Back in 1985 I was a 21 year old kid and just starting out to make my millions in the Real- Estate business. I had just gotten my real -estate license and was hot to trot to sell some homes.
No one told me that homes weren’t selling and times were bad because rates were at 18% so I just went out and sold homes. Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss.
BUT THIS EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME A FEW LESSONS
Some mortgage brokers and bankers search endlessly for a single, new way to generate more closed loans each month. The bottom line, however, is that there isn’t a single best way to generate business. In fact, thinking that there is can be problematic and will ultimately lead to a massive decline in your originations.
Simply put, business models built on a single marketing technique or referral stream put your business at major risk. Taking this a step further, if your referrals all comes from one Realtor or one builder, then your business is not built on a strong foundation. You need to plug into multiple marketing strategies and referral streams to maintain a consistent flow of new clients and keep your business healthy.
The problem with trying to find the “single best way to generate new loans” is that it encourages originators to embrace the latest “shiny object,” which never seems to deliver what was hoped. Think back a number of years and you may recall the popularity of massive telemarketing rooms. Entire business models were created based on this technique, but when do-not-call lists were enacted many large telemarketing operations ceased to exist. Those that did remain were not as successful as they had been in the past.
Although there may not be any one way to generate a hundred loans, there are a hundred ways to generate one loan, but in reality you only need about four. Think of your business as a chair with four legs. If you take away one leg, you can still sit, but the chair is now a bit wobbly. Take away two legs, however, and your chair will fall over.
“ If a particular strategy isn’t working well, take the time to learn why.
Can it be fixed? Can it be tweaked? ”
Good marketing and referral generation should be built with a similar concept in mind. The more strategies you use, the more stable your business will become. Obviously pursuing too many strategies can become redundant and may bury you in increased costs, but having too few will cause your business to topple.
So, where can you find these hundred ideas for generating more business consistently? Let’s dive in and look at a few to give you some ideas. Pick any four of the following strategies — or generate your own — and make a plan to implement them as your new four-legged business strategy.
The key to finding success in the mortgage industry — or building on the success you already have — lies in finding multiple ways to generate new business. Just finding new lead-generation strategies isn’t enough, however. You must be able to track and monitor these strategies to know which ones are working and which are not. With that in mind, take the time once a month to review your prior month’s activities and results.
If one of your four strategies is doing well, think of ways to expand and improve upon that stream. If a particular strategy isn’t working, take the time to learn why. Can it be fixed? Can it be tweaked? If it can, try that for a month or two and monitor the progress. If not, replace that failed strategy with a different one.
There may not be one, single, best way to get a hundred loans, but there are hundreds of ways to get one new loan every month. If you find at least four that work, you’ll have a consistent and predictable marketing and referral program that brings in a stream of reliable business so your company doesn’t topple over.
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Brian Sacks – Top Originator
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The NUMBER 1 WAY TO GENERATE NEW BUSINESS?
When I travel around the country speaking and consulting I am always asked what is the # 1 way to generate new business ? When I respond, many of the loan officers and company owners seem a bit confused. Of course, there must be some “fairy dust” or magic potion that they think I simply refuse to share.
THIS CAUSES MANY TO MAKE “THE” BIG MARKETING MISTAKE.
The reality is that there is no such thing as a “best” way to get clients. While there is no one way to get 100 new clients there are 10 ways to get 1 client and I will share some of them here. You should be trying at least 4-5 of them each month.
But before I go into that I want to make sure that you avoid one of the biggest mistakes that has the potential to destroy your career and earnings. Ready?
YOU MUST NEVER EVER RELY ON ANY ONE SOURCE FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
I have seen many originators rely on one or two agents or 1 office for the majority of their production. Over the years, I have also seen loan officers rely on 1 marketing method for generating new business which is equally dangerous.
Think back to the days of faxing. Think back to the phone rooms before the DNC lists. Think back to the days of pay per click on line. Think back to the beginning of Facebook ads.
Yes, I know that’s a lot of thinking but it’s critical that you never ever be a one trick pony with your marketing or your sources of new business.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
I will share some tactics that are working for me right now but before I do let’s just jump into 2 more issues that are important here. In addition to being asked what the number best way to generate business , I am also asked if on-line is better than offline marketing.
The truth is that you should be using both. I am by nature a contrarian. While everyone is now using social media, and on-line marketing my system involves both.
HERE’S THE SYSTEM THAT WORKS BEST TO GENERATE A CONSISTENT FLOW OF NEW BUSINESS !
Have you looked into your mailbox recently? It’s not as full as it once was is it? There are way fewer direct mail pieces right? Well that’s good news if you are now using direct mail since it’s easier for your piece to get noticed.
Here’s how the system works.
1. Target the buyers you want to do business with. This can be renters or folks who have had a credit challenge ( my favorite) like a bankruptcy or foreclosure.
