Posted by John Scott Smith on Mon, Apr 19, 2010 @ 01:37 PM
After what happened to me at the store, I simply had to write this article, today. Read on, and you'll understand why.
When we're working with FHA mortgage leads (or, for that matter, with ANY kind of mortgage leads), we will often arrive at a point in the conversation where the prospective customer needs something that we cannot or do not provide. It's to be expected. Maybe they want to go look at a house. Perhaps they are in need of an inspection. It may be time to go assemble their documents. Whatever "it" is, "it" is something that will need to be done outside of our office, away from us. If we have planned for this in advance, we can set up the "next, right step" and we will have a much higher chance of getting our customer back for the sale when they've completed that next step.
Here is my story that gave me the inspiration for this post. In Massachusetts, there is a deposit taken on every soda can, every two-liter bottle, and on every beer bottle to make sure that they are returned for recycling and do not end up in some landfill. It's only $.05 per bottle, but, like everyone else in Massachusetts, I build up a little inventory in the basement before I pack up the car and take them back to the store. While I'm there, I will ALWAYS spend more money. ALWAYS. Unfortunately, when it's a beer bottle, the liquor store would like me to spend my money somewhere else. How do I know this? Because if I bring a six-pack of "special" beer (like some German import that you don't find everywhere, or some microbrew) and if that "special" beer isn't sold at that liquor store, they make me take my bottles away. Not only will they not give me $.30, but they won't even let me *leave* the bottles there. In essence, over a measly thirty cents, they want to send me running over to their competitor's store where I initially bought the beer. The lack of foresight here is truly stunning..
A clever business-owner *could* instruct their clerks to give me $.30 off of my purchase and just leave the empty six-pack behind the counter. (In marketing, we would call this spending thirty cents on "market research" to find out what our customers would like us to stock, and it would truly be a bargain to be able to "buy" that kind of research for only thirty cents.) Alternatively, they could get a little creative with some kind of membership card that offers you "one-stop-shopping" so that only members could return ANY and ALL bottles without worry of having to return the errant six-pack, elsewhere. Scanning my new member card would, of course, let them make me suggestive sales offers that I might like to hear. "Mr. Smith, I know that you have been trying some small batch bourbons, lately. Would you like to see a bottle of Black Maple Hill? We just started carrying it last week, and we have a bottle in stock."
Does that sound like the kind of store that you'd like to shop at? Or would you rather hear, "I'm sorry, we can't take those bottles.."
Applying this approach to your FHA mortgage leads business plan would be simple. When your client needs to schedule a showing, pull out your "standard form" to collect some information about the real estate agent with whom they're working. Now, you've got someone to introduce yourself to. (And, of course you already know that it will be a better introduction if you can introduce yourself to that agent at a Chamber event or some other networking opportunity.) If they don't already have a real estate agent, you can hand them three different sheets, one on each of three agents whom you trust, along with an explanation about each one's strong points, about which neighborhoods they are most expert in. Same with your list of inspectors. For the mortgage lead who is at the "collecting their documents" phase, you can give them the special folder that you've had printed that lists every doc that they're going to need, maybe even with a special pocket in it for each grouping of documents.
The point is that the easier that you make it for your customer to come back to you, the more likely that they will. Whatever you do, though, have a plan.
It is the lack of a plan (and of business insight) that allows clerks to say, "I'm sorry, we can't take those bottles, here." And, it is that same lack of a plan that can send your hard-earned business right into the hands of your competitors.
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Posted by John Scott Smith on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 @ 03:45 PM
I'm letting the word out. "Lead nurturing". Yes. "Lead nurturing". That's been our secret sauce for a while, now, and ever since we started using it, I've been hopelessly, helplessly, head-over-heels in *love* with lead nurturing. Today, I'm going to tell you why.
Email contacts are a part of sales for everyone. If you're already using it for your mortgage leads, you probably have a boilerplate that you send off to your prospects to remind them of who you are. Keeping it relevant, interesting, and, above all, NOT about sales is what works. This is what shifts "email marketing" into "lead nurturing".
The purpose behind every email marketing campaign is to help move the process along. We do this by keeping our name or brand in front of our prospects. We demonstrate expertise and knowledge. Share good information. Get them back to the websites. Inspire a call. All of these accomplish your goal. But, always keep in mind that the purpose of the email is NOT to sell.
I've heard that irrelevance is the new Spam. So, give your prospects good, relevant material. Send them "The Five Most Important Things to Do Before You Become a Homeowner". Or, this month "Three Ways That Your Taxes Will Improve Once You're a Homeowner" will be relevant AND timely. These are the ways that email marketing is most effective.
