Bliss Sawyer's Marketing Blog

Thoughts on personal branding....

I ran across a great article today on personal branding.  Jonathan Fields posted this:  Personal Branding:   For Moguls, Morons or Megalomaniacs?  And it is well worth the few minutes to read and ponder.

Personal brands are created by the impact you have on others.  They are created by what you do, share and offer to those around you.  It doesn't matter if you work for a company or yourself, every successful originator understands the importance of reputation and building a strong business.  You may receive a W-2 every January, but you truly are self-employed and the creator of your future.

What are you doing today to build your personal brand?

Understanding the New Good Faith Estimate

As you know from my previous post, I think the new GFE leaves quite a bit to be desired... but that isn't going to keep us from having to use it!  Dave Hershman is a mortgage industry expert and is offering a Webinar "Understanding the New Good Faith Estimate" to help loan officers transition as easily as possible. Sign up below.

You can also read Dave's article "The Scoop on the New Good Faith Estimate".

Webinar on Wednesday, December 16th!

January 1st, everyone must start implementing a new Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs as part of the RESPA changes implemented by HUD.  The new form is three pages and contains information not required previously required.

The new form and the implementation issues raise a multitude of questions and there is a limited amount of time to get the answers. Industry expert Dave Hershman will go through a review of the entire form as part of the Certified Mortgage Advisor curriculum. This course will be considered a "continuing education' segment. Continuing education segments are not required for CMA designation but provided as a free service to members.

Title: Understanding The New Good Faith Estimate
Date:Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time Zone

This webinar is part of the Certified Mortgage Advisor Program and available to Premium Pro Velma members at no charge.

Members: click here to register

NOT A MEMBER? Sign up now

Want to make sure you get the work done?

I have a friend that is at the dissertation stage of his doctorate program.  For those of you that didn't know, I actually have my doctorate in Exercise Science... the diploma has my husband's name on it.  For some reason the printer forgot to add mine.  I also have my eagle scout.   I'm a busy lady. 

So I know, by association, how difficult that dissertation road is.  Tim contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be willing to be his accountability partner.  He has to send me a certain number of pages each week.  If I don't receive them by Monday at 7 a.m. he will bring me (or mail if he is out of town) a check for $50 for me to then give his wife.  I loved the plan and it has worked very well so far.   No checks for Meg and he even over-achieved a few weeks.

Sometimes it really is that simple.  Just having someone that is going to hold your feet to the fire is an amazing way to insure that you do those things that are important (marketing!) while still managing the urgent of the day.

Here's a previous post I did on this topic to give you some ideas on how to put together your own accountability partnership.

Also, if you are looking for personal coaching, you might want to check out the special offer in this post (expires soon!)

Not related to the mortgage business... or is it?

I came across a free e-book yesterday that I thought might benefit some of you.  Thriving on Less by Leo Babauta is a condensed version of The Power of Less.  I became intrigued with this concept when we decided, as a family, to spend the summer of 09 in Alaska.  This had been a dream of mine for some time, but the cost and time factors made it seem impossible.  So... through quite a bit of analyzing and research, I came up with a plan to make the trip (without using savings or going into debt).  The whole family was involved throughout the process to live on less for this BHAG (big, hairy audacious goal).  What a wonderful experience it was!  And I don't just mean the trip.  My 14 and 10 year old learned valuable lessons about working hard to earn money, save and limit expenses.  The challenge was difficult and fun at the same time.

I had a number of friends ask if I would go back to my consumerism ways after the trip and yes, I have to some extent, but many of the habits have stayed with me. For that I am grateful.

So WHY do I bring this up on a marketing blog?  I've been in the mortgage business since 1991... and remember specifically in 1993 and 2003 when you could drive by any good-sized mortgage company and the employee parking lot was full of BMW's, Lexus' and other bright, shiny new cars.  Now - don't think I'm knocking nice cars.  There's a Lexus in my garage and I love it. 

