The above title seems like a simple enough question: Who am I? Well … I’m a father, son, friend, sales professional and a few other things. I’m quite sure if I were to ask you the same question, you could come up with similar answers, all of which would be perfectly valid.
Now let me challenge you a bit … who are you in the business world? If you are like most people, you probably answer that question with some iteration detailing “what” you do. Something along the lines of “I’m a loan officer.” Yes, this does describe what you do, and in part, “who you are.” Now, here is the challenge ... who cares? Why should I, or anyone else for that matter, care that you are a loan officer? Don’t take offense, I mean it literally ... who really does care? There are thousands of originators out there, what makes you different? Why should anyone work with you?
This is not a new question. I’m quite certain that you have heard it countless times before, so why is it that there are still so many originators who look, feel, act and talk the same?
The more important question to answer is: What are the implications, not only to you, but also to the consumers, when they are faced with so many similar choices? It all comes down to the psychology of decision-making, which, in essence, is a very simple psychology. We, as humans, need to base our decisions on perceived differences. The decision is made emotionally, but rationalized logically, through the differences. So what happens when we don’t differentiate ourselves? The answer: Your customer is forced to find a differentiating factor on their own, and more often than not, they will gravitate to something they can easily measure: Price.
By far the most powerful way to differentiate yourself is to let your customers and referral partners do it for you. Let them tell your story through testimonials and reviews. Seventy-nine percent of people trust an online review in the same way they trust a personal referral, so why not take advantage of that fact? Another exciting fact is that the mortgage industry is one of the slowest industries to respond to the fact so it has never been easier to stand out from the rest.
I see so many originators post testimonials or praise reports on social media sites like Facebook, which are great, but if your intended audience doesn’t see it in the News Feed, chances are, they never will. That is why it is it is crucial to create a profile on FREE sites such as BetterLoanOfficers.com so you have a place to collect, manage, and more importantly, share your reviews with potential clients and business partners.
Take control of your online reputation by signing up at www.BetterLoanOfficers.com today.
Rene Rodriguez is founder and chief executive officer of BetterLoanOfficers.com, a powerful and easy-to-use online loan officer review management system. Loan officers can collect, manage and promote their reviews in order to build trust, secure more referral relationships and close more deals. Rene is also CEO of Volentum, an enterprise education and consulting company. He has been named to National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals” for five consecutive years. He is a renowned behavioral and organizational change expert, leadership coach, world class sales trainer & dynamic keynote speaker who has shared the stage with Tony Robins, Lou Holtz, Ben Stein, Roy Firestone and Jeffery Gitomer.
This article orignally appeared in the May 2014 edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
