Archive for November, 2009
Yes, You Still Need to Deal with Objections
Posted by: | CommentsAs a loan officer, it is important to keep your pipeline full at all times. For this reason, it goes without saying, that you should be taking as many applications as you can throughout the week.
Obtaining leads to be turned into applications can be obtained in a variety of ways. Such as, networking, customer referrals, family, friends, mortgage lead providers, etc. Of course, having your own site on Google’s beautiful front page is the BEST way, I’d like to reflect on a crude, but effective, method of lead generation.
Another method, probably the most dreaded in every sales force, but also very necessary to keep app’s coming in is cold calling. It’s the hardest form of mortgage lead generation out there.
We all know the feeling of rejection over the telephone, but it is very important to maintain your persistence and overcome these obstacles.
I completely understand that there is no way to overcome the objection of a customer hanging up on you. My only advice would be to not dwell on it, or take it personally, just move onto the next call. Cold calling is a form of mortgage marketing that depends on numbers and volume.
Keep in mind, for a lot of people, purchasing or refinancing a home is a huge financial undertaking in a person’s life. Perhaps the biggest, so be understanding if they seem defensive or get cold feet.
I’m sure you are familiar with hearing “I’m no longer interested,” or “I just closed on my loan last week.” With some mortgage training and basic sales skills, you can literally steamroll any objection.
For starters, don’t even give the customer the opportunity to give you an objection.
Remember, you are the expert, so you do the talking. I like to call it “controlling the frame”.
Your opening line should be something like this:
Hello Mrs. Jones, my name is Chris Hallmark and I understand that you are interested in a mortgage. I have some great products that I believe would fit your needs and budget. If you don’t mind, I would like to take just a few moments to go over them with you.
This approach immediately takes the pressure off of the customer, and nine times out of ten they will be willing to listen.
Remember, it is all in the approach and the tone of your voice, smile when you talk, it will reflect in your voice. And be nice, relax your customer, make them comfortable, and you are half way there.
Chris Hallmark
A Basic Mortgage Marketing Plan..(Outline)
Posted by: | CommentsA very good speaker said in his business start up seminar the following:
“Business is not business. Business is marketing.”
In another setting, a famous Harvard professor asked this question to his MBA students on the first day of class.
“What is the most important aspect of business?
The answer…, “Sales.”
Business is all about sales and marketing. And this is especially true for a start up venture or a small business. Without sales and marketing, nothing starts. It is the lifeline of your business. And you’ll need to treat it that way.
Many claim the biggest reason a start up business fails is due to underfunding. This is not necessarily true. As long as you keep your expenses low, you can survive a lifetime. The real reason a start up business fails is because of lack of sales and mortgage marketing. Mortgage lead generation will carry you.
Think about it. Say you start out your business with $50,000. To take care of business, you’ll start spending that money. You’ll use it for things like rent, advertisement, payroll, travel, and general administrative costs. You’ll start to deplete your reserve. Each month, you may spend $5,000 on these things above. This will give you a lifeline of 10 months that you can stay in business without any sales.
(*$50,000 divided by $5,000 = 10 months. We didn’t factor in the fact that $5,000 in expenses is low, and did not also figure out the cash flow needed to operate your business without you running out of it.)
Now, if you are used to the employee mindset, you’ll expect that money will flow into your business if you just work hard. But in reality, in a start up venture, this is not the case. Money won’t flow in if you simply work hard. You’ll really need to go out and hustle in order to bring in the customers. You’ll need to get into the sales and marketing mindset.
You’ll have to transition from having the employee mindset to the sales and mortgage marketing mindset from Day 1 to be successful. You’ll need to promote your business. You’ll need quality mortgage training. You’ll need to bring in traffic and build trust with your customers. You’ll need to service them. And you’ll need to continue developing your sales and marketing to be successful. It’s all about the sales and marketing mindset. Continue to learn and continue to work on it.
Chris Hallmark
Getting Over Mortgage Broker “OneItis”!
Posted by: | CommentsA new Loan Officer usually is so excited about his first few deals, he starts to hover on those deals so they won’t drop out. He then soon forgets about how he got the deals to begin with. From this “forgotten step”, his business usually starts to fade and he then he’s more likely to watch over his current deals to make sure everything goes smoothly, which in turn puts him further and further behind in getting new business. This is a poor guy who needs to learn the concepts of mortgage marketing VERY badly!
