Seven Ways to Work Happier

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The following is from an earlier publication authored by Amara Rose.

We spend a lot of time focusing on ways to enhance the reverse mortgage experience for mature adults. Just as crucial, however, is the care of the reverse mortgage professional. The more relaxed, healthy, and well-rested you are, the better you’ll be able to listen and the more thorough and specific the service you’ll provide.


Here are seven ways to improve your workplace, mood, and manner:


1. Order in the workplace! There are people who can pull the precise piece of paper they need from a chaotic jumble on their desk. However, a well-ordered work area makes this exponentially easier. Think about placing your important documents in color-coded file folders, or whatever system suits your personality, available space, and daily needs.


2. Let there be light. Unless you have full-spectrum lighting, sun exposure through windows is preferable to sitting under fluorescent bulbs, which can weaken eyesight with their rapid, undetected blinking. Another health benefit of natural light is improved sleep, which affects the quality of life — and encourages people to get more exercise because they finally have the energy for it.


3. Go for the green. While plants improve air quality by breathing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen, they also decrease stress and increase productivity by 12 percent, says a new AARP report. Maybe not a huge enhancement, but where else can you get a daily brain boost for the price of a little watering?


4. Vary the sitting. It’s a conundrum: sitting for more than four hours a day has been shown to increase the odds of developing cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease — ouch! — yet standing at a raised desk can lead to varicose veins, knee or ankle problems, and carpal tunnel syndrome. What’s a health-oriented reverse mortgage professional to do? The AARP article suggests (no joke) a treadmill: one study found those who walked during the workday lost weight and enjoyed greater productivity after one year. Of course, you could simply take a tip from one manager who possessed a lot of kinetic energy: he paced his office while talking on the phone, which burned calories, kept him from sitting or standing too much, and dispensed with the need for a treadmill.


5. Trust your animal instincts. A growing number of office buildings permit pets (and if you own the building, you get to make the rules). Pets help reduce stress, boost morale and collaboration, and raise efficiency.


6. Go walkabout for lunch. Give