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, Mar 25, 2010 @ 02:11 PM
As part of my daily reading, yesterday I came across an excellent article on using social media in sales by Bill Rice that inspired this post.
I recently published a post asking is "Social Networking Overrated for Mortgage Professionals?" After some discussion in the comments and more on Twitter, I wanted to tackle how you *can* use social media more effectively for mortgage sales. It's not difficult once you understand a little bit about consumers' behavior, starting with your own. Let's do a quick walk-through.
First, take a quick look at how YOU are already using social media for your OWN consumer behavior. Whether you think about it in that context or not, you have probably already used social media to help you with a buying decision. How?
Do you ever read the reviews on Amazon? Do you ask your circle of friends on Facebook for their advice? Are you looking for their experience or for their recommendation on a product you're thinking about buying? Ever "tweet" questions like that? If so, you've been using social media to help in your buying decisions.
Personally, I've posted questions about pasta makers, minivans, and computer software on Facebook, on Twitter, on blogs, and over instant message to friends so that I could draw on the collective experience of my network to find out what they recommend. I ALWAYS read the product reviews on Amazon before I decide which product is going to meet my needs, especially since online shopping means that you can't get a close look at it before you pull the trigger.
These behaviors are the tip of the ice berg for using social media for your business and your personal brand. Let's talk about just using a couple to get started, and then we can grow it, together, from there.
- Google Alerts. Who is talking about you? Who is talking about your business? What are they saying? Google alerts are free, easy, and (mostly) instant, so get 'em going! This is another Google feature that allows you to use ANY Google account, like we mentioned in our recent blog entry. Just set up the alerts around the name of your business, your personal name, or any other word or phrase that you'd like to track. I use these to keep tabs of who's talking about me, my business, FHA mortgage leads, you name it. Very helpful.
- Advanced Twitter Search. Tres chic!! Using this application, you can keep track of ANYONE talking about your service anywhere, or within a certain mile radius of yourself. I use TweetDeck, myself, but that's because I'm constantly "plugged-in." Advanced twitter search allows you to look, at your leisure, OR you can even set up an RSS feed into your reader if you want to get more technical.
Once you find people talking, introduce yourself and answer their question(s) with an eye toward being helpful instead of toward selling.
Imagine tweeting a question about a product and hearing back with an answer from a representative of that company with an answer...It's happening out there, RIGHT NOW, and you can be a part of it fifteen minutes from now by getting set up and getting started.
What do you think? Are you already using techniques like these? Tell us about your experiences.
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Posted by John Scott Smith on Tue, Mar 09, 2010 @ 03:32 PM
Remember The Waiter Rule? It says that you can learn a lot about my character by how I treat the waiter. The waiter rule exists for a very simple reason: I already know how you're going to treat me to my face. What I want to know is are you looking out for me. Are you concerned about my outcome? Or, are you just in this for yourself?
Particularly after the housing meltdown, customers are leery. They are suspicious of mortgage brokers. After all, they don't really want a mortgage: they just want a house. Our customers are looking for clues, any clues they can find, about who we are and how we'll treat them. Of course, the good news is that means that every single person on our team has the chance to turn the next prospect into a lifelong customer.
I'm a parent of young children which means that going out to dinner can sometimes be...challenging. Recently, when we were at a restaurant the boys were being very good, but it was getting a little late for them. I ordered my burger medium-rare. (Yes. I know. I live on the edge...) Sadly, when it came, it was way overcooked. No biggie. I'll just eat it so we can get the kids home.
The waitress made her routine rounds and asked me how everything was. I just said, "fine," and went back to eating. A moment later, she was back with the manager. The manager said, "Julie (our waitress) told me that she thought that your cheeseburger came out overdone."
"It did, but I hadn't even said anything."
"That's no problem. She noticed and asked me to come over and make it right for you. Would you like me to bring you another one? Or, can I bring you another beer, on us?"
Talk about "above and beyond!"
Julie has a thing or two to teach me about sales. She probably has a thing or two to teach all of us, really.