Here are two of my favorite examples of companies who send me email campaigns. King Arthur Flour blasts out their lead nurturing campaigns infrequently (maybe once a month), but in them they include outstanding recipes: recipes that you will read, bake, and save. (I have even been known to print them off and put them in my baking notebook!)
When Blue Sky Factory sends out their campaign, they tell you about a brilliant, FREE webinar that you can attend. It's always one that will be interesting and that you'll actually *want* to attend.
Neither one of these emails that I'm talking about is trying to close the deal or tell you how brilliant the companies that are sending them are. They don't need to tell you how brilliant they are: they've just demonstrated it with their brilliant content.
What is the takeaway, here? Use email marketing to nudge your clients along. Keep them informed. And, build trust. You've already got their email address and, far more importantly, you've got their interest. Move slowly. Demonstrate your worthiness. And, the sales will come.
Do you use email marketing? Are you automating it to nurture your leads? Tell us what you've been doing!
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Posted by John Scott Smith on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 @ 12:16 PM
Monday, I was prospecting for business calling on a customer that I hadn't spoken to in a while. Apparently, I still had his personal cell phone number, so I was able to reach him. After fifteen years of being a mortgage broker, he had decided to get out of the business. Fifteen years....It had become that hard to make a living at selling mortgages, and he didn't see any changes coming down the pike.
The mortgage industry has gotten brutal for everyone in the business. We all feel the pain. There are fewer deals to go around and competition is fierce. Branches are shuttering every single day.
I have found and want to share with you some effective and inexpensive ways that you can help shore up your business.
There are several different companies offering complimentary marketing and sales training that can be applied to the mortgage industry. And, from what I've seen, HubSpot has some of the best.
Are you using LinkedIn to promote yourself? What comes up when you Google your own name? Are you on Facebook?
In this industry, often your fees are what they are. The rate shifts, daily. But, one thing that you have control over is your reputation. And, getting it out there, proudly and prominently, is what today's seminar at HubSpot will be about.
The link is here and if you don't catch it live, I know that it will be posted to view later and for all time, because at HubSpot, that's just how they roll.
Use your social media platforms to promote yourself, so that when your prospective customers Google your name (and, you KNOW they do!) they'll be able to see all kinds of things about you: that you're a tee-ball coach for your kids, that you sent that letter to the editor of your newspaper, that you have a gazillion endorsements on LinkedIn. Be easy to get found, and get found for the right things.
Customers want to work with a real person. They want someone they can trust. Let them see that you're real. And, LinkedIn is one of the ways to do that.
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Posted by John Scott Smith on Thu, Nov 05, 2009 @ 10:50 AM
Before you answer that question, answer this one: do you like to receive handwritten notes? How about those "thank you for helping me get my mortgage" letters? We especially love the ones that people send with a picture of their family in front of their new house. Those get posted in your cubicle. We love it!
Relationships are what get us business, and handwritten notes (along with timely phone calls, professional care, and personal concern) are what build those relationships.
The thing is that you're reading this online. Most of our reading is done online, now. Emails, blog posts, newspapers all make it faster to connect, but less meaningful. One of my favorite tongue-in-cheek business slogans comes from "someecards" where they brag,"when you care enough to hit send". Cute, isn't it?
My point is that when you want to stand out in the mortgage industry, one inexpensive but effective way to do so is with handwritten letters and cards. They really don't take much effort, but they make a significant, lasting impression.
If this is something that you'd like to start doing more often I have found a few ways to make it easy on myself. Maybe you will find this helpful, too.
- If you're having a hard time getting started, pick up a copy of "Business Notes: Writing Personal Notes That Build Professional Relationships" by Florence Isaacs There are excellent examples of short notes and letters in Isaacs' book, and she covers every business occasion that I have encountered. I refer to it often when I'm sending out my own letters.
- Pick up some stationary. There are inexpensive but nice letter-sized papers and envelopes at Hallmark, Papyrus, and even Whole Foods. Get a stash and keep it in your top desk drawer, along with a book of stamps.
- Write out holiday cards right after you close each mortgage. Make them friendly with at least one personal comment about your customer, their kids, or their pet enjoying their new home for the holiday. Collect your stack of these until Black Friday, and then drop them all in the mail to spread the cheer and remind your customers that you exist, that you're thoughtful, and that you care. (Special tip here: on the day after Christmas, I go to Hallmark with my wife. While she gets ornaments and wrapping paper, I pick up several boxes of the nicest holiday cards I can find for next year's batch. They're priced at 40-60% off, and they are sitting in my bottom desk drawer, right now!)
