For wholesale account executives who know they should be using video but aren't sure what to say once the camera turns on, the answer may be simpler than they think.
The goal isn't necessarily thousands of views, polished production, or a steady stream of product pitches. It's getting the right broker to remember the right AE when a difficult loan lands on their desk.
During National Mortgage Professionals' latest Winning in Wholesale webinar, Reframing Video for Wholesale Lenders, video experts Mike Faraci of Red Button Media and Christy Mindell of Radiant Wave Media joined NMP CEO Andrew Berman to discuss how AEs can make video part of their broker outreach.
And there appears to be room for more AEs to try it. In a poll conducted during the webinar, 41% of respondents said they were not currently using video for their business.
Among the reasons: not enough time, discomfort with how they look or sound on camera, and not knowing what to say.
The panel's answer to that last problem was particularly simple: stop starting with what you sell.
Throw The Product List Away
Faraci described an exercise that changed the way he thinks about marketing.
Participants were given two different colors of Post-it notes. On the first, they were told to write down everything their companies sold.
Then they were told to throw those notes away.
The second assignment was different: write down what customers actually buy from you.
"They're two different things," Faraci said.
For a wholesale AE, that distinction can mean moving away from videos centered on products, rates, and guidelines and toward the problems brokers are actually trying to solve.
"You need to be talking about the things that your clients buy from you," Faraci said. "Typically they're buying, subscribing to, signing on for, working through deals with you because of a problem that they have, and you happen to have the solution to that problem."
Mindell suggested AEs turn that idea into a routine.
After a broker call or email, write down the question the broker asked or the problem that needed solving. If one broker is asking it, chances are others have the same question.
That becomes the next video.
A question about the minimum FICO for a bank-statement loan, for example, can become a short piece of content answering that scenario for other brokers rather than another broad pitch about the lender's bank-statement program.
"What was the question they asked you? What was the problem you solved?" Mindell said. "Put it on a sticky note."
Over time, everyday conversations with brokers become the content calendar.
The View Count Isn't The Point
The approach also changes how AEs might measure whether their videos are working.
A post doesn't necessarily have to generate a large number of likes, comments, or views to influence a relationship.
Mindell said some of her biggest clients rarely interact with her social media posts, but remember what she has shared when they speak with her.
"There's a whole silent community that's never going to give you feedback," she said.
That matters in wholesale, where an AE may be competing against several lenders offering similar products and pricing.
The more meaningful outcome may be whether a broker remembers the AE when a scenario comes up, starts a conversation or sends a deal — not whether the broker clicked the like button.
Video can also be used more directly than a public social post.
Faraci gave the example of an AE providing a loan update to a broker, then recording a quick video for the processor or assistant handling the file. Instead of another email, the AE can explain what is needed, what remains outstanding, and the expected timeline on camera.
The recording may take about as long as typing the message, he said, while giving another person at the brokerage a chance to see and hear the AE.
Twelve Videos In About 40 Minutes
Time was another concern raised by webinar attendees.
Faraci recommended batch recording rather than trying to create a new video from scratch every day.
With a prepared list of topics, he said AEs can record roughly 12 videos in about 40 minutes, enough for three posts a week for a month.
His own running list of potential video topics has grown to more than 150.
And AEs shouldn't assume every topic has to be new.
If a particular question or message resonates with brokers, Faraci said it can be revisited because new people may not have seen it the first time.
The objective isn't to continually invent content. It's to repeatedly answer the questions brokers care about.
Work With Compliance, Not Around It
Wholesale AEs also have another consideration that many social media creators don't: lender marketing and compliance requirements.
Faraci recommended establishing the guardrails upfront by asking marketing or compliance teams which subjects are off limits.
Mindell advised AEs who aren't sure about a video to first run it past their manager and then marketing before posting it.
Over time, she said, AEs can learn the boundaries and the approval process can become easier.
Those restrictions can even improve the content.
"Nobody wants to hear about your rates. Nobody wants to hear about your guidelines. Nobody wants to hear about your products," Faraci said. "They want to hear about the problems that you solve and the way that you can help people actually grow their business."
Data Can Narrow The Audience
Knowing what to say is only part of the equation. Knowing which brokers to reach can make that content more useful.
Forrest Marshall of mortgage data and intelligence provider Modex and Linn Cook of CRM provider OptifiNow joined the webinar to discuss how data and CRM technology can help wholesale teams identify and communicate with brokers they want to reach.
Rather than treating video as a broad social media exercise, an AE can pair content with information about the brokers in a market and incorporate that outreach into an existing relationship strategy.
That brings the strategy back to its central premise: the objective isn't to become an influencer. It's to create another reason for a broker to know, remember, and trust the AE.
Build The AE's Brand
One audience question raised another issue familiar to wholesale: should an AE build a brand around the lender they work for or around themselves?
Faraci favored putting the AE first.
"The focus on your content should be you and your trustworthiness, and then people should trust the company that you work for because they trust you," he said.
A strong lender brand can reinforce that credibility, the panel said, but the relationship belongs largely to the person working with the broker.
That can be particularly important in wholesale, where AEs may change companies during their careers while maintaining relationships with many of the same mortgage brokers.
For AEs still hesitant to turn on the camera, the panel's advice ultimately came down to starting small rather than waiting until the content is perfect.
"AEs aren't doing this," Faraci said. "So doing something will put you ahead of the curve. Doing it well will give you an unfair advantage, but the only way to get to a point to where you're doing it well is to start by doing something."
For wholesale AEs, that first video doesn't require a clever script or a new product to promote.
The next broker question may already be enough.
Watch the full Winning in Wholesale: Reframing Video for Wholesale Lenders webinar and explore upcoming NMP webinars here.