BUT - what I have seen that concerns me is the number of originators that live loan to loan, paycheck to paycheck.  When things get busy and loans start closing, they spend like there's no tomorrow.  This is common and actually we've probably all done it to some extent at one time or another.  The difficulty is that in our industry one good month does not guarantee another good month.

Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a loan officer in California (talk about a feast and famine market!)  He said that he feels he is finally running his business in a financially smart way.  He considers refinances to be his gravy and purchases to be his actual paycheck necessary to pay the bills.  So if there aren't many purchases in the pipeline, he gets busy marketing and working on his business.

Where are you financially?  Do you have six months living expenses in the bank?  Every commissioned person should have this - at a minimum.  If you are struggling with debt, use this as a motivator to work harder and grow your business.  We have such opportunity in this industry to create our own income.  There really is no ceiling if you are willing to pay the price with hard work and LOTS of pig-headed discipline and determination!  (favorite quote from Chet Holme's The Ultimate Marketing Machine)

Tracking your numbers

I have always encouraged my coaching clients to track their prequal, application and closing numbers.  I talked quite a bit about this in my last Webinar, Turning Prospects into Money and you can find a copy of my Goal Setting and Tracking Form here. 

I know that we all do things a bit differently, so I enjoy seeing how other originators track their numbers.  During a recent coaching call, Brian Dunster with Mortgage Advocates shared what he uses in his business.  He has developed a spread sheet that tracks his conversions and average sales cycles from prequal to closing.

If you are interested in this excel spreadsheet, feel free to comment below (email addresses do not show up on comment, but allow me to respond back) or email me directly and I will send you a sample.  You may even want to take these two different ideas and tweak them to create your own system. 

Remember:  The simple act of keeping track will help you to be more effective and productive.

Why so serious?

My family loves to quote from the Dark Knight... "Why so serious?" (using the voice, of course)  So when I saw Jeffrey Gitomer's article titled "Are you serious about them? Are they serious about you?" my interest was piqued. 

I love to have fun, even if the above mention family does think I have a terrible sense of humor.  I also think having fun is a vitally important part of work... but the angle Gitomer has on this subject is very interesting.  Here is just a portion of this article:

Most people misunderstand and mis-define the word serious. They view it as stoic, non-smiling, stiff, non-humorous, and boring. Hardly.

Serious is the intention, the intensity, and the focus that you put into your work ethic and your personal ethics. Serious is a way of life, a way of business, a way of selling, and a way of serving.

How serious are you?

When your prospect or customer comes to the realization that you are “serious” about doing business or earning business, it stems from the actions you took to make that feeling possible.

Those serious actions or characteristics include:
• Speed of response.
• Ability to deliver.
• Ability to serve.
• Desire to serve.
• Knowledge about how what we have will help someone.
• Friendliness.
• Personable.
• Perceived value of product or service.
• Truth at all cost.
• Available when THEY call.
• Easy to access anyone.
• Easy to do business with.
• Online access to information and ordering.

If you have all those attributes, you have a CHANCE of being perceived as serious.

I LOVE the bullet points... in a nutshell, this is what it takes to be successful as a mortgage originator.  Highly successful loan officers BECAME highly successful because they built a business based on these ideals. 

Numbers that define you

 

I often talk about database marketing and the value a strong database can bring to your business.  You are in a numbers business... and I don't just mean interest rates, loan amounts and qualifying ratios. 

You are in sales and in every sales job, it comes down to NUMBERS.  How many people know WHO you are and WHAT you do for a living?  And then... are you in touch with those people consistently and effectively?

Do you send out a monthly mailing?  How many phone calls are you making each day?  How many groups and events are you involved with each week in order to expand your sphere of influence?  If you aren't continually doing things to increase your NUMBERS then most likely, your production will not reach your goals.

Doug Smith has an excellent article in tomorrow's issue of the The Competitive Edge Newsletter highlighting a new originator that has done just this and excelled during one of (if not THE) most difficult times in our industry and in his words "I learned the discipline of consistent contacts and that selling, no matter what kind of selling you do , is a numbers business.  I know exactly how many calls I have to make every day to produce what I want to produce each month."  Now is an excellent time to start tracking and maintaining a strong NUMBERS business.  Don't wait.... buckle down and get involved, make the calls, send out mailing and drop into Realtors offices.  Your future business depends on it!