Look out for our customers. Even when they say that everything is okay, make sure they're taken care of. And, of course, they'll be back. With friends. Besides, after that experience, where else would I go next time? Where would you go?
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Posted by John Scott Smith on Mon, Mar 08, 2010 @ 12:59 PM
Are you a parent? I am. Of two young boys. My oldest is two and a half years old, and is no longer into Elmo, Big Bird, and "Sesame Street". He's moved on to "The Wiggles." Now, that's what we watch, right before bed, as part of his nighttime routine. When he shouts, "It's our SONG!" as "Rockabye Your Bear" comes on, it kind of melts your heart, no matter what my day was like.
Curious, I did a little research on "The Wiggles" and found out something that hadn't occurred to me: "The Wiggles" weren't always "The Wiggles". They had been aspiring musicians, each with a different level of success. After leaving music, three of them met while working on degrees in early childhood education. They had been studying to become teachers.
Money quote from the a New York Times article about them, Murray Cook (one of the founding members) "I'd played in rock bands and didn't get anywhere in the 80's."
For their school courses, they made a music project incorporating early childhood lessons with original music and dancing. And, it caught on. Caught on in a BIG way. (In 2005, they raked in forty-five MILLION dollars from their CD's, concerts, and merchandising.)
What does this have to do with mortgage sales? Pop music was a tough market. But, by discovering an unfilled demand in the marketplace for quality children's music, they got to perform for larger audiences in more venues making a LOT more money.
Right now, amidst this mortgage wreckage, there are still underutilized skills, and market demands that are not, yet, met.
Where can you specialize and make more money? Your unique patch of grass has its own answer, but foreclosures aren't going to end any time, soon. What if you learned everything there was to know about getting people financed to buy foreclosures? Do you know enough, yet, to give an informed presentation on FHA 203K mortgages to your local Realtors Association? On a more basic level, do you know everything there is to know about the changes taking place with regard to FHA mortgages beginning on April 5th?
For a living, I have to stay up on all changes to FHA, so I read several articles per day for my work, here. I am constantly amazed by how much information I find out there that is flat out wrong on ActiveRain and other real estate sites.
If you're still in the business, there are unexploited areas that offer less resistance for those who study and do their homework.
Right now, most of us are struggling pop musicians. Maybe it's time we became "Wiggles".
What do you think? What areas can expand into in your area?
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Posted by John Scott Smith on Thu, Mar 04, 2010 @ 02:08 PM
Whatever business we are in, whether our customers are verbalizing that question or not, THAT is the question that they are trying to answer. "Can I trust you?" In order to offer evidence is why we get licensed. Or, join the Better Business Bureau. Or, ask others to vouch for us.
In a weird, Zen-elusive kind of way, if you think too much about the question, you won't be able to convince anyone of your honesty or your integrity. You have to let it go, and be yourself. Allow yourself to connect. That connection is what builds trust.
In the mortgage industry, product knowledge is useful, so learn it. Availability is helpful, so answer the phone, reply to your emails, and return you messages. But, connection is what people crave and what will lead to higher success.
How do we build that connection? Be sincere. Share your experience. Learn about your customer's needs and keep their needs at the top of your mind.
Before I started in mortgage lead generation, I sold mortgages. Often, I was so focused on getting my customer the right product or pricing it correctly, that I forgot about their anxiety about whether or not they would be approved.
One of the biggest advances that I made in my selling career was when I helped them address their feelings on this. Now, I didn't use any "when you, I feel" statements or anything overly "touchy-feely". What I changed was one simple behavior. When I got a DU "refer/eligible" on a pre-approval, I made a commitment to my customer. "We'll have an answer for you within three days." (That was our timeline, back then.) "In the meantime, I am going to call you with an update, each day, even if that update is to say 'there is no update,' until we have an answer." Of course, once I laid down that bridge, I had to walk over it, each and every day. That daily effort was what built the trust. And, that was what got my customers to commit to working with me.
Someone else may have had an eighth better rate, or a quarter of a point less in closing costs, but I had already had several conversations with my customer. And, I had proven myself to good on my word.
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