| Some more advise to build your pipeline.
Greg alluded to this in one of his replys to another poster.
"Networking"
Even if you are receiving leads from your company, why wouldn't you network to add to you compliment of business? Networking does take some skill but is not quite as hard as you may think. There are many books about this topic, I would suggest you try "Business Lunchitations" (Bo Dietl, Bob Bly) This book is hard hitting and very direct. It tells about apprearance and first impressions, it does not pull any punches and is extremely direct. Here is an excerpt:
-"The success of any personal encounter begins the second someone lays eyes on you," says personal image consultant Lillian Bjorseth, the president of Duoforce Enterprises. "A professional image -appearance and behavior- helps start the experience in the right vein, since people decide ten things about you in the first ten seconds of seeing you."
It may seem archaic that people judge you by your appearance, but it's a simple unavoidable fact of life. Even if you are in an office all day on the phone and casual dress is ok in your office, DON'T DO IT! You need o dress how you feel. If you are casual about your career dress in a golf shirt. If you are a professional, dress the part. Trust me it will change your behavior during the day, even if you don't see a client.
Even though I work from a home office and travel extensively I get dressed very single day in slacks and collared dress shirt. At home I don't wear a tie, but on the road I am always in a suit.
With your appearance discussed, now get yourself out there. I will give you a sample of some of the groups I am involved in:
Fraternal Order of the Eagles
The American Legion
Rotary
North Coast Builder's Industry Assoc.
Ohio Land Title Assoc.
American Land Title Assoc.
Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club
ORP (Ohio Republican Party)
Lake Erie Landlord's Assoc.
Manufactured Housing Institute
Westshore Chamber of Commerce
Westlake Town Criers
Being a member is not enough, you need to get involved. Get your name out, go to events. Make a deal with yourself to hand out a certain number of business cards. Never ever go with someone you know, the goal is to meet new contacts, not chat with people you already know.
As some of the loan officers in this forum can attest, getting a call from a referral source is one of the sweetest feelings you can have. Imagine a years worth of networking and how much business it can bring you. For those that have stopped netwoking, get back to the basics and generate that business, it worked for you once so make it work again.
George
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