Category Archives: Mortgage Business Tips

Oct 12
0

Is Your Attitude Attracting or Repelling Opportunity?

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On several occasions I have had this dialogue or very similar with new coaching clients:

Client: I’d like to grow my purchase business by developing more worthwhile Realtor relationships.

Coach: Great goal! What are you willing to do to make this happen?

Client: I’m willing to do anything! I’m just not sure what I should do.

Coach : Ok, are you open to some suggestions?

Client: Yes.

Coach: How about looking up listings of top producing Realtors in your area and popping in on their open houses to introduce yourself?

Client:Hmmm, I don’t know. It didn’t work for me in the past and I really don’t want to spend a Sunday going into open houses when the Realtors don’t want me there, anyway.

Coach:Ok. How about scheduling yourself to attend some Realtor Association events or Chamber mixers?

Client: No, because there are always other loan officers around trying to get the attention of the Realtors. Too much competition.

Coach: Well, what if you partnered up with your Title Rep. and put together a presentation on recent changes in the industry and resources that Realtors should be aware of to help them stay abreast of these changes?

Client: I just don’t think that will work. Every loan officer out there is trying to get into Realtor offices and most of them aren’t even interested in what’s going on. All they care about is whether you can give them a referral or not.

Notice any patterns here?

Now if you’re wondering, if I, as a Business Coach, would simply force them to do these things anyway, the answer is HECK NO!

Regardless if something has worked for others, and that could be hundreds of others, asking someone to do something that they have a negative attitude about, will NOT bring about the desired results. In fact, it will create a self-fulfilling prophecy, i.e. “It won’t work.” “They won’t talk to me.” “Nobody will care.”

The good news is that after some attitude re-tooling (yes, attitude is a tool) ANYONE can create new opportunities and successes for themselves, even out of what once was seen as a bag of old tricks.

Brian Tracy, entrepreneur, sales guru and motivational coach says this about attitude:

This attitude of looking for the good in every situation, of looking for the advantage or benefit in any problem or difficulty, is the way that the most successful people think most of the time. Superior people, leaders in all areas, face the inevitable ups and downs of daily life on the way to their destinations by taking complete control of their thinking and their emotions. They do this by choosing the words they use to describe a situation, their tone of voice, and their behavior in dealing with problems.

So, what’s YOUR attitude about getting out there and creating new business for yourself?

Tips to Re-tooling Your Attitude

Here are 3 re-tooling techniques that can adjust your attitude and help you succeed!

A Morning Dose of Positivity –How long has it been since you listened to a motivational series on the drive into work? Download your favorite positivity guru and use your commute, whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour, to accelerate your attitude.

Check Your Attitude at the Door-Every day, before going home from work, take two minutes to complete the following sentence in your journal or notebook: “Because of my positive and willing attitude, today I was able to………” 

Partner-up with a Positivity Pal-Ask a teammate or peer to engage in 30 consecutive days of positivity with you. Agree to send each other one email each day where you communicate one positive experience from your day and a specific wish of positivity to your partner.  It could look something like this:

Dear Daniel: Today I made it a point to get out of my office. I had a very productive lunch with a Realtor partner of mine. It was well worth my time and effort and so much more pleasant than I thought it was going to be. I wish that you have a surprise encounter with someone tomorrow that leaves you feeling GREAT!

Remember, everything starts from the inside – out. Giving yourself the gift of a positive attitude today will directly influence whether opportunity knocks once, twice, three times or ever knocks at all.

Oct 11
0

A Positive Perspective on Networking with Newly Licensed Realtors

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I have been told by many Mortgage Professionals that they, “don’t want to waste their time on, “green” Real Estate Agents, but rather focus on the veterans doing all of the business.”

