Bliss Sawyer's Marketing Blog

Address the bubble concern!

The media has given so much hype recently to the supposed "housing bubble" that it is starting to affect consumer's decisions to buy real estate.  This is now turning the housing bubble into a self-fulfilling prophesy.  Dan Green (CMPS with Mobium Mortgage) wrote an article (over a year ago!) that exposes this phenomenon.  Use this to help your potential borrowers understand that it is still a fantastic time to purchase a home!

Dan Green Self Fulfilling Bubble Prophecy

Phone calls that produce loans

Being visible is one of the key elements in obtaining business from Realtors, yet stopping by their office is often ineffective if you do not have an established relationship.  Here is a simple marketing technique to create visibility with those Realtors you would like to start getting referrals from:  each Friday between 8:00-9:00 a.m. (I use this time as most agents are not in their office yet and you create a positive image by consistently being at your desk early) call your agents office voicemail and leave the following message:

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“Hi Tim, this is Bliss Sawyer with ABC Mortgage, I wanted to let you know I am available this weekend if you are unable to get a hold of your current lender.  You and your buyers can reach me all weekend at 123-4567 with any financing questions.  Have a great day!” (You may even wish to give them “interest rate ranges” so if a prospect asks about the rates over the weekend, they have been armed with the info—from you!) Do this each Friday until you are given a chance to prove yourself. 

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This campaign can also be modified for Monday mornings if you prefer not to be available during the weekend.  Modify for use with Realtors that say you are their lender, but may not be pushing their buyers to use you as well as they could. A weekly reminder that you are available will go a long way to maintain referral relationships.

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Consistency is the key to success with most marketing ideas, but especially this one.  The first few weeks your calls are received, the agents may not pay much attention, but after a while, your calls will start to get noticed.  You will be perceived as efficient (always at work early), trustworthy (no one else calls them so consistently offering help), and non-intrusive (agents are being bombarded with lenders stopping by unannounced to ask for business).  At some point, they will hopefully take you up on that offer to help.

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After about 6-8 weeks, call the agent and ask for a lunch appointment to help you develop an even better referral relationship.  Watch for future marketing tips to help you with Realtor Planning Meetings, a great way to sell YOU!

What are you reading?

One of the questions I put to loan officers as I begin coaching them is:  what are the last 3 books you read?  This may seem insignificant, but I consider it crucial to the success of anyone in sales or that is self employed.  Highly successful people are continually striving to improve and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to read, study and incorporate new ideas and strategies from others.  I saw a great quote the other day.  Poor people have big tv's, rich people have big libraries.

I currrently read (or re-read) 3-4 business, marketing or sales books each month and will keep my reading list to the left updated with recommendations.  I would also love to see you pass along any recommendations to this blog....comment with your favorite books!

Don't think you have time?  Listen in  your car.  Many business books are available  on cd's.  The average driver, according to the American Automobile Association, drives 12,000 to 25,000 miles each year, spending 500 to 1000 hours each year in your car. That is the equivalent of 12 1/2 to 25 forty-hour weeks. This is the same as two full university semesters spent behind the wheel of your car each year.   What are you listening to?

I also hope you read industry magazines that are designed to keep you motivated and focused.  Mortgage Originator Magazine (my favorite), Loan Officer Magazine (e-zine) and Scotsman Guide are all fantastic.  You can also subscribe to my twice-monthly FREE marketing e-newsletter.  Mortgage Market guide is another tool that will keep you on the leading edge with rate and market conditions.  They also have HUGE amounts of extra tools and resources available to their subscribers.

Presentations - Your Key to Higher Production

Thanks to Tom Ninness for submitting this…

Many mortgage and real estate professionals never consider the opportunity to do workshops and presentations in front of the public. If you are one of them, then you are missing a golden opportunity. 

Public speaking and doing workshops is my number one strategy in capturing potential clients.  Speaking allows me to get in front of prospective clients and showcase my knowledge and expertise.  This has allowed me to be in front of 10 to 150 plus at any given time.  The more frequent I speak the better chance I have to gain clients, merely because of the numbers game. 

Let me ask you a question, “What is your time worth hourly? Maybe it’s worth $50 or a $100 or $200-plus an hour.  Will you have a better chance accomplishing that one-on-one or in front of a group?  Speaking can give you tremendous visibility and credibility over time.  The more you speak, the greater the chances that more people will consider how successful you are and they will also look upon you as the authority in your field.

Every time I speak, whether it’s realtors, first-time homebuyers or real estate investors; they walk away with something of value.  Maybe it’s a workbook, a list of books to read, maybe tools that they can use in their business.  It’s important that the audience receives something of value every time that you do a presentation.

