[Greg]

Whether you are new or seasoned there are a few good tips I can share with you to help you become effective at marketing. With the industry changing and rates on the rise it is important to know what audiences to target.

I like to call my marketing a 4 legged stool. You need all 4 to stand and you need to be consistent and fully execute your plan while tracking the outcome.
Every contact I get I ask how they found me and I track the answers in a marketing book.

I target 4 methods:

Internet (Customers and Referral Partners)
Customer Referrals
Direct Mail
The street (Door to Door for Referral Partners)

I have been consistently developing and executing marketing plans for all these categories. I evaluate them quarterly and make changes if the results are not desirable. This is all determined in my yearly business plan. I set goals and plan out how to achieve them. If the results do not coincide with the plan I make changes quarterly.

Currently I moderate 4 web forums. 1 in which is a Real Estate Agent forum (If you target realtors then this is a way to get to know their lingo and business) and 3 are broker forums. I have a 10 state internet listing which is in the tops 3 in goggle search.

I contact my clients quarterly by email or phone and send them direct mail every 3-6 months. I constantly ask for referrals but in a manner where it is not my primary objective.

Every loan I close I ask for a testimonial. If people do not know you then you need to earn their trust. Sometimes showing testimonials will make them more comfortable. This is a great tool for referral partners too. I am implementing asking every agent for one as well right now.

I am a member of my local board of realtors and send them direct mail as well, contact them by phone with the intent to schedule an appointment, then visit them in person if needed.

1 day per week I hit the streets. I pick 10-20 establishments to hit every week and I consistently visit around the same time on the same day weekly. They expect me. As I determine whether they want to work with me I either sub 1 in or put them in as a partner and they are added to my direct mail list with a follow-up visit 1x per month or by phone.

Direct mail is the weakest leg of the stool. Whether they open the envelope or not I write "From Greg Phillips" under my companies name and address on the envelope. They at least see my name. I just want them to think of me.
Some of my customers converse with me daily, weekly, or monthly just to see how I am doing. I ask my customers questions about my marketing idea's. My intention is to help more people be treated right. They get education from me about loans. They all know exactly what my fee is and what yield spread is.

I will expand more upon specific idea's I have executed and the results I have in the upcoming weeks.
There is nothing more important than tracking though. How do you know what is working for you if you do not ask. I am fairly aggressive in the question "How did you hear about me" I dig until I find out. It is very important.

But most importantly I do not market my company name I market my name. I want them to remember me and what I did. I chose the company I work for because they have the best setup to match my career plans.