Google and Yahoo usually have landing pages as part of that program. Or at least they should. So when the search engine user clicks on a sponsored ad, they are sent to a specific landing page that is relevant to their search and the overall ad campaign (as opposed to sending them to the website’s home page, which is just plain silly).
Think of Landing Pages as “tentacles” that can reach out and grab new leads for you and your website. A blog post could even be a landing page, or a forum post at that. A Landing Page can be seen as a “mini-website” too! Landing Pages should ONLY briefly describe your product or service, compelling the reader to click through to your main website. They are great, short-story style marketing web pages that get great results!
Here is an example of the perfect Landing page: http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
More Mortgage Lead Generation for ‘10
By · Commentsknow, I know… Active Rain is primarily a real estate specific blog, so why would I choose to post a blog that talks about mortgage lead generation? For starters, you’d be surprised with how many mortgage professionals regularly visit, and post to Active Rain.
It’s a great platform, and excellent tool to reach a targeted demographic. Not to mention, everything I post about mortgage lead generation applies to real estate marketing as well – We’re all targeting the same group of people. Those who want to buy or sell a home.
Though my comments today will be short, they will be pointed. Mortgage lead generation has changed. We’ve all watched it happen in fact… The market has shifted, the refi boom ended, and people have been hesitant to take action.
As if these changes were not enough, the shopping habits of the average consumer has changed as well. According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2009, 93% of home buyers used the internet to help select a new home. While I don’t have official statistics in front of me, we can imagine that a huge percentage of those home buyers also used the web to check on mortgage rates, and compare loan officers.
Direct mail, magazine ads, cold calling… Traditional methods of mortgage lead generation are not as effective as they once were. I’m not here to scream that the sky is falling, and that these means of generating business are completely dead. Traditional methods will always have their place when used correctly.
However, in 2010, the average consumer is hit with (According to the most recent stats from the DMA) more than 3,000 advertising messages per day. That’s right, more than 1.2 million per year! Is it any wonder that interuption based advertising methods such as direct mail and cold calls are not as effective as they once were?
This is advertising overload! Which brings me back to the original point I wanted to make. If you want an effective marketing strategy, you’re going to need to alter your focus. Instead of lumping everyone into a single group to advertise to in bulk, why not spend your time marketing to those who are already interested?
Sounds impossible at first glance doesn’t it? I named this blog post “mortgage lead generation” for a reason, and that’s because despite appearances, it’s very doable. There are hundreds, if not thousands of prospects in your area taking the time to search for mortgage rates, companies, brokers, and more. These people are actively searching, and they’re leaving bread crumb trails for savvy marketers to follow.
I’ll continue telling you about the process in my next post. Make it a great week, and please check back in a few days to learn how to identify these hot prospects.
A Really Fun Game for Loan Officers!
By · CommentsMortgage brokers and Realtors, I have a fun test for you. This test will give you an idea of your ability to think through situations. Believe it or not, no matter how fun it is to answer these questions, this exercise is still relevant to generating more business. Are you ready for this? Here we go:
Question #1 – There are 6 eggs in a basket. 6 people each take 1 egg. How can it be that 1 egg is left in the basket?
Question #2 – Acting on an anonymous phone call, police raid a house to arrest a suspected murderer. They don’t know what he looks like, but they do know that his name is John. Inside, they find a carpenter, a cab driver, a mechanic and fireman playing cards. Without asking his name, they arrest the fireman on the spot. How did they know they had their man?
Question #3 – A man escaped from prison and is making his way home on foot. After walking about 2 miles from the prison on a rural country road, he notices a police car coming towards him. Despite knowing that all squads will be looking for him, he ran towards the car. Only when he was about 10 feet away did he turn and run into the woods. Why did he run towards the police car?
You will find the answers to these questions at the end of this article. So what is the point of presenting you with these questions? The above scenarios were designed to test an individual’s lateral thinking ability. What exactly is lateral thinking?
Lateral thinking is approaching a problem from diverse angles instead of focusing on one approach at length. All of the above questions had relatively simple answers to them, but when presented in the context that they were, the scenarios can seem confusing.