If you don’t have a follow-system, you have just wasted your time.  In all of my workshops, every participant completes a questionnaire.  If they don’t, then they won’t get the added value items.  Based on how they completed the questionnaire, I rank the prospects as A’s—wanting to do business right away, B’s—maybe 30 to 90 days down the road and C’s—not sure when or if we will be doing any business at all.  Even if they are C’s, I still put them in my database and will market to them for two years.  My philosophy is, “It’s not if they will do business with me now, it’s when they will do business with me.”

Consistency in speaking is very important.  Getting out in front of an audience keeps your pipeline full of prospects.  By preparing, practicing your presentation and following up with all potential prospect you will greatly increase your opportunities and your chances of having a successful business.

om has created seminars and presentations for the mortgage and real estate professional.  Go to www.summitchampions.com.  You can contact Tom at tninness@ccmc-net.com or call him at 303-877-4111.

Do you have a blog? Do you need a blog?

If you are a loan originator and currently run a blog - Please comment and share your url!

Do you need a blog?  Quickly becoming a mainstream method of communicating, blogging is a dynamic, flexible tool that requires minimal technology know-how and little to no cost to maintain.  Many in the business world are now using blogs as an essential part of growing their networks.  Where a website is fairly fixed and somewhat boring, a blog allows you to become personal with those you want to do business with.  You become more visible and gain credibility as an expert in your field.  Blogging is a way to differentiate you from the competition.

People read blogs to find out the point of view and connect with the writer.  This is key to those in relationship businesses such as mortgage lending, as a blog can take an informal tone yet still pass along valuable information to the reader.  Your passion and knowledge will translate into loyalty from those that read your blog.  This value, along with your passion, is what will sell your services.

Give value - not just your business card

I received an e-mail today from a loan officer that recently moved from Denver to Phoenix and was looking for ways to get business started in a new place.  I think this answer applies to originators everywhere....

In this competitive market, it is crucial that you expand your center of influence to create opportunities to get to know more people.  It is a numbers game.  The more people you get to know and stay connected with, the greater your chances are of increasing your pipeline. Get involved in as many business/social opportunities as possible.  Realtor functions, chamber of commerce and things you are interested in are all great places to start

People will naturally want to know what you do for a living - so this gives you the opportunity to introduce yourself.  Giving out a card may be seen as pushy or worse, of no value.  Find a way to get their e-mail or mailing address by offering to send them valuable information (create a report on 10 ways to save money with your home or something else that peaks interest).  You are then increasing your database on a regular basis.

I would love to hear your ideas on what can be offered!  What kind of report, article or other value can you give to someone once you collect their contact information. 

Do I have stupid written on my forehead?

During my years as a loan originator I often had friends, family and people in other businesses ask me “how do I get in the mortgage business” in a tone that implied “if you can do it, I certainly can.”    I tried to explain that even though there was no required training, it is imperative that you understand interest rates, loan products and how to qualify a person for different types of loans.  On top of that, you need excellent sales and marketing skills in order to find new business.  And then you must commit yourself to continually learning about changes and being willing to market yourself 24/7. 

I guess I made it sound too easy.  Many felt they could do it out of their home, part time and still make loads of money.  That’s when I started to wonder if I had stupid written on my forehead.  Maybe it is because our industry has been so unregulated (thank goodness many states are now stepping up and making changes!)  Perhaps it is because I lived in a nice house and drove a nice car and my kids had new shoes….

Needless to say, many have tried, very few have succeeded.  Now when someone asks me about getting into the mortgage profession, I ask if they are willing to go 6 months without an income, work harder than they ever have before and devote their days to learning and marketing (that part won’t end in 6 months.) 

Yes, I closed 40 million while working less than 30 hours a week.  But this was after I had worked for a number of years developing a client and realtor base and had a system in place to continually market to them and my sphere of influence.  I was also very focused and good at what I did.  I realize now that people asked me that question because I absolutely love the mortgage business and it never felt like a “real job.”  And they wanted that same passion in their careers.

This is the key to being successful as a loan originator.  Passion.

The rest of the story...

This is to give you an update on my not so great experience as a seller (see July 25 post.)  The manager stepped in and pulled together a closing by Friday.  My kudos to Laurie!  At the closing, the escrow officer mentioned that the borrower had been very surprised by the amount of fees to close the loan.  Of course, their loan officer had not shown up to explain why things were different than what was expected.

My realtor then said the buyers agent was also very unhappy with the way things had transpired.  He had used this lender for some time and was not satisfied with the service he and his clients were receiving.

This should be music to your ears!  This is not an unusual situation....it happens everywhere in America.  Yes - Realtors may be telling you they already have a lender.  But guess what?  That lender may mess up and who will they use?   Make sure you are continually developing a reputation as a high quality loan officer.  Ask Realtors and title officers if they know of any agents that are unhappy with their current lender.  Then take the opportunity to step in and impress!