2. Send them a direct mail sequence of 3 pieces of mail. In my case I send them a post card then a letter then another letter. Most originators send one piece of mail and then declare mail doesn’t work. But it’s the sequential mailing that makes this successful.
If you were going to send 3000 pieces of mail it would be better to target 1000 people and send them 3 spaced out pieces of mail than to send one mailing to 3000.
3. The mailing sends them to an on-line website that captures their e-mail and offers them a “FREE REPORT”
4. The Free Report is the entire conversation you would be having with them on the phone and also includes testimonials and answers to their questions.
The report offers them a Free No Obligation Consultation.
5. If they grab the report but don’t call for a consultation we are able to “drip” on them with e-mails that have been pre-programmed to go out until they do call.
THIS SYSTEM IS ALMOST LIKE HAVING A SALES ROBOT WORKING FOR YOU 24/7.
As you can see this system is powerful and once it’s set up can work on auto-pilot generating new deals on a consistent basis for you.
But as I mentioned earlier in this article you should NEVER rely on any one method so here are a few additional ways to generate new business.
Let’s start with referrals from other professionals.
Realtors- Get active in your local Board of Realtors. Teach classes there and show them your expertise. You can also get active in local Builder Associations.
You should also connect with Attorney’s – CPA’s and financial planners. That goes without saying right?
SOME OTHER CREATIVE SOURCES OF BUSINESS YOU MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED.
HOSPITALS– Every city has a number of hospitals. These hospitals always have new residents and specialists coming into town. Get to know the human resource people in these facilities and they can send you business.
CREDIT UNIONS AND SMALL BANKS– Many small credit unions don’t offer mortgages or may have very strict guidelines. Some may offer loans but don’t handle Government loans or Jumbo’s.
As I write this article I just finished speaking to a borrower who was referred to me by their Credit Union since they don’t handle Government loans. You may have the opportunity to also refer car loans, equity lines or other types of loans back to them.
CHURCHES /RELIGOUS GROUPS– Many churches have Financial Ministries who would welcome you and allow you to educate their members. Probably would be a few Realtors who are members you could also build a relationship with.
OTHER LOAN OFFICERS- Be honest, I bet you didn’t think of that one did you? I have breakfast every quarter with my “competitors.” They each do a different type of loan like Reverses, Construction /Perm, 203 k and other specialty programs. I refer them for the loans I can’t do and they refer me.
SOME OTHER CREATIVE WAYS TO GENERATE NEW BUSINESS.
Before we jump into some of the tactics here I want to tell you that I prefer to control my income and my destiny and I hope you do too. The best scenario is when you can generate a lead directly from the consumer, get them pre-approved, and then use that as leverage with your referral partners.
First I must also tell you that I barely graduated high school and do NOT have a college degree. I tell you this because of the little voice that will go off in your head once you continue reading this that will tell you that you can’t do this.
Free Publicity– Become a resource for your local tv, radio and print publications. There is ALWAYS something important changing in our industry and the market itself is always in flux. Contact the media and offer to be their resource and expert.
RADIO SHOW-Every town has talk radio and sports radio stations that will allow you to have your own show. I don’t have room to go into all of the details in this article unfortunately, but I have personally helped over 2 dozen originators with their own successful radio shows.
If you don’t want to have your own show you could always go on as a guest on existing shows that are running in your town.
Webinars and Seminars– Want to meet new realtors, Attorneys’, Accountants? Of course you do! Each of them have an Association that would welcome having you come in and teach on a particular subject.
Instead of meeting these partners one at a time and building a relationship , you could now have a room full of them who already see you as the expert, since you are educating them.
All of these professionals need continuing credit hours so it’s best to check with the Association and get your courses approved. Oh, and each of them also has a publication just like this one. Why not write for them as well?
WHAT ELSE?
A marketing conversation would not be complete without discussing social media. You must have a presence on You Tube, Facebook and Linked In. They are important pieces of a comprehensive marketing plan.
The key to success in marketing is making sure that you are being found wherever your client is searching. At the same time, it’s easy to get distracted by any one of these methods and forget about the others. Don’t let that happen to you.
My suggestion is to pick 4-5 tactics to work on. Make sure they are working and generating business for you before you move on to more. If you choose to do everything you will often wind up overwhelmed and doing nothing. Please re-read that!
Brian Sacks is the president of Loan Officer Tips and Agents Chase You. He has taught thousands of loan officers over the past 30 years how to Close More Loans- Make More Money and Still Have Time To Enjoy Life. He currently is the resident expert for NBC Channel 11 and has a radio show Your Home Your Money on CBS radio 1300 am
You can view his Free Report at www.AgentsChaseYou.com He is also the founder of the Loan Officer Tips group in Linked IN
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Brian Sacks – Top Originator
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