- If you'd like to really get into writing, you can even order special stationary or a nice pen. In order to make my letter-writing as natural as possible, I've indulged in personal stationary and a heavy fountain pen. When letter-writing is a delight (and, much more pleasant than sitting in front of the computer) it comes easily and more often.
Besides remembering and using someone's name after being introduced, I've found that sending out handwritten letters makes the next biggest impression.
So, what do you think? Too "old-school" or out of fashion enough that it works? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
If you'd like to listen to my electronic ramblings more frequently, I'm on Twitter and facebook. If you'd like a personal, handwritten letter from yours truly, become a customer! ;)
Posted by John Scott Smith on Thu, Oct 22, 2009 @ 04:04 PM
You do it. We know you do it. Let's just get this out of the way and say it: you produce your OWN leads. (Not to the exclusion of us, of course, or you wouldn't be here, but you do try.) And, that's okay. In fact, I encourage it.
For most lenders, buying mortgage leads is, and, should be, a complement to your other marketing efforts.
You work open houses with comfort and charm. You teach first time home buyer seminars brilliantly. You produce a beautiful and informative newsletter (that even other agents read!). And, you have a compelling web page where you want to harvest your own leads. So, where the hell are they??
This is where you, the knowledgeable and accomplished loan officer, banker, or branch manager will often fall down. But, it's not your fault. Really, it's not.
Lead generation is its own science. Being good at these other things does not, in any way, imply being good at harvesting leads: in fact, it's being good at those other things that is probably getting in your way. So, together let's take a step back, and let me share some of the "secrets" of mortgage lead generation.
- Don't ask too much. It's tempting to have your prospects fill out a full 1003 on your webpage, but it's also unnecessary. And, it's counterproductive. Your goal is to eventually get them on the phone or into your office. All you need for that is a name and a phone number. (And, an email address would be nice, too). Asking for more information, especially a social security number, leads to what those of us in the business like to call "form abandonment", and, yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Shorter equals more likely to be completed. Period.
- Get found. Use long tail keywords. Yes, you read that right: "long tail keywords". (And, of course, I'll explain what that is.) The HUGE lead generation companies (you already know who they are) spend tons of cash on the most general and most difficult to optimize keywords in order to be found on the search engines. "Mortgage." "Loan." "FHA." These terms are not only too difficult for you to use and be found by, but they are far too general to be of any good to you. You don't want hundreds of leads from all over the country. So, what about having a part of your web page with the title of something like "mortgage loan for Bethalto, IL" which would look something like this: www.joesmortgages.com/mortgage_loan_for_Bethalto_IL With some decent content, our fictional friend, Joe, stands a very good chance of ranking highly for all of his target customers in Bethalto. Likewise, Joe can work on Rosewood Heights, and Roxana, IL, too. This is what long tail keywords are: longer, more descriptive variations of the big keywords, likely to get you the prospects that you want to turn into leads.
- Nothing flashy. In fact, don't use Flash, at all. I don't like it. At least, not on your page. (Nor, on mine, for that matter.) Have a basic, professionally-built webpage that looks smart and timeless. You don't need distractions. You certainly don't want music that will clue your prospects' employers in to the fact that they're surfing your page while on the clock! Your customers are there for your brilliant content and your reassuring voice. Leave the fancy stuff to the Amazons and the Mercedes of the world.
- Remember your audience. The most common mistake that I see on bankers' and brokers' sites is that they are writing their content to the wrong people. In layman's terms, describe the home buying process. Or, the mortgage application process. Or, the closing process in your target area. Mentioning "supporting documentation" and "1003's" are what we, in the business, do every day. Your customers generally don't know that language, and, more importantly, they won't respond to it.
- Use a pay per click (PPC) campaign. ALL of the pros are running PPC campaigns. Every single one of them. And, most amateurs, too. With Google, it's shockingly easy to get your own campaign started. AdWords at Google will walk you through the whole process of getting your account set up. A couple of quick suggestions which I can add (which may well evolve into an entire other post): choose which page on your webpage that you want people to land on, set a low daily budget, remember what we said about long tail keywords by picking as many of them as you can think of (and, as Google can recommend) when you get started, and (in the name of all that is RIGHT!!), don't ever, ever forget that your campaign is running! Costly mistake. Been there. Done that. Would rather have bought myself something nice...
There you have it. As I read this over before hitting "publish" I fear that I may come across as preachy. I apologize in advance if I do. Instead, I would like to be helpful and approachable.
So, what are your thoughts? How is your own lead generation coming? What other questions do you have for me? Ask, and I'm happy to share what I know.
(As I've said before, you are welcome to follow my constant "stream-of-consciousness" updates on Twitter and facebook .)