Now, I’m not one to ever hold someone back from a goal and when you are finally able to get in with a few BIG Agents, it can be great for biz, BUT I do want to share some positive perspectives on the, “New Agent Frontier”…

I have coached many newbie Real Estate Agents and here’s what’s great about being new:

1. You’re open to training, suggestions & ideas.

2. You’re not jaded, resistant, or feel there’s only one way to do business. (That ole, ‘been there, done that’ attitude is non-existent)

3. You’ve got that new career buzz and excitement, which is infectious and draws people to you.

4. In the first year, new Agents are hyper-focused on reaching out to their direct sphere of influence, that is, all of their friends and family, service providers, local businesses, neighbors, etc., in an effort to grow their databases and shake down deals.

PLUS, in choosing to co-market with new Agents, you will get your face out in front of freshly formed databases.

PLUS, PLUS, how you do business together will be more in your control!

Becoming part of a new Agent training curriculum or sponsoring the New Agent Orientation Breakfast Meetings at your Realtor Association on a regular basis are golden opportunities for growing your purchase business.

I say, don’t be afraid to Go Green!

Oct 07
0

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

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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.

Oct 06
0

The 1st Step in Developing your 2017 Business Plan

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Much how Corporations use Mission Statements, Solo Entrepreneurs can define their purpose by developing a Vision Statement.

A vision statement is a story of how you paved your own unique road to success. I personally learned about this extremely powerful exercise from Brian Buffini while at one of his Mastermind Summits in San Diego, CA over 10 years ago.

Now this exercise has become one of the most powerful pieces that I walk my own coaching clients through as part of their business planning process year after year. And, year after year, my clients are always astonished at just how much of what they wrote into their vision statements comes to pass in a mere 12 months.

If you’ve never written a vision statement before here are 10 great questions to answer that will help spark this creative effort. Once you have completed the questions, go back and string it all together into a cohesive narrative and make it the first page in your 2017 Business Plan.

Quick tip before you get started: Write as if you have already accomplished these changes. So, answer these questions as if it’s December of 2017 and you are looking back on all that you have accomplished.

1. What tasks have been taken off of your plate and delegated to someone else?

2. What do you spend 80% of your time engaged in, in order to continue to grow your business?

3. Who are your clients? Describe your “best” client. A client profile, so to speak.

4. What juices you up about starting your work day?

5. What systems helped you get to where you are today?

6. Who are your referral partners today and how did you go about making and cultivating those relationships?

7. What positions have been filled in order to expand your team?

8. What new avenues have you paved to increase your wealth?

9. What worries have been lifted from your mind?

10. How have you celebrated your victories? What “toys” have you purchased? What memories have you created with friends and family? What dream gift did you get just for YOU?

Sep 14
0

How to Keep your Mastermind/Networking Group Attendees Coming Back for More…

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Mastermind groups are formed by professionals for a number of reasons. The three top reasons being:

  1. To generate new ideas and share best practices in an effort to increase revenue and create efficiencies in each member’s businesses.
  2. To establish a space for accountability, goal setting and encouragement amongst entrepreneurs who are not necessarily reporting up to or being pushed by a Manager. (They are the captain of their own ship)
  3. To network and cultivate possible referral relationships with other professionals.

Professionals generally enter into mastermind groups with great enthusiasm and high expectations. However, after six months to a year of meeting, many groups find that the excitement has a tendency to wane and unfortunately, the attendance then follows suit.

Here are 7 helpful tips to help keep your Mastermind group engaged, consistently attended and growing…

Tip #1-Make sure you have a variety of professionals attending who share similar pains. I’ve talked to Mortgage Professionals who have formed mastermind groups made up solely of Realtors or Financial Planners. This may seem like utopia for YOU, but the group will eventually suffer and may even begin to feel that your attempt to put together a mastermind group was purely self serving. Fresh perspectives, unique approaches & creative business models are more easily derived from groups that include different types of professionals. Of course, only include professionals who share in your pains (i.e. generating leads, branding one’s self, team, marketing, effective sales scripts, budgeting, etc.)

Tip #2-Include creative “shake-ups.” Make one of your Mastermind sessions an event that the entire group attends, like a seminar or presentation on sales techniques or social media, a chamber mixer or www.meetup.com event.  Assign chapter readings and group discussion from popular business or self help books, like Think and Grow Rich, The Success Principles, The Tipping Point, or Taming Your Gremlin. Use one session to train on a particular product, system or new technology the group is interested in. Spend one session watching a Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield or Wayne Dyer DVD.

