RAVING FANS

One of the greatest books ever written about service business is Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. It is a quick read and it will make you think like never before about customer service. If you don't have the book, buy it! Even if you have read Raving Fans, read it again. You will be glad you did!

ADDRESS STAMPS

The return address stamps from the Media Center are one of the best closing gifts imaginable. People love them, they have a long shelf life and no one has one already because they haven't even moved yet! I encourage everyone to give them to all of your closed borrowers.

Another use for them is to give them to your Realtors! Have stamps made for them and you will have done a favor that won't be forgotten. At $11 apiece you will get quite a "bang for the buck".

READ FOR SUCCESS

In our business, you almost can't read enough and sometimes it seems that we have an overwhelming amount of material to read to keep up with all of the changes. Remember change is inevitable and it is also a golden opportunity, if you read.

These days, children are encouraged to read a minimum of 20 minutes per day 20 days a month. Most of us could dramatically improve our knowledge and our business just by spending our 20 minutes each working day keeping up with our profession.

In addition to mortgage products, programs and guidelines you should also read a broad variety of finance and investment related material. Money, Kiplinger's, Smart Money, Wall Street Journal etc. are all excellent publications you can read and become a better resource and a better Loan Officer.  

HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOMER'S EGO

Sales success relates directly to one's ability to get alone with customers and build their egos. By taking these steps with your customers you will help them to have a better opinion of themselves and usually it follows that they will have a better opinion of you as well. 

1. Establish a friendly connection-find something to admire and/or compliment the customer about.

2. Get them talking-ask open ended (not yes-no) questions that will get them talking about themselves and their life and accomplishments.

3. Listen carefully-everyone likes to talk and know they are being heard.

The reverse of the above is true as well. If you take time to feel better about your customers you will probably feel better about yourself. Rewards all around!!!

ENJOY YOUR JOB

Even though some days you may feel that you would love to do any job in the world other than Mortgage Loan Originator. The grass on our side of the fence is very green.

Think about it:

  • everyday is different
  • every customer is different
  • you can always learn new things
  • you get to help people with the biggest purhcase of their lives
  • you get to "make people's day" with loan approvals
  • you are in control of your own schedule
  • you are in control of you own income

There is an old saying that "if you enjoy your job you never have to work a day in your life." So enjoy your job. You could have to work for a living!

LISTING AGENTS

Most of your competition doesn't even call the listing agent, which is a great reason for you to be calling them. You should be calling the listing agent as soon as your are finished with the application and before you turn in a file to processing. The benefits of this simple call are almost endless. You can ask for business; you will have immediately impressed a potential referral source; they are probably going to call you anyway; and it is just professional courtesy. This routine will enhance your reputation in your area because chances are you will come across that person again at some point in the future.

You should also call the listing agent when you have received the appraisal and also upon loan approval. Keep in mind that as long as that transaction is in process, you are very important person to the listing agent! You are given a window of opportunity with each and every one of them. Use it wisely. 

GOAL SETTING

Establishing goals is one of the most effective success tools available to anyone. When setting goals be sure and write down your goal in a place where you will see it every day or multiple times a day. By taking the simple step of writing down your goals you will program yourself to achieve whatever you goal may be. By consciously paying attention to your goals every day you will subconsciously program yourself to reach your desired result.

It doesn't matter if your goal is to make the top 200 in the nation, or whether your goal is to close five or fifty loans per month. Write it down, look at it every day, and you will reach your goals. 

EMPATHY PART 2

Your purchasing borrowers are worthy, even needy, of your empathy! in most cases, your borrowers are dealing with one or more of the most stressful things people can have to deal with in their lives. Relocation, job change, divorce, marriage, and change in family size are just some of the challenges facing these people at the time of your contact with them. Not to mention most of them have a home to sell and most of them just want their loan to be approved. By "putting yourself in their shoes" an understanding their issues and making them more at ease you will do well by them and do well for yourself. 

EMPATHY

Empathy: the capacity for experiencing as one's own the feelings of another.

Perhaps the greatest success tool in business and in life is empathy. The ability to understand how others feel and appreciate the fact that only your world revolves around you, is a skill every Loan Officer needs.