If you don't currently subscribe to The Competitive Edge Newsletter, don't miss another issue.  Click here to subscribe.

 

Image Makeover - Do you need one?

I thought I would share the following article with you... it was to be published in the June issue of Mortgage Originator Magazine that no longer exists :(

Image Makeover - Do you need one?

p.s.  I will be having articles in other industry publications.  I'll keep you posted on where you can find them!

Have a great weekend!

Bliss

First Impressions

Whether good or bad, first impressions have a lasting impact... and in our industry good impressions can often lead into strong referral relationships.  What is the first impression a new client has of you as they come to your office?  Here are a few tips:

• Have a clutter-free reception area.  This includes desks, tables, and copy and mail areas.
  
• Instruct your receptionist to greet each person cheerfully and when people are in the waiting area, to keep her phone conversations upbeat and positive.  Negativity from ANYONE in your clients hearing range reflects poorly on you.
  
• Offer clients a soft drink or water.  Consider having a jar of candy.
  

• Have a few magazines in the waiting area. Preferably ones like Money, Time, Newsweek.  Magazines such as People and Entertainment Weekly may be more interesting, but remember the image you are striving to reinforce.

• Be prepared.  Don't over book yourself. Have a few minutes between appointments to get things ready for the next client.  Making a client waits does not make you seem busy and successful, it just makes you look inconsiderate.

• Have quiet books, games or coloring projects for children.  If parents are busy entertaining their children, they will be less likely to hear what you have to say.

• Be upbeat, positive and most importantly, friendly.  Look for things you may have in common to help establish rapport.  Take very little time on this - they came to get information, not necessarily make a new friend.  But that is exactly what you want to accomplish by the end of the meeting, just do it casually.  Forced is never good.

• Remember to have empathy if there is a difficult credit, asset or income situation that might make it difficult for them to obtain financing at that time.  At some point, they will be able to get a mortgage and you want them to remember you favorably.

Consider each client to be worth $25,000 over 10 years.  Between the potential loans they will do with you and the referrals they have the ability to send your way, you are guaranteeing future income with your first impressions.

Who's calling you??

I had an interesting thing happen today.... I got a call on my home phone from an old client.   This is someone I worked with before I moved to Texas five years ago (and have not spoken to since.)  She and her husband want to refinance so she looked me up on the internet and called.  She said she knew I probably couldn't do their loan, but they were hoping I would recommend someone reputable.

I'm going to say this big... People want to work with someone they trust.  And if they don't know anyone, they are going to get a recommendation from someone they do trust.

What is your reputation?  Would your clients go looking for you in another state FIVE years later?  I know I push database marketing, but an important factor in all referral business is the impact you made when you did their first loan, or first met them, or served on a committee with them (etc. etc. etc.)

You would be well served to look at all your interactions to make sure you are building a reputation as someone that is an expert and likeable.  Rates and fees are important to prospects, but many times the final decision is made based on reputation and likeability.

Two-Question Survey

There is great value in following up with borrowers and Realtors to find out how they felt about their experience with you and your company.  Knowing what you have done right and getting the opportunity to fix what may have gone wrong is priceless.

Most people are willing to give feedback, what they find frustrating is being asked to answer 10, 15 or 20 questions, which is the norm for many company surveys.  Here is a simple 2-question survey that should improve the return rate of your surveys. 

1.  On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the quality of our service on your recent mortgage experience? (Variation - On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend our mortgage services to your friends and family?)

2.  If your answer was less than 10, what would it take to make it a 10?  After this last question you can add, "Feel free to offer any other suggestions, praise or comments."  You may receive glowing testimonials that can be used in future marketing.  If you are given less than glowing comments, take the time to follow up and apologize for any problems or miscommunications.  Most people will easily forgive human error in the face of humility and a willingness to improve.

