THE LOAN OFFICERS’ INNER CIRCLE
MEMBERS ONLY EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER
LEADING LOAN OFFIC RS TO FREEDOM
ISSUE 5
OR SOMETHING ELSE? DO YOU NEED MORE LEADS?
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
2 | The 7 Core Beliefs of Very Successful Loan Officers 3 | Script of the Month! 4 | Your Investments Reveal Your Values
5 | What Freedom Means to Me 5 | Spring-Cleaning Your Data 6 | To Build a Fire
7 | Your PAALs 8 | Tool Time
In our mortgage business, there are five things we track with great accuracy; we track leads, conversations, credit pulls, pre- approvals, and locks. We’re focused on measuring how many leads we get in, how many of those leads turn to conversations, how many of those conversations turn into credit pulls, how many of those credit pulls were pre-approvable, and how many of the people we pre-approve end up with a locking or contract with us.
measure where we are with each one of these steps, so we know where we’re succeeding and where we might need some help. CONVERSATIONS Our first step is a conversation, and I mean a true conversation, not emailing or texting. I’m talking about getting someone on the phone and having a chat — that’s a conversation. So, if you’re getting leads but are unable to get conversations with them, where’s the problem? Most likely, there’s an issue with follow-up. A lot of people make the mistake of calling once or sending a message, but that’s definitely not enough. Some people ask me how many times they should follow up; the answer is constantly. Following-up with your leads is an ongoing thing.
I would say that the bottleneck from those five runs is about 20 percent each. But, if I were to ask loan officers what or where their bottleneck is, almost all of them would point to their leads. In reality, leads cause the bottleneck roughly 20 percent of the time, just like the other steps. We want to
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... COVER CONTINUED Another possible issue in creating those conversations is the source of our leads. Online leads often have a lower conversion rate into conversations, especially if the leads were tricked into opting in. Maybe someone posted an ad that expressed false facts, something we highly recommend not doing. CREDIT PULLS Once leads start to come in and turn into real conversations, you may start facing low credit pulls. What’s the problem now? The answer is simple: scripting. If you have leads that are engaged in a conversation with you or your employees but aren’t resulting in credit pulls, there’s something going wrong with your scripts. This can be one of the easiest problems to identify and face, as it only requires a little help in training with scripting. PRE-APPROVALS You’ve taken all this time collecting leads, starting conversations, and getting credit pulls, only to find out that they’re not pre-approvable. This problem occurs when the source of the leads is bad. There are two stories I’d like to share with you that describe this perfectly. Once, when I was at a flea market, I couldn’t help but think about how many leads I would get if I had a booth set up there. So that’s what I did; I set up my own booth and collected a lot of leads. Unfortunately, I soon learned that quantity is not the same as quality. Even though I got lots of leads and plenty of conversations that led into credit pulls, none of them were pre-approvable. I learned the hard way that flea markets aren’t the best place to find our next buyers. My second story emphasizes the importance of tracking how many of the credit pulls are pre-approvable for each referral
source you work with. I had this agent who I thought was excellent. I was getting constant business from her and spent a lot of time and resources following up on the leads she sent my way. Then, Diane pulled me to the side and told me, “You know, we’re not closing any of the leads this realtor is sending over.” I was astonished! But, when I sat down with her and Diane and started going through and looking at the tracking, it confirmed Diane’s story. This agent was a great source of leads that turned into conversations and credit-pulls, but none of her clients were pre-approvable. If any issues come up with your pre-approvals, you should check your source. If I’m facing problems like these, I look at where and what the sources are, not just for the whole of the company, but individually, as well. LOCKS Now, if you’ve gone through all these steps but still aren’t able to get these people into contracts, what’s left? Well, if you’re getting pre-approvals but no locks, you’re likely not following up with those pre-approvals. Again, it’s just like when you have a lead with low conversation rates: You need to follow up with your leads. If you’re having trouble turning your pre- approvals into locks, just take a look inside this newsletter. I’ve written another article specifically focused on this issue. Thank you all for taking the time to read this article, and have a great month!
