| Author |
Previous Topic | Next Topic |
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
 Posted - 02/01/2008 : 8:58:49 PM
|
“Mortgages May Be the Business, But Marketing Is the Life, How to Generate Leads Using Craigslist”
Face it, you're not a marketing expert and if you're making less than $300,000 USD per year in commissions as a mortgage broker and this isn't your first year in business then I'm probably correct. You and I both know that many mortgage brokers brag and brag that they don't do any cold calls, and that they're above the act of actively engaging in marketing to seek out new customers...
Good for them, but what about everyone else?
Why the heck should you or I care unless they're willing to share how and why they're getting these referrals, without saying the trite “I provide a good service”.
Honestly, I'm glad they think they provide a good service, but neither you or I have the time to wait for the word to spread. Not to mention there are thousands of brokers who are good at being brokers.
We're different; we need to stick out from the crowd, we need to close many people every month as possible, and we need to do both of these things as fast as we can.
In my mind marketing is the life. Everything that you say, everything you do, everything the borrower reads about you... It's all marketing. I don't consider marketing to be something that you devote a few hours of the day to, I consider every moment I'm awake a marketing opportunity, but I'm a little biased towards one form of marketing: Internet Marketing.
So with that being said let's get down to business, the reason you're reading this.
To learn how to improve your marketing, or condensed: to learn how to make more money.
Today I'd like to talk about Craigslist.org and using it to generate leads.
Let's begin.
We all know and love Craigslist.org and if you don't know what it is take the time to go there now, look around and come back to learn how to effectively use this website to generate leads, but for the sake of brevity I'm going to assume that you already understand the premise of Craigslist.
Since 2006 I've used Craigslist.org to generate 5 leads a day, I'll tell you how
First off, I became an absolute professional on Craigslist through hard work & trial and error, so don't think that all you need to do is post an ad and you'll be two steps away from buying that Bugatti Veyron, it's a little more complicated than simply posting an ad.
It all starts with a mindset, the mindset of the Unique Sales Proposition.
There are thousands of brokers out there. You need to think about what separates you from your competition.
And let me tell you a secret, if you start harping on about how you “truly care for the customer” or have an access to a certain number of lenders. Get in line.
That's right get in that line to the left of us labeled “typical mortgage broker who thinks people care”. And as you're standing in line I want you to constantly remind yourself that no one cares...
It may sound harsh, but it's the truth. If you're actually using mortgage jargon in your advertisements then you're probably doing it wrong and I'm going to tell you a secret: The only people who enjoy looking at rate sheets are “rate shoppers” and other brokers.
You and I are looking for customers that want to be led, not doing the leading. We want customers who have friends who also want to be led. The same people who actually follow Oprah's book club and at one point in life thought the South Beach Diet was a way of life. We want people who look up to us, that way they stay loyal and use our services again and again.
You want it, I want it; you need it, I need it. Not to mention these are the same borrowers who want security and peace of mind over the best rate possible. Of course, they're going to say this to you to convey a position of strength, but as soon as you befriend them they'll quickly justify anything you do to be the best possible solution.
Seriously, the first step is to be their friend. Without anything else you're just a stranger who they're willing to hang up on at anytime to call another broker to shop for a rate.
And the beautiful thing about this is what Malcolm?
The beautiful thing is defining an Unique Sales Proposition isn't difficult or too time intensive (which works well for us, don't forget we need new leads NOW).
So what the heck is an Unique Sales Proposition? Simply put in real world terms USP is what the prospective customer perceives that you do that no one else can do or duplicate with ease. For example, Domino's is they deliver in 30 minutes or less, ING is that they want you to grow rich, and so on. The USP doesn't have to be material, it can be material, competitive, or emotional.
My favorite is emotional, since this is the only one that can make any customer fall in love with you regardless of competition.
So once you define the USP, you're going to have to create multiple email addresses so you can post your future advertisement up to 20 times per day.
That's right 20 times, you didn't think this comes easy did you?
Right now, if you're a Craigslist vet you're probably thinking “Craigslist doesn't allow you to post more than once or twice”. And you'll be right if you did, but we're going to go around that if you don't mind.
So, after you create multiple email addresses (I'd go with 10 just in case-using gmail, or live.com) you'll need the advertisement and this is where it gets more difficult.
Writing an advertisement is like making love, minus the climax, but with more sweating
This is the most important aspect of your marketing, you'll need to connect with your customers on a level that is nearly spiritual. Speak to their heart with conversationally, instead of soudinging like a salesperson turn yourself into a close friend.
For professional reasons I'm going to show you an ad that we've designed for one of our customers in Phoenix, I want you to see how I incorporated a story into the advertisement to make the sales offer more personable. I'd also like to inform you that this advert starting generating leads within two hours of it being run.