This simple survey can be delivered by e-mail or snail mail depending on how you client prefers to be contacted.  Make it a habit to send this out within a week of closing.  The experience is still fresh in their minds and clients will be more likely to return the survey. 

This concept of a two-question survey can also be used in the office.  Take the time to ask your staff:

1.  On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate my work as a loan officer?

2.  If less than 10, what would it take to make it a 10?

What a great thing it is to be open to suggestions and comments.  You may find valuable insight that will help you improve and grow your business.  This simple exercise also demonstrates your humility and willingness to listen to recommendations.  Begin today to utilize these straightforward questions with clients and staff.

Illiterate of the future

My son, who just started his freshman year of college, had to write a paper on illiteracy in America and asked for help.  (Yay... He's finally realizing that I actually do know a couple of things.)  I pulled out one of my favorite quotes and suggested he take a different angle on the topic:

“The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn.”  Alvin Toffler

The habit of continuous learning will keep you young, increase your earning power and motivate you to excel.  Why bring this up on my blog?  Well, lately I have spoken with many originators that are discouraged and barely making enough to live on and the result is that they feel almost paralyzed.   They are buying into the pessism of the media and not motivated to work ON their business.

Granted, education is not the cure-all for your business ills.  But it is a giant leap of faith in yourself, the mortgage industry and consumers ability to be homeowners.  By education, I mean market expertise, product knowledge, as well as marketing and sales.  A portion of your day, EVERY DAY, should be spent on improving your position as a mortgage expert.  There is no lack of information available.  Do what it takes to excel at marketing, fully understand popular mortgage products and stay informed about rates and market conditions.

Andrew wrote a great paper and we're both hoping he'll get an A.  (Which, just like his Eagle Scout - should have my name on it as well)  And now, I will leave you with another of my favorite quotes:

Poor people have big tv's, rich people have big libraries. -Jim Rohn

I have a confession...

I'm addicted to an online game called Bejeweled.  I rarely watch TV and as I told my family, "It's better than using drugs".  The problem is that I'm getting better.  I used to play a game and it only took a few minutes, now I can last quite a bit longer and score over a million points.  So I've decided to quit cold turkey.

Why am I telling you this?  First - I know some of you will check up on me and accountability is a big part of change.  Second - as most of you know, I can relate ANYTHING to marketing and sales.

So here it is:  Practice produces improvement.  What if I had spent the time that I played Bejeweled practicing something that would benefit my business or even me personally?  My daughter is an accomplished pianist and taught piano her last two years of high school.  I decided that I wanted her to teach me.  I took two lessons and said "this is too hard."  Now what I really meant was that it wasn't a priority time at that time to learn a new skill.  (I certainly hope I could do it if I put my mind to it!)

If you want increased success, income and stability in your work then YOU MUST PRACTICE.  Hoping won't get you there, spending money on marketing might help, but it won't work alone and sitting back wishing the phone will ring definitely won't get it to ring with new applications.  What WILL work is "working ON your business".  

For example, if you feel uncomfortable in networking situations, do it more.  Go to Chamber of Commerce events, get involved in charity organizations or other business associations.  Visit Realtor offices more often.  If you dread making database phone calls, bite the bullet and do 20 today.  Trust me, the more you do these things the easier it becomes.  Presentations are a great way to gain credibility, but you have to practice and do them often to become comfortable in that type of situation.  Consider joining a local Toastmasters organization to help you.

Whatever you struggle with should be practiced.  Then practiced again.  And again.  I have to go now and delete Bejeweled from my favorites.

Mortgage Rate Trends & Mortgage Success Library

I love it when I find new resources... sometimes I wish there were a few extra hours in the day for utilizing them, but hopefully you can find a few minutes to peruse these great sites:

Mortgage-X (Mortgage Information Service) has a wealth of information for originators.  Current trends, historical data, forecasts and a huge library of articles and reports.

Mortgage Success Library is the FREE section of My Mortgage Community and offers help for Originators as well as managers.  Articles and video on a variety of subjects along with quite a bit of expert advice. 

