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averagejoelo
406 Posts |
 Posted - 05/05/2008 : 11:48:12 AM
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Lately I’ve been chatting with quite a few loan officers. In the last 10 days, I spoke with someone who was so desperate, he offered me 50% of his closings for the next 6 months if I could help him close more; and I also spoke with a loan officer who closed 28 loans in the last 30 days. (His average is over 25 per month - This guy is a machine!)
The irony of this situation is that both loan officers worked within 30 miles of each other. This raises a question… What is the difference between those who are closing hundreds of loans this year, and those struggling to find 1 or 2 per month? Attitude, and trust…
This is not to say that those who are struggling have a bad attitude. Rather, what I’ve noticed is that those who seem to be kicking in the doors lately, and closing loans at an exponentially higher rate than their competition have a high degree of trust in their marketing and sales ability. If you don’t think you can succeed, then why should your actions tell you any different?
If you’re skeptical, and keep playing the sales game defensively rather than going on the offense, you are making your job much, much more difficult than it needs to be! Let’s look at a loan officer named Omar.
Omar came to me, and told me his situation. It was a tough spot to be in to be sure, but he said something to me that I knew would make him a great candidate for a rapid change in his career: “Just tell me what to do, and I will do it.” Omar stuck to that promise. Despite the tight spot he found himself in, he made that decision to give it his all, without wasting time playing the “what if” game. Friday of last week Omar sent me an update showing that he grabbed 3 new loans (Approved, in his pipeline, NOT just apps) and brought on 2 new realtors who are giving him referrals... Not bad for 1 week and starting from scratch!
Too often I find originators worry about what will happen IF this or THAT doesn’t work… This is a defensive attitude that will kill your progress dead in its tracks. Its the same as trying to play basketball by doing nothing more than blocking. How many points would you score? None! You’d almost certainly lose every single game since no one is good enough to block 100% of the other teams shots!
In a similar vein, no loan officer on the planet can successfully block bad things from happening 100% of the time, so stop trying! A defensive mindset stops you from reaching your potential. Go on the offense, and tell yourself the same thing Omar did: “I’m going to do it - Success is NOT an option!”
Why should it be? You have the exact same opportunity that everyone else has. Some of our members were hurting so bad they had to take small loans or borrow the money just to join the Loan Officer Marketing Lab… Yet, most of them have added several closings per month to their wallet… If a loan officer so tight on cash can still market themselves effectively, then anyone can! (No, I am not promoting mindless spending here, but rather, CALCULATED risks. There is nothing wrong with being prudent with your spending, but at some point, you MUST make a decision to move forward and commit yourself to that decision)
Find your “ON” button and keep mashing it throughout the day. What gets you going? What gets you excited? What makes you stand up and take action? For Omar, he told me he didn’t have a choice, he HAD to make this work! I love hearing that, because it tells me things are about to get done! People seem to transform when all options are removed. A mental decision is made that “I’m going to do what I have to… Nothing is going to stand in my way.” That’s the mode you need to be in right now. Forget the market, YOU are in control. Just ask the loan officer who closed 28 loans in April…
Chad Weber - www.loanofficermarketinglab.com - www.fsboleadportal.com |
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erikwebster
4001 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2008 : 12:11:26 PM
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yo yo yo :)
whatzup :) |
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averagejoelo
406 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2008 : 12:44:31 PM
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Hey there Erik! So am I going to see you in 2 weeks? I'll be right next door to Houston.
CW
quote:
Originally posted by erikwebster
yo yo yo :)
whatzup :)
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erikwebster
4001 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2008 : 1:56:34 PM
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| i left you a voice mail, gimme a call back when you get the chance. |
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genealle
932 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 09:46:35 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by averagejoelo
This is not to say that those who are struggling have a bad attitude. Rather, what I’ve noticed is that those who seem to be kicking in the doors lately, and closing loans at an exponentially higher rate than their competition have a high degree of trust in their marketing and sales ability. If you don’t think you can succeed, then why should your actions tell you any different?
Chad Weber - www.loanofficermarketinglab.com - www.fsboleadportal.com
Very true Joe!
