I got a call from a loan officer in Lansing, Michigan recently and he called to tell me that he was an avid reader of my newsletter but was giving-up and throwing in the towel. He said he was burnt-out, tired of chasing realtors, and dealing with customers that play games. He had had enough!When I asked him what lead to his decision, he said that he had only been in the industry for about a year, and had to learn everything himself along the...more
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the idea of approaching "for sale" properties (both FSBO and MLS listed ones) as a lead generation strategy. Here is a quick excerpt from the article entitled "Double Dipping Just Like The Real Estate Agents Do":---------POSTCARD MARKETING IDEA"Here is a quick marketing idea you can use immediately to generate new business. Send a postcard to all the new property for sale listings in your area (whether they...more
How many times have you answered the phone and heard "What's your rate?" from a customer? I guarantee it comes-up on every phone call, usually within the first 30 seconds of the conversation. Customers ask it because they don't know any better. To them you are just like every other loan monkey out there. They don't care about you, they just care about THEIR interest rate they're going to get and that's all that want to know. Anything else you say is in one ear and out the other.But you the loan officer, don't care about the rate. Your concern is trying to figure out the customer and seeing what loan program you can get them into. You care about their property type, loan amount, FICO score, etc. Then after all this is said and done, the rate then becomes of INTEREST to you. ;-) But the customer doesn't care about all that!!! They just want the rate! Now won't you just give it to them, so they can hang-up and call someone else? You know what will happen POOOOOFFFF! THEY'RE GONE!One of the best ways I've found to steer a customer off of rate rate rate is to ask open-ended questions. No longer am I just asking about the property type and loan amount, but rather asking...more
You have three choices you have in getting your mortgage site up and running. To recap, they are:1. Go it alone and design it yourself.2. Hire a web design firm to custom build a mortgage site for you.3. Use a ready-made instant website from a design company that specializes just in the mortgage industry.My suggestion was that your time is far too...more
Let your customers know that the best compliment they can give you is a referral.Here is a sample follow-up letter (I pulled out of my personal files) you can use with customers who have recently closed a loan with you. You'll see that it congratulates them on completing the process, re-emphasizes the benefits of doing business with you, and asks...more
For sale by owner properties, or FSBO's as they are commonly refereed, are some of the best places to look for new clients. If done correctly, they can provide a steady stream of interested and motivated new home purchasers. And at very little cost.As a loan officer, your goal is to become the mortgage source that the FSBO seller will refer interested home buyers to, to get pre-qualified. And don't forget that the FSBO seller may be looking for a new property as welland with that a new loan. If you work the arrangement properly, you can get loans coming from both ways.Here are some of the best places to locate FSBO's in your area:* The real estate classified section of your local newspaper.* The Want Advertiser Magazine, and other small local buy/sell classified ad magazines. To give you a sense, a similar magazine is the Auto Trader, but there are ones out there that deal specifically with items and property.* Drive around the neighborhoods you know are hot markets.* Ask real estate referral partners such as realtors (they look for FSBO's too, so may have seen one), appraisers (most FSBO's will an appraisal report to justify a price), real estate attorneys (FSBO's...more
As a mortgage broker, one of your main advantages is that you have access to many different lenders and hundreds of loan programs, which you can offer your customers. Having too many lenders to deal with--however--can become one of your biggest...more
FSBO's are a great source of new customers for you, and are an often overlooked demographic. Put yourself in their shoes. (If you've ever tried to sell property yourself, you know what I mean). FSBO's are:* An un-tapped resource that many loan...more
One question I get asked a lot is "How do I approach Internet mortgage leads?" As you may already know, I generate 90% of my business directly from these types of leads and have found them a great resource for several reasons:* When you call...more
In the past few issues, we've been discussing net branches, and the advantages and disadvantages of this type of loan origination. I covered the reasons why loan officers decide to go out on their own, and what makes one net branch better than...more
One of my goals is to offer you valuable information that will immediately impact the bottom-line of your mortgage business. What I find lacking in many of the "professional" trade publications out there, is real-life ACTIONABLE information you can...more
One question I get over and over again from loan officers is "Are internet leads a good source for new business?" My answer always is "Well, yes and no. Proceed with caution and please be careful." What I about to share with you today, is the REAL...more