A portion of your day and week should be spent on education, but it's not just keeping up with all the product/appraisal changes.   Your education time is also for marketing and sales training.  Listening to conference calls, reading articles and magazines.  You'll find new ideas and be motivated to move forward on your marketing. This is what will grow your business.

Improve your writing skills - Get referrals

Part of being the best you can be is to improve in every area of business.  I notice all too often that loan officers are not proficient in their writing skills.  This includes letters, marketing materials and e-mails.

I was very blessed to have a great letter-writing mentor when I first began originating loans in 1994.  Sharon was the assistant to our company president, but was always willing to proof my work before I ungraciously made a fool of myself.  Even after all these years, I feel indebted to her.  My business would not have been the same.

I have written thousands of letters and marketing pieces over the years that resulted in applications and referrals.  Your ability to write to the reader in a compelling way will build your reputation as an expert. 

As a part of my consulting and coaching, I often proof materials for loan officers.  The biggest mistakes I see are:

• Too many words.  We have the attention of a gnat (especially with e-mail) Get right to the point and just give the basics.  You want them to call for the details.
• Too much about the loan officer and not enough about what's in it for the reader.
• No call to action.  What do you want them to do?  Make it specific.
• Nothing stands out.  Send a letter WITH something.  A magnet, coupon or brochure.  Have a great graphic with your marketing piece as this will grab attention.

There are many other things that go into successful writing.  I recommend you go to your local bookstore or Amazon.com and look for something that covers business letter and emails.  Then get busy writing and building your business!

Invest in...

I like to read Jeffery Gitomer's stuff.  It's to-the-point, funny and hey - his advice actually works!  We seem to be at the part of our never ending industry circle that has people being cautious.  Cautious about spending money on marketing and taking risks, cautious about doing more training or coaching... cautious about everything!

Guess what?  Cautious doesn't fill the pipeline, increase revenues or make people happy.  This excerpt is written for managers and owners, but it applies to each of you.  Take your business by the horns and invest in yourself.

"And if you're a CEO or sales leader, here's what to do:

Invest in your people. Double your soft-skills training budget. Teach them attitude, goals, presentation skills, creativity, and selling skills. Now is the time for coaching, encouragement, and leadership by example.

Invest in your PRESENT customers. Market with customer testimonials and endorsements, not self-serving brags. Don't just say it. Prove it.

Improve service. I'll never understand why empty restaurants have lousy service. Now is the time to get the business community, or the community in which you live, to begin talking about you in a good way. Word-of-mouth advertising will bring more customers than traditional advertising.

CAUTION: It's not ONE thing. To get back in the game, it's a bit of all these elements. There is no pill you can swallow that will make the market better, you better, or the customer buy faster - much less make the customer buy from you, rather than the competition.

The good news is that you control your destiny. That's why you got into sales in the first place."

Read Gitomer's entire article HERE.

If you would like more information on my coaching, marketing products or presentations, go to www.blisssawyer.com. 

Motivational Time

We all have times of greater energy and motivation that drive our business to greater levels of success and achievement.  The struggle (and discouragement) comes when we feel low-energy and lack-luster towards our business goals.  Many loan officers blame the market, interest rates, their boss or their staff.  I’m here to tell you that you have complete control over your state of mind.  Yet, I recognize that it is easier said than done.

Hopefully, you already have a library of motivational cd’s that you can listen to. I highly recommend you listen to some type of self-improvement or motivational materials ½ of your driving time every day.  Even when things are going well.  You will find yourself feeling invigorated and may even become more creative as you open your mind to new ideas.

NightengaleConant or Ebay are both great resources to find Brian Tracy, Zig Ziegler, Todd Duncan, Stephen R. Covey, Tony Robbins or any of the other tremendous authors available.

What do you belong to?

It's becoming essential that you have a robust database, as this is the ONLY way to fuel a referral-based business.  Building a database is not a one-time event.  You must be working daily to expand and strengthen this core group of prospects.  (Remember, everyone has the potential to be a prospect and directly refer prospects to you.)