THE 7 CORE BELIEFS OF VERY SUCCESSFUL LOAN OFFICERS Often, business success doesn’t come down to tactics and strategies but, instead, your core beliefs. Having worked with elite producers from all over the U.S., I have learned that there are some core beliefs these very successful loan officers hold that make the difference in their performance and productivity every day. First, they believe success comes from service. Service is about keeping your clients and agents informed about what’s going on and what they can do to help expedite the loan process. It means being available when needed, even if it’s not during banker’s hours. It means making sure your clients have what they need and want throughout the deal, which may include having one of your team members
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assigned to handle their file, so it’s not just you personally providing stellar service. It means having a person answer your office phone every time it rings. It means no unwanted surprises in the deal — communicate, communicate, communicate. Second, elite producers are generally willing to do what others can’t or won’t do. For example, they find a way to make more connections, have more face-to-face meetings, attend more local networking events, and cultivate more relationships and referrals every week. Whether that’s through a marketing strategy that opens doors, sitting down and making calls, or using social marketing creatively, these loan officers go above and beyond to create the results they want in their business. Third, the depth of their network is more important than the breadth of it. That might sound like the exact opposite of what I just said, but read both of these points carefully. They do what it takes to meet people, and they go deep in those relationships. People have to know you care if you want them to do business with you. Fourth, they know that leadership is, in a sense, ordained by others. Leaders do not stand up, proclaim themselves
a leader, and simply become one; they need followers. Without followers, without a team, and without a tribe, a leader does not exist. Leaders earn their title every day. Smart loan officers build their teams and communities successfully when they remember this fact. Fifth, elite loan officers pay it forward. When they get a referral or get handed a great opportunity, they acknowledge where it came from and pay it forward somehow. When they participate in their community, they feel good about what they do and who they help. Generous people generate. Sixth, no conformist has ever made history. Very successful loan officers push the edges of the status quo to do what’s needed. They follow their nose to go outside the box and do the right thing for their clients. Lastly, they choose themselves first. This is not about being selfish! Instead, this about not waiting for anyone’s permission to be successful or to take the right actions for their team, their clients, their business, and their families. Wealth is a byproduct of doing the right things in the right order based on the right mindset. By knowing they deserve the rewards of their hard work, they experience them.
SCRIPTS WITH SCOTT
‘SHOP ME ON GOOGLE’ SCRIPT The following script was developed by one of our Freedom Club Members, Craig Bland. Many of our members have experienced great success with it. “Good morning, I appreciate you asking about my rates and, to be honest, that is a very, very important question. As a consumer, one of the greatest tools available to you is the internet. In fact, Google posts interest rates daily, and with that information being so readily available, I have to be very competitive to stay in business.
Being in a very competitive market, my rates, points, fees, and so on are very much in line with everybody else in the industry. If we weren’t, we would not be so successful, and you would not have been recommended to me by either a satisfied customer or a real estate agent. Once you are under contract, you can be assured that I will give you the best interest rate available.” I find that by giving clients permission to go shop me on the Internet, they very rarely do because I’ve given them the mindset that I have the best rates.
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YOUR INVESTMENTS REVEAL YOUR VALUES CARL WHITE, CHIEF OFFICER OF COOLNESS
Where attention goes, energy flows. That’s a fact. If you’re not paying attention to something, it is irrelevant or less significant than whatever has your attention. But have you considered what that really means? I talk to loan officers every day who share what’s not working in their businesses. Then, when I ask what they’re doing, I hear things like, “I’m waiting for my referral partners to help me,” “My laptop has been on the fritz so I can’t follow my leads,” “I don’t know how to set up an online app,” etc. Where is the investment in those scenarios: In the referral partners or in waiting? The leads or the laptop? The online app or lack of personal technical expertise? Now, I’m not saying that these aren’t real-world concerns. It’s just that when we dig a little deeper, we can see that what the loan officer is focusing on is showing what they value, and, in these cases, it isn’t the things that will move their business forward. In our business, we work with investments all the time. It’s important to stop and think about where you are investing your energy, time, focus, and resources. If you spend tons of money to update your kitchen but your curb appeal is a disaster, are you really looking to sell your house? Or, if you have a great credit score and want a house but go gambling every weekend to “hit it big” and lose your down payment money to the casino, then are you really focused on your goals? Of course, we are holistic beings, meaning that every part of our lives affects every other part. You can’t say you are abundant when you are counting your change for gas money. The same thing is true for your business. You can’t say your business is successful when you aren’t investing in it. Luckily, you can understand why you aren’t investing in your growth by looking at what you’re currently investing in. So, are you investing in relationships or just reaching a number for weekly conversations? Are you investing in processing systems or in technology that you’ll put to work when everything else is perfect? Are you investing in the right people to help you or are you willing to wait until you have the money to do it?
