“Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits.”

As a Man Thinketh – James Allen

Today mortgage professionals find themselves pressed between rising interest rates and record home prices. To be honest, it’s not an ideal situation. The question is who will be able to persevere in today’s market? The answer is those who can align their aspirational thoughts with purpose and concrete action.

Here are eight strategies to help you more effectively attract new borrowers and close more loans.

1. Develop outstanding work habits and make them part of your daily routine. Getting an earlier start, a recurring schedule of prospecting, or building more professional contacts are just a few ideas to get you started.

2. Cultivate a positive mental attitude and protect it at all costs. Naysayers are a dime a dozen and they’ll never be there to give you a helping hand or a word of encouragement. Surround yourself with those who have a ‘can-do’ attitude.

3. Remind yourself those who persevere win. Watch. Each housing and mortgage cycle brings an exodus reducing your local competition.

4. Seek to add value to your borrowers, their families, and referral partners. Doing so makes you an asset not just another salesperson.

5. Focus on your pipeline. Salespeople tend to only focus on what’s coming out of the pipeline, that is loans pending to close. But what happens after they close and fund? Those who fastidiously focus on keeping their pipeline full are those who can survive a recession, market downturn, or a tough lending market. Building a pipeline may be the most important part of your business.

6. Show Instead of Tell. Are you sending PDFs of reverse mortgage proposals and comparison sheets? If so, great but many may still be confused. Instead, consider using a screencasting tool like Loom where you can show and explain what each page means in a short personalized video.

7. Automate your tasks. Are you sending periodic emails to your business contacts, homeowners, or influencers in your community? What’s your process once a homeowner’s application is turned in? Automation frees you up to focus on the highest value activities that can only be accomplished with your unique talents and skills. Leave the rest to someone else, or like many of Reverse Focus’ clients, use Sales Engine’s Workflow automation tool to keep applicants informed and referral partners engaged.

8. Ditch the boring emails.
The better the subject line the more likely your email recipients will open the message. But what do they see next? Avoid long blocks of text few (if any) will read. 

Instead, try embedding a video GIF image that shows a few seconds of a video with you on screen. This appeals to the reader’s sense of curiosity and will increase your click-through rates. Direct the email call to action button and video GIF image to link to a landing page that auto-plays the video with a form for them to book a time to meet by phone or Zoom.

Begin by using two or three of these strategies and measure their effectiveness. Let us know which of these tips you’re already using in the comment section below.