I used these scenarios to demonstrate the way we as mortgage brokers approach our own business and the gaps in training that can daunt the “Average Joe” mortgage broker or Realtor . Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where there seems to be no easy answer. In fact, many mortgage brokers are feeling downright confused about what to do in today’s market condition.
Many originators and real estate professionals look at their options, and they find 1 or 2 recommended solutions that may or may not work as advertised. What happens when the marketing approach doesn’t bring in the desired results? They give up! Why resign yourself to mediocre results or to a less than fulfilling career when there are so many solutions still out there for mortgage brokers and agents with even an ounce of self-confidence?
By using our own brainpower and the mountain of information available to us, there are simple solutions available at our finger-tips just waiting for us to implement. The problem is that a fine balance needs to be struck between creative lateral thinking while adhering to sound and proven business truths.
Try approaching your challenges from a different angle. Apply critical and lateral thinking to the hurdles that you face to find solutions where previously there seemed to be none.
As long as originators and agents continue to implement the same strategies and approaches that everyone else is using, they will continue to get the same results they always have. It’s amazing what a little brain power and creative thinking can accomplish. Take a look at the answers to the questions above to find out what the answers were.
I think you’ll be amazed at how simple the solutions were. Yet due to our own limited view of situations and the world around us, many times we create our own mental prison. Free the creativity within yourself, and apply these principals to some of your most pressing challenges. I think you just may surprise yourself.
Answers Key:
#1 – The last person to take an egg took the basket with him.
#2 – John was the only man in the room.
#3 – The criminal was on a bridge, and was much closer to one side than the other.
How Close are You to Success in Mortgage Marketing??
By · CommentsA very true post written by Chad Weber…
Many originators cannot envision themselves as being successful. No joke! Most sales professionals feel deep down inside that they will never reach their true financial goals. Isn’t this depressing? In order to reach success you have to first believe that you can do it! No, not just the uncommitted “you can do it” pep talks that we sometimes give ourselves; but the firm conviction that you are almost there! Believe in yourself and take affirmative action to supply the necessary education and tools to hit those goals.
Most loan officers are closer than they realize and just need that small helping hand to push them over the edge.Then there are others that for 1 reason or another inwardly believe that the world is against them, or “things just weren’t meant to work out for me.” My advice to these loan officers? SNAP OUT OF IT! We all have bad days, weeks, and even sometimes months and years!
Or at least it may seem that way at times. But let me give you the best advice I can based on my own personal down-turns and roller coaster rides… Despite the fact that I had some months where every single day seemed to bring 1 disaster after another, (In fact, I once had a 6 – 7 month stretch of bad news, work-related disasters, and even my condo that was nearly destroyed while I was on vacation) I can tell you in all sincerity that very little progress was ever made when my attitude was negative.
The only time I was able to make forward progress, and change my circumstances for the better was when I put the negative “poor me” and “nothing ever works out for me” attitude behind me. Too often we give in to pointing fingers at others, or circumstances instead of taking responsibility for our own future. Make the decision today to make a change for the better. Success is not too far away if you are committed to finding it. No games, no excuses, just action!
Endless Purchase Leads Via the Internet!!
By · CommentsWhat if I told you that there is a massive crowd of hungry buyers that are looking for your services? What if I then told you that this huge list of loan officer/Realtor leads went ignored by nearly 90% of mortgage brokers and Realtors? Would you believe me?
It happens every single month, and will continue to happen for quite a while. So what exactly does this mean to you? This means that there is a relatively untapped market just waiting for you to jump in and dominate! So what is this mystical market that no one has ever heard of?
The internet… You heard me right, the internet! According to Google, (There’s even a way to verify this information) each month, even a medium sized city in the U.S. will get over 200,000 searches for real estate! Let that sink in for a moment! Over 200,000 searches every single month for homes for sale!
While we already know that most of those individuals will not buy a home for any number of reasons, even if 10% of that number is serious about buying within the next 6 – 12 months, you have a gold mine just sitting there on the web right in front of your face!
