Marketing Tips

[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.

[Erik]

Excellent post. I'm looking forward to the future additions

[Greg]

Hey I am not going to give my own post a rating if it is worthy.

There is so much more to this though.

To expand upon who to target right now. There is a substantial amount of refi's out there still looking to get out of an arm. Get a list from Haynes of 2/28 and 3/27 mortgages filed and market to them. Also the holiday spenders will feel the budget tighten in January and February.

But, most brokers concentrate on the refi. Most do not have the knowledge or help to partner with Real Estate Agents. The purchase market is slowing down right now but I have yet to see a decline in my pipeline for purchase loans.

To get a Real Estate Agent's attention you should learn all you can about their industry and take something of value to them to gain their attention.

If you are new and want to focus on this niche I highly suggest finding a way to learn their business.

Then buy some purchase leads. Carlo has these available nearly everywhere. You qualify a buyer and then you hold the carrot. Interview 3 agents with the intent of handling your referrals. Who becomes the giver then? YOU! You now have control. Show them what you are made of. Build a relationship. Then you also get to show the selling agent.

On a purchase loan you have your customer and 2 realtors in most cases. 3 possible referral sources.

Then deliver!!! Do open houses. Pre-approve on the spot if you can. Find a way to accomplish what you need too. Ask us for help. Most of you cannot pull credit outside of work.... At least you think you cannot... Likely you can but no one showed you.

Broker shops that lack training are like a box. Think beyond the box and get help here. What works for your broker may not work for you. What works for me may not either. You do not know unless you commit to it and execute.

If you do not have a business plan I encourage you to take charge of your career and set goals. We all are an entrepreneur in a sense.

[Best4U]

Good posts! Very motivational.
I'm going to take a much closer look at my business plan and marketing. I like the emphasis you put on frequently tracking results as well.

Thanks!

[carlo@CreditReportAtlas]

I love this post.. It's so geniune. Also, as for buying leads you have to keep an open mind. Most individuals that have a credit score of 650+ probably has a family or friend that is in the mortgage industry or have refinanced through a bank already (Wells Fargo, B of A, Credit Unions, etc. that doesn't charge a point or 2 in closing). These individuals are most likely just shopping around for the best rate offered to them. So, what's the solution? Start gathering more contacts of subprime lenders. There's a big pond of money to be made in the subprime and below-500 loans. These borrowers that are looking for these loans are just pretty much throwing money at you. They need the cash and are willing to pay the money for closing (which means more commissions for you).. Also, just an inside tip - Bail out foreclosures is becoming a new trend. Our telemarketers speaks to at least 2-3 foreclosure bail outs request every week. I'm not too sure how it works but I can see it as being the next hot market.

Thanks,
Carlo

Originally Posted by Greg

Hey I am not going to give my own post a rating if it is worthy.

There is so much more to this though.

To expand upon who to target right now. There is a substantial amount of refi's out there still looking to get out of an arm. Get a list from Haynes of 2/28 and 3/27 mortgages filed and market to them. Also the holiday spenders will feel the budget tighten in January and February.

But, most brokers concentrate on the refi. Most do not have the knowledge or help to partner with Real Estate Agents. The purchase market is slowing down right now but I have yet to see a decline in my pipeline for purchase loans.

To get a Real Estate Agent's attention you should learn all you can about their industry and take something of value to them to gain their attention.

If you are new and want to focus on this niche I highly suggest finding a way to learn their business.

Then buy some purchase leads. Carlo has these available nearly everywhere. You qualify a buyer and then you hold the carrot. Interview 3 agents with the intent of handling your referrals. Who becomes the giver then? YOU! You now have control. Show them what you are made of. Build a relationship. Then you also get to show the selling agent.

On a purchase loan you have your customer and 2 realtors in most cases. 3 possible referral sources.

Then deliver!!! Do open houses. Pre-approve on the spot if you can. Find a way to accomplish what you need too. Ask us for help. Most of you cannot pull credit outside of work.... At least you think you cannot... Likely you can but no one showed you.

Broker shops that lack training are like a box. Think beyond the box and get help here. What works for your broker may not work for you. What works for me may not either. You do not know unless you commit to it and execute.

If you do not have a business plan I encourage you to take charge of your career and set goals. We all are an entrepreneur in a sense.

[carlo@CreditReportAtlas]

Then buy some purchase leads. Carlo has these available nearly everywhere. You qualify a buyer and then you hold the carrot. Interview 3 agents with the intent of handling your referrals. Who becomes the giver then? YOU! You now have control. Show them what you are made of. Build a relationship. Then you also get to show the selling agent.

Hey Greg,

Thanks...

[Greg]

No problem.

I think you are dead on with the sub-prime over prime. Too many cost cutters in prime leads.

Glad you brought that up!

[Greg]

Some topics need refreshed for some of the newer members. This is a good one to do so.

[carlo@CreditReportAtlas]

Marketing over the holidays is one of the challenges that I am currently dealing with. However, when January hits I know for sure that borrowers will be looking to refinance so they could have cash in their pockets (of course after the holidays). Everyone will be broke after the holiday shopping spree and this is where they will use their home equity as their ATM. L/O's will rise again next month.

[Greg]

For those who like direct mail it is a good time for a debt consolidation based mailer.

Carlo should get more leads too :-)