Is there a secret formula to winning a customer “for life”?  Many say there is.  In fact, entire marketing systems have been developed with the goal of earning life-long customers.

As a mortgage professional, do you put any value in doing business today in a manner that will help you do business with the same customer a few years from today?

Let’s assume for this article’s sake, that you Mr. or Ms. Reader, work towards repeat business with each of your customers.  What specific behaviors do you engage in that increase your chances of getting a 2nd, 3rd, 9th deal from the same customer?  If you don’t immediately have a list of answers to the question, it probably means you aren’t really working towards repeat business.

So what can you do?  Here are a few simple ideas that may seem obvious, cliche or old fashioned, but they work.

• Be honest.
• Be fair to your client and to yourself.
• Put your client’s interests before your own.
• Communicate with your client.  You don’t have to be their best friend as long as you deliver information the client wants and needs in a timely manner.
• Stay in touch.  Whether you send an annual birthday card or call them every once in a while to see how life is going, just find something and do it.

What else do you purposefully do with every client that helps you earn repeat business with them in the future?

Viral marketing isn’t a term often used in the mortgage industry, probably because many people believe it’s too difficult to achieve viral-like results in an ultra-competitive marketplace and the concept really only exists in online marketing.  However, thinking “outside the box” may lead you to alternative approaches in your marketing that can achieve viral symptoms.   So what makes marketing viral anyway?  There are three basic keys we’ll discuss in this article.

Viral Marketing Key 1:  Make it easy to pass on 

Think of a virus – it easily transfers from host to host usually via air or touch.  Viral marketing gets it’s name because the marketing material is easily passed from one person to another and so your viral marketing campaign must include a way to get your material from one person to another, the easier the better.

When a customer visits your website and finds some aspect of it really cool, do you have a way for them to quickly and easily share it with their friends and associates?  If not, find a way to do it because otherwise you may not be maximizing the investment you’ve made in your mortgage website.  A feature that lets site visitors “share with a friend” is a good example.

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The brokers out there who are still around since the market turned sour all have the ability to adapt.  Congratulations to you all!  Looking at the silver lining in heavy storm clouds doesn’t pay the bills, however, but returning to business basics can help you weather the storm until the cold winter the industry is now facing melts off into a warmer spring-like market place again.

FHA

With subprime loans going extinct for all intents and purposes, FHA loans are more important than ever.  If your brokerage is still not approved to originate FHA loans you may want to get approved now or it just may be “never”.

Work with Realtors

When refis are few and far between, funding purchases can be the gravy train you need to keep things rolling until refis heat up again.  Establishing new Realtor contacts and greasing existing ones is a good place to start.

Home prices falling across the board in the U.S. is good for buyers and though there are currently less buyers eligible for financing, many eligible buyers may be looking to upgrade while prices are low.

Cut Costs

Cutting costs is not only not enjoyable, it’s often difficult to do.  Equipment leases, leases for office space, employee salaries and other expensive items can be difficult to reduce and possibly impossible to cut when the revenue isn’t around to pay all the bills.   However, now is the time for creative thinking so that cash flow can meet expenditures.

Overall, a shift in mentality is required to make it through times like these and if you don’t adapt, you die.

No matter what you’re marketing, from goods to services to information, every sale you make is fueled by your prospect’s emotion. (more…)

Almost every borrower wants to know one thing right off the bat when they call you: what’s the interest rate. How do you handle the question when it comes up? Do you try to avoid the question? Do you give into the borrower’s desire to shop and immediately quote a rate with a corresponding APR (for TIL compliance)? Deciding how to address the interest rate question is something many loan officers struggle with, but it’s not necessary. Read on for a simple method for handling the interest rate question fairly and effectively.

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Salespeople are sometimes surprised by the actions of their clients and prospects. They feel fooled or misled and become disillusioned and disappointed when prospects don’t behave the way they expect them to. There are three key phrases to listen for when attempting to predict someone’s behavior; “I want to”, “I have to” and “I should”. Let’s look at each of these a little closer.

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You could be the most brilliant marketer in the world, but if you can’t close you’ll be starving and homeless in no time.  Use these four steps to turn leads into closed loans.

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Too often we follow the old school advice and allow our prospects to control the sales process. Respect yourself, your product and your time and watch how quickly your prospect will follow suit.

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