Today's marketing questions is this, "What groups or organizations do you belong to?" This, very simply, is the best way to grow your center of influence.  Of course, your primary goal in becoming involved is to learn from and help an organization.  Contacts and relationships are just a natural by-product of these endeavors.

I recommend loan officers belong to a minimum of two groups, one being business related and the other associated with your hobbies, interests or family.  Three or four is best.  This could be anything from Toastmasters to a networking group to Realtor/builder associations, community groups, church or school groups, volunteer organizations, etc.  Take the time to get to know the people in the group and consider taking on a leadership role.  This gives you added credibility and easily helps you develop stronger relationships with those you work with.

If you currently belong to a group, take a look at how well you know others in the group and ask yourself if they know you and what you do for a living. If you do not currently belong to any groups, do some research and decide where you want to spend your time.  This is a key component to your marketing that should not be overlooked.

How to write a great letter

As an originator, I utilized letters to reinforce my position as a high quality loan officer and to continually ask for referrals.  Every opportunity I could find, I would send a letter.  Prospect, current client, past client, Realtor, etc.  Anyone and for any (good) reason.  I can honestly say, this was one of the keys to my success as a top producing loan officer.  Here a few tips on writing a great letter:

• Set the tone of your letter early on. You want the reader to immediately understand why you sent this letter. Consumers are smarter than ever and are wary of deception.
• Keep it simple. Too much information will be overwhelming to the reader. You want them to call you—then you can give all the details.
• Get to the point! State your main point up front: in the subject title, in paragraphs, in sentences. Try using reference headings.
• Use different font size, bold, italic, or underline to emphasize different things.  Do not use script or odd fonts. Use a font like Times Roman or Arial as they are the most recognizable.
• Your paragraphs should be between two and five lines in length. Vary each paragraph. If one is two lines in length, make the next three, four or five lines.
• Use warm and friendly wording.  Let them know you care about their needs.
• Write your letter in the first person and be careful about mixing “I” and “we”.
• Make sure your contact information is obvious. Even though your letterhead has it—you want to repeat the information in the text of the letter.
• Proof read. You may not be able to see your mistakes, so have someone else read through.
• Mailings should include items of a different size, texture or color.  The first is, of course, your business card. The other items should have the following characteristics:
  • Size—not as wide as the folded letter, but larger than the business card
  • Color—something bright, but make sure the type shows up well (red paper sometimes doesn’t work well)
  • Texture—this can be a different weight of cardstock or texture of paper
  • For example, I always send a business card, magnet and coupon to someone that I have spoken with and that will now receive their first mailing from me.

So many times, we only get bills and junk in the mail.  Look for opportunities to send value through the mail and your name will be remembered and passed along.

Put yourself in the top 1% of all mortgage lenders

Have you considered obtaining your Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist designation?  In our competitive industry, it is essential to continually strive to obtain as much knowledge as possible.  I have been recommending CMPS to my coaching clients and figured I better know what I'm talking about, so I am listening to the home study CD's and will be attending the CMPS live event in Phoenix Dec 5-7.

Our industry is receiving enough bad press....why not create some good press about YOU.  Consumers are looking for a reason to trust you with their financing.  Rates and fees will always be important, but become secondary once you have a reputation as an expert.  CMPS gives you the knowledge and tools that are unsurpassed in the industry.  Mortgage planners are certainly the future strength of our business and your commitment to excellence will carry you through difficult markets.  In fact, your production will remain strong at all times. 

According to Sterling Campbell with Citiline Mortgage, "This stuff is gold!  Having the CMPS designation and resources has helped me to focus on my clients entire financial situation.  Specifically in getting them away from the old trap of consuming equity and then repositioning so their mortgage financing works in conjunction with their short term and long term financial goals.  My production has exploded!"

BONUS!  Receive a $200 discount to CMPS with discount code BSLE ($300 for early bird reservations.)  Take a look....your future depends on it.  Click here for more detailed information on upcoming events.