This is the second of six articles in a series on how to market your promise of service differently.If your marketing is going unnoticed by agents, read my articles closely as I'll share explicit ideas on how to stand out and be recognized.
The first article in the series introduced the five promotional opportunities that exist within the loan application process and the three major players to differentiate your of promise.
Today's article continues describing the first stage, At Loan Application, and how to you can market to the borrower and the Seller's Agent.
The Welcome Wagon
Do you live in an area where the neighbors welcome new families that move into the neighborhood? Maybe they greet the new family by giving them a baked pie or cookies.
Doesn't that make the family feel less like strangers in a new neighborhood? It's the same feeling you want to deliver in your service right from the beginning of the loan application process.
Planting Golden Seeds
After you complete a loan application with a borrower, what's your next step? For many loan officers, the obvious is to stack the file and get it to processing as quickly as possible. But what isn't so obvious is the chance to make the borrower look smart.
While you're moving the loan application through the process, the borrower has returned home with more anxiety, more stress and concern than when they filled out the loan application.
Your first opportunity is to help reassure the wise decision they made selecting you as their mortgage consultant. And that means sending them a hand-written thank you note.
It's your first chance to plant seeds. Seeds, that if nurtured through the loan application process, grows into new applications. I'm talking about the seed of referrals and word-of-mouth advertising. Not bad for a piece of stationary, envelope, stamp and two minutes of your time, is it?
Don't wait until the loan closes to bring up the subject of referrals. Start it now, so by the time the loan closes the borrower has already recommended you to others.
Fire Prevention versus Fire Fighting
How often do you get calls with basic questions from borrowers days after taking their application? Why not create a small leaflet that answers the most commonly asked questions during the loan process? You can combine it with an audio CD and make it a nice package that they receive in the mail the day after receiving your thank you note.
Since your thank you note planted the seed, now it needs to be nurtured, setting an expectation with the borrower. Let them know that there's a purpose to your small acts of kindness, that you will give them service better than anyone else has before, so they'll refer you to their friends, family, co-workers, etc.
The Easiest Introduction
With the borrower well taken care for, now it's time to set your sights on the Seller's Agent. Begin by calling and introducing yourself; it's the easiest call you'll ever make to an agent. They can't reject you because it's not a solicitation call; it's a service call.
If the Seller's Agent is affected by the course of the transaction, just like the Buyer's Agent, doesn't it make sense to introduce yourself and let him or her know that you'll keep them informed every step of the way.
Don't be surprised when the Agent thanks you for your call. Seller Agents almost never hear from a loan officer during the loan application process, unless there's a problem of course. It's proven so valuable that the loan officers I coach are mandated to call the Seller Agent in every transaction.
Each time you take a purchase loan application, the Seller's Agent should be considered a prospect. They have an opportunity to experience your service firsthand, which is always more powerful than trying to market your services to them.
Just like the borrower, create early expectations; let them know about your agenda. It's good business sense to tell the agent that your goal in rendering superior service is to secure their future business and earn referrals to other agents in their office.
Thanks for support,
Jeff Nelson
Salesachievers
Helping loan officers attract more clients
© 2004, 2005 by Jeff Nelson
All rights reserved