Tip #3-Establish a rotating guest speaker list. Assign each mastermind group member a month that they are responsible for inviting a guest speaker. The guest speaker could be a physical fitness expert, a life or business coach, a social media guru, a holistic healer, a local top salesman, a Manager sharing his/her team leadership secrets, a branding expert, a local blogging superstar, etc.

Tip #4-Share the knowledge. Post your agenda, guest speakers’ names, take-aways and “aha” moments and newfound knowledge from your mastermind groups on your blog, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles. Encourage everyone in the mastermind group to do the same.

Tip #5-Don’t be a venue hog. Find other locations, other than YOUR office, to hold your mastermind sessions and change it up from time to time. I had a client hold one at a local park with great success. You can also go to your local library, favorite coffee house, wine bar or bistro, community center or recreation center, pastry shop or even one of your group member’s residences.

Tip #6-Introduce the 20 Questions game. When utilizing “group think” to help solve a member’s current issue, dilemma, roadblock, bottleneck, conflict, etc., have each member ask that person questions about their current situation, not to exceed 20 questions.  No one is to suggest or tell the person what to do, nor make statements or share their opinion. They are simply to ask questions to help the one individual experience a breakthrough and to do so without comparing, assuming one person has the solution, or inadvertently creating tension or conflict in the group.

Tip #7-Survey the group. Never assume that your members are satisfied with the current format, agenda, guest speakers, direction and/or vision of the mastermind group. You know what they say about “assuming.” The best way to keep your mastermind group alive and kicking is to be open to changing things up, trying new things and most importantly, listening to the V.O.M. (voice of the mastermind)

The power of the mastermind comes from each member’s unique experiences, knowledge and willingness to share. As the leader of the mastermind, you owe it to yourself and the group to be picky about whom you choose to invite as a member. Set the bar high!  Find individuals who are smarter, more creative, more innovative and more financially savvy than you are.

It’s like Jack Canfield once said, “You are the average of the five people, outside of your family, that you hang out with the most.” Take the time to find the “right” members and choose to raise your average.

Sep 05
971

Don’t Isolate. Collaborate!

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Sep 03
0

Coaching Moment-Digging into Time Management Challenges…

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I want to share a dialogue I just had with a client of mine as I feel that the message is valuable for anyone, at any time in their career and is a topic that comes up more than any other in my coaching sessions…

Client:

Actually I have created a time-blocked calendar many times before but failed most of time and have revised my calendar time and time again…The schedule is not the problem, the major issue every day is having too many other things that are happening around me to make me deviate from the schedule.   I just need to build a cushion and fail safe way to get myself on track.    I know once I am on track, I should be able to accomplish the most important things that are necessary to build my business and not just being busy.  

Coach V:
Time Management is 50% scheduling and organization and 50% choice. You can have a perfect calendar, but if you do not make good choices from day to day, a perfectly time-blocked calendar becomes a moot point.You must be conscious of every decision you are making from day to day. We have to examine all the things that are taking up our time and re-directing our attentions that are low, pay-off, like personal distractions, getting in too late, holding on too long to bad leads or files that simply aren’t going to fly, not utilizing our team members, etc.I’ve had many clients elect to track their works days in 15-30 minute increments  for a period of 5 straight work days and jot down on a pad of paper what they are doing in those increments to reveal what is wasting their time or taking up too much time. This is a great exercise to be able to see, once and for all, where all your time is going so that you can focus in on the biggest time-wasters and tackle those problems, FIRST. What people discover is that much of their time-wasters usually boil down to one or more of the following:

  • Starting day too late-poor work schedule
  • No plan for the day
  • Allowing too many personal interruptions, distractions or team member distractions
  • Having too many leads and no system to handle those leads
  • Having too many leads and no Assistant to help
Aug 22
0

Win the Day, Win the Week!