Does this sound familiar? A LOT of Loan Officers have gone through this process. Hopefully, they recovered and are still in the business today. This concept is worth a million dollars, so if you never read another thing from me, take this one to the bank…get good mortgage training NOW, and never stop improving yourself!
Don’t put too much importance on ONE outcome, it’s not worth it. A good, sound plan involving mortgage lead generation and a balanced offensive marketing attack, will help you to keep the momentum going.
As Mortgage Professionals, we know we can make money on one deal, but that’s not how we create wealth. One deal may get you by financially for a short time, but it will NOT give you the finances we all look for in this business.
Money is not made doing a deal for one borrower, money is made from doing deals for 100 borrowers. It’s almost a catch 22 because you can’t close the 100th borrower until you close the 1st borrower. The concept may be a bit confusing, but when you think about it and really understand it, you’ll know what it means.
Sure each borrower is important, but if you put too much importance on ONE outcome, then the rest of your business will suffer, and that’s something nobody wants is it?
Chris Hallmark- http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
Nailing Down Mortgage Marketing to a Science
Posted by: | CommentsMortgage marketing is just like any other type of marketing. And it requires that you follow some very basic rules of marketing. If you follow these rules your marketing will pay off big time and you will see a very handsome return on your investment.
First you need to find a niche market. And in the mortgage world there are hundreds if not thousands of niches that you can target. There are hundreds of loan programs that cater to specific needs of the consumer. Each one of these programs can be a niche for you. You could also go after certain markets such as purchase, debt consolidation, construction, foreclosure bail outs, Chapter 13 bankruptcy buy outs and on and on. You could also target specific occupations. All that matter is that you choose a niche market.
Second you need to craft a perfect mortgage marketing message to the niche that you have chosen. That message needs to correlate with what is going through that markets mind. What is it that they need or want? What kinds of problems are they having that you have the solution too? What are their goals in life? What keeps them up at night? If you have done enough loans you already know the answer to those questions because those people have already told you.
Third you need a way to find these people. Because if you can’t find them easily, you’ll get frustrated in no time flat. You will want to know if you can buy lists of these people in your niche. Do they have certain characteristics that are easy to find such as certain credit scores, income, location, careers, etc.. Do they work with other professionals where that professional could then refer those people to you? Do they read certain publications or listen to certain radio stations? Do they belong to any kind of trade organization?
Finally you need a way to get your mortgage marketing message in from of them. This can be accomplished through a variety of ways. You could use direct mail, classified ads, postcards, TV or radio commercials, inserts, display ads, internet, recorded message blasts. The best advice is to test each one of those methods. Once one starts working start testing the other methods while continuing to use the one that is working.
To have mortgage marketing that is easy and works. All you need to do is find a niche. Create a marketing message to that niche. What has your mortgage lead generation training taught you so far? Make sure you can find these people in this niche. And then start using all the different media sources you have available to get your message in from of that niche.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
Make Sure you Have a Great Reputation Online!
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s time to “Google” yourself. Go to google.com right now and type in your name. Click “Enter” on your keyboard or “Google Search” on your screen. The result that is displayed is your online identity or profile. You can search using my name for a comparison…Chris Hallmark. If you don’t believe some of your mortgage prospects are checking you out using Google…think again! Thanks to Google, it’s become ridiculously easy for prospects and customers to find out more about you as a mortgage marketing professional, just by typing your name into the Google search engine. Here’s the thing…they’re looking for search results of you on the internet, to see what third party references will reveal about your mortgage business. Essentially, they are “checking you out.” They are looking to evaluate your “online identity or profile” which is a collection of all of the information about you on the Internet, and whether that information is mostly positive, or negative. Here’s a quick review of what a prospect might find when they “Google” you, and what impact that information might have on their decision to do business with you.
1. Positive identity/profile – Your prospect finds numerous mentions of you online including the website you set up using your name.com as your mortgage site. They find articles you may have written about mortgage and credit issues. They may also find your name associated with the city they live in, local newspapers, as well as any professional associations you may be connected with. Congratulations, your prospect found you. This goes a long way in establishing credibility and trust in their eyes. I’m sure they won’t hesitate contacting you and discussing their mortgage requirements with you. You could even show that you have some mortgage training skills under your belt for credibility purposes.
2. Negative identity/profile – Your prospect found negative comments or testimonials about you from previous customers, or your name was found associated with a negative website or negative group or association. This one is trouble…your prospect can form a pre-conceived opinion of you and may then pass you by and contact another mortgage professional.
