Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - Loan Officer Marketing - How to Target the Right Agents
"We all sell the same thing... there's no difference between what one company offers compared to another." Those are the words a manager of a large, but struggling technology solution provider revealed to me.Here's why that view is a problem...When you see yourself as marketing essentially the same technology products and services your competitors sell, you immediately become a "victim" to brutal price competition. You are reduced to a commodity where the company with the lowest price wins.Winning the lowest price war is the least profitable way to build a business. Lowest price attracts the most disloyal group of buyers in any market. I call them "the cheapskates".Second, your competitors can easily cut your legs out from under you, by beating your price. 'Winning' comes down to who's willing to earn less. Even maybe taking a loss.That's why communicating a competitive advantage that makes you the only logica
- Do you prefer working with part time or full time agents?- What type of buyers does the agent work with?
- What type of loan programs does the agent’s buyer use most frequently?
You typically have two objectives in this regard:
- To determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall Agent population.- To create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical Agent of each of these segments.
Next, you'll want to attract people who are a lot like you. Doesn't it make sense if you're going to be spending time and great deal of energy working with particular agents that it's with people you enjoy and like?
The four-quadrant behavioral profile, DiSC™, provides a better understanding of yourself and others. Personal and professional success requires understanding peop
Many organizations believe that one of the biggest challenges they face when implementing a virtual office is managing mobile or remote workers. It is unfortunate that they let this perception stop them from reaping the many benefits of a more flexible workplace.Remote management is not radically different from managing people on-site. The biggest difference is a shift in management style from "eyeball management" (assuming workers are being productive because you physically see them at their desks working) to managing by results.By learning to mange by results rather than activity, improving communication, and nurturing trust between managers and employees the whole organization benefits. In fact, virtual team managers have reported that their overall management skills increased for both on and off-site workers.There are 4 main keys to leading remote employees. These tips for distance management will help you work more succ
...One day he invited an agent to lunch. During the course of the meal, the loan officer told the agent every reason why they should do business together.
By the time they had finished, the loan officer convinced the agent to use his services. At first the agent was reluctent, but eventually acquiesced when they saw the loan officer pick up the lunch tab.
A week later the agent referred a buyer to him. Unfortunately the transaction didn't go smoothly. Although there were several meaningful reasons, the agent didn't want to hear it, and instead, became upset, really upset.
The transaction finally closed, albeit a week after the initial close of escrow. The agent was so disgusted by this, they told the loan officer that they’d never refer another buyer to him again.
It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
Loan officers tell stories like this frequently. In fact, some loan officers refuse to pursue real estate agents because they’ve developed an unfortunate perception - a negative one. Either way, the perception was created from their own personal experiences or they listened to too many loan officers describe their horrific stories.
Don’t let a bad past experience ruin your enthusiasm to partner with agents. Don’t allow what other loan officers have said negatively about agents to interfere with your beliefs. The greatest source of purchase transactions that occur daily are with residential real estate agents. You can’t ignore it. If you do, you're forfeiting too much earning potential.
The Power Of Choice
You have something going for you that’s extremely important when dealing with agents, they need you more than you need them.
See, you can earn income from generating loans from many sources of business. An agent can’t. For a purchase transaction to be completed, an agent needs you to handle the mortgage financing, unless of course, it's a cash sale, but how often does that happen!
This isn’t meant to give you a sudden ego trip. It’s meant to point out the obvious when dealing with agents. You have the power of choice. You get to decide which agents your marketing will attract.
Many Go About Marketing to Agents Wrong
Like a manager hiring a candidate for a job position, you're hiring agents to become your strategic partner. However, like managers who make poor hiring decisions, so can loan officers selecting agents.
To prevent this from happening, what if when you choose an agent as your strategic partner, you implemented the best practices that are used to hire good employees? For example, if you were given the task to hire a secretary, the first thing you would do is put together a list of criteria that the applicant would need to meet. Then you would hold an interview, sometimes several. And finally, you would conduct some background and reference checks before deciding to offer one of the candidates a position.
