In this new section we will explore some rules of selling in detail. Many come from a book from Murray Raphael entitled "52 Ways You Can Achieve Sales Success." While these rules really apply to almost any type of sale I will be sharing with you the personal experiences I have had with these concepts as they apply to the mortgage industry.
Know these three ways to do more business:
1. Have more customers.
2. Have them come in more often.
3. Have them buy more when they come in.
It is very rare that I disagree with something Murray says but his first item is a clear example. In fact it is so wrong that I could write an entire 10-page newsletter just on this topic. You see I think we are all totally brainwashed. When you start as an originator you are told to go out and bring in business. Regardless of what split you work on the only way to make real money is to close a bunch of loans. Right?
Then you go to seminars, listen to teleclasses, read industry publications and once again you are shown more creative ways to do more business. Right? WRONG!
Man oh man is that wrong. Yes, that is what you are being taught. Yes, you might think you need to do a lot of loans to make any real money. But that is what leads to frustration and burn out. Take it from me. I actually left the business after my first few years because I was burnt out. It was really ugly.
When I came back I knew I had to figure out a way to do better so I looked around for ways to close less loans and make more on each one. In any business there are the low-end discount places that work off volume and the higher end places that work off of profit margins and sell less at higher prices.
Which one do you want to be? In my case I choose the latter so I can work less and make more. The way to do that is to pick a small niche, become the expert and let everyone know about it.
Yes, you will lose some deals. No, you will no longer be able or even want to be all things to all people. But the bottom line is you will make more money and have a better quality of life.
The second idea of having them come in more often is sometimes hard for us to do. But if you are like me and you are working with a niche than often times your customers may need to refinance at some point. If that's the case why not trigger your planner the way I do to follow up with them in six to12 months and offer them a refinance.
There is nothing better than a 2 for 1- double the production and double the income with a client who already likes you. Of course (you know there is always a but, right?) in order to get this second loan you must first stay in touch with this client.
I do this with a monthly newsletter that not only allows me to keep in touch with my past clients, and current prospects and referral sources, but also has devices in it for these folks to easily refer me to their friends and family. Always be thinking about referrals!
This same idea applies to Realtors. Every deal you work on has a listing and selling agent. Stay in touch with both. Communicate with them by sending the weekly status reports I use in the formula. They'll love you and they will continue to send you business. By the way, most of us ignore the listing agent, which is a big mistake, so start communicating with them too and add them to your database. They do sell homes as well and when they do you want them sending those deals to you.
The third and final idea is also one that is largely overlooked by most loan officers. In fact at my one time only event I spent a whole hour just on this topic. I don't have a lot of room in this issue for long explanations so maybe I will cover it more extensively in a future article but let me at least give you one big idea you can start using today.
Contact an alarm company in your local area. Explain to them that you would like to set up an arrangement where you can refer business to them and ask them if they have a referral or affiliate arrangement. Here's how it works. The alarm company will happily pay you a fee to refer business to them. In most cases they will even give away a free alarm system so they can get the monthly income from the monitoring service. The company I work with gives me $300 per client.
I had a certificate printed up that offers my clients this free alarm system and gives them all the contact information to redeem it. I give this to my clients when we first make application and then again at the closing table. About 60% or more usually redeem this certificate. So I have now given my clients what appears to be an expensive closing "gift" and have earned more on that client than just my commission.
It is a win-win for everyone involved. Again, think of ways to help your client and earn a few extra bucks on each deal.
Dedicated to Having Buyers Chase You!
Brian Sacks
Brian Sacks is the CEO of
