NO ONE BELIEVES YOU BUT HERE’S WHAT THEY DO BELIEVE

When I first started in the mortgage business way back in the 80’s the advice I got was to “Get out there and get your name out.” I would bet you probably have heard the exact same advice haven’t you?
There are many ways to “get your name out there” but I would like to just focus on one of them right now which is using media.

MEDIA INCLUDES RADIO –TV- PRINT AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
There are numerous avenues most of which were not available when I was starting out. Heck – fax machines, cell phones and even the internet had not yet been invented. Certainly there was no Facebook, Linkedin or Instagram.

THE MEDIA DOESN’T REALLY MATTER – IT’S THE CONTENT THAT DOES.

First, you must understand that Facebook, Linked in , Magazines, Radio, and TV are all media. You should never think of the social media sites or Google as anything other than a media source.
I laugh when I hear people saying the only way to get business is Facebook, or Google or any type of media.

THAT IS VERY VERY DANGEROUS THINKING.

If you are dependent on any one media and it goes away or suddenly changes it’s rules you are doomed. Think about all of the changes that have already taken place on Linked in – Google and Facebook.
Many have had their ads banned or blocked while others have been forced to pay increasing fees.
You should never ever rely on only 1 way to market yourself. Think about all those who years ago were cold calling and doing blast faxes. Both now against the law.

BUT IT’S YOUR MESSAGE THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON.
Yesterday I opened up a local magazine and saw 4 different ads from loan officers in my area. They were large full page ads which are very expensive.
One proclaimed the loan officer to be the “LOCAL LOYAL LENDER”. The other proclaimed that “No One Has Closed More Loans in ( zip code) THAN Him.”
The others made no proclamations and were only oversized business cards with graphics of homes and people.

WHAT DID MY AD SAY- AND WHY?
First let’s start with the why.
PEOPLE DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU SAY ABOUT YOURSELF BUT THEY DO BELIEVE WHAT OTHERS LIKE THEM SAY ABOUT YOU !
I would strongly encourage you to re-read that sentence. Write it down. Burn it into your memory for the future.
I am sure it’s not a news flash that the general public does not trust us. They have seen movies like the Big Short and heard all of the horror stories about originators ripping off consumers.
Many either suffered thru the crash or had friends or family who lost their homes or were forced into bankruptcy.

A RECENT STUDY I READ SHOWED THAT WE ARE TRUSTED LESS THAN USED CAR SALES PEOPLE , ATTORNEYS, AND REALTORS.
So us shouting about how great we are will always unfortunately fall on deaf ears. If you are using ads that proclaim your greatness you no longer have to wonder why your ads are not producing results.

For that matter, unless you are a multi millionaire, you should be tracking your ads to make sure they are working. It always amazes me that people advertise but have no idea where there business and calls are actually coming from.

At a minimum use a service like call fire and put a different tracking phone number on each ad so at least you will know what is working and what is not. Why spend money on ads that are not producing results?

WHAT DOES WORK?
The ad I have in this publication is called an advertorial. It looks just like an article and so it draws the reader in to read it. Yes, I have still paid for an ad.
Each article starts with a question , almost like a Dear Brian article. It’s modeled after a Dear Abby column and it has a common question and my answer below it.
Under that is what is called a resource box with 3 sentences about me and how they get down load a FREE REPORT. Of course, it also lists my phone number and e-mail address.

LET’S GET BACK TO THE SECOND POINT.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article. No One Believes Anything We Say About Ourselves, But They Do Believe What Others Like Them Say About You.
You want every marketing piece you create and ad to have a testimonial about you in them.
But you don’t want it to say you did a good job or were nice to deal with. You need concrete evidence that answers your buyers concerns and objections.

HERE IS AN EXCERSIE FOR YOU TO COMPLETE.
Take out a sheet of paper. Draw a column down the middle. Now on the left side write out what you believe to be your buyers concerns and objections.

Let me give you a few examples.
-Concerned they will not close on time.
– Concerned that they are getting a good rate.
– Concerned about fees they are paying.
-Concerned that you truly can help them get to closing.
– Concerned that you will guide them thru the process.
– Concerned that you will be available for questions.
– Concerned about income issues.
-Concerned about credit issues. THIS IS A BIG ONE FOR BOOMERANG BUYERS.
– Concerned about having enough cash for down payment and settlement.

THE KEY TO YOUR TESTIMONIALS.
As you can see the key to your testimonials is addressing all of your buyers fears. The best way to do that is to have your prospects “see what others like them are saying about you” instead of what you say about yourself.

There are a few other important components to getting testimonials to be believed and acted on. In fact, here’s a little secret. I don’t ever call these testimonials but instead call them Client Success Stories
1.Try to always include a photo.
2.Try to always include the person’s name and city/state.
3.Try to have them state what their situation was before meeting you – what their fears were and what the positive outcome was.
4.Best to actually have them tell it as a story.

Now go ahead and make sure you are getting your client success stories out there and making your marketing trackable and accountable.

Brian Sacks is a nationally-renowned mortgage expert who has career closing of more than 5,924 transactions for more than $1 billion. He has trained, consulted and coached, tens of thousands of loan officers and company owners over the past 31 years on how to close more loans, make more money, and still have a life. Brian is the host of “Top Originator Secrets,” which can be seen weekly on Mortgage News Network and on his blog.

Have you ever wanted an UNFAIR EDGE over other loan officers? Check out Brians LO UNFAIR EDGE PROGRAM where he literally shows you how to dominate any market quickly with the little known persuasion tactics only Brian can share.
http://lounfairedge.com/1-2/

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