To succeed in the mortgage industry, get used
to meeting people. Referrals
from people
who know you and business from Realtors will make up at least half closed loans. And no matter how good you
are, if people dont have some reason
to trust you, theyre not going to call.
Real estate
is a contact
sport, said Realtor Barbara Anderson.
She and her husband Ron are the owners and instructors of Success Real Estate Academy in Prescott, Arizona. According to Barbara Anderson there are some
specific steps you
can take
that will keep you on
their radar and building revenue:
Be really, really good at what you do. According to Anderson, this means communication, competitive rates and consistent excellence. While Anderson and her colleagues cant by law refer their customers to you, they do provide them with a list of three mortgage professionals. You have to be a star to get on that list. Nothing else will work. I tell
my students that they need to get out and interview them,
she said of choosing which mortgage professionals theyll work with.
Offer classes. Anderson says that she often has mortgage professionals speak at her school. Many of them will end up on the lists of the fledgling Realtors. Focus on subjects that enhance their professional
lives. Topics that tap your
expertise to show them how to
save money, make
more money or attract more clients are all winners.
Join a Realtors
association in your area. Like marketing frequency, the more times Realtors and escrow professionals see you, the more likely it is that youll come to mind when their list
comes up for review. If you can, go the extra mile and offer to host a meeting. According to Anderson, mortgage professionals prove that theyre helpful, congenial and accountable by the way they show up amongst their peers. Its just being there for them, she said.
Grow your supply of testimonials. Another way to tap the power of who you know is to collect testimonials from your clients. Most people will lend far more credence to another persons description of their experience with you than with your own assertions of excellence. Put the testimonials on your website, your brochures, your mailings and even on your business cards. A time-saving way to collect testimonials from all of your clients is to program an email request into your customer relationship management (CRM)
software. That way, testimonial gathering, like all of the other tasks automatically managed and executed with your CRM, is a zero-work,
high-yield proposition. If youre
still shopping for CRM, consider one geared specifically for mortgage professionals.
Taking advantage of service opportunities and association memberships has skyrocketed the revenue and credibility of more than a few mortgage professionals. According to Ron Anderson, its the most important thing they can do after establishing professional excellence.
Their reputation
makes a big difference, just like Realtors and doctors, he said.
Clate Mask is president of Infusion Software which produces MortgagePro CRM a complete lead management and client tracking system that helps mortgage professionals double or triple their closed
loans by automating and improving their marketing and client management. For more information or to take a
test drive, please visit
http://infusionsoft.com/mpcrm/