Bliss Sawyer's Marketing Blog

Key to Success

You are Self-Employed!  As a mortgage loan officer, consider yourself self-employed and reap the many benefits of this attitude.  Even though you may receive a W-2, you are the primary developer of the success and income of your business.  Utilizing this perception of yourself as a sole proprietor will put you on the path to increased production and job satisfaction.

Employees of an organization tend to base their performance on what management or “the boss” expects.  An owner of a business thinks about the results - regardless of who is watching.  Human nature is such that we take better care of something we own.  Having an ownership mentality will drive you to do whatever it takes to remain successful and competitive.

Individual loan officers, regardless of the company’s marketing strategies, should have their own marketing budget.  This can be anywhere from 5-15% of gross income.  You may feel you do not have the income to spend and will “just wait for production to increase.”  Increasing your phone calls and visiting more real estate offices will hopefully pay off, but if you utilize a combined plan of “buy-in” (spending money for name recognition and referrals) and “work-in” (spending time for name recognition and referrals) to your business, the benefit of higher production will come at a faster rate.

As you look at your current marketing and business practices with the idea of ownership in mind, a surprising thing will happen.  You will find yourself spending more time expanding, or tweaking current marketing strategies and allowing your mind to open up to new, innovative ideas.  Your motivation starts to change and you create excitement for this business of yours.  It is as if your marketing goes into perpetual motion.  One exciting idea leads to another and so on and so on.

Most employees of a company wait for the boss to tell them to learn something new.  Successful business owners understand the need to continually learn and grow.  Knowing that without this, they will be left in the wake of their competition that put a priority on staying educated and growing their business.

There are designations that are designed to differentiate you from other lenders.   CMPS (Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist) is the first and most widely recognized mortgage planning certification in the industry.  Credibility plays a large role in consumer perception.  A designation states that you invest in yourself and will reinforce your reputation as a trusted advisor.  Remember, customers are looking for a reason to trust you with their business.

Don’t be afraid to try new ideas!  Our society is filled with successful people that have taken risks.  Eventually finding victory in an idea is a wonderful experience. Experimenting brings change and great results.  Remember to focus on what works and forget the ones that didn’t.  Winston Churchill said “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”.  Your ability to succeed is directly correlated to your ability to keep trying.

Adjusting your business attitude to one of owning your own business within the company you work for is the first step in greater job satisfaction and increased income.

Thanks for sharing the ideas!

One of the things I love about speaking around the country is talking with originators and hearing their success stories, great ideas and frustrations.  I recently had the opportunity to speak in Orlando (next time I am definitely staying longer than 18 hours!) for the Mortgage Originator Success Tour.  I met Matthew Pfeiffer with First Capital Lending who was gracious enough to share some of his very successful business practices.

1.  In a nutshell, coaching is making yourself accountable to someone that will hold you accountable.  At a pretty hefty price.  Wanting to improve and stay focused on his goals, yet not wanting to spend the money most coaching programs cost, Matt and a coworker decided to be accountable to each other.  They made it fun and had a $20 price if they did not finish all that was assigned.  Meeting together was powerful as they used the time for business development, brainstorming and goal setting.  These meetings ultimately led to numerous appearances on both ABC and NBC in their local market along with a very successful Realtor training program.

2.  After seeing a few bad good faith estimates and settlement statements that his clients brought in, (these clients were new referrals and Matt did not assist them with their previous transaction) Matt decided to keep a "bad loan" file.   Matt mentioned that since all his business is referral based, he does not usually have to deal with rate shoppers, but occasionally someone will bring up the "junk fee" verbiage so often written about in the media.  If this happens it is very easy to diplomatically pull out one or two of these abusive-lending settlement statements to bring things into perspective.

The few times Matt has felt the need to do this, it quickly resulted in moving along to the next step in the application process.  This also opens the door for a brief conversion about some of the craziness in this business and the fact that you are a true professional dedicated to providing every client with the best mortgage at the best price. (I recommend you black out company and borrower names for privacy issues)

Thanks, Matt for sharing your success!

Reward Reading

I recently told my 17 year old son I would put $100 in his car fund if he would read Sean Coveys The 7 Habits of Highly Effectice Teens.  In order to justify the correctness of this parenting method, let me explain that paying something before the act is bribery, paying after it is accomplished is incentive.  (I'm in sales - I can justify anything.)

Now you need to understand that I am a reader.  Reading has brought me enormous pleasure and success.  Andrew, on the other hand, thinks reading ranks right up there with cleaning the bathroom.  And being at a critical age where his decisions can have long-lasting effects, I felt the means justified the end.  He read it, marked it up and told me his favorite part was "sharpening the saw".  I see his thinking maturing (thank goodness) and he is now on his next book - though we've reduced the payment to $25 for each self-improvement book he reads.  He doesn't need THAT nice of a car!

I tell you this because I just read about a fantastic idea in the most recent Mortgage Originator Magazine.  In their team member round table, one team assistant explains that her Loan Officer wants each of them to continually improve themselves and offers $50 per book.  The book has to be on a subject that will help them improve some part of their lives.  Great incentive!

If you are a manager, consider doing this for your sales force.  Offer some type of reward for each book, audio cd or other learning tool that is devoured.  (I like that word...don't just read it, get something from it!)   Hopefully, you already have a library of books, cd's and seminars.  If not - check out my products to get you started.  I also have posted some of my favorite business books on my blog reading list.    Happy Reading!

Learning to say "No"

I recently had the opportunity to be involved with a business plan tele-summit sponsored by MyMortgageCommunity with some great industry experts.  One thought from Doug Smith that struck me as vitally important was Learning To Say "No".   Here is an excerpt from Doug on this subject. 

