THE LOAN OFFICERS’ INNER CIRCLE
MEMBERS ONLY EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER
LEADING LOAN OFFIC RS TO FREEDOM
ISSUE 4
DON’T LISTEN TO THE LITTLE FELLA ON YOUR SHOULDER ASKING FOR BUSINESS VS. BEGGING FOR BUSINESS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
3 | Create the Ultimate Team 3 | Script of the Month! 4 | Connect on the Internet 5 | What Freedom Means to Me 6 | Hiring & Sales Best Practices 7 | Learning From the Now 8 | Tool Time
All too often, I hear people telling salespeople, “Hey, stop begging for business.” I’ve always thought that whenever you hear this from someone, they’re either a lousy salesperson or they’re trying to sell you something. There’s nothing wrong with someone trying to sell you their services or product, but when they’re approaching it like this, it might be something that will hurt you rather than help you.
When I ask someone for business, I’m confident I can help that person in many ways and dramatically impact their life for the better. To me, when I ask for business what I’m really asking is, “Can I help you in a way I know I can?” In a sense, when I don’t ask, I’m being disrespectful to that person because I know I can enhance their experience. I don’t like to overuse the phrase “change their life,” but it’s something that genuinely does happen, as often as people change my own life. If we’re holding back on making an offer to someone because we’re afraid we’ll be “begging” for business or sounding “too salesy,” we’re not providing the service we know will ultimately help them. In the mortgage industry, if someone doesn’t come to our business, they’ll probably end up with a guy in the big-box banks. The loan officer they start working with might be so worried about hitting their quota that they put their clients into a program that’s not in the clients’ best interests, because they only want to hit their numbers. You and I know we’re looking
Some people don’t realize there’s a big difference between begging for business and asking for a sale.When I think of begging, I think of someone on their hands and knees pleading for their life, like in an old Western. Asking for a sale, on the other hand, is good salesmanship — something we call “closing.” I believe a good salesman thinks of selling as a great thing, while a lousy salesperson views it as unpleasant.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ...
727-787-2275 | 1
... COVER CONTINUED to help these clients and save them from getting involved with unscrupulous people who are only trying to knock out a quota. There are four parts in a sale: traffic, relationship, call to action, and follow-up. Traffic refers to who and how many people you’re talking to about your business. Relationship focuses on how those people feel about you — you could have a decent amount of traffic coming your way, but if you’re insulting them, you’re not likely to get a sale. The call to action is one of the most critical parts of making a sale. You could be getting a lot of traffic, and everyone can absolutely love you, but if you don’t tell them how you can help them, no one’s going to come to you. Finally, follow-up is ensuring that you’re efficient in the second and third parts: relationship and call to action. All companies have bottlenecks in one of these four areas. Overall, about a quarter of any given business fits into each of these steps — 25 percent goes into traffic, 25 percent into relationship, and so forth. Any time someone comes to me with a problem about sales and they tell me they’re meeting with clients and agents but not asking for business, it’s good news. It means what they’re missing is a call to action, which is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest of the four to fix. It’s nothing more than asking for business. I believe the main reason no one likes to ask is the looming obstacle of fear in the form of rejection.When people say no to us in the sales world, they’re not saying, “I don’t like you,” even though that’s kind of what we hear sometimes. It’s a lie the little guy or girl on our shoulder tells us, and it’s 100 percent not true. The reason we’re told no is almost always because that individual doesn’t need what we’re currently offering. Here’s a good example: Not too long ago, I bought a new set of tires for my Jeep. I thoroughly enjoyed the business I purchased the tires from, the tires themselves are spectacular, and the salesman, Larry, was a great guy. Imagine if Larry were to call me up today and tell me, “Hey Carl, you know those big expensive tires you bought? I’ve got the deal of a lifetime. For $100, a fraction of the original price, I’ll sell you a whole new set. You just have to use them for yourself and not sell them.” Unfortunately, I’d have to tell him, “Larry, no thank you” — not because my experience was terrible, but because I don’t need another set of brand-new tires at the moment. If an agent tells us “no,” it just means they’re already working with an amazing loan officer and everything is working great. But you and I know things go wrong all the time, and when they do, we have an opportunity. If their loan officer isn’t asking for business and you are, eventually you’ll win out because you’re the one who’s doing all the asking. A gentleman I saw speak at a seminar once told me something
