First off, per Mark Madsen’s suggestion I have upped my social networking presence. I think I answered one post on Zillow and 2 weeks ago a client popped up that told me he had stopped looking for a home over 1.5 years ago. Turns out he started looking again, was approved by 2 other mortgage companies but saw my post on Zillow and sent me a contact from there. Long story short – we’re closing his loan next week!

Now, the flip side of that story is “Shame on me!!!”. Shame on me for not having an automated program to keep in touch with folks like this potential buyer. I’m lucky that he remembered me (I’d like to think it’s all of the value and education I provided but let’s face it- I’m lucky he found me).

That feeds into one of my other easy goals for the year: Getting some automated marketing out to my existing and past clients and more for my referral partners. I had to be honest – I was AWFUL at this. Again, I was lucky that my clients really feel strongly about me because I do get a lot of referrals from past clients but how many opportunities did I miss because I didn’t have an easy, automated program in place.

So yesterday I powered through and started with an easy exercise. I entered my database of closed loans from this year into Platinum Plus (I actually figured out how to do that on my own – it was pretty easy!).

On the very evening that the initial ‘Thank You’ and ‘here’s the info you should expect over the coming months’ email that went out I had 3 responses from clients with ‘Thank you’ emails of their own. That may not seem like a big deal to all of you but this is something that I’ve been trying to do for years and the elation of getting it done and seeing instant results was great. Maybe it’s just me.

Now, the reality is that 4 people on my list were already being emailed by other Platinum Plus members. While I was very excited to get the program started I was also more than a bit upset that some of my great clients and referral partners are already spoken for by someone else. I KNOW I missed a refi and boy am I ticked – I really did a lot to help this couple buy a home when their loan was declined elsewhere and they went with someone else for their refi. Grrr, well guess what? That was MY fault. You’re welcome to the LO that got that deal – I really rolled the red carpet out for you on that one by not keeping in better touch with them and you deserve it. Lesson learned.

Leave it to me to identify the pain in this situation when there are so many positive takeaways. That’s just my process. If I only look at the silver lining I know I won’t adapt and learn. The hard stuff is what motivates me so I tend to focus on that.

I’ve also started a letter campaign for every client. A 3 year program where I only need to set and forget it once. Mark Green’s TopOfMind.com is a great place to set something like this up. Holiday cards were a simple click and the 3 year card program is the same. Done.

Will any of this replace the calls, the personal approach, etc.? Definitely not. But I only have so many hours in the day and this really helps leverage some additional contact that is paying dividends already. And guess what? I barely know what the heck I’m doing with this stuff. That’s how easy it is!

It took about a day of work that I needed to carve out so I did a lot of this while on conference calls and I’ve already gotten the responses to show for that work – I love instant gratification

So if you are putting things like this off my suggest is – DON’T. It’s very little effort, money and time but should yield some great results.

Thanks again to the Marks and Mr. Egeberg for reminding us about our BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious GoalS)!!!

Now go get some easy, effective work done – and start with the low hanging fruit!

As the market starts to contract and loan officers seek other opportunities for revenue – I truly believe one of the untapped gems will be listing agents.  Here are a few reasons:

1.  If someone is selling their home, there is a good chance they will be buying another one.  Sellers often become buyers.  Opportunity for business!!

2.  A good listing agent will get sign calls and leads from their listings.  If you develop a strong relationship with these agents you can work as a team to turn that listing into a lead factory.  Opportunity for more business!!

3.  By helping to support the marketing of a property – open houses, financing flyers, etc. you are developing a bond and proving useful to the Realtor and showing them that you are interested in THEIR income.  That means a lot to the right partners.  Opportunity for more business!!

4.  Listings give you the opportunity to market creative financing options and programs.  Even if a buyer doesn’t make an offer on that property you should have marketing materials at each listing.  Some will take that home and some will call you.  Opportunity for more business!!

5.  Ladies and Gentlemen – although I am listing this one last, I have found this to be THE single most profitable reason to work closely with Listing Agents in the current market . . .

Over the past 3 months I have gotten 6 applications from Listing Agents because the mortgage company that was providing the financing did not do their job correctly and the LOANS WERE DECLINED!!!! 

I work hard to let the Realtors in my area know that I am an expert in the field.  I am thorough and I try to stay on top of all of the regulatory and guideline changes.  Most importantly, I communicate industry changes to the agents.  They know that I know what I’m doing.

In 5 of the 6 examples above, I was able to get the loans approved and closed (or I am scrambling to do so by year’s end as we speak).  One of them was a gonner.  Very poor upfront application process by the original loan officer and a VERY large car payment that needed to be sold in order for the borrowers to qualify.  Why that was never communicated to anyone is a mystery to me.  The sellers, the agents, title company, etc. etc. were all moving forward under the idea that the clients were approved and no one knew that the lynch pin of their approval wasn’t even disclosed.  Since they were unable to sell their car the deal fell through. (P.S. I really tried with this one and worked for a week to see if I could find a car dealer that would buy the car from them but no one was interested).

