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How to not get burned buying mortgage leads

Oct 30, 2005

Selling mortgages is not rocket science: A call you cannot afford to missDave HershmanMortgage marketing For our marketing initiatives to be consistent and successful, we must combine pipeline management with our marketing activities. They should never be separate, and there are key calls we all need to make in order to successfully service our business and open up future marketing opportunities. Without exception, this call should take place anywhere from three to 10 days after settlement, and there are three points that need to be addressed: †I want to thank you again for allowing me to serve you. †I also wanted to make sure that there was not something else that I could do for you at this time. †I also would like some feedback as to anything we could have done to make the process better from your perspective. Note the purpose of this call is to find out if you can do something for them. You are not looking for a referral. This call is dedicated to the customer, letting you know that you care about how they feel and you would like to help them even further, if possible. Let's examine these three things. First, you need to start the conversation by thanking them again. We say that great customer service indicates that we exceed our customers' expectations, and we believe that the average vendor does not say thank you enough. So, this call represents another chance to differentiate yourself from your competition by being appreciative. Remember, customers buy from people they trust, and we trust those who are sincere and nice. The number one goal of marketing is to achieve a response by differentiating yourself from your competition. If the response to the first question is, "Yes, you can do something for me," then you must take action. Mortgage brokers always talk about great customer service as delivering additional value, and something as simple as completing a task after closing could do just that, especially since the average salesperson will drop the ball. How many times have you purchased a major product where the salesperson virtually disappeared after the deal was consummated? Once again, you are differentiating yourself from your competition. What if the response to the last question is less than pleasing? Most of us do not hear enough complaints from our customers, but it's not necessarily because we deliver on time, every time. Rather, it's because we do not ask for honest feedback. The call you just made is an opportunity to solidify the relationship (or rescue it) by taking positive, affirmative action. It is said that no relationship is solidified until something goes wrong, so at this point, we ask you to listen, empathize, apologize and take action. You won't be able reverse every complaint, but you can show that you care. So, now that we have made the call, what have we done? Ask any salesperson for the objective of marketing, they'll tell say, "Leads." However, the true goal of marketing is to provide the most effective referrals. We do that by differentiating ourselves from our competition. For those who are somewhat dissatisfied, we have demonstrated that we do care. The problem with most marketing plans is that they preach the value of new prospects rather than focus on the all-important follow-up call. We can't leave follow-ups to surveys ... with a simple phone call, we can position ourselves to obtain referrals as well as testimonials. Dave Hershman is a leading author and a top speaker for the mortgage industry with eight books and several hundred articles to his credit. He is also head of the OriginationPro Mortgage School. For more articles by Dave Hershman, free marketing materials and a schedule of events, visit www.originationpro.com. He may be contacted by phone at (703) 222-6456 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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Oct 30, 2005
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