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j94/turieb/clad-1.jpg
For the sake of time constraints and since this is simply a daily post to be continued tomorrow and so on I'm not going to go into detail about powerful copy writing today, but it should be noted that this advertisement is not the normal ad that you'll find on Craigslist.org.
And neither is the response rate.
When writing an advertisement I recommend having one designed professionally (I recommend that you don't attempt to design yourself as this involves a fairly large learning curve, not to mention customers will be easier to close the more professional you appear), but keep in mind there are many tools of engagement which must be utilized in order for the an advertisement to be incredibly effective.
What makes a good advertisement?
1.A strong, captivating, relevant headline must be used. There's nothing more annoying than headlines that dare you to read further or try to deceive you into reading. I've personally seen headlines play out as the difference between making money and getting no responses.
2.Get some bullet points in there. It's not the bullet itself that is important as it is to list benefits as quickly as possible, preferably in the mid to top left side of the page where readers will look first. This is your 30 second elevator pitch in written word.
3.Get a story in there. People prefer to deal with people, especially when shopping for a mortgage. Stop trying to put yourself on a pedestal and get down in the crowd and shake hands. You telling the borrower that you're a “marketing expert” or a “top producer” doesn't work, is rude, and unimportant. While stroke your ego is healthy you'll be better off stroking theirs. Tell them that they're smart for having the judgment to consider using you, tell them they're pretty. Whatever it is, but people like be complimented so do so!
4.Speak benefits and only speak to them. Don't speak to them as if they're part of a group, since I'm guessing that they're not all huddled in front of the same computer monitor it doesn't make sense to make them feel out of place. Talk to them on a personal level, and that doesn't mean simply using the word “you” instead of “I”. This means be as conversational as possible. We're not trying to win a Pulitzer, we're trying to get an application pulled.
5.Don't you the humdrum call to action, “Call today to see how I can help you”, but do get them to do something. Tell them that they'll be crazy to not call you, tell them whatever you want just make sure it's personable. The full idea of engaging them in such a way is to make sure they feel comfortable with you before they ever speak with you.
6.Create a sense of urgency, if they don't call now tell them that their car with explode. You don't have time to work around their schedule, have them work theirs around you by taking action.
7.Make the advertisement look visually appealing. I know a few of you have written advertisements that you thought were golden just because it had engaging text, but have you ever heard of the term “butterface”? You need to have the complete package, because as superficial as it may sound. Everyone judges a book by its cover.
8.Have fun working on the advertisement. If you have fun with the ad they'll have fun reading it.
Now that you probably have the best advertisement on Craigslist as a mortgage broker you need to go one step further and prepare yourself for the phone calls. And this is the most simple part of the process.
1.Start posting the ads in the appropriate sections, this means the real estate for sale section, the financial services section, and the real estate services section.
2.Use the multiple email addresses for each individual ad, that way craigslist won't think that you're posting the same ad since Craigslist can't read image ads or tell personal emails apart.
3.Always answer the telephone and respond to any and all emails or voicemails immediately. Simply put, if you don't respond to an inquiry within 30 minutes you're going to lose to someone who really enjoys cashing checks.
4.Most importantly, have fun while on the phone. These people are going to make one of the biggest decisions in their life, the least you can do is ease the emotional burden right?
This should be the beginning of the rest of your life, now that you're getting in the mindset to become a great marketer of your services, if you have any questions or comments please comment below and on my blog at http://www.malcolmblog.com it's brand new and sure to be exciting as well as engaging.
If you're interested in having a Craigslist advertisement designed for you please feel free to contact me for more information or visit http://www.campbelltechnologygroup.com and browse around, I'll be posting marketing insight articles daily and I'm more than happy to help.
Happy Marketing! |
|
realtorsfriend
166 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2008 : 12:54:46 AM
|
| Great information. Thank you for this! |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2008 : 11:31:10 AM
|
| I suggest that they read the article above for starters. |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 10:15:55 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by jeff4567
This is good information
Thanks Jeff, you know some brokers will take this seriously and use it to generate new business, others will criticize and criticize like they do with everything else (But, it's no surprise which ones are the ones cashing checks every week and which ones are the ones to ignore!). I have to admit the idea for writing this article isn't original I got the idea after Craig Newmark and I were talking about this one last spring after he I emailed him about his blog: http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/article171514.html
I recommend checking it out as well.
|
|
|
jeff4567
1496 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 10:18:34 AM
|
| Where is your company based? |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 10:23:06 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by jeff4567
Where is your company based?
Downtown Chicago, we're a boutique firm of three full timers plus me for a total of four.