A few key points for anyone looking to swoop in and save the day:

a.  Make sure you know what you’re doing!  It does no good to market to this type of emergency client if you aren’t able to articulate and quickly dissect the reasons that a loan did not go through.  Being able to identify the issues quickly will help you and the agents avoid a lot of wasted time if there is no hope of a loan going through for obvious reasons. Prolonging the agony does no good for anyone.

b. Make sure that you set up a system to deal with these last minute rushes.  Is your processing and underwriting in place for quick turnarounds?  If you want to be known as the ‘go-to’ loan officer for these types of clients then you have to have great communication with your support staff.  The secret is to get the rest of your loans submitted and approved well in advance of closing dates.  If you claim to have a ‘rush’ on every file you will be known as the LO that cries wolf and you won’t get the attention you need when you need it.  Become known as the loan officer whose files are a pleasure to work with – then you’ll get the special favors when needed.

c.  Be thorough and quick.  Typically a borrower that loses a house in this situation is desperate to get approved and there is a short window of opportunity where you will get extreme cooperation.  You need to take advantage of that.  Meet with them right away, have them bring all of their documents (they have them from their recent application anyway!) like paystubs, W-2s, etc.  Get all of the facts from them about the reason for decline of the loan with the other mortgage company. Get as much information as you can as quickly as you can.  Don’t assume anything – the loan was declined for a reason.  Your job is to find out why and to see if there is another, legitimate way to make it work. You should be able to tell if there is hope of getting a loan approved early and then get to work!

d.  Set correct expectations.   With the new disclosure laws a 3 days turnaround just isn’t realistic.  Frankly, getting a loan done in 8 days takes a mini-miracle so set the expectations upfront that this may take a while.  Under promise and over perform.  Please never, ever, ever say that something is ‘guranteed’ or ‘100%’ (ever, but especially in situations like this).  Everyone’s stress level is super high in these situations so trying to calm nerves by over promising can often backfire and no one truly believes those guarantees anyway.  I start with a 50/50 shot and move up to 99% slowly – I change my message delivery from ‘not sure’ to ‘optimistic’ to ‘extremely comfortable but we need to see what else the underwriter may call for’.  People appreciate the honesty and you are doing much more for them in the long run.

e.  Hone your communication skills.  I often find that I am able to speak with the loan officer or processor at the company that declined the loan.  They are usually upset initially and willing to help.  That starts to diminish over a few days so get that assistance while you can.  Get permission from the buyers to get copies of the loan package if you can.  I always try to call the loan officer and, without blame or finger pointing I simply explain that I’m trying to help and I was hoping he/she could as well.  I have been surprised at the cooperation once they realize I’m not calling to yell at them.

f.  Be fair!!!  I strive to provide the  same rate and fee structure that a borrower has with their previous mortgage company.  I know I am doing a lot more work and I could charge a premium for this type of effort but I feel that the borrowers are going through enough.  If rates go up then there is nothing I can do but I strive to keep things as close to their original expectations as possible.  Incidentally – this is a great bragging point to both Realtors in the transaction as they are very appreciative that it helps ease the transaction along.

g.  Be honest, creative and honest!!  When I try to put these loans together, I am never, ever trying to manipulate documents, white anything out or do ANYTHING inappropriate.  I just know the guidelines and I work hard to figure out how to legitimately make a loan work.  I’m often surprised that some loan officers give up so easily when a simple tweak could make the difference between their buyer getting a home or not.  If it can’t work then it shouldn’t.  If there is a way to help a borrower buy a home within the guidelines and law then they deserve to have that opportunity.  I just work harder at doing the right things right!

These are not the easiest loans to get done but the rewards are significant.  You make customers for life with the borrowers.  You are truly helping people (remember when we all thought that was the most important part of our jobs?) a LOT of people.  Hopefully this will help you build and strengthen Realtor relationships and meet new Agents for future business. I’ve even had Loan Officers call me for assistance because they had a loan declined and know that I can get these things done.

There is no doubt that the stress level in these situations is high.  This process is not for the faint of heart.  They take a lot more work than your average loan and they tax your staff.  However, it is very rewarding to help people and that makes a lot of the stress melt away.  Plus, I just view all of that work and stress as a marketing investment.  You will never believe how supportive your Listing Agent partners become when you work that hard for their buyers and their income.  Opportunity for more business!!

Now go help some people!!

Jason Klaskin

I would spend 2 minutes finding out what their issues (‘pain’) happen to be and then I would spend 1 minute explaining how you can help ease that pain or resolve some of their issues.

If you talk to them they won’t listen. If you listen to them and then address their concerns I think you would get a much higher interest level.