I’m not saying you should overextend yourself without a plan. I’m also not saying that what you’re doing is wrong. All I’m looking to do here is raise the question: What are you really invested in? Here is a quick exercise that might help you see your values more clearly. Grab a piece of paper and write out your top values. Write these fast, in five minutes, because those will be what’s top of mind for you. What do you value? Write it down. Once your five minutes is done, if you’re like most people, you’ll have somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to fifteen values. Now, on the left side, rank them in the order of priority, with one as the most important to you and the highest number as the least important. Once you’ve done that, on the right side, rank them again but, this time, rank them how they’re actually showing up in your everyday world. This is where the magic happens because you may find some surprising gaps. For example, if “Family” is your No. 1 ideal value, but you work late hours and weekends, or you’re single and want that to change but you’re not socializing, or it’s been a few years since you’ve visited your folks, “Family” might show up as No. 8 in your real-world values. That’s a big gap, and it shows that you are not investing in what you believe really matters to you, OR what you think is really important is not what’s really important for you. Look for gaps of three points or more as clues to where you might want to check yourself. In this business, people and relationships are the backbone of what we do, and that includes the relationship you have with yourself. You need to understand your values to know who you are and how you want to grow your business. Where you spend your attention is how you know what you really value. The same holds true for your clients, by the way. If you have a client who says they’re ready but isn’t working to clean up their FICO, or a referral partner who isn’t referring, you can see the misalignment between what they’re saying and what they’re doing. Their “investments” (time, relationships, resources, results, etc.) are showing what they value. Now these might be temporary setbacks, but they are also a
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WHAT FREEDOM MEANS TOME
CRM TIP OF THE MONTH SPRING-CLEANING YOUR DATA
Make sure your data (contact & loan records) is clean before you import it into your CRM. Inaccurate or incomplete data can not only hurt your business but also be a serious headache once imported. It’s much easier to clean up data in a spreadsheet than in a CRM. Think about the marketing material you plan to automate through your CRM. Whether it’s an email, post-close cards, or a flyer, all of the information is pulled from a contact record. If the contact record has an incorrect first name, last name, or email address, your marketing material will look unprofessional and sound impersonal. It is always important to review these fields before importing. Think of it as the Marie Kondo method of tidying up your data. We suggest reviewing your spreadsheet and checking for duplicates. Remember, bad data in, bad data out.
EDDIE FOOSHANG (FREEDOM CLUB MEMBER) To me, freedom means options! Having the option to choose is liberating. If I wanted to, I could take a month off and go to Egypt without missing a beat. Or, I could choose to grind it and be in the office for 12 hours if I want. I have the option to get on the phone and take 1003s, but I can also delegate that to my LP if I want. The main difference between being a business owner and being self-employed is vast yet unnoticeable. If your business stops because you are not in the office, you are self-employed. However, if your business keeps running even when you’re not there, then you can consider yourself a business owner. It’s all about freedom!
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A NEW APPROACH TO MARKETING TO BUILD A FIRE
One of my fondest memories of my father was his love of camping. We had a huge green army tent that could sleep our whole family of seven, plus assorted cousins and friends. We camped regularly at several locations in Michigan and Central Florida, where I learned about hiking,
The aforementioned sources are not just low hanging fruit for your business; they are ripe fruit that has fallen off the tree and are just waiting to be picked up. “But don’t I have to call referral partners and book face- to-face meetings to develop relationships that generate referrals?” Honestly, that depends. There are marketing strategies that are appropriate for each stage of business development. If you’re new to the business (or just returning) and have no relationships, pipeline, or database of closed loans, then yes. You need to be banging that phone. But if you’ve already got the “fire burning” with established relationships, a full pipeline, and a growing database, shouldn’t you build on that instead of starting a new fire? “Does marketing to my pipeline and database actually work?” clients often ask. Our client Brandon increased his business by 633% in 12 months, just by marketing to his pipeline. Jay went from five closings to 20 closings per month, just by marketing to his database. “Are those results typical?” Of course not. According to the 80/20 rule, if 100 loan officers close 250 loans in a month, just 20 of them will close 200 (or 10 each). That means that the other 80 “typical” loan officers will close the other 50 between them (or 5/8 of one loan each month). Then again, the typical loan officer doesn’t market to their pipeline or database. They are too busy starting new fires that go out before they get hot. The reason this “inside” marketing works is that when it is done properly, it doesn’t look like marketing. It looks a lot like helping, and it is much easier than starting new relationships from scratch. So, do you want to build your business the hard way or the easy way? If this resonates with you, why not schedule a free strategy call? We’ll help you take an inventory of the business assets you have and map out a blueprint to help you move forward by using what you have to get what you want. Who knows? You may discover that you have a burning fire you didn’t even know about.
canoeing, exploring and, of course, fire building. I really loved it when it was cold and we all sat around the fire to stay warm and enjoy one another’s company. One of our early lessons was pretty straight forward. What do you do if you want more heat? Do you carefully build on the fire you already have, or start a whole new fire from scratch, hoping that the combined heat of them will somehow warm your campsite? The first choice is the obvious answer. Yet, when I interview loan officers across the country to help them map out their success strategies for the next 12 months, an alarming number of them choose the second. What do campfires have to do with the mortgage industry? A fire is certainly an asset to your camping experience. It serves more than one purpose, both providing warmth and acting as a center of activity. You need to expend time, energy, and resources to create it, but once it is going, it’s easy to maintain. Much of the same can be said of the marketing for your mortgage business. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen loan officers walk right past a blazing fire in their marketing in order to try to start a brand new one. I’m frequently on the phone with people who are closing five, eight, 10, 12, or even more loans per month and never reach out to their existing pipeline or their closed loan database for more business.
