In today’s competitive mortgage market, the sales process should focus totally on creating partnerships and not on selling products. As a sales trainer, my business philosophy is that if you create relationships as you sell, the next sale is a whole lot easier, and referrals will follow.
In my experience, the greatest marketing tool in the world is making friends, not clients. When your clients come to realize that you are honest, reliable, and dependable; that you follow through on what you say, that you follow-up after the sale, and that you go all out to ensure total satisfaction; they are so pleased that they want to continue to do business with YOU. And they want to tell others about you. They become your little salesman soldiers doing battle for you day in and day out. Another benefit is that you will spend less money on marketing and put more money in the bank. And we all know referrals don’t shop you nearly as much as someone who doesn’t know you. It’s a no brainer!
The single most important thing that salespeople need to understand -- and it's amazing how few comprehend this -- is that people love to buy, they just hate to be sold.
Recently, I gave a presentation at the Atlanta Regional Information & Sales Exchange (RISE) event and there were approximately 25 brokers in the room. I posed this question: "You are at a networking event or a party, you're meeting people and inevitably someone asks the question, 'What business are you in?' or ‘What do you do for a living?’" Then, I asked the brokers to write down on a piece of paper how they would respond to this question. Twenty-two wrote down that they were a loan officer or mortgage consultant, or that they worked in the mortgage industry, or worked for such and such company. Only three or four people wrote something like, "I help my clients find the home of their dreams" or "I help my clients with their housing needs," or "I help my customers grow their home equity."
From the branch manager on down, I try to get people to think about what business they're really in. If you try to sell insurance policies, you will not succeed because people don't buy life insurance policies -- they really buy peace of mind, security, and knowing that no matter what happens to them, their children are always safe. It's important to understand that you're in the business of solving problems for your customer or helping them accomplish something. How about something like ‘I assist people with the greatest financial decision they are likely to make,’ or, ‘I specialize in home equity management,’ or ‘I ensure my clients maximize the equity in their home for their overall financial goals.’
Make Friends, NOT Clients - Ryan Steinert
