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Influence Behavior For Better Results

Think of ways you might enhance your training and coaching efforts

Influence Behavior For Better Results
Insider
Contributing Writer

This is the third of a three-part series. In past issues, we covered the difficulties presented finding the time and techniques required to training and coach loan officers. We also added coaching techniques such as role playing and scripts. Now we will add additional tools that you might use in order to facilitate your efforts in this regard.

Create Buddies

As a manager, you cannot be everywhere at once.  At the same time, most sales personnel will tend to become stale in their approach if they go out and attempt to accomplish the same task over and over again. We can assist the implementation of sales monitoring and effectiveness by teaming a senior originator with a rookie (or a few rookies) and making the senior originator a team leader.

Going further, a buddy system would pair all our sales personnel so that they present joint goals, effect joint calls and work on larger projects together. Perhaps they might also spot review each other’s loan applications.

Nothing instills enthusiasm greater than joint energy. A monitoring visit by the boss does not instill energy nor does it produce genuine behavior. Have the buddies give joint reports at the sales meetings.

Originators can also buddy up and call with vendors who are also calling upon their targets. For example, the marketing arm of a title company also calls on real estate professionals. Why not accomplish this task together? Buddies may also cover for each other when vacations and other absences occur.

One can always accomplish more as part as a team rather than as an individual. And most of all — this technique helps instill a team spirit!

Incentive Programs

Most companies have reward levels for top producers (perhaps a trip or bonus). If sales contests are held locally, the winners are likely to be the same top producers. Others are not motivated because they do not perceive a chance to win.

Our goal is to influence behavior and our compensation plans already reward higher production levels. Why not gear incentives to actual behaviors likely to produce a particular result? For example, a contest to set up and deliver a certain amount of Realtor sales meeting presentations. There will be an opportunity to combine this contest with training concentrating upon the types of presentations that can be held, speaking skills, and identification of achievement of objectives.

Another option is to offer incentive programs that reward the improvement of production levels or market share, rather than total production levels. In the case of improvement, medium and lower-level producers have a better chance of winning than those who have reached top producer level.

Some examples of incentives rewards that are beyond a trip or bonus:

  • Send the winner to a special event or training program
  • Give the winner a private office for the quarter
  • Assign a certain amount of marketing dollars or a marketing assistant to the winner
  • A training tape or on-line training program
  • First choice of leads coming in for a certain time-period


Note that many of these are geared towards helping the salesperson leverage their “winnings” for even more business. A bonus or trip is a great incentive — but if you can multiply the effect, there is even a greater result from the contest.

Mentor Program

Having a mentor program serves more than one purpose. Among its advantages:

  • It is a vehicle that will help the manager with training responsibilities.
  • It can provide extra monetary compensation for a deserving employee.
  • It can provide management training for those who are interested in advancing.

Most novices complain that mortgage companies have no training program or if the company does have classroom training, there is no follow-up afterwards. The mentor program is a way of integrating a field-training program.

Inside Lead Follow

Those who manage “inside” sales personnel have specific issues regarding coaching. The loan officers are typically present in the office (or are remote) and are following up on set leads. Therefore, training requirements are typically going to focus upon overcoming objections, needs assessment and closing the leads. There may or may not be an additional objective to leverage the lead for additional referrals which basically increases the sphere of the sales rep and company.

Taken as a whole, this series should certainly get you thinking as to ways you might enhance your training and coaching efforts. In today’s challenging market, your originators need as much help as possible.

This article was originally published in the NMP Magazine August 2022 issue.
About the author
Insider
Contributing Writer
Dave Hershman is an author for the mortgage industry with eight books and several hundred articles to his credit. He is also senior vice president of sales for Weichert Financial Services, head of OriginationPro Mortgage School…
Published on
Aug 01, 2022
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