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Neuroscience has uncovered that the simple act of thinking, IS an act of creation.

If you’re not up on your neuroscience reading then perhaps you are familiar with those principles found in such books as, “The Secret,” “Think and Grow Rich,” “As a Man Thinketh,” or  “The Power of Positive Thinking”… and the list goes on and on.

Either way, the point is, in order to create a successful week, we must first become conscious of our daily actions and thoughts, and focus our attention on the victories, no matter how small they might seem.

By taking notice of these, “victory gems” and shining them up with our thoughts, rather than scoffing at them or ignoring them entirely, we can actually create more victories and enjoy winning EVERY week.

Aug 08
0

Stuck in a Mental Rut?

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Need to re-wire your brain? Try these easy and effective mindset changers and get out of the mental rut you’re stuck in.

-Choose a mindset book that moves you (I loved, Get Out of Your Own Way by Robert K. Cooper)

-Write & read positive affirmations daily.

-Work ON your business, not IN your business, at least once a month.

-Stop watching the news.

-Get rid of, “analysis paralysis” and just do it!

-EXERCISE-even just a little bit.

Pick one or do a little bit of all six ideas. It’s a start and a start is all we need to begin to gain the change we envision.

Jul 28
0

20 Questions to Spice-Up your Realtor Interviews

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The following Realtor Interview Questions can create a double-WIN for you and bring big value to your Realtors.

First, schedule 30-minute coffee or cocktail meetings with your favorite 2-3 Realtors and ask them these questions and take note of their answers. Their responses will help you to gain insight about your Realtors that will strengthen your relationships and help you to uncover new ways to be a resource to your most important partnerships.

Second, gather the answers to these questions and use them to send out to other Agents in your database as a way to share knowledge/experience/wisdom to possibly help them avoid unnecessary pitfalls and gain success that much faster in the Real Estate arena.

Side Note: I had a client who actually recorded his interview with a top Agent and put it on CDs that he then sent out as a value-add to all of his Realtors, which was extremely well received.

I imagine doing these interviews via video, too, and uploading them to YouTube!

20 Questions to spice-up your Realtor Interviews

  1. Now that you’ve been a Realtor for “X” number of years, what were those things that you envisioned about getting into this business that have held true? What things have not held true?
  2. What has become tedious or energy-sapping for you in your Business?
  3. What has become the most rewarding and/or energizing aspect of your business?
  4. What was your first 6 months like in the business? What were you struggling to get your arms around? What challenges did you face?
  5. Did you ever have a time or a moment when you thought you’d get out of the business? What was going on at that time? What kept you holding firm?
  6. What is the most embarrassing encounter you’ve had as a Realtor? That one boo-boo you made that you wish you could erase from time.
  7. What were some of the things you were told to do to “make it” in this business when you first became a Realtor? What of those items turned out to be true and what did not pan out from that advice?
  8. What’s the most creative thing you’ve done to market yourself?
  9. What is one thing that you spent money on to further your business that you now wish you hadn’t invested in? What is one thing that you would spend that money on again and again?
  10. What was the most fun project you ever undertook as a Realtor to either market yourself, meet new prospects or further your personal growth?
  11. What habits are you still struggling to fully embrace that would help you to grow your business?
  12. What habits have you mastered that you are proud of that have helped you in your business?
  13. What special niches have you focused on? (i.e. Short sales, Senior focused special designation, company employee relocation, etc.) Did any one special niche work better for you than another?
  14. Who do you look to when you need to brainstorm, share ideas, get creative, etc.?
  15. Who have you looked up to in the business? Why do you think you look up to them? What is it that you wish you were doing that this person has done?
  16. Do you consider anyone a mentor to you?
  17. How have you invested in your own personal and/or business growth over the years?
  18. What resources do you use that are a must in your business in your estimation?
  19. If you had to start your business from scratch all over again, what would you do differently? What would you avoid? What would you have implemented sooner, etc.?
  20. What is your business vision? WHY do you do what you do every single day? What is driving you or motivating you to press on?