Author Archive
Endless Purchase Leads Via the Internet!!
Posted 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
Posted 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.
http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
The 3 Most Important Mortgage Marketing Rules
Posted by: | CommentsPerhaps a quick review of some of the more commonly violated rules would be helpful?
Rule #1 With so many opinions and perspectives floating around, it is difficult to label any one rule as the most important. So we won’t go that route today. Rather, I am listing these marketing rules, or guidelines as equally important. They have to be in some sort of order though right? Guideline number one is this: You must know who you are marketing to. Sounds fairly simple right? Or is it? I’m going to ask 3 simple questions that I want you to answer as quickly as you can.
Where are your prospects most likely to live? What are the top 3 concerns of your primary niche? What is the primary age group of your niche market? If you can answer these three questions, then I applaud you. Would you believe that most loan officers could answer only one of the questions listed above?
This concerns me because these are very simple questions that could be answered with a little research and record-keeping. If we are paying so little attention to our marketing efforts and our client base that we struggle to answer even the most basic of questions, then is it any wonder the industry is in a state of panic right now? Please do yourself a favor and set aside some time for getting acquainted with your market.
Rule #2 Rule number two is every bit as important as rule number one. Even with the best research the world has to offer in hand, you must follow this guideline if you wish to be successful. Consider number two as a logical progression of rule number one. You must go where the prospects are.
Fishermen always do their best to drop their lures in the most densely populated areas of the lake, so why aren’t we doing the same? Once you know who your most likely prospects are, why not market in a way that will put you in front of the largest possible group? For instance, if you are marketing to first time home buyers, have you put some thought into where most first time home buyers are going for information? Are they going to the internet? If so, what sites are they likely to be visiting? Perhaps they are also thumbing through local real estate classifieds and publications?
What is likely to get their attention? Take some time to look at the tools and resources available, and then view these destinations and publications through the eyes of your prospect. What do they see, and what would stand out? Your odds of meeting with success will increase substantially once you begin fishing in the right places.
Rule #3 Have a strong call to action! You may have noticed that I put an exclamation point at the end of the last sentence. I felt that this statement needs to be yelled from the highest roof tops and pounded into our heads again and again. I am speaking so strongly about this topic because this rule seems to be overlooked so frequently.
Many well designed and planned marketing strategies have met their demise due to violation of this rule. Without a strong call to action, even the best ad copy will fizzle. If you don’t tell your prospect what they should do next, then why should they do it? What is in it for them? How will they even know what to do? Lately, it seems that more and more loan officers have forgotten that they are in sales! We’ve grown so afraid of asking for what we want, or of telling our prospects what to do next.
It’s as if we are afraid they will be offended and go elsewhere. I have to tell you though, if your prospect is so easily herded to your competition because of a simple question or direction, then this was not a very reliable prospect to begin with. Sure we have to temper everything we say and avoid coming on too strong, but this by no means translates into becoming a glorified order taker! You must be straight forward and honest
The All-Important Autoresponder
Posted by: | CommentsCredit goes to Chad for piecing together one of the best autoresponder summaries ever…
When most lenders/Realtors hear the word “auto-responder” they think of a pre-written message that is given the lowly task of informing your contacts “Sorry, I’m gone for the day and will be back on…” Not much more than an online answering machine when you think about it. This is not the auto-responder we’re discussing today. Not even close.
A true email marketing autoresponder comes with the following features:
1. Groups
2. Pre-set delivery intervals
3. Auto – subscription
4. SPAM check tools
So what are all these features for? Let’s have a look:
1. Groups
What is it: Most true email marketing systems allow you to set up multiple “groups.” A group is simple a list of people you want to email to, that all share something in common. Such as realtors may be one group you email to, while “past clients” may be a second group. Obviously you don’t want the same drip emails going to other business contacts, as you do your past clients, so you create 2 seperate groups. I recommend that you have at least 5 groups:
1. Past Clients
2. Deals in process
3. Prospects
4. Realtors (Or at least 1 other referral source)
5. FSBO prospects
2. Preset delivery intervals
This one iss pretty straight forward. You want your auto-responder to have the ability to pre-set the delivery of your email campaign at regular intervals. Day 1, day 15, day 30 and so forth. This means that you setup your campaign once, and let the machine do the work for you from that point forward. Sounds nice doesn’t it? So where are all the mortgage marketing tools that convert sales for you? Can’t wait until they invent one of those!
3. Auto-Subscription
This feature allows you to capture names and phone numbers (Along with any other relevant info you want) right from your website. A good auto-responder will make this a simple step as well. Place the form on the proper pages, ads, or blogs and voila – a new source of leads!
4 – SPAM Check Tools
Spam filters have gone crazy these days. It seems a higher and higher percentage of messages are labelled as spam. If your messages aren’t getting through, then they’re likely not getting read. Not a good situation. A good auto-responder will scan your email message prior to delivery, and warn you of potential spam red flags. There are dozens of words, and phrases that can set off spam filters these days. Not to mention font size and color amongst other things.
