Contrary to popular belief the whole world is not your enchilada! In other words not very walking, talking human being is your customer. I mean even if you were the only solution left (like you owned all the water) and the only way a person could have some was to pay you, there would still be some in the group who would say: “Hey wait a minute I don’t like water. Do you offer coffee, tea or milk?”
The point is this even if you beg to differ with my analogy, EVEN if everybody could use your expertise and services, there is a specific group that has an INTENSE desire for the solutions you offer. Find that “Niche” market and commit your efforts to getting business from this sector of individuals.
My friend Louise has done an excellent job at this. She knew it was time to build a different game plan. The one she had was OK, it paid the bills, but it was stagnant. The production level was not going up even though she was spending extra hours at the office.
To change her present dynamic Louise took the time to reflect on where she was headed. Adding hours wasn’t producing the desired results. And frankly working more hours was not the solution she was looking for. By following the step outlined above Louise determined she gained the most enjoyment helping persons in the military. After all Louise and her husband have a son serving, and the fact is she is very patriotic. Rather than considering the entire universe her client, Louise narrowed her scope. She began to build a business centered on the veterans moving into her area. And guess what? She loved everyone she was working with so her business became fun instead of draining. Isn’t that awesome!
Identifying a target market makes it REALLY easy for you to develop a message that is tailored to your specific market. In Louise’s niche she understands there is a lot of stress and emotions when of her vets is newly transferred to her area. With some coaching we concluded it would be great if each of her clients would tell their story. What it felt like to be up rooted and how you guessed it! How Louise helped lighten the burden.
Isolate who your market is, figure out their primary concern AND tailor your message to focus on solutions that are relevant to their particular situation. Gets my heart racing just thinking about this stuff! How about you? I would love to hear how you choose to pump up the volume!
Not too long ago I was working with a client who was extremely frustrated with the way her business was running.
Every morning at about 5:30 she gets up, takes her dog for a walk for about thirty minutes and thinks about all the tasks she wants to accomplish in her day. Believe it or not I have been with her on some of these walks as I am an early riser also. While some of what she wants to accomplish has to do with transaction management, most of what my client Jane thinks about is activities that will improve her business.
Like calling five closed clients to see how they are doing or calling one of her referral partners to invite them to lunch. Jane also receives a tremendous amount of joy when she calls to wish someone “Happy Birthday.” It’s just a really fun call for her. Pumped up and ready to go with Starbucks in hand she is ready to take on the world!
But then it seems as soon as she gets to the office, stuff just starts happening. One minute it is 8:00 and the next minute its lunch time. Instead of having lunch with a person of influence, she is eating a sandwich from Chic~fil~A. The phone keeps ringing and the e-mails just keep coming. Lunch time has turned into 5:00 and all of her good intentions went right out the window. Not a single call has been made to closed clients and because Jane did not accomplish what she set out to do she feels frustrated on a good day and defeated on other days.
Can you relate to Jane’s story? Does this have a ring of the familiar to you? Well I like stories with happy endings, so let me share with you what Jane and I brainstormed about on one of our walks. Instead of arriving at the office at 8:00, she now gets there between 9:00 and 9:30. Is she walking her dog later? Nope what she is doing is making her business builder calls from home! And guess what, once she started doing this her day kept getting better and better, because she is now able to accomplish what she needs to keep her business thriving.
Don’t you just love how a small tweak can make such a difference? In our audio session entitled: “Scheduling for Success” we talk about how to get on a path that is right for you so you can manage your day the way you want to instead of your day managing you. Visit us at www.connectthedata.com. Remember to Make Real Connection$ has never been easier ~ all you have to do is Connect the Data!
Oh, database,
Ahhh, database,
Ummmm, database.
This has been the mantra heard in the industry for the last seven years.
We know our business can only improve and yet we hesitate to implement this system.
Why does this project seem so overwhelming?
Why are we not willing to invest in this area of our business?
Many of us are able to wrap our arms around the concept of “Customer for Life” understanding that we must create “Raving Fans” in order to achieve this lofty goal. The challenge comes in when we try to express our uniqueness. What makes working with this team and/or company a special experience? What is the bond that holds this relationship together? All long-term relationships will encounter peaks and valleys; the purpose of the database is to create the glue that will solidify this bridge when these challenges arise.
From the time you close the first loan for your client, it becomes open season because the document is recorded (public information) the solicitations to refinance from other lenders is non-stop. Their marketing is relentless, and if you do not have a game plan in place, the client you worked so hard to obtain is going to go somewhere else for their next loan. If this is not what you want to see happen, lets talk about what can be done in the way of preventative measures.
First: Employee systems must be in place. Each employee has two or three major job functions they are expected to do. Are they clear on what is expected of them, and what the end result should look like at the end of the day? For example:
Originators:
Pre-Qualifications
High Trust Interviews
Annual Reviews
Processors:
Pre-Underwrite Loans
Clear Conditions
Manage Closings
Clerical Assistant:
Type Letters
Manage Calendars
Confirm Appointments
Marketing:
Keep Database
Manage Marketing Campaigns
Run Queries on Rate, Pre-Payments, etc…
Second: Consistency is Key - The process needs to run the same way for each client every single time.
Property TBD:
In Contract:
Intro Letter/E-Mail/Fax to Realtors
Thank You Note to Referring Source
Gift at Formal Approval
Status Letter/E-Mail
Faxes Each Week
Ten-Days Before Closing
Expectations Notification
After Closing:
Quarterly Newsletter
Economic Conditions
Rate Watch Call
Annual Review
Third: Analyze Your Business. What in-flight corrections are necessary? Are you running into emergencies on a daily basis? Why is that? Here are some suggestions on how to shore-up some areas:
Lead Conversion: Run prospect pipeline report weekly, monthly, quarterly. Analyze the patterns. Are your referral sources closing deals or keeping you busy?
Underwriting: Make an extra copy of the approval, place in a separate folder. Review once a month with staff to determine team/investor weaknesses.
Late Closings: Make an extra copy of the Prior-to-Funding Report, place in a separate folder. Review once a month with staff to determine team/investor weaknesses.
Before you can expect automation to work well for you, these areas must be in alignment.
Once you have clarification in these areas, you will be able to communicate what is unique and special about the relationship you and the client are building. This provides the confidence to market and retain the long-term relationships that are the annuity of all businesses.
This about it this way…your database is really the only asset you have in the mortgage business!
