loan officers

Oct 31
0

Consumer Habits Have Changed So Too Must your Business Plan

By | Mortgage Business Tips, mortgage coaching | No Comments

Business is good, right? The phones are ringing, people are buying homes. You’ve got more refinances than you can shake a stick at and things don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. But like any great run, at some point, the sprint will turn into a jog and the jog will turn into a slow walk and the last thing you want to have happen is to allow your business to suddenly stall and cramp-up!

While Mortgage Professionals have been enjoying the influx of business, things have changed overnight that will affect HOW they go about earning new business from referral partners and direct consumers in the immediate future.

Here’s what’s changed:

  1. The number of people engaging in new technologies has sky-rocketed due to the simple fact that they were FORCED to in order to earn a living, remain healthy, learn and be educated and maintain relationships with loved ones.
  1. Consumer sensitivity and sensibility can be likened to a hairpin trigger and because of this, marketing, advertising, scripting, messaging is being scrutinized & scrubbed of any language and imagery that may offend.
  1. The amount of time people are spending on social media has doubled, if not tripled during the Pandemic, creating more opportunity than ever before to expand one’s brand and marketing footprint exponentially.

What was once a “go-to” business earner for you may now be null and void. Where you’ve been marketing yourself may no longer have as many visitors and viewers. What was once deemed, “an offer of value” to your consumers may now appear trite or worse yet, offensive.

 

“People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.”

–Brian Halligan, founder & CEO of HubSpot

What does this all mean? OPPORTUNITY!

Keeping  these changes in consumer attitudes and habits in mind while developing your 2021 Business Plan, will put you well ahead of the curve, create huge separation between you and your competition and ensure you keep your pipelines percolating with new business throughout the new year.

First, I highly recommend reading the following article which is rich with statistics regarding social media, digital and Internet trends and can greatly aid you in determining how and where to market. Global Social Media Research Summary July 2020

Next, here’s a great list of various business growth methods & modes, as well as, marketing items you may want to revisit, revamp/re-tune, or re-imagine when building your 2021 Business Plan:

Learn to enjoy the discomfort of CHANGE!

Remember, your business is always changing, so being flexible, accepting change and tapping into your creative genius is simply part of being a successful entrepreneur. You’ve done it before and you can do it again!

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”-George Santayana

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.

Oct 24
1

Managing Loan Officers on the Cusp of Greatness

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

accountabilityDo you have loan officers on your team that you were sure were going to knock it out of the park, but instead do a whole lotta bunting? Do you scratch your head because outwardly they exhibit the right attitude, confidence, knowledge and willingness to take action but their pipelines reflect something else?

Before you get too frustrated and head over to H.R. to discuss an exit strategy for these folks, put on your Coach hat instead and form a Power Production & Accountability Group!

Here’s an example of how to immediately kick-start a successful Power Production & Accountability Group:

  1. Invite your select loan officers-Send out a recurring meeting invite to meet twice a month for a period of 6 months. Express in your email invite that you feel they are on the cusp of greatness and you want to help push them over that edge and unearth solutions for what may be holding them back from hitting their goals.
  2. Communicate expectations- Each loan officer who agrees to participate in the Power Production & Accountability Group will NOT focus on excuses, frustrations & complaints, but rather they will focus on solutions, accountability, sharing, possibility and opportunity.
  3. Ask for commitment-Agree to become a part of this group  ONLY if you can commit to the meetings, leave your frustrations/excuses at the door and be open and willing to exchange ideas and try something new.
  4. Share your agenda-The agenda should include, but does not have to be limited to the following: brainstorming networking strategies, sales strategies, building referral relationships and marketing ideas, follow-up strategies & scripts, hands-on training for tools & technology, time management best practices and organizational tips, product & industry knowledge.

Important tips to ensure the success of your Power Production & Accountability Group:

  1. Everyone shares, everyone participates, including YOU.
  2. Prepare and send out your agenda 2 days prior to each meeting.
  3. Select a “scribe,” someone who is willing to capture all of the ideas shared and send them out to the group via email immediately after the meeting.
  4. ALWAYS have the participants state a goal out loud that they’d like to achieve prior to the next meeting.
  5. Encourage the group to encourage each other in between meetings.
  6. Keep the meeting to a max of 90 minutes!
  7. If your participants are remote, make sure to utilize a tool, like www.gotomeeting.com.