customer service

Aug 25
0

Gone Off on a Customer Lately?

By | Mortgage Business Tips, mortgage coaching | No Comments

goneoffonacustomerIn this current environment of overwhelming volume, lack of support, long hours and pushy, sometimes unsympathetic customers, there’s a good chance you may have blown your lid unintentionally a time or two.

It may have been justified. It may have felt good. Heck you may have even received an apology after you, “set them straight.” BUT it is important to recognize that those interactions with your customers that are putting you over the edge, like the question, “Why is this taking so long?” OR the annoyance of receiving 3 texts, 4 voicemails and 2 emails ALL from the same person in a period of 15 minutes, or the frustration of wasting hours on the bossy rate-shopper who also happens to be a repeat customer who you thought was loyal to you, are ALL the same challenging situations you’ve always faced in this industry.

The only thing that’s really changed is YOU due to the insane workload and unusual work environment.

How you’re attending to your own physical and mental health during these intensified levels of stress will directly affect your ability to effectively solve problems and respond rationally to challenging situations. Some basic best practices that can help you immediately decrease the effects of stress are: getting a solid night’s rest, staying hydrated, eating nutritious meals and snacks, exercise and short breaks in order to decompress.

No double about it, regaining your patience and your poise will always get you farther than putting on those verbal boxing gloves, so next time when confronted with a tense situation, try one of these three options for harnessing your cool and defusing heated interactions with customers and referral partners.

  1. Don’t take them all!-You can say, “no.” I’m sure there are several deals right this second you can recount where you knew in an instant that it was going to be ALL bad. Trust your instincts and give yourself a break. Your sanity is worth passing on a few.
  1. Don’t immediately respond/react-When faced with an accusation or rudely posed question or insult, wait 5 seconds to answer and say, “I hear what you’re saying, let me put you on a quick hold while I get to my office and sit down so we can discuss this, give me a minute.” And then place them on hold and get your head straight and take a couple of deep breaths. You’ll be amazed at how this short interlude will diffuse not only your anxiety and upset, but your customer’s as well.
  1. Repeat what is said-Most times in the heat of the moment, people will say things without much thought. It’s important to mirror back to them what they just said, so next time you’re hit with a judgement statement, insult or accusation, wait 5 seconds, then reply, “What I just heard you say was,…. In mirroring back what was said, the person will likely be surprised and even a bit ashamed of their words and will rephrase their question or comment and adjust their tone.

Remember, even when you’re right, blowing your top or, “setting somebody straight” adds zero value to your day or to your business, plus it’s the only thing the person will remember about working with you and worse will be the ONLY thing they tell other people about their experience with you.

May 02
0

Client Dumped you for Another Lender? Read This!

By | Mortgage Business Tips, mortgage coaching | No Comments

Getting dumped for another lender happens, but responding strategically to the client’s reasons for making the switch is just as important as your script when engaging with the prospect for the very first time.

The majority of the population loathes change and feels quite insecure and hesitant when faced with switching gears for any reason. Once the change is made, the smallest glitch or bump in the road will cause most people to regret their decision and wish they hadn’t made the change at all.

In the case of obtaining a mortgage, there can be plenty of moments of uncertainty and insecurity for the borrower, so the likelihood is when you do get dumped for another lender, there’s a real possibility of wooing your prospect back if you just gracefully and strategically keep the door open and follow-up.

Just recently I helped a client of mine write the following email script to send to her straying customer. In this particular case, the loan officer had given advice, consistently checked-in and been an ear to this prospect’s personal challenges over a significant period of time, yet the prospect decided to go with her credit union based on, “convenience.”

Ouch! Right?

Of course, this is just one way to respond, BUT what I like to remind my clients when responding to rate shoppers or getting dumped for other reasons is…

1.    You are NOT desperate-Let ’em go gracefully and keep the door open.

2.    You are the BEST choice regardless of their reason.

3.    Remember, the prospect has NO idea what they should really be worried about, like actually making it to the closing table and CLOSING.