It’s not that much different when selecting agents. Why waste your time with unqualified agents? You begin with criteria they must meet before having an interview. So when you meet to explore the possibilities of working together, you're speaking with candidates who match your targeted audience.
3 Elements of Criteria
If you agree with the concept of targeting the agents you want to attract to your business, than your first step is to develop some basic criteria that you can use as a baseline for your selection process. Criteria that you can use to instantly screen agents, so you’re only pursuing ones that meet your profile.
Evaluation and criteria is easy to determine. For instance, there's statistical data you'll use to evaluate prospects, called agent demographics. Some examples include:
- Do you prefer working with part time or full time agents?- What type of buyers does the agent work with?
- What type of loan programs does the agent’s buyer use most frequently?
You typically have two objectives in this regard:
- To determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall Agent population.- To create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical Agent of each of these segments.
Next, you'll want to attract people who are a lot like you. Doesn't it make sense if you're going to be spending time and great deal of energy working with particular agents that it's with people you enjoy and like?
The four-quadrant behavioral profile, DiSC™, provides a better understanding of yourself and others. Personal and professional success requires understanding peop
Where’s the Line Between Security and Privacy Issues? Using spy cameras for secret surveillance is not a surprise anymore. There are many examples, like banks, super markets or parking lots. However, one example of secret surveillance is widely debatable. And that is – employee surveillance. Sure, the company has to protect its equipment or intellectual property. However, employee, as every civilian of a modern society has to have rights to his or her own privacy. Let’s look at the popular examples of employee surveillance in restaurants or casinos and decide if monitoring employees is really such a bad and offensive practice. Restaurant Business Restaurants are a savior for those of use who do not have time to have lunch or dinner at home. When we go to a restaurant, we expect everything to be smooth from clean plates to nice service. And of course, we expect to have a tasty meal every
Don’t let a bad past experience ruin your enthusiasm to partner with agents. Don’t allow what other loan officers have said negatively about agents to interfere with your beliefs. The greatest source of purchase transactions that occur daily are with residential real estate agents. You can’t ignore it. If you do, you're forfeiting too much earning potential.
The Power Of Choice
You have something going for you that’s extremely important when dealing with agents, they need you more than you need them.
See, you can earn income from generating loans from many sources of business. An agent can’t. For a purchase transaction to be completed, an agent needs you to handle the mortgage financing, unless of course, it's a cash sale, but how often does that happen!
This isn’t meant to give you a sudden ego trip. It’s meant to point out the obvious when dealing with agents. You have the power of choice. You get to decide which agents your marketing will attract.
Many Go About Marketing to Agents Wrong
Like a manager hiring a candidate for a job position, you're hiring agents to become your strategic partner. However, like managers who make poor hiring decisions, so can loan officers selecting agents.
To prevent this from happening, what if when you choose an agent as your strategic partner, you implemented the best practices that are used to hire good employees? For example, if you were given the task to hire a secretary, the first thing you would do is put together a list of criteria that the applicant would need to meet. Then you would hold an interview, sometimes several. And finally, you would conduct some background and reference checks before deciding to offer one of the candidates a position.
It’s not that much different when selecting agents. Why waste your time with unqualified agents? You begin with criteria they must meet before having an interview. So when you meet to explore the possibilities of working together, you're speaking with candidates who match your targeted audience.
3 Elements of Criteria
If you agree with the concept of targeting the agents you want to attract to your business, than your first step is to develop some basic criteria that you can use as a baseline for your selection process. Criteria that you can use to instantly screen agents, so you’re only pursuing ones that meet your profile.
Evaluation and criteria is easy to determine. For instance, there's statistical data you'll use to evaluate prospects, called agent demographics. Some examples include:
- Do you prefer working with part time or full time agents?- What type of buyers does the agent work with?
- What type of loan programs does the agent’s buyer use most frequently?
You typically have two objectives in this regard:
- To determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall Agent population.- To create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical Agent of each of these segments.
Next, you'll want to attract people who are a lot like you. Doesn't it make sense if you're going to be spending time and great deal of energy working with particular agents that it's with people you enjoy and like?