Yet, despite these hundreds of thousands of searches each month in city after city, more than 90% of loan officer’s surveyed reported that they close 1 or fewer transactions per year from their websites! Talk about missing the boat! There’s more than enough loan officer or Realtor leads flowing through the web to keep any loan officer busy as can be, yet most are going broke in today’s market.
So what’s causing this strange phenomena? Simple. Most loan officers subscribe to the “build it and they will come” method of online marketing. They purchase a ‘pretty’ website, and then sit there to wait for business to roll in!
Sorry guys! The web is such a large place (Total websites now number in the billions!) these days, that if you don’t actively market your site, there’s no way your hungry prospects are going to find you! It’s akin to building a McDonalds in the center of a Rain Forest! How much business will you get? None!
All is not lost. There are simple techniques that can place your website at the top of the search engines so that home buyers can find your site, and ultimately end up in your pipeline. Since most loan officers never take the time to learn these techniques, this means that there are just that many more loan officer leads waiting for you.
If you’d like to see first hand how to find out just how many leads you could develop in your own home-town:
Two Mortgage Lead Generation Tips for 2010
By · CommentsMortgage lead generation should be considered one of the most important activities a loan officer can engage in. Without a reliable source of fresh and qualified prospects flowing in each week, your pipeline, and ultimately your pay-check will suffer.
Unfortunately, this subject is often put on the back-burner for many loan officers, as they seek out a fast and easy solution such as purchasing leads, or paying for expensive mail drops, and other strategies that are pitched to the originator as “turn-key” solutions to closing more loans.
You know how that usually works out right? A good mortgage lead generation plan is typically going to require a bit more than just writing a check to a service provider. Think of it this way; if the service really delivers great mortgage leads, then how long do you think it will take before that particular service becomes saturated with long lines of loan officers wanting in? It won’t take long before this once effective source is watered down. There are only so many pieces of mail that can be sent, and only so many times a lead can be sold before the borrowers get frustrated.
So what’s the solution? Should we simply throw in the towel and look for another career? Not a chance!
Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #1
Let the borrowers come to you. Think about it. Are you at your most friendly when a telemarketer calls you to sell you on a new credit card protection plan? If you’re like me, then I doubt it. We don’t like to be interrupted with sales pitches. Neither do your prospects. But how about when you actually need a service badly enough to go in search for it? Now are you more likely to listen to what the sales person has to say?
Of course! The same is true of your borrowers. In most cities, there are hundreds, if not thousands of borrowers who take the time to visit a search engine online and perform a search for mortgage loans. These people are serious enough to take time out of their days to search for and research the topic of mortgage loans. Wouldn’t you say this makes these people far more qualified leads than those you would cold call?
Imagine if you had a strategy as part of your lead generation campaign that put you in front of these people at the very moment they performed these searches? Are you seeing the potential here?
Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #2
Have a Call To Action. I took a little trip across Google looking at dozens of mortgage websites. Can you guess what I found? Most of them look, and sound as if they were written by the same organization. I’d be hard pressed to find a single site that stood out. All of them brag about great service on the front page, and then excitedly point out that I can apply for a free mortgage quote.
What’s so special about that? Think like a borrower. Will he or she see this as an amazing opportunity to get a quote? Nearly every single website offers this service, and I have yet to find a site that charges for it, so why is a big deal being made about the fact it is free?
The claims of great service are also cliché. Have you ever run across a loan officer who warns his prospects that his service is mediocre at best? Not a chance! In other words, these are the sorts of messages that go in one ear and out the other. They blend you in with everyone else. If you want a mortgage lead generation campaign that delivers something other than the same old results you’re tired of, you need to think of a few calls to action that make your prospects excited.
This could be a list of tips, warnings, an e-book, a guide… If you’re marketing online, you can create an audio clip or video. There are numerous ways to draw your prospects in without sounding like every other loan officer and mortgage company on the block.
Many originators are searching desperately for a reliable way to self-generate their own mortgage leads.