"The biggest step to getting control of your time, your life, and your future is learning to say "no" to activities and people who are slowing you down.  Loan originators must learn to say no to demanding real estate agents.  They must say no to unqualified borrowers and taking in loans that will never fly.  They must say no to paperwork and processing details, and office chit-chat and company politics.  Most importantly, originators must say no to requests that occupy their time but do nothing to advance them to their goals.  Saying no to things you shouldn't be doing means freeing up time and energy to start saying yes to the things you want and need to be doing.  This single step will literally change your life."

I truly feel that saying no allows you to stay in control and keep the passion that is necessary to succeed.   Thanks, Doug for the great wisdom!

My Gift to You!

FREE Tele-seminar to my Blog Readers!  (Regular cost $97.00.) 

Newly Discovered Secret Weapon That Builds Trust and Credibility With Your Prospects and Turns Shoppers Into Closed Deals For Less Than the Cost of a Grande Latte…..GUARANTEED!

1. What is an Elevator Speech and why do you need one?
2. How to stand out from your competition without having a million dollar a month ad budget.
3. Why do consumers shop us and how to stop these shoppers dead in their tracks and convert them into closed deals.
4. How any small to medium sized lender can compete with the "Big Boys" and win.  How to finally be seen as the trusted advisor instead of just another lender trying to rip off the consumer.

This seminar is sponsored by NARLO (National Association of Responsible Loan Officers) and yes, there will be information about their benefits, but you will also find valuable marketing ideas for your origination business.

Dec. 19, 2006 -  3:00 PM Eastern.   Register Today!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

How Many People Do You Know?

I once heard a sales manager tell his originators:  “Every day is like being unemployed and looking for a job.”  How true that is when you are searching for applications everyday.  But you can make it easier with one simple strategy. 

Actively increase the number of people in your sphere of influence and make sure they know what you do for a living.  Consistently market to them and you will fill your pipeline. 

Today’s blog post is an action exercise.  Write down the approximate number of people you think are in your sphere of influence. This would include everyone from past clients to other business relationships to family and friends to neighbors to the plumber and your hairdresser.   You don’t know who will need your services in the future. 

How many of these people receive something from you at least once a month?  At least twelve times a year everyone you know should receive something by mail/e-mail so they are reminded of what you do and have your contact information. Take the time to update your database with the names of everyone you currently know and then schedule some type of marketing piece to go out as soon as possible.  If you already have a system in place, great! 

Your next goal is to continually add to this database.  You should be increasing your center of influence each week by 10 names.  Yes, that means you will need to be networking and meeting new people.  Remember, you are in sales.  This is what you do.  Once you have mastered 10 a week, step it up to 15.  The more people that know you and what you do for a living, the more people will start asking you for advise.  The business will just naturally follow.

Don't know how to meet 10 new people each week?  Be creative.  Join a networking group, professional committee, Chamber of Commerce or community organization.  Once you belong to a group, make sure you attend each meeting and remember you are there to meet new people.  Make a rule that you will sit next to someone you don’t know, introduce yourself to at least three new people or become involved in the leadership of a group.  Be friendly, not pushy.  Get involved and be good at what you do, it truly is that simple to network your way to increased business!

Pizza and Business Cards

Closing can be one of the best times to ensure yourself continual referrals.  First, I will stand on my soap box and restate - you must go to your closings.  If you feel that you are too busy, consider being at the closing for the explanation of the settlement statement, trust deed and note.  This should only take about 15 minutes and the majority of questions will arise during this time, giving you the opportunity to smooth over any miscommunication.  This is the approach I took with many of my transactions and can assure you that I had a steady stream of referrals in my pipeline. 

It's always a great idea to give something of appreciation at closing, but what about the clients that you feel have a greater potential to steer business your way?  Such as the human resource director of a company or the young couple that has many extended family members in the area.   There are times when it is beneficial to spend some of your marketing dollars in this direction.

Find out when your borrowers will be moving into their new home and if they are doing it themselves or through a moving company.  (I would only suggest using this idea if it is friends and family helping - I never felt a need to feed paid movers.)  Let them know that you will be having pizzas delivered to help feed the army.  You can deliver this yourself or establish a relationship with a pizza place that is willing to deliver the pizza along with a few of your business cards.  Helium balloons with your company's logo or "Congratulations on your new home!" would also be a great touch.

The thoughtfulness of this action will be remembered long after the move is complete as you have created "Raving fans" to help your business grow.

Make The Most of December!

For many loan originators December is a slower month for loan production. How can you make good use of this time?  Invest in yourself! I am committed to providing you with new information, ideas and best practices to help your business grow. So here is an invitation to do just that!

For the first time ever, originators from across the country can hear 7 nationally known industry experts and speakers in a virtual business plan summit without ever leaving their office! This event gives you the benefits of a live, interactive conference without the high cost or the hassle of travel. It is designed in a break out session format so you can choose the topics you want to hear.

This live 4 day / 12 hour business planning and coaching tele-summit will help you to develop a plan to succeed in 2007. You will hear from seven of the nation's hottest experts on how to build your plan, what strategies you must have inside it and what you need to be aware of to be a leader and top producer in this new environment.

During these coaching sessions you will learn How to Close More Loans Regardless Of Interest Rates And Attract Clients With Low Cost Strategies That Will Have Borrowers Begging You To Accept Their Loan Application.   You'll also receive over $1,600 worth of marketing and planning materials - FREE!

There's no need to pay the high cost of travel expenses (airfare, hotel accommodations, food, etc) to create a winning plan for 2007. Let us bring the experts to you via live teleconference and web presentation over 4 days (Dec. 11-14, 2006). With over 12 hours of strategic planning and coaching sessions you'll be prepared to have YOUR BEST YEAR EVER in 2007!

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