It is important to understand that the Realtor just wants to be paid and have his customers leave happy. It is important to understand that your underwriters have a job to do and it doesn't always mean approving everything that hits their desk. It is important to understand that your processor probably has other files to work on besides the one you feel is so critical. It is important to understand that your refinancing customer may just want convenience or the lowest payment or the most cash out to pay off their debts and sleep better at night.

Empathy, however, is most valuable to us in dealing with purchasing borrowers because they are the ones you typically need the most empathy. 

THANK YOU NOTES

Few things in business pay dividends as well as your basic "thank you" note. People appreciate receiving them plus they are easy and inexpensive. Take a few minutes once a week and write a note to every prospect or referral source you meet, or any person who did something remotely good for you that week. Just one or two sentences will do. It will make you look even better in their eyes and it is a great opportunity to circulate your business cards!

PERSISTENCE

80% of sales are made after the fifth call 

48% of all salespeople make one call and quit

25% of all salespeople call twice and quit

17% of all salespeople call three times and quit

10% of all salespeople keep calling

If you merely contact your clients four times, you have surpassed 90% of the competition. Especially in the relationship sales, persistence pays!

 

GET YOUR OLD CUSTOMERS BACK

If your business is a little down right now, you are not alone. Most all of us are dealing with far fewer loans than we were just a few months ago.

Whenever business slows, we tend to concentrate on getting new and more customers, which is a good thing. When looking to increase your number of customers, however, keep in mind that studies have shown that it generally costs ten times more to get new customers than to keep old ones!

So make contact again with your former referral sources and customers and make sure you hang on to the ones you have. The best way to pick you business up is right there under your nose!

UNDER PROMISE AND OVER DELIVER

Set customer expectations correctly at the beginning and as long as you deliver, you will be a hero and recipient of loyalty and referrals. On the other hand, if you promise more than you can deliver, you will look like a goat. Consider the simple example of a loan file that takes you and your office 20 days to process. The Loan Officer who says 30 days and closes in 20 looks great, while the L.O. who told everyone 2 weeks looks like a fool and typically is making excuses for their over promising, and we all know what they say about excuses!

 

VOICE MAIL ETIQUETTE

Have you ever had someone leave a long winded voice mail message only to speed through their phone number at the very end so fast that you can't understand it? Of course, everyone has! Were you annoyed, amused, irritated? Or did you just feel bad for that person because they are probably perpetrating their lack of "voice mail etiquette" upon their entire world? 

Don't be that person! If you are going to leave a long voice mail, leave your number at the beginning of the message and then again at the end. Together we can all make the world a better place! 

TRACK YOUR REFERRAL SOURCES

One of the most valuable tools you need in your arsenal is a method of tracking where your business comes from. In order to effectively allocate time and resources to referral sources, you must know that sources are responsible for your success.

Take half an hour soon and set up a simple spreadsheet. Go back through the past 12-24 months and make not of how many transactions resulted from each source. Be sure and break down all sources individually rather than by office. Also, be sure to have separate categories for past clients, friends and affinity groups. You will probably find some results that are not only helpful but very surprising! 

LEARN FROM LOSING

No one likes to lose a deal, but losing is truly losing online if you don't learn from the experience! Sales are all about rejections and sometimes striking out. The more chances you get, the more likely you are to lose sometimes. Even the best Loan Officers do their share of losing. The difference is that they learn from their defeats so that their "batting average" will go up in the future.

So next time you lost a deal, look on the bright side. At least you had a chance and next time you will have a chance and be armed with knowledge gained from past defeats.

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said: "It's not how many times you get knocked down that makes you stronger. It's how many times you get back up."

BUSINESS 101

Whenever things are slow and sales are down...

It is just the time you want to be increasing the investment in your business!

It is just smart business to advertise more whenever you are slow. Did you watch the Olympics? Whenever you are making less, it is natural to want to cut back on spending. However, by increasing your investment you will actually cut your losses and improve your gains. By simply increasing your Media Center investment by 10% or more, you will see results that will far outweigh the added cost. Every Loan Originator is a small business. With that in mind, you must resist the temptation to spend less on your business when production is down.