How are you able to reach agents when they're moving targets? The days of scouting real estate offices to meet agents have become less effective with automation keeping them plugged in virtually. Even with wireless connectivity, agents can search MLS in the field while showing homes to buyers, minimizing time needed to spend in the office.
The game of cat and mouse between loan officers and agents only gets more difficult. Yet if you're not constantly promoting your service to agents, you're invisible. Email is a powerful tool for promoting your service, but for your strategy to be effective, you have to do more than simply maintain top-of-mind-awareness.
Too often loan officers blast generic messages that do little to differentiate or educate. Unless you're entrenched with agents, generic messages are rendered useless. So save your money from buying so-called turn-key systems that promise automated content. Instead learn to create high impact messages that get results.
Are you shaping agents' perception every time you promote your service? Or are you simply emailing messages describing the latest loan program? If so, that's not shaping anyone's perception, it only confuses agents that you're like everyone else.
When you market to agents, there are only two principles that matter. Agents are too busy and inboxes are too congested with garbage, so your message must be fascinating and benefit them to cut through the clutter.
But how do you make an email message fascinating? Simple...tell a story. And the best stories you can tell are your clients' stories. See, you can't call yourself an expert, only your clients can. So you need their stories to describe your expertise to agents. And besides, agents believe what others say about you before they believe what you say.
Secondly, combine your story with benefits, something that adds value to an agent's business. Sound difficult? It's really not. Just think about your last client and their problem you solved. Maybe you helped a client when no one else could. That makes for a fascinating story, but how does it benefit the agent? Well, if you were to provide example after example of being a reliable lender, don't you think an agent who is tired of losing income and spending more money on advertising will eventually want to work with a winner?
Here's another example. What if you helped a client secure financing on a new home while they waited to sell their first home? How often do agents have their income stalled waiting for clients to sell their home before they can buy another? If you provided story after story demonstrating your ability to solve this problem, how quickly would agents be knocking on your door?
Your business is loaded with fascinating stories that benefit agents. It's really a matter if you'll take the time to dig for it.
Here some suggestions:
- Attend the closing and solicit feedback after documents have been signed.
- Mail a survey with specific questions that uncover problems you solved.
- Call after the loan has funded and ask for feedback.
So now there's little excuse for collecting information - just make it happen.
And if you're not confident about writing, get my program -
Become an Agent Magnet. You'll learn specific, easy to follow writing formulas to develop compelling, interest-grabbing stories.
Bottom line is that your best marketing is sitting next to your ear. Listen to your satisfied clients and you'll collect the cheese that gets mice chasing the cat.