I'm actually setting up a larger office now in West Palm Beach, Florida looking to move in early March, but been in Chicago for about three years now. |
|
|
jeff4567
1496 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 10:25:49 AM
|
| Are you a fan of the White Sox or the Cubs? |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 10:35:56 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by jeff4567
Are you a fan of the White Sox or the Cubs?
I don't care for sports. I find it hard to sit idly and watch so many people make millions of dollars while all I'll be doing is gaining weight. The only television I watch is on hulu.com and that's when I'm eating lunch and don't feel like getting up from the desk.
Why does it matter, are there character traits between the different types of fans? |
|
|
AlexLocklear85
142 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 10:50:48 AM
|
| MCamp....this is great stuff. I posted once before on craigslist under financial services. I didn't get a response, but I think creating multiple email accounts is a great idea. Say I were to create 20 email addresses...could I post 20 times in EACH city? or can i only place one ad per email address? |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 11:22:39 AM
|
No, you can only use one email address in one specific section every 48 hours. So Craigslist will allow you to post an ad in four different sections in the same city with one email address as long as the ad is image based (like photobucket) or a different text ad in each section.
That way if you wanted to sell a car in one section, a mortgage in another, an apt in another, and give a dog up for adoption you can do so with one email address.
You simply can't use the same email address to post in the same section in between a 48 hour period. |
|
|
AlexLocklear85
142 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 11:34:49 AM
|
So if I were to create 10 different email addresses...I could ultimately post 40 different times in a 48 hour period in one city?
|
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 11:44:25 AM
|
Theoritically, but in practice if you post let's say more than 10-15 at a time, Craigslist will Faux post your ads for about 24 hours.
Meaning, the ads will say "published", but never reach the website.
The only reason I say 10 emails is if you're posting twice a day in each section you're going to need reserve emails incase some ads don't go through or you end up re-posting after a competitor flags you off (I have someone who posts for us twice a day and she's been flagged off when we only post one ad in one city, I actually have seen people who sell autobots that autoflag posts-so it happens).
Posting 40 ads a day is definitely aggressive, but it's more than I recommend. If I was you I'd focus on the quality of the advertisement, the better the ad, the higher the conversion rate. Focus on your follow up process, and be sure to post in the cities with the highest traffic (if you're licensed for those states). Quality over quantity in the long run.
Heck, I remember the person who posts for me started in 22 cities and we narrowed it down to three cities. All she did was narrow it down to the most responsive cities.
So now we're running ads on Craigslist, Kijiji, Adwords, Yahoo Search! and we have URLS that forward directly to landing pages, totally separate from the main URL. |
|
|
AlexLocklear85
142 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 12:08:04 PM
|
| So how many times in 48 hours would you suggest I start out posting? |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 12:09:21 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by AlexLocklear85
So how many times in 48 hours would you suggest I start out posting?
Why don't you give me a call so I can hear what you're looking to do exactly, this isn't something which should be discussed in a public forum in great detail. |
|
|
johnnyboy38109
2580 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2008 : 3:06:26 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by mcamp60610
quote:
Originally posted by AlexLocklear85
So how many times in 48 hours would you suggest I start out posting?
Why don't you give me a call so I can hear what you're looking to do exactly, this isn't something which should be discussed in a public forum in great detail.
why not if its ethical?
You cannot be serious.......you are mentioning Craigslist with ethics in the same sentence?
|
|
|
brlaureiro
234 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2008 : 2:03:28 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Banker0679
You advertise in the Mortgage Broker forum...and now here.
I guess you're a hard head spammer.
I dont even see your thread on 'Announcements'!!
This is an AD!
I have to disagree, he gave good solid information that you can put to use right away, so what if the guy also wants to plug his blog and consulting.
Thanks for the tip Malcolm!
|
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2008 : 2:44:49 PM
|
| Keep them coming Banker, you wouldn't believe how many people have bought leads or ads from me based on your attacks. |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2008 : 2:58:41 PM
|
| What I'm telling you is that you're doing a great job pushing my business. Thanks! |
|
|
mcamp60610
550 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2008 : 3:14:56 PM
|
Thanks Banker, have a great day. You should focus less on me and more on you.
Just a tip. |
|
|
AlexLocklear85
142 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2008 : 3:31:00 PM
|
I bought an ad from Malcolm and it's wonderful. What's the difference between spamming craigslist and cold calling someone? or sending out direct mail ads? The only difference is you pay cost there and craigslist is free...
Good stuff Malcolm, keep it coming. |
|
|
JasonAaron1
1015 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2008 : 12:13:28 PM
|
| I agree....the more avenues of generating business the better. As long as it doesn't violate any laws...I'll try just about anything. |
|
|
JasonAaron1
1015 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 08:27:13 AM
|
| bump |
|
|
| |
Previous Topic | Next Topic |
|
|
|
Search for: 
