Welcome to part 1 of a 3 part mini-series. In today's article, we are going to discuss every single reason top producing real estate agents are not giving you business. We are set to cover some ground breaking and career changing topics, so grab onto to something and hold on tight.
Ok, so I kid a bit with that last statement, but getting back to business, let's pull out our microscopes a bit and take a look at the current state of affairs. How is business? Are you, like so many other loan officers across the U.S. feeling the sting?
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Are you finding appraisals to be more unpredictable than ever due to falling house values? How about your approval ratios? Are you tired of hearing "no" on files that just 10 - 12 months ago would have been approved without a hitch?
Many loan officers have attempted to build a more stable and reliable source of leads for themselves in light of these trends. Unfortunately, many have been subject to quite the rude awakening! As a Marketing coach and trainer for loan officers, I speak to 175 - 200+ loan officers all across the U.S. each and every week.
While I've heard nearly every complaint in the book, here is a quick look at the most common:
- Realtors are not interested in what I have to say
- They are all working with someone already
- They all seem to have 'in house' lenders already
- My realtor partners never have any leads
- It's too much work
- They expect too much of me
- I get hung up on more often than not
Ok, I have to ask... Did you see even a little of yourself in those complaints? Have you ever felt any of that frustration that comes with working hard for little or no results? If so, pay close attention to what is coming next!
Reason #1
There's a reason you're not closing more loans with real estate agents. Contrary to popular belief, it is not because "marketing to realtors doesn't work." Wipe that thought out of your mind, because that type of thinking is dangerous. In fact, there are plenty of loans officers I recently trained, closing an extra 4, 5 even 6 or more loans per month just from real estate agent referrals. Would an extra 48 - 72 closings per year be nice?
Just last week I spoke to a loan officer who tried unsuccessfully for 4 months to get more than 1 loan from a group of agents he was targeting. In just 45 days of changing his focus, and making small changes to his approach, he is now at 5 referrals and counting.
See, the key lies in these 3 truths:
1 - You are not selling loans, so stop trying
Let's transport ourselves inside of the brains of our target market: real estate agents... Ready? Here we go:
"Ring ring! Ring ring! Oh geez... I have 8 minutes to finish responding to these 2 emails before I have to do a walk through. Oh well, could be an ad call, better answer it. Hello?"
Now let's listen to the conversation, and what the agent is thinking. LO stands for loan officer and REA for Real Estate Agent:
LO: Hello, my name is ______ and I'm a loan officer with ______....
REA: NOT ANOTHER ONE!
LO: Anyway, I'm calling you today because I wanted to tell you about our latest loan programs that allow us to...
REA: 6 minutes and 30 seconds before I have to go. I still have to reply to the 2 email requests, oh, and I need to sign off on the Henderson file, and I hope I don't forget to bring that copy of the contract I promised to drop off at the title company...
LO: I also wanted to talk to you about some ways I can help you build some business. If you have any customers who need my services, I'd like a chance to show you how great my service really is...
REA: Pfff!!! Yea, like I haven't heard that one before. Does this guy really think I'm just going to hand him a customer? I don't know this guy from Adam!
Ok, let's stop here for a moment. Unless this agent were truly desperate for a loan officer, was there a single good reason why he/she should give this caller a referral? Really, give this some thought. I've worked with thousands of loan officers all across the U.S. , and I would guesstimate that at best, less than 2% of them had anything that even resembled a differentiator when we first met.
Why is that? Making phone calls such as this one will all but guarantee your failure, or at the very most, assure that only the most desperate of real estate agents respond in a favorable fashion. (You know the kind... Those without any referrals to give anyway! Not what you are looking for I'd assume)
The most important point to take away from this article is this: "You must give proper respect to what it is you're selling. In order to do this, you must first know what it is you are selling!" In other words, something small such as a candy bar, or a magazine subscription can be sold door to door, in a grocery store line etc.
However, how would you respond if a random stranger knocked on your door and asked you come on out and buy his car. It would seem kind of odd would it not? Why? Because most of us understand that larger sales that impact our wallet, our lifestyle or our career require a sales process. The keyword here is "process."
Most loan officers seem to be so desperate for loans these days that they have decided to just skip the whole "process" thinking they can just call up a bunch of realtors, throw a few canned lines at the agents (That they have heard hundreds if not thousands of times already), and then get angry and rant that "marketing to realtors doesn't work" when it all blows up in their faces.
Remember, you must respect the sales process! You are insulting your target agents without it. Assuming that someone's business is so mundane that he/she can just throw their hard earned clients at a random voice on the other end of the phone is certainly not the best way to gain confidence and credibility.
(Which is another side tip for you. Stop trying to sell everything over the phone! It will rarely succeed. Use the phone to dangle your bait a bit, get the nibble, and then get out... I've seen to many lo's talk themselves into an appointment, and then right back out of it)
Rather, they will immediately peg you as just another inexperienced loan officer suffering from commission breath. (I didn't make that line up, I promise! This came directly from the mouth of a top producing agent I interviewed years ago)
Keep in mind you have interrupted this persons day, they are most likely quite busy, and chances are good that you are at least the 3rd loan officer to call and ask for business today. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm an easy going guy, and even I would not be at my friendliest in those circumstances.
Going into such a situation knowing the odds, and the likely scenario, wouldn't you want to be prepared with an excellent high conversion strategy that is packed full of value added statements and true benefits/ differentiators? My vote has always been an extra loud "YES!"
To wrap up item #1 on our list, let's consider 1 more thing. When you take the loan officer out of the picture, 99% of the loans are the same! Money is money... We all pull money from more or less the same lenders, with similar if not the same terms. The 1 primary factor that is different though, is you!
New lenders can be signed up; new terms can be negotiated... Sales letters and flyers and lead programs can all be purchased by your competitors. The 1 and only thing that cannot be duplicated is you.
You and your skill-sets are what make you unique. By using an approach such as the one detailed above, you are shortchanging yourself and pretending to say: "I'm no different than anyone else! But pick me anyway!"
Not the message any of us want to give off right? Now that you know what factors need to be addressed, are you prepared to take action today, and to do something about it? Do you take your career serious enough to take decisive action right now, and not a second later? - Continued in Part 2
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