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good way to open a conversation to find out what’s really going on. That kind of conversation, based on values and honesty, is what builds (or lets go of) relationships. And if it means letting go of a relationship, that’s okay. You want to be surrounded by people who are a fit for you and your business (unless you’re ok with superficial relationships). That’s the slippery thing about values: There is no right or wrong. There is only clarity and whether something is working for you or not.
So, pay attention to where you are putting your focus to learn about what you really value. If it isn’t what you think it is or what you want, you can focus differently going forward. If this caused you to think or get new insights about your “investments,” I’d love to hear about it below. Thanks in advance.
CLOSING MORE DEALS FROM LEADS YOU ALREADY HAVE
DON’T FORGET YOUR PAALS
PAAL stands for “Pre-Approved and Looking.” It refers to people that we’ve already pre-approved, who are now looking for property. As everyone in the mortgage business knows, once you pre-approve someone, they typically go out looking for houses. Loan officers sometimes get so busy going after the next lead that they ignore the leads they already have. Ignoring the people we’ve already pre-approved to get more people to pre-approve can cause a number of issues. We spend so much time and money getting that lead and building trust, but it’s even more than that. To get the lead, we first have to spend a lot of time on the referral partner. So, once they’ve sent us a lead, and we’ve done our due diligence and built trust with that lead, ignoring them to look for more leads is a huge waste of time and money. Another problem that can come up with ignoring pre- approvals is PAALs disappearing. If that happens, it’s probably because they’ve found another lender, or worse, another lender and another realtor. If a realtor keeps sending you leads, only to have those leads buy from someone else after you pre-approve them, then they’re probably going to start referring their leads to someone else. As loan officers, we have to follow up. Realtors have to trust that they won’t be losing sales by sending their leads to us. They’re relying on us, and being attentive with their clients will build a beneficial relationship for both of us. We like to call our PAALs every Thursday. Thursday works well because it gives us an extra day before the weekend to tweak things if we need to. Once we call our PAALs, we
then call the real estate agent to let them know we followed up with that person. This is a good way to build trust and demonstrate that you’re dedicated to cooperating. This is far from the only issue with PAALs, however. Sometimes they can drag out their homebuying process so much that it starts to hurt you and your realtor. One example of this is PAALs who are still on the fence. They’ll look at property after property without ever deciding on one. When you’re having trouble getting clients to commit, future casting can help. Future casting is where you get your prospect to envision themselves with their desired result. In this case, we’re getting that PAAL to imagine themselves already in a new home. When I call them up on Thursday to touch base about how the house hunting is going, I’ll ask something like, “Refresh my memory, what’s the purpose of the move?” If, for example, their purpose is to get a pool home, then we can speed up their decision by having them envision that pool. The goal is to get them to visualize what they’ll be doing with that new home, whether it’s swimming, having barbecues, saving money, or downsizing. There’s an old saying that demonstrates this idea well: Wherever your head is, your butt will soon follow. If we can get their heads into that house, it’s in their best interest, and they’re not going to bite off something they can’t chew, they’ll get off the fence all the faster.
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TOOL TIME: LISTING BOOSTER
UPCOMING EVENTS: ‘Get More Loans’ Mastermind Event Aug. 16–18 Nashville, TN
Listing Booster is a streamlining product with simple features that comes with an extremely effective, easy to implement, 20-minutes-a-day plan for loan officers. When you get Listing Booster, you’ll engage the 20/20/20 strategy first. 20 minutes a day for 20 days will secure you 20 producing agents in your Listing Booster account. We show you how to find them, what to pitch them, and how to get them to “think of you first.” After that, you’re on the 20-minute daily marketing and engagement plan. In this plan, you’ll simply be clicking a few buttons and making four calls to four of your producing agents each day. This results in meaningful engagement with all 20 of your agents every week. On your calls, let them know what you’ve done to help them market their listing. Then,
hit them with the Listing Booster script. “Before I let you go, are there any pre-quals or pre-approvals I can help you with today?” Doing this will help you become top of mind and start getting referrals from your 20 agents very quickly. The Listing Booster 20-minute daily plan also helps you accrue leads. We update how many purchase leads our users have generated by using our 20-minute daily plan every single day right on our home page for you to see. To date, our users have generated well over 1 million purchase leads. By joining Listing Booster, you’ll be able to start participating in lead generation immediately. MMA Members URL: ListingBooster.com/corporate/register/ animals
Freedom Club— Branch Academy (Members only) Aug. 19 Nashville, TN Freedom Club— Mastermind (Members Only) Aug. 20–21 Nashville, TN
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