The four-quadrant behavioral profile, DiSC™, provides a better understanding of yourself and others. Personal and professional success requires understanding peop
Mattress Cleaning? When was the Last Time You Cleaned Your Mattress? Clean a mattress…what the heck are you talkin’ about? Mattress cleaning is a newly developing and untapped business opportunity. Mattress cleaning is an absolute necessity, proven and evidenced over the last decade by the steadily decreasing $billions spent by Europeans annually, on respiratory and allergy medications. Nearly 4,000 mattress cleaning businesses have sprouted up throughout Europe in the past twelve years and continue to sprout up there and in other places such as Australia, the Far East, and the Pacific Rim. Now, North America has become virgin territory for the up and coming, mattress cleaning professional.Actually, Mattress Cleaning is Far, Far, from being a New PracticeFor thousands of years, mattress cleaning had been a routine task typically done each spring and if the weather permitted, again in the fal
This isn’t meant to give you a sudden ego trip. It’s meant to point out the obvious when dealing with agents. You have the power of choice. You get to decide which agents your marketing will attract.
Many Go About Marketing to Agents Wrong
Like a manager hiring a candidate for a job position, you're hiring agents to become your strategic partner. However, like managers who make poor hiring decisions, so can loan officers selecting agents.
To prevent this from happening, what if when you choose an agent as your strategic partner, you implemented the best practices that are used to hire good employees? For example, if you were given the task to hire a secretary, the first thing you would do is put together a list of criteria that the applicant would need to meet. Then you would hold an interview, sometimes several. And finally, you would conduct some background and reference checks before deciding to offer one of the candidates a position.
It’s not that much different when selecting agents. Why waste your time with unqualified agents? You begin with criteria they must meet before having an interview. So when you meet to explore the possibilities of working together, you're speaking with candidates who match your targeted audience.
3 Elements of Criteria
If you agree with the concept of targeting the agents you want to attract to your business, than your first step is to develop some basic criteria that you can use as a baseline for your selection process. Criteria that you can use to instantly screen agents, so you’re only pursuing ones that meet your profile.
Evaluation and criteria is easy to determine. For instance, there's statistical data you'll use to evaluate prospects, called agent demographics. Some examples include:
- Do you prefer working with part time or full time agents?- What type of buyers does the agent work with?
- What type of loan programs does the agent’s buyer use most frequently?
You typically have two objectives in this regard:
- To determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall Agent population.- To create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical Agent of each of these segments.
Next, you'll want to attract people who are a lot like you. Doesn't it make sense if you're going to be spending time and great deal of energy working with particular agents that it's with people you enjoy and like?
The four-quadrant behavioral profile, DiSC™, provides a better understanding of yourself and others. Personal and professional success requires understanding peop
What on earth are ‘Business Burps’ you may be asking? It was a phrase I thought of whilst ... burping. Can you remember as a child when you first let out a burp after gulping a fizzy drink? Wasn’t it a bit exciting (as well as a little bit rude)? Weren’t your parents just a tiny bit embarrassed?Well Business Burps are a little like this. They have the following characteristics: Something unexpected happens following a period of high energy There is excitement There is resentment on the part of competition i.e. that’s not fair There is some embarrassment on our part to exploit the situation The event is likely to be totally ‘left field’ A recent example of this is Borat, the sixth most famous man in Kazakhstan. For those who are not familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen's character visit the official website http://www.borat.tv. This is viral marketing at its ve
It’s not that much different when selecting agents. Why waste your time with unqualified agents? You begin with criteria they must meet before having an interview. So when you meet to explore the possibilities of working together, you're speaking with candidates who match your targeted audience.
3 Elements of Criteria
If you agree with the concept of targeting the agents you want to attract to your business, than your first step is to develop some basic criteria that you can use as a baseline for your selection process. Criteria that you can use to instantly screen agents, so you’re only pursuing ones that meet your profile.
Evaluation and criteria is easy to determine. For instance, there's statistical data you'll use to evaluate prospects, called agent demographics. Some examples include:
- Do you prefer working with part time or full time agents?- What type of buyers does the agent work with?