Flex Those Realtor Marketing Muscles!
Posted by: | CommentsMany times I have heard the complaint that realtors just don’t seem to pay attention to mortgage brokers anymore. They are either already using a mortgage broker that they are happy with, or they just don’t seem to have the time to be bothered by just one more mortgage broker.
Have you experienced this? My suggestion to those of you who are shaking your heads yes, is to set a little bit of time aside each week for some education. What I want you to do, is jump onto your favorite browser (Google, MSN, Yahoo etc.) and do a search for your local association of Realtors.
You can search by state, or you can search by city if you are in a larger area. Once you have found the nearest association, I want you to save it to your favorites, and visit it once each week. I also want you to subscribe to the free newsletter if one is offered. Why do I want you to do this? Simple.
I want you to keep up to date on what is going on within your local realty community. If you are up top date on the current hot topics, and points of interest, you will be better prepared to hold a great conversation with those you come in contact with.
This information will allow you to demonstrate the truth behind your words when you explain to agents why you are different. Most mortgage brokerss cruise along oblivious to what is going on within their real estate community. Do you want to be lumped in with every other mortgage broker?
Of course not. Not to mention, this strategy also allows for great conversation starters when you are the one to bring up current issues and concerns. Why not print out a newsletter, cut out an article and send it to your target agents? These are just 2 ways you can use this information.
There are many more great ways to use the information gleaned from these sites. Before you go, I just want to reiterate that if you are serious about earning realtor business, there is no excuse not to make yourself familiar with the community. The information is free, easily accessible and even archived for your convenience. Why not visit your local Association of Realtors site right now? You’ll be glad you did.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
What Do You Do When Something Isn’t Working?
Posted by: | CommentsAnother great article Chad shared with me recently…
When things go wrong, what do you do? When something isn’t working for you, how do you respond? I cannot count the number of times loan officers or Realtors call me up begging for a solution to their lead generation problems, but in the same breath they tell me all the things they have tried that don’t work.
I hear things such as:
“That doesn’t work here”
“Realtors are different here – they won’t work with me”
“I tried marketing to fsbo’s – that doesn’t work”
See where this is headed? Me being the ever-curious individual that I am, I cannot help but dig a little further. It takes a little pressing, but usually I find that these same loan officers and Realtors who are complaining that “nothing works” are usually trying something out for all of 2 or 3 weeks and then giving up!
This is not what I call commitment guys! Tossing something aside because it didn’t yield results in 2 or 3 weeks is a guaranteed way to fail. Even those who stick it out a bit longer are usually so convinced that they are doing everything right the first time around, that all the blame for the failure goes to the marketing plan, and not to themselves.
But let me ask you a pointed question. How many of us could pick up a guitar and hammer out an AC/DC solo the first time around with no practice? Not I! (I’ve got the earplugs to prove it!) Let’s try something simpler. When you first learned to drive a car with a manual transmission (Or even an automatic for that matter) – Did you hop in and head out for a cross country road-trip?
Of course not, it took a bit of practice to smooth things out and make it a habit. So how come so many originators assume that they’re doing everything right, and point their fingers at “realtors” “lazy loan officers” ”fsbo’s” “the market” “the marketing plan” etc?
When your mortgage lead generation and/or real estate efforts go a little “haywire” take a step back, look a little closer at what you are (and are not) doing, and apply some common sense. More often than not, you’ll find that there are several pieces of the puzzle missing, or in desperate need of tweaking.
Chris Hallmark - http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
Why are You Not Working with Realtors?
Posted by: | CommentsThis post was originally written on Loan Officer Unleashed, so kudos to Chad Weber for these words of wisdom:
I want to talk to you guys about something. Networking. If I had to take a wild guess as to how many loan officers (percentage-wise) actually get a reliable amount of business from realtors (Or any affinity partner for that matter) I’d have to guess that number is less than 20%.
There’s nothing scientific about this number, but I’m basing this off the fact that I speak with thousands of loan officers each year and most of them want to know 1 thing… How do I get more loans closed!? Better than 80% of these loan officers tell me they are not working with realtors.
I cringe at this. I cringe because in a market this tough, why would you want to make your job more difficult than it has to be? If you had to get your house cleaned in the shortest amount of time possible, would you rather do it yourself, or have 3 others helping you?
When the market gets rough, and all your prospects seem to be hiding behind parked vehicles when they see you coming, or crawling under rocks, do you want to continue doing all the “hunting” yourself, or would you like some help?
Both you and your local real estate agents are going after the same prospects. It’s time you put together an assembly line of lead gneerators. If you keep hacking at your prospecting efforts by yourself, you’re going to wear yourself down. (A rule of thumb here, not a reference to all of you)
But take a small group of frustrated, yet motivated professionals who are sick and tired of empty pipelines and are ready to make a change… Well, you can make some great things happen! How do you make this happen?
Keep checking back to see what gems we have in store for you…
Stop Wasting Time!