3. Neutral identity/profile – Your prospect can’t find any information about you. Neutral is not good – Despite your attempt to make your mortgage business look successful, your prospects may decide that since they couldn’t find any record of you…you are a very small cog in the big mortgage wheel…and may decide to go elsewhere.
Warning…In the months and years ahead, your desire to remain anonymous on the internet will cost you and your mortgage business big bucks. The chances are good you need to establish and/or improve your online identity/profile. The best way to do this is to focus your efforts and some time on actually building that positive online identity/profile.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
Let’s All Put on Our Marketing Helmets!
Posted by: | CommentsAs we start to focus on 2010, I would like to get some feedback on what mortgage brokers are doing to generate business in your local areas for your mortgage marketing. Below are some ideas and current techniques that I utilize. Please let me know if you like any of these items or have any new ideas on how to generate business in 2010.
- Networking!
- Past Clients
- Trade Show/Home Shows
- Direct Mail
- Cold Calling
- Flyers (Realtors Office/Public Places)
- Brochures
- Yard Signs
- FTHB Seminars
- Business Cards
- Mass E-Mailings
- Ballons for Open Houses
- Interactive/Educative Website
- Financial Info. Sheets for Open Houses
- Door Hangers/Knockers
- Internet Marketing (social media)
- FSBO’s
- Mortgage Training
These are the things that I am currently employing. Does anyone have any good ideas to add?
Chris Hallmark
Writing a “Sticky” Mortgage Marketing Letter!
Posted by: | CommentsA good mortgage sales letter that produces leads from a cold list or generates new business from your old client list is worth 1000 times it’s weight in gold. It can be a vital piece in your mortgage marketing efforts. I’m not a strong proponent of direct mail, but once in a while it is a nice addition to your mortgage marketing efforts.
Lets say you have a list of 50 clients and 50 leads that you haven’t converted. If you send one letter at a cost of just .42, and $100 for printing. That’s just $142 in total costs for a basic mortgage sales letter.
One new loan can generate several thousand dollars in commission. If you get just one new loan from a mortgage sales letter, you are going to be profitable (assuming you aren’t mailing to an enormous list).
As a result, it’s important to create an effective sales letter to maximize your mortgage lead generation efforts.
The key is to write an effective mortgage sales letter that people read and respond to. Most mortgage brokers don’t know the power of effective writing and rely upon hype and trickery in their letters.
The good news is you don’t need to hype up your letter, and you don’t need to rely on tricks like the old ‘fake looking check in the window’ letter (by the way, this does work, but only if you do it without fooling the recipient).
If you want leads and referrals here are the three most important parts of a successful mortgage sales letter that will help you boost response rates and build your book of business:
1. A Compelling Headline. Almost every letter must have a headline. Why? On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.
The job of a headline is to get people interested and excited about what you have to say. For example, a poor headline might say, “Introducing Your Local Home Loan Specialist!”
A better headline would be, “Susan Johnson Saved $498.95 Per Month On Her Mortgage Payment — Here’ How You Can Save This Much or More!”
That headline needs a little work, but it’s light years ahead of the average mortgage brokers marketing letter.
2. Stories Sell. Nothing gets people more involved and motivated to take action than a good story. Instead of cramming a pitch about your products and services down your prospects throat (which puts them into the defensive mindset), tell them a story about a client who saved money instantly. And as a result of saving this money she could pay for child care or get a mini van, or go on a vacation that she has been putting off for a few years. My mortgage training has helped me refine dozens of stories I can share.
They key is to write a story that fits into the mindset of your audience. If you are targeting subprime mortgages, tell a story about how a down and out client with no hope. How he brought his family out of a rental in a bad part of town to owning a nice home in a wonderful school district.
3. Call To Action. The next important area of an effective mortgage sales letter is the call to action. You want your prospect to take action and call you or fill out a return reply card. Only a strong call to action, which I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of, will pump your prospects buying temperature.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
Using a Balanced Lead Generation Attack!
Posted by: | CommentsWithout a successful strategic marketing plan, it is impossible to build a profitable online enterprise. Your goal is to drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website and convert them into paying customers. This is the exact process which the mega online master marketers have and continue to do.
To accomplish this you must use more than one marketing method. You can use a combination of paid, and free marketing. Don’t depend on one marketing method to drive the amount of traffic you need to make you an online success. Mortgage marketing takes a bigger effort than that.
