Permission based marketing. This catch phrase seems to be all over the place within the sales industry. Ironically though, as much as I see this phrase used, and the appropriate methodology put into place in many other industries, I still find it very rare to run across loan officers who are using this strategy in their own careers.
As I ponder the possibilities of why this may be the case, I continue to draw a blank. Is permission based marketing ineffective? No. Is permission based marketing just a passing trend? Negative. Oh, I know! Maybe this concept just doesn’t mesh well with “loan officer style” marketing? Still no, and I’m actually grasping at straws here!
The bottom line is that permission based marketing is becoming more and more necessary as technology gains a strangle-hold on our lives and makes it easier for marketing messages to make their way to our brain cells.
With so much marketing noise distracting potential clients, we need to be doing everything that we can to leverage our message, and make certain that we are getting this message in front of those who really want to hear it.
I know, I know… I can hear you now; “Tell me something I don’t know! Isn’t this the whole point of marketing?” My response to this is “yes and no.” See, with most traditional marketing campaigns, the goal is definitely to identify those who are interested in our message, and once identified, to harvest those prospects and turn as many of them as possible into clients.
Unfortunately, in practice, most of these campaigns are reduced to little more than a numbers game where we are lucky to break even, much less turn a decent profit. This is not to say that loan officers don’t know how to run an effective marketing program. The problem that we are running into is our customer base is becoming increasingly immune to the standard tactics as they attempt to tune out as much of the marketing chatter as possible.
What does this mean to loan officers? Well, as we look around at what tools are available just waiting for us to use, one can’t help but notice that technology is becoming more dominant in our daily lives. Might I turn your attention to email? Email is a tool that holds several advantages over most marketing vehicles.
First of all, the cost associated with sending out your emails is next to nothing, and in many cases, is 100% free. I don’t know about you, but that price sounds about right to me! Second, email holds the distinct advantage of allowing you to send your message instantaneously to hundreds, even thousands of individuals with the click of a button.
If you still need further evidence that email can serve as a viable marketing tool, I’d like you to consider that the average American now checks his or her email messages multiple times per day, and has more than 2 email addresses. What this means is that time sensitive messages can be sent, opened and read the same day.
There are many other factors that contribute to make email a great marketing tool, but now I would like to turn your attention to some of the elements that can help you use this tool to bring in more business.
First, you will need a set of guidelines to follow as you explore new and creative ways to incorporate this tool. Let’s start with who you will send messages to. When we refer to permission based marketing, we want to make certain that we live up to this term. It is recommended that you ask everyone you speak to about financing for both their email addresses, and permission to send informative and useful information.
Developing this habit should build your database rather quickly. Think about all of the prospects that you speak to over the course of a month. You speak to those who are inquiring about interest rates, credit challenged individuals, website leads, real estate agents, FSBO’s and future buyers and sellers. The list goes on and on. Simply inform each individual you speak with that you sponsor an educational series of email messages that will help them make better informed decisions. Ask for the email address and for permission to send the messages.
You may also wish to inform the prospect at this point that you absolutely do not sell your database to anyone. This will put their mind at ease. I also am going to recommend that you collect email addresses from everyone who has done business with you in the past. We are constantly reminded that anywhere from 10-15% of a database is going to buy, sell or refi each year. I’m sure I don’t have to get into the math to demonstrate to you how much extra business is out there that falls into other originators pipelines because of the simple fact that we do not follow-up and retain top of mind awareness.
As you assemble your messages, there are several things you need to keep in mind. Avoid using strong and pushy language that will quickly associate your messages as nothing more than spam, or sales letters.
Keep your subject lines short. Most email programs will only display the first 6-7 words in the subject line anyways. If you can’t get your message across in 6-7 letters of the subject line, then this is probably your hint to try again.
Keep your subject lines “trigger word” free. Spam filters have grown increasingly sensitive over the years. Sometimes, all it takes is a misplaced exclamation point, or a word typed in all-caps to get your message locked out of the main inbox, and restricted to the trash, or junk mailbox. Avoid using the words free, hurry, and limited time. Stick with straight forward subject lines and you’ll increase your chances of getting through the filter.
In today’s busy world, it can become quite a challenge to get your message heard. With email, you need to take into consideration the fact that most prospects will read only the first 2-5 sentences and scan the rest of the page very quickly to decide if this message is worth reading, or will be deleted. Knowing this, you will need to show value very early in your message. You can do this by using the first few sentences to explain to the reader what they will learn, or how they will benefit by reading your message.
Moving on to the body of your message, you will need to focus on what sort of topics are likely to be of interest to someone who may be considering your services. Create separate messages to go out to those who have already closed on their loans. The difference between success and failure is targeting. Send relevant information that is both instructional and informative to your contacts. Keep your messages less than 1,000 words whenever possible as studies have shown that 6-800 words is about the maximum most people will read within an email message. I recommend topics such as:
• How to get the best deal on your mortgage
• What is the truth behind interest rates
• Negotiating the best deal on your new home
• Helpful glossary of common mortgage terms
• How to determine if your loan officer is being honest with you
These are just a few topics that I have found to be of great interest to my prospects. These articles should be fairly simple for you to write, as the topics are rather elementary to loan officers. Your goal here is to provide useful information that will make your prospects look forward to each message from you.
Finally, let’s talk about ending your message. A well rounded message should always contain your signature, contact information, and an unsubscribe link for the reader. Your signature should contain a brief tag-line, or message about you and your services. Think of the #1 reason why someone would want to use you and your services, and work it into your signature. Some of your readers may be forwarding your message to friends or family who may also be in need of your services, so you want to provide a compelling reason to call you versus your competition.
Keep this tag-line short, and provide your contact information. The unsubscribe link is there to keep your message compliant with spam regulations. This link needs to provide clear instructions as to how to unsubscribe from future messages.
Follow these guidelines, and you will have positioned yourself to retain a much higher level of customer loyalty, as well as new clients. See? Now who says that technology has to be scary?
Chad Weber
Average Joe L.O.
www.averagejoelo.com 