Feel free to adopt, edit and use the following script as you see fit.

“So happy to hear things in your personal life are just about wrapped up for you. Onward and upward, right? Congrats!

Please do keep in mind that not all mortgage services are the same, so if for any reason things start to go sideways with the process or communication with your credit union, do not hesitate to contact me ASAP. Starting the loan process is easy, but getting to the finish line and closing your loan is where experience, solution-based thinking and perseverance is a must. I can honestly say I’ve saved dozens and dozens of deals from falling apart in my 20+ years of lending. 

I’d love the opportunity to help you into your bright future with a brand new home. Again, if anything changes, just call me immediately. I’ll make sure to check in on you in a few weeks to see how all is coming along.

Take care out there and stay in touch.”

Jun 14
1

Is Your Business Truly Customer Centric?

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

customercentricMortgage Professionals must keep a keen focus on their customers at all times. If they don’t, the outcome has a direct and immediate effect on their pocket books.

The assurance of a regularly generated paycheck, is simply not part of the Loan Officer package. Every dollar derived is in direct correlation to the Loan Officer’s individual efforts with their customers.

Your answers to the following, highly-specific, customer related questions may be a tough pill to swallow if you’re not ready to tell yourself the 100% truth. However, I believe, if you’re up for the challenge, your answers to these questions will lead you to take actions that will surely have a positive impact on your pocket book in 2017 and beyond.

If you happen to be a Manager, this is a GREAT list of questions to share with your sales team and ask them to submit their answers anonymously (encourages more real, candid answers). The answers will help you to pin-point training, tools and other resource needs you can develop to help your team to improve their performance.

For example if you discover that the majority of your team could not adequately answer question #24, you could conduct a sales call or meeting on how to write a Unique Value Proposition.

  1. Do you do what you say your going to do BEFORE you say you are going to do it?
  2. Do you take a complete application, ask your clients the right questions and get the appropriate information/documentation up front?
  3. Do you know your program underwriting guidelines?
  4. Do your underwriters think you know your underwriting guidelines?
  5. Do your processors respect you?
  6. Do the processors in your office refer their family and friends to YOU?
  7. Do the title/escrow reps think highly of you?
  8. Do you go ahead and do a loan for a client even though you know it is not the best thing for them?
  9. Do you return ALL your phone calls?
  10. Do you return all your emails?
  11. Do you do the things you least want to do first?
  12. Do you complete your “things-to-do” list for the next day before going to sleep?
  13. Do you prioritize your tasks and work on them in their order of importance?
  14. Do you surf the web when you still have calls or tasks to complete?
  15. Do you complain about not having enough business?
  16. Do you keep in contact with all your clients?
  17. Do you have all your clients, prospects and referral partners in a database (ACT, etc…)?
  18. Do you make customer acquisition a priority?
  19. Do you have systems in place to optimize your clients’ mortgage experience?
  20. Do your clients always know where they stand and what they need to close their loan?
  21. Do you withhold information from your clients and let them know “the real story” towards the end of the transaction?
  22. Do you read at least one book a quarter on business development, communication, ethics or the mortgage industry?
  23. Do your clients refer people to you?
  24. Do you have a compelling reason for someone to do business with you?
  25. Do your referral partners and clients think of you as an expert?
Jan 03
0

Pave a Positive Path Toward Prosperity

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

One of the toughest things to do as a solo-entrepreneur is to tell yourself the big, bold and sometimes, ugly TRUTH 100% of the time. The second toughest thing to do is to ask yourself questions, that telling yourself the truth about, will create real and positive change.

As sales folks, Mortgage Professionals must keep a keen focus on their customers at all times. If they don’t, the outcome has a direct and immediate effect on their pocket books. A regularly generated paycheck, regardless of effort, focus or customer satisfaction, simply is not part of the Loan Officer package. Every dollar derived is in direct correlation to the Loan Officer’s individual efforts with their customers.