Find a successful DMO (Daily Mode of Operation) and stick to it. Complete your DMO daily without end. The compound effect of your effort will be priceless. Make sure that you are able to track all of your mortgage marketing efforts, to determine which is working and which is not. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Do your best to focus on no cost low cost marketing. This will allow you to get your business running with little or no further financial commitment on your part. This can help with keeping your stress levels to a minimal and it makes th most of your mortgage training. Most of the most effective marketing for your online business is marketing which is viral in nature. (viral marketing) Many of these highly effective marketing methods are free, or cost next to nothing to execute. Like anything else, there is a correct way and an incorrect way to execute some of these free or low cost viral marketing methods.
By properly executing these free or low cost marketing methods, you can eliminate the necessity to rely only on raw SEO, and keep up with the ongoing changes to the major search engines in order to keep a first page ranking. Your mortgage lead generation will soar when you multiply your efforts! You can experience the beauty of front page ranking without the headache which accompanies so many others.
Lastly, I heard a mega millionaire say, “If it is free, then it’s for me.”
Can Twitter Really Get Your Agent’s Listing Sold??
Posted by: | CommentsCan real estate be sold on Twitter? Many other products and services are marketed on Twitter, making it much like Ebay, but without the bidding process.
A quick Google search of this topic will lead you to find many people all telling you that it’s easy to do…but is it for everyone? From poking around the net I’ve found, and I think many will agree with me, that the people making money with Twitter are those selling Retail products or Affiliate services. Even Loan Officers seem to fair pretty well using it for mortgage marketing…but what about Realtors? Dell is a great example of a company doing well with Twitter marketing. Recently Dell announced that they made over $3 Million from Twitter exclusive deals. They would post a direct link to their product on Twitter; people would follow the link and buy the computer. Fantastic, it’s proven; you can make money on Twitter. But can you buy a house? What about an office building?
This is something I’m really interested to find out and am willing to give it a shot for the next while. While the traffic from this has been great, no one I work with has reported a lead generating into a sale from Twitter. Many mortgage training programs do well to market with Twitter. But, many of the real estate brokers I’ve spoken with outside of my own area have all given me the same response. This begs us to then ask the question – if it is not generating results is it worth it?
Too many variables exist right now in my research to give a definite answer one way or another on how effective Twitter is or may be in the future as more people in the real estate industry begin to use it to market their listings, but who I’d really like to hear from are those on the residential side of things. Residential brokers seem to embrace new technology and marketing ideas a lot faster than commercial brokers, so it would be safe to assume that those who have been using Twitter longer to market their listings would give a better insight into the chances of having a property sell from a lead generated from Twitter. I”ll need to do more research, but let me know if YOU have had any success with Twitter in helping your agents sell their listings.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
The Power of a USP in Mortgage Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsThe best way to position yourself is to create a unique selling proposition (USP), which is a concise statement that clearly explains the benefits of doing business with you. Some famous USPs you’ve probably heard include FedEx’s “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” and Geico’s “We’ll help you save you up to 15 percent or more on car insurance.”
Here are four steps to creating your unique selling proposition.
Step 1 – Brainstorm Your USP
The first step to creating your unique selling proposition is to brainstorm all the reasons why clients should do business with you. Instead of using vague and meaningless phrases like “I offer high quality service and professionalism,” quantify exactly what clients get when they do business with you. What does “high quality service” or “professionalism” mean to you? This should be present in your mortgage marketing all the time.
Your USP should be specific to your niche audience, in line with your strengths, and different from your competition. What do you do differently from other LO’s that makes you stand out? What do your best clients say about you? What are you most proud of? Are you a local expert or well-known in your area? What are your mortgage sales accomplishments? Write down whatever comes to mind. It’s ok at this stage to write several pages. Show what your mortgage training has taught you!
Step 2 – Clarify Your USP
Once you have a clear idea of how you differ from other LO’s and why prospects should hire you over all the other mortgage brokers out there, narrow down the most compelling reason to a sentence or two.
Step 3 – Prove Your USP
Your prospects are skeptical, so you need proof that you can do what you say. A great way to do this is to get client testimonials. Good client testimonials explain how easy you made their loan approval process, how clearly you explained the steps to buying their home, how frequently you were in contact with them, and how well you solidified their deal. And a solid mortgage lead generation system should attract PLENTY of these prospects.
Best of all, when clients sing your praises, you’re not bragging. You’re showing (social) proof that you’ve done this before, and you’ve done such a great job that your clients are willing to vouch for you. Testimonials do much of the selling for you.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