There are 2 important preparation points here:
1. Be prepared for no one to speak. I’m sure, in the current market, this won’t happen but you should be prepared with stories or pains that other Realtors have shared and then ask them if they are experiencing the same things. You will certainly get a response when you hit some hot buttons. Understand which of those the crowd seems to respond to and focus on those.

2. The reality is that you already know what they are going to say and what their issues are. This is not the point. Anyone can ’show up and throw up’ and ‘tell’ the Realtors what they can do for them. You really want to engage them and let them know that what they feel is important. Prepare your presentation and then mentally put each of your USP items or points that you want to make into categories that you can then use to help solve their pain.
This way you can get your points across and focus those points on what is most important to your audience.

Also remember that you can’t tell them everything so don’t try. Pick your top 3 key items that you want to convey – the things that will create the most business for your Realtor partners, the things that will save them the most time, make them the most money, releive the most frustration, help them build their business and get continued referrals, etc.

I would be surprised if you try this approach if the following doesn’t happen:
1. You get more than 3 minutes
2. You don’t get multiple questions
3. You don’t have the opportunity to set up appointments with individual agents to go into further detail with them in a more intimate setting

Touch on their concerns and offer to follow up with each of them if they wish. Get business cards and contact info (biz cards).

Maybe pick one or two products to highlight. Any more than that won’t fit in that timeframe.

Bring printed material with your contact info and logo on it. Make sure it is VERY valuable information.

Show them some other printed info you have (especially info on the tax credit extension – some FAQ’s, etc.) and whet their appetite. Offer to send it via email and even offer to personalize it with their information on it(next to yours of course  ). I would bet that you would get a lot of takers.

Remember, it’s 3 minutes and that’s not a lot of time to get ANYTHING across let alone EVERYTHING – so don’t try.

My approach would be:

• ASK

• ANSWER

• TEASE

That’s what I would do anyway. . . by the way, this IS what I do and it works!

I hope the presentation goes well and I’m looking forward to hearing from the LO about the results

Over the past year Mark Madsen and Mark Green have opened my eyes to the world of blogs and social networking and I’ve started to look at ways to integrate these ‘new’ tools into the very personal relationships I take great pride in building with my referral partners. 

At first glance it would appear that the lack of that personal touch with referral partners would be detrimental to a strong referral based relationship.  While I agree that the building of those relationships has typically been an ‘in-person’ process I am looking at ways to supplement those relationships, and leverage my time to develop more of them.

With everyone’s lives being so hectic I am finding that short, more frequent interactions with my referral partners is preferred to taking large chunks out of their day for what they may view as a sales call.  I am also finding that most of my referral partners are extremely interested in getting up to date information on a regular basis that will help them to better serve their clients and grow their own businesses.

One of my primary goals for the next year will be to develop my online interactions via blogging, social networking and other endeavors to achieve the following four goals:

1.  Enhance the relationships I currently have with my strong referral partners.  I will provide timely and accurate information that will save them time researching important items and help them build their businesses by identifying new clients and new opportunities to serve current clients.

2.  Offer opportunities for joint marketing and online presence to bring more business to my strongest referral sources.  I love to give back and I’m always looking for ways to do this.  I see an improvement in my online presence as a great way to do just that!

3.  Enhance relationships with my current and past clients.  We always try to create such a great experience that they become referral sources themselves.

4.  Become a known expert in the field and develop ways to create new business from borrowers and new referral sources so that they seek me out when they have mortgage needs.  Wouldn’t it be great to have people seeking you out instead of having to ask them to give you some of their time?

Being new to the online scene I am, of course, a bit nervous about not doing this correctly.  Luckily I have some great mentors and a thirst for wanting to do this correctly.  As we all know – in Real Estate there are only 3 things that matter: location, location, location.

My mantra for my  new approach will be 6 things:

Quality, Quality, Quality 

and

Content, Content, Content

I’m looking forward to learning more from all of the masters in this field.  I am especially excited to meet everyone in person at The Mortgage Revolution!  (Hmmm, I believe many of the masters have already achieved goal #4 – they’ve become experts and they’ve been sought out.  Now I’M excited to meet THEM!  Now that’s what I’m going for with new referral partners!!!)  Imagine if we could get referral partners to find us online and get excited about meeting us .  .  .

So now comes the hard part – getting over the anxiety and just doing it.  I always want to do things ‘right’ from the start but I’m learning that there really isn’t a ‘right’ way to do this.  There are definitely some wrong ways but if I stay on track I don’t need the perfection, I just need to get going!

 I’ll leave you with a thought from an interview with Linked In founder Reid Hoffman.  When asked about starting Linked In and getting something out instead of waiting until they had achieved perfection out of the gate he remarks:

“I frequently tell Internet entrepreneurs, “If you’re not somewhat embarrassed by your 1.0 product launch, then you’ve released too late.” There’s value in launching early, getting engaged with customers, and learning from them. That can direct your progress.”

VERY transferable advice!

See you online!!