The following, highly-specific, customer related questions may be tough to swallow if you’re not ready to tell yourself the 100% truth. However, I believe, if you’re up for the challenge, your answers to these questions will lead you to take actions that will surely have a positive impact on your pocket book in 2017.

This exercise is also an excellent one to share with your team of Loan Officers if you happen to be a Branch Manager.

  1. Do you do what you say your going to do BEFORE you say you are going to do it?
  2. Do you take a complete application, ask your clients the right questions and get the appropriate information/documentation up front?
  3. Do you know your program underwriting guidelines?
  4. Do your underwriters think you know your underwriting guidelines?
  5. Do your processors respect you?
  6. Do the processors in your office refer their family and friends to YOU?
  7. Do the title/escrow reps think highly of you?
  8. Do you go ahead and do a loan for a client even though you know it is not the best thing for them?
  9. Do you return ALL your phone calls?
  10. Do you return all your emails?
  11. Do you do the things you least want to do first?
  12. Do you complete your, “things-to-do” list for the next day before going to sleep?
  13. Do you prioritize your tasks and work on them in their order of importance?
  14. Do you surf the web when you still have calls or tasks to complete?
  15. Do you AVERAGE more than 30 minutes of television a day?
  16. Do you complain about not having enough business?
  17. Do you keep in contact with all your clients?
  18. Do you have all your clients, prospects and referral partners in a database (ACT, etc…)?
  19. Do you mine your customer database?
  20. Do you have systems in place to optimize your clients’ mortgage experience?
  21. Do your clients always know where they stand and what they need to close their loan?
  22. Do you withhold information from your clients and let them know “the real story” towards the end of the transaction?
  23. Do you read at least one book a quarter on business development, communication, ethics or the mortgage industry?
  24. Do your clients want do business with you again?
  25. Do your clients refer people to you?
  26. Do you have a compelling reason for someone to do business with you?
  27. Do your referral partners and clients think of you as an expert?

 

Oct 07
0

Why does it feel as if my borrowers are behaving like bad children?

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

When your borrowers seem to be challenging your every word, not doing as they are told and kick and scream throughout the process, it’s not because of some genetic disorder, like you may think. Rather, the likelihood is that their challenging demeanor is rooted in and stemming from a fear. Fear can be paralyzing and it can also cause us to behave combative and dare I say, “bratty” at times.

Here are two techniques to help you to help your customers move past their fears so you can get them to their end goal and ultimately secure a client for life. Plus, possibly save yourself some migraines along the way.

Name the Fear

As soon as you feel someone is having a tough time moving forward, instead of asking your customer what might be holding them back and inadvertently putting them in a defensive position, suggest a few reasons why some of your past customers have experienced cold feet or reservations at one point or another during the process.

Explain how you were able to help them through that fear so they could meet their ultimate goals. Basically, you are sharing a case study, a cure and most importantly, empathy!

People respond to real-life examples, ones that mirror their own set of similar circumstances.

Show Me Don’t Tell Me

Be ready to present your case as to why and how your customer should move forward with your requests in a professional and visual manner. I’ve seen some wonderful examples of this with my own mortgage coaching clients who combine loan comparison presentation tools from various sources like, MortgageCoach.com with various media applications like Jing Project, Camtasia, Go To Meeting, and You Tube.

Using quick instructional-type or friendly reminder-type videos regarding the most common sticking points for customers while going through the loan process is another terrific way to get ahead of the fear and snuff it out before it even has a chance to rear its ugly head.

Statistics show that 65% of the population consists of visual learners. This is more proof why you simply can’t afford to assume that your customers, “got it” when you told them the 1st time, the 2nd time or even the 3rd time.

We are a nation of voyeurs who feel most comfortable and less fearful, when we can see our options, rather than just being told or sold-on our options.