that has been invaluable to me. He said, “Carl, whoever makes the most offers wins. If you want to make more sales, make more offers. Ask for more business.” So, as you’re having a conversation with someone — I don’t care who you’re talking to, how the first part of that conversation started, or what script you’re using — one of the things you need to say last is, “Can I count on you to give me a call?” Asking this question ensures that you’ll close on time, secure ongoing updates, get follow-ups on your leads, and increase the number of referrals you receive going forward. The last part I want to go over with you is what happens if you haven’t presented a call to action before. A lot of people think that giving a call to action sounds weird and is “too salesy.” However, the first thing to keep in mind is that a call to action only seems weird to the person giving it. For example, if I were to ask you, “Hey, you’ve been receiving these newsletters and have been a member of our group for a while — has it been helping you?” I think most everyone would say, “Well, yes.” I would respond, “Could I ask you for a favor? If you know of another loan officer in your area who may not be part of our group, could I count on you to introduce us so that we can tell them what we do over here? I’d like to help them out, too.” When you hear that, or as you’re reading this, I doubt you’ll sit there thinking, “The nerve of Carl — I can’t believe he actually asked me that. Just a horrible thing for him to do.” In fact, you and many others wouldn’t find it odd at all. You might think, “Of course I’d like to help you out, Carl. You help me, and I’d like to do the same for you.” Even though I know I can help you and other loan officers and that my call to action is received positively, it feels weird every time I present that call to action live. However, for the person receiving that information, it doesn’t sound weird at all. Always remember that the call to action only sounds or feels weird to you, not the person receiving it. So, flick the little guy or girl off your shoulder who’s telling you it’s a bad idea and just do it. Personally, I have never seen any salesman literally beg for business, but I have seen great salespeople ask for it. Be one of the great people. Thank you for reading. I hope all of you have a great month.
2 | mortgagemarketinganimals.com
HOW TO CREATE A “WOW” EXPERIENCE THAT ENSURES CLIENTS AND REFERRAL PARTNERS ONLY WANT TOWORK WITH YOU. CREATE THE ULTIMATE TEAM
THISSCRIPT ISUSED IF YOUHAVEARATE SHOPPER ORARE LOSINGA LOANTOANONLINE SOURCE. Hello Mr. or Mrs. X. This is
6. Create a training outline or manual.Commit to taking the time to follow a training schedule and be consistent.Block out training time in calendars and have existing teammembers help train new ones. We are in a relationship business.Building and strengthening relationships with our team, our clients, and our referral partners is more important in this market than ever before.You stand out when you have strong relationships and treat people like they are important to your business.People will keep coming back and referring people to a team that connects with them andmakes them feel great. When you have a team that is fully trained in an amazing loan process where things don’t slip through the cracks, they know how to connect with clients and referral partners and exude positive synergy on the team. It will give you more freedom,more peace of mind, andmore mojo to go out there, connect with referral partners, and bringmore business in. Would you like me to help you do the training? Go to www. loanteamtraining.com for more info on our next LIVE “Loan Partner “WOW” Training,” or call me at 928-530-2964 for more info.
SCRIPTS WITH SCOTT
Also, I wanted to point out that Box A on the second page of your loan estimate is really the only box to compare apples to apples between mortgage companies. This is where your lender fees are located. Everything else is going to be a cost of closing your mortgage.We disclose the actual taxes and attorney-related fees to you that we get directly from the attorney. I have seen some lenders lowball these numbers just to make the loan estimate look better, but in reality you will have the fees that I have disclosed to you. I would always rather over prepare you for your closing than under prepare you. Let’s look at the competitor’s fee sheet. Do you mind sharing it with me? If so, I’ll dive right in to see what we can do to beat it. Just let them know you care and will be here for them every step of the way.