Marketing aside:
Many brokers I've known were lacking in sales skills and didn't really know what sales was about. I've had several sales positions in the last 20 years and the guys I met that were closers and rainmakers were very similar to Vince Vaughn's character in the film The Prime Gig. Not unscupulous as he was, but VERY forceful in taking control of the customer and making them see things his way. If you can't keep them, you can't close them. (Easier said than done of course, but they made it look easy.)
They were quick thinkers and were prepared with strong rebuttals for any NO or stall tactic. They knew the product cold and could draw upon that to show that they were THE experts in their field. Every call was warfare, but you can't let the customer know it. You have to call back and be a pain if need be.
It's not enough to give a price and say thank you..."Please call me". I am far from a rainmaker, but I like to think I give it my all and every call makes me better. |
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averagejoelo
406 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 1:11:51 PM
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Exactly. How do great salesmen get that way?
It takes lots of training, lots of reading, and lots of practice.
There's two ways to become a great salesperson:
Intensive training - (Learn from others who have made most of the mistakes for you)
Lots of trial and error - Fail forward
One way is going to require you to spend money to learn, while the other is going to cost you more in lost income, and require you to have lots of patience as you learn from mistakes and lost opportunity. (Please note that both learning methods will obviously cross-over.)
There's no right or wrong answer here. (other than those that choose inactivity - This is definately a wrong answer). Sales is a skill and a profession. Those who treat it as such will have multiple options available no matter what the market does, as this is a skill that is always in demand, and carries over to multiple professions.
When your income hinges directly on your ability to generate and convert new clients, shouldn't those two skills be a major area of focus for improvement?
Here's a quick tip for you to help get you started:
Call your phone number and leave a voicemail message for yourself. Pretend your selling your services and then call back into your voicemail to listen to yourself.
Now try calling up again, and close your eyes. Open them once you hear the beep and try to pitch the first item you see... For example, if you open your eyes and see a pen, pretend you're selling that pen and try to be as persuasive as possible.
Do it again... And again... Sounds goofy doesn't it? It's not. The difference between a successful and a starving sales person often comes down to who has the right thing to say at the right time.
The best scripts in the world are next to useless when your customer forces the conversation off track. In other words, you need to be able to think on your feet!
These types of exercises teach you to think laterally, and venture outside this rigid little box that restrains your creativity... If you want to see how good you are, go ahead and give that excercise a shot. When you call in to listen to yourself, you'll be surprised at what you hear. Are you convincing? Are you creative? Did you have anything useful to say other than "it's a good pen..."?
Haha - I find these types of excersises to be a blast and keep the mind flexible and confident. Hmmm... Flexible and confident... Sounds like the traits of a winning salesperson to me!
CW - www.fsboleadportal.com
quote:
Originally posted by genealle
quote:
Originally posted by averagejoelo
This is not to say that those who are struggling have a bad attitude. Rather, what I’ve noticed is that those who seem to be kicking in the doors lately, and closing loans at an exponentially higher rate than their competition have a high degree of trust in their marketing and sales ability. If you don’t think you can succeed, then why should your actions tell you any different?
Chad Weber - www.loanofficermarketinglab.com - www.fsboleadportal.com
Very true Joe!
Marketing aside:
Many brokers I've known were lacking in sales skills and didn't really know what sales was about. I've had several sales positions in the last 20 years and the guys I met that were closers and rainmakers were very similar to Vince Vaughn's character in the film The Prime Gig. Not unscupulous as he was, but VERY forceful in taking control of the customer and making them see things his way. If you can't keep them, you can't close them. (Easier said than done of course, but they made it look easy.)
They were quick thinkers and were prepared with strong rebuttals for any NO or stall tactic. They knew the product cold and could draw upon that to show that they were THE experts in their field. Every call was warfare, but you can't let the customer know it. You have to call back and be a pain if need be.
It's not enough to give a price and say thank you..."Please call me". I am far from a rainmaker, but I like to think I give it my all and every call makes me better.
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AndrewP
28 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 1:36:45 PM
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Love this post Chad!
This is EXACTLY what I focus my teachings on, the mental part of this Mortgage Game! I'm glad to know I'm in the righ kind of company!
You da man! |
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