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s unbelievable how much time is wasted each day on non-revenue generating activities. Every week I talk to at least 3-4 loan officers and (Even in California) who are still managing to close 8 – 10 deals or more per month. But at some point in talking with some VERY stubborn professionals out of the bunch, it never fails to inspire at least 1 or 2 loan officers to speak up and object, claiming it’s impossible to accomplish in this market.
My answer to this? Take a look at how much time was wasted in the middle of the boom time… Compare that to what you are wasting in todays market… About the same right? Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to do things the same, even when we shouldn’t!
In a down market, you need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people! I’ll say it again: in a down market you need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people! What people? Prospects, realtors, fsbo’s, affinity partners etc… Hold teleseminars to save cash, but leverage your time. Network with realtors, host mastermind round table discussions…
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you structure your day properly. You know all that time you’re spending responding to low priority emails, and checking each and every voicemail right away? Yep, that time could be spent making you money…
Chris Hallmark
Your Mortgage Marketing Weaponry
Posted by: | CommentsAmidst all the news and debating about what could/should/will happen with a bailout, I wanted to post a quick reminder of what marketing tools you should have in your arsenal to keep your pipeline flowing. I was going to title this as a loan officer marketing post, but in reality, whether you are a loan officer, or a real estate agent, these tools need to be attached firmly to your “toolbelt.”
Call Capture -A call capture hotline is a wonderful thing. Rarely will you find such a versatile marketing tool that allows you to capture leads, track performance, and even distribute information in such a flexible manner. Why it works: Call capture works because of the mindset of the consumer. Any time information is made available 24/7, and (most importantly) without having to talk to a salesperson…
Well, there’s a winning combination! Mistakes that cause failure: Take a quick look around and you’ll find many mistakes that can kill a call capture marketing campaigns right out of the gate. Often I see real estate ads just “giving away the farm” so to speak. Price, address, all the details you could want are right there on the page for the buyer to read.
With all the details there, this person has everything needed to make a decision, and there is no reason for them to call. Marketing is about “dangling the carrot” a bit. Sure, give some useful information, but leave a bit of mystery while you’re at it, or hint at something great they can learn by calling in now. Next, I often see the call capture number posted as just another 800 number…
This is a terrible abuse of the call capture line! The primary motivation to call is the ability to collect recorded information without speaking to a live party right? If you leave out the words: “Free Recorded Information 24/7″ then you’re effectively cutting your calls in half or even worse! Ouch!
Overall, there are plenty of great things you can with a call capture line: – Advertise listings – Market First Time Buyer seminars – Host teleseminars (Great for marketing to FSBO’s) – Market special financing options – Host a 24/7 question hotline See? With a bit of creativity, there’s plenty of lead generating activities you can partake in. I’m sure you can easily double the size of this list. Just imagine what you can do with a blog, your call capture line, and a blank piece of paper… (I’m leaving that one to your imagination) Make it a great one!
I know it’s turbulent out there, but it’s critical that you let the news remain just that… The news, not a significant part of your day. It’s easy to waste hours each day watching and reading, and discussing. But at the end of the day when it’s time to pay the bills, which activities do you want to reap the rewards from?
Chris Hallmark - http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
The Value of a Great Email List!
Posted by: | CommentsAre you a consistent marketer, or do you just try something then give up on it right away? Do you have a good email list to rely upon?
A good Internet marketer knows the value behind having a sound database to contact whenever they need more business. It can’t just be any old database though, it has to be CLEAN and highly TARGETED!
What I mean, is that you will need an “opt-in” subsciber list so you don’t get a reputation as being a spammer. In addition, you wnat the highest possible ROI and return on your time and effort. And the only way to do that is to build a highly targeted, accurate list. Or it may be an offline list of postal mailing addresses, telephone, or fax numbers. Just make sure that you gather any contact information, in an ethical manner 
The first thing you should do is make up a list of….the people you know, who like and trust you. Perhaps all those people you’ve already done business with over the years. How about THEIR family and friends. Think of a hot demographic that you can target. It’s not that complicated.
As long as you KNOW your audience, you should be fine. DO NOT EVER send mass emails to people you are trying to solicit for the first time. That can get you black listed very fast!
Here are five benefits you get from developing a highly targeting email list:
1) It takes a lot of time and effort to build a huge, effective list. Customer acquisition is one of the greatest marketing expenses. Many marketers toss this investment out the window by selling one thing to a customer, one time, and forgetting about them forever. A good list, on the other hand, lets you advertise for virtually no cost whatsoever.
2) Additional sales to previous customers are often easier to make and more profitable than the initial sale. A relationship of trust has been built, provided the customer is satisfied with his/her purchase, and the service received.
3) You gain leverage. When you approach others to arrange joint ventures, for instance, ownership of a sizeable, properly targeted list is a powerful bargaining asset. It’s a great way to find business partners and such.
4) You can share your list with other marketers (for a price) People will pay for solid information these days. Just make sure that it is a clean list and that it has been scrubbed for misinformation.
5) Repeat business is crucial to the success of virtually all businesses. Good lists turn into longtime customers that will keep coming back for more 
Chris Hallmark