- What type of loan programs does the agent’s buyer use most frequently?
You typically have two objectives in this regard:
- To determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall Agent population.- To create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical Agent of each of these segments.
Next, you'll want to attract people who are a lot like you. Doesn't it make sense if you're going to be spending time and great deal of energy working with particular agents that it's with people you enjoy and like?
The four-quadrant behavioral profile, DiSC™, provides a better understanding of yourself and others. Personal and professional success requires understanding peop
Do you remember Frank Sinatra’s song…? “I did it my way”Excellent song. I love it.And you know what… some business owners love the notion of ‘doing it my way’ so much that they ‘hold’ onto every aspect of their business – so much so that they don’t allow people to help them to grow.They latterly stop their staff from helping them.They stop their ‘accountant’ from helping themAnd they stop any outside expert from helping them…There may be all sorts of reasons for this behaviour…They may be too proud to ask for help.They may be too scared to ask for help (as it can make you feel quite vulnerable).They may think it’ll cost too much to get help (well if you think education costs too much – you should try ignorance).Or they may think that they don’t have time to look for help… don’t trust anyone to help them, or even worse, they may think they don’t need help.If you want to
- Do you prefer working with part time or full time agents?- What type of buyers does the agent work with?
- What type of loan programs does the agent’s buyer use most frequently?
You typically have two objectives in this regard:
- To determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall Agent population.- To create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical Agent of each of these segments.
Next, you'll want to attract people who are a lot like you. Doesn't it make sense if you're going to be spending time and great deal of energy working with particular agents that it's with people you enjoy and like?
The four-quadrant behavioral profile, DiSC™, provides a better understanding of yourself and others. Personal and professional success requires understanding people's model of the world, and realizing the impact of your personal behavior on others.
What is the DiSC Learning Model™?
It's a nonjudgmental tool for understanding behavioral types and styles. It provides a tool to help people explore behavior across four primary dimensions:
DOMINANCE
Direct & Decisive. Their focus tends to be on the bottom line and results.
INFLUENCE
Optimistic & Outgoing. They prefer participating on teams, sharing ideas, and entertaining and energizing others.
STEADINESS
Sympathetic & Cooperative. They prefer being behind the scene, working in consistent and predictable ways.
COMPLIANT
Concerned & Correct. They plan ahead, are constantly check for accuracy, and build systematic approaches.
In prospecting, you'll be more effective if you understand the different types of communication styles that work best for each. Some prospects are going to want all of the facts and supporting data and may take a long time to make a decision to move forward. Others will want to know how your service will benefit their team or organization and may even make a decision without hearing an entire presentation.
When dealing with demanding situations, loan officers need to be able to adapt their communication style to match the prospect's communication needs. After all, the golden rule has changed to, "Treat others how THEY want to be treated."
Finally, the most overlooked area and reason why loan officers experience so much grief working with agents is because of values. Loan officers are eager to transact business with Agents and commonly overlook if their values are similar or not.
Have you ever had an agent ask you to cut your commission for no apparent reason? Not learning about an agent's values early in the relationship building process and sometimes lead to disaster, misunderstanding and consequences. Values include, but certainly aren’t limited to:
- Are they honest?- Do they have integrity?
- Are they empathetic, especially when everything isn't going smoothly, like a loan not closing on time?
People are creatures of habit and the best predictors of future behavior are the ones demonstrated in the past. If you want to learn about an Agent's values, ask them about past experiences dealing with other loan officers. Listen for stories that get repeated, but with different loan officers. Although there are two sides to every story, when you develop a perception, it most often leads to reality.
Remember, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and acts like a duck…it must be a duck!
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/29467/casualarticles-Loan-Officer-Marketing--How-to-Target-the-Right-Agents.html">Loan Officer Marketing - How to Target the Right Agents</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/29467/casualarticles-Loan-Officer-Marketing--How-to-Target-the-Right-Agents.html]Loan Officer Marketing - How to Target the Right Agents[/url]
Related Articles:
Fierce Conversations - Part III
Encouraging Employee Referrals
Bookmark it:
|