727-787-2275 | 3
CONNECT ON THE INTERNET HOW TO GET MORE REFERRALS FROM PAST CLIENTS USING FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, GOOGLE, AND YOUTUBE.
This year you are going to get more referrals from your past client database than ever before! The simple strategy below will go hand in hand with all the mailers, calls, and voicemails you are going to send to your clients before the spring market hits.
This is the perfect reminder at the perfect time on the perfect platform. Your past client tags their friend in a comment and you get the call! This works. Here’s how to do it in six simple steps. 1. Download your database of past customers and remove everything but their name, email, and phone. 2. Go to the Facebook ads manager and upload your new .csv file inside the audiences tab. 3. Go to Google Adwords and upload your .csv file to the audiences tab. 4. Run a new Facebook ad campaign that only targets your past client audience. 5. Run a new Google Adwords campaign on the display network that targets your past client audience. (Advanced: Run a second campaign for video ads that will show on YouTube) 6. Check back in two weeks to see how your campaigns are performing. There are four basic types of ads we see working well right now: • Educational videos that give tips on credit, down payment, and mortgage features • Testimonials from past clients • Stories of successful deals you helped clients with • Direct response calls to action Here is an example of some ad copy to help you run your first ad. (The headline is your name and your phone number, and the image is your headshot.) Do you know someone who is getting ready to move or buy their first home? Tag them in a comment on this post, and we
Here’s how it works. All the previous work at follow-up you have done with your past clients has built a phenomenal brand and affinity. They want to send you more business and every referral they can. The problem is … they are just as busy as you are! We need to make sure that when they have a referral to send to you, it actually gets sent! Imagine this scenario. Your past client is out socializing with their group of friends on the weekend. Friend One says to Friend Two, “We’re going to start shopping for a new home.” In that moment, your past client jumps into action, mentions your name, and recommends calling you. Amazing! Unfortunately, it’s not very effective. As you know, the conversation continues, the night wears on, and your name is forgotten among the other topics of conversation. Cue the REFERRAL ACTIVATOR! On Monday morning, your past client gets to work, puts in a solid 15 minutes, and then picks up their phone for a quick scroll through Instagram. Lo and behold, there you are in an ad! The ad gives a simple reminder of the amazing service you provide and specific instructions on how to send a referral by tagging their friends in a comment on the ad.
4 | mortgagemarketinganimals.com
will make sure they get the same exceptional service all our clients get! *We are happy to get on the phone for free and let them know howmuch they qualify for and what rate they can expect to pay. Remember, you can have fun with this. Let your personality shine through and remind people what a great experience they had with you! If you have a question or need a specific walk-through on any of the steps, just tag me in a comment on Facebook.
To your success!
P.S.– Are you interested in having my team build you campaigns that turn online traffic into closed deals?
Book a free one-on-one session, and we will help you map out a plan over the phone and implement it for you if you would like our help. Go to http://www.cigrowthcall.com.
WHAT FREEDOMMEANS TOME
DAMON BURNS (FREEDOM CLUB MEMBER) Freedom, comes in many forms: financial freedom, freedom from duties at work, and the most important to me — time freedom. Prior to joining the Freedom Club, I had assistants, processors, and more to help me in my business. But I was not using them effectively. Yeah, they did some of the things I normally would do, but more often than not I would end up doing the tasks, either because they were doing it wrong or because I was impatient. Since learning the Freedom Club way, I have been able to train my staff more effectively, set the proper expectations, and make changes faster than I could in the past. Prior to the FC, the longest vacation I had ever taken was two weeks, and that was a disaster: I was on the phone every day, checking emails and stressing out the entire time I was gone. Since the FC, I have taken trips with my lovely wife, Donna, and my daughter, Allie — Spain in 2016, Italy in 2017, and a multi-state trip in our motorhome in 2018 — each trip 11-plus days long. I rarely called in, I rarely checked my emails, and I didn’t stress! Things got done each time! Nowadays, I don’t stress when I leave the office like I used to. I know things are getting done without me. I now have the freedom to take time off and spend it with my family doing the things I want to do.
Freedom to me is more time and less stress. It may not always equate to more money, although I am working on that part! These days, time is much more important to me. Spending it with my sons and their families, my daughter who is away in college, my 4 grandkids, and of course the love of my life — and making memories with them— is the true freedom I have today that I didn’t have before.
727-787-2275 | 5
HOW TO CONSISTENTLY HIRE TOP PERFORMERS WITH A PROVEN SCIENCE HIRING & SALES BEST PRACTICES
When it comes to hiring, knowledge really is power — knowing is always better than guessing! However, with most firms, hiring is equivalent to throwing darts or rolling the dice. Typically only 2 in 10 new hires are consistent top performers. The purpose of this article is to reveal a time-tested, scientifically proven approach to hiring that will quadruple your hiring success to 80 percent or higher.
the use of a limited, one-dimensional personality assessment. These are woefully inadequate and deliver a pitiful 20 percent success rate. The remaining 20 percent of the hiring decision is typically based on reference and background checks as well as drug tests. The graphic below explains why most organizations are flying blind and have a significant knowledge deficit and disadvantage when making hiring decisions. An interview is like an iceberg. You are only able to access or see merely 12 percent —what is above the surface — of the complete person. The troubling part is that the majority of surface data is behavioral or personality only. Research conducted by Professor Frank Schmidt, professor emeritus at University of Iowa, revealed the following: “Workplace hiring data from the last 100 years reveals personality tests
The traditional approach to hiring places 80 percent of the decision criteria on interviews, industry experience, or perhaps
6 | mortgagemarketinganimals.com
alone were only slightly more helpful as a predictor of future job performance than looking at just a resume alone.” Unquestionably, it is what is hidden — below the surface — that matters most. Having access to and being able to measure attributes like handling rejection, persistence, drive, and 75 other innate characteristics have an unmatched track record of quadrupling an organization’s hiring success rate. The truth is that 80 percent of the hiring decision must be based on the advanced analytics and rich insights from a comprehensive, three-dimensional assessment. The
remaining 20 percent is based on the alignment of the candidate to your values, if they fit your culture, and how well they perform in the interview. If you are looking to hire Loan Partners, Loan Processors, Freedom Callers, or any other position, you now have access to a powerful, time-tested, “Done-For-You” solution to eliminate your costly, frustrating guesswork and replace it with the certainty of a proven science. To learn more, contact John Pyke at 336-210-0327 or www.thetalentgenius.com.
ASK YOURSELF WHAT’S BEST NOW DON’T FOCUS ON THE NEW OR NEXT
I’ve often been asked, “What’s the newest widget, gizmo, or tool that people can use in their mortgage business to increase the amount of activity at their company?” While I think there is without question a place for great tools, I’ll tell you that two of the most dangerous words in any business are “new” and “next.” When you started your mortgage business, you got your first, say, five loans a month, and you thought, “Hey! I made it!” Our brains like to tell us we’re the smartest person in the world and we can do anything at this point —which is true. I fully believe that you can do anything you set your mind to, but here’s the thing: We’re hardwired to be creative.While creativity is a great tool to have in your toolbox, too much can actually be a bit of a problem, because when you’re smart and creative like you folks are, you start getting a lot of new side projects. Each project you start is like a spinning plate, and the more plates you get, the more anxiety and stress you’re going to feel. When this happens, it’s more likely that they’ll come crashing down because you can’t keep them all spinning at the same speed. I always tell people that it shouldn’t be all about what’s new or next; the question you should be asking is, “What’s best?” One question I always ask loan officers is, “How did you bring in your last 10 loans?” I don’t care whether you’re closing 30 loans a month or one loan every other month —what really matters is what you did to bring in your most current loans. Whether it took you a week or a year to accomplish it, what’s important is how you did it. Some people will say that it was closing on time or going to closing right away, which are great activities, but you have to go further upstream. Ask yourself, “What did I do to bring that loan in for it to close on time? What did I do for that loan to be
able to go to closing?” You have to think back to the original activity that brought in those 10 loans. It might be meeting with real estate agents, delivering a call to action, teaching a class, or social marketing, but no matter what it is, the key is to identify it and do more of it, eliminating any obstacles that are in your way. Once you’ve identified these activities, I want you to evaluate them using four steps. The first is to write down the methods that you used to bring in the loans. Secondly, use a rating system of 1–10 to rank the strategies that energized you the most — 1 being the most draining and 10 representing what you felt most passionate about. The third step uses the same 1–10 scale, only this time measure each to see how sustainable it is and whether you can keep it going on a continuing basis. The last part is to measure how easy the activities are, again on a scale of 1–10. Keep in mind that while you’re rating these, they should be based on your approach and no one else’s. Whichever method gets the highest grade is the one you want to be doing. Instead of focusing your attention on what’s new or next on the strategy side, find out what things you’re doing that are already working for you, and do more of them. You’ll find yourself feeling more energized while enjoying techniques that are sustainable and don’t cause you any additional stress. That, my friends, is the secret to great success in the business. Turn that smart brain of yours off sometimes, and instead of trying to think of new ways to improve your business, let’s do more of what’s already working.
727-787-2275 | 7
USING VIDEO TO CONNECT WITH YOUR REFERRAL NETWORK, NEW LEADS, AND MORE! TOOL TIME: PHONEBURNER
UPCOMING EVENTS: ‘Get More Loans’ Mastermind Event
Feb. 8-10 Dallas, TX
PhoneBurner is a power dialer that a lot of Mortgage Marketing Animals members are getting great results with.Whether you’re an existing user or just learning about it, here’s a quick recap about this time-saving, results- driving tool and some if its key features. WHAT PHONEBURNER DOES: PhoneBurner helps you get through your calls 3-4 times faster, giving you more hours in the day for everything else. It does this by handling repetitive sales tasks so you’re fresh and focused on live conversations. KEY FEATURES: No connection delays — Contacts have no idea you’re using PhoneBurner to dial them. There’s no awkward pause or connection delay. You hear your contacts say “hello” and start talking as if you dialed them by hand. Smart voicemail drop— When you reach voicemail, you can drop a prerecorded message with one click. You don’t have to hang on the line to listen to the contact’s recording or wait for the beep. Just click and PhoneBurner is already dialing the next number. Instant emails — PhoneBurner can also send a one-click personalized
number, or have a live conversation with a real estate agent or a mortgage prospect, you can instantly send the right prewritten email. Workflow automation — Based on the result of each call, the system can move a prospect to a new folder (or different account), apply a note or tag, add the contact to a do-not-call list, set a status, and more. Every call is logged automatically. Reporting & recording— Hold yourself or your team accountable and on target. Pull custom reports and analytics, generate real- time leaderboards, and access call recordings. NEWmortgage template — PhoneBurner is completely customizable to fit your sales process, but they’ve worked with so many mortgage professionals (and Marketing Animals) that they have a super effective and time-saving mortgage template they can load directly into your account. It sets you up with a proven weekly call cadence, button configurations, emails, and scripts, and automatically loads the leads you need to call. Did I mention the template is free? To learn more about PhoneBurner or start a free trial, go to www.phoneburnerfreedom.com.
‘Get More Loans’ Mastermind Event April 5-7 Las Vegas, NV
Freedom Club – Branch Academy (Members only) April 8 Las Vegas, NV Freedom Club Mastermind (Members Only) April 9-10 Las Vegas, NV
email based on the result of the call.Whether you leave a voicemail, get a wrong
8 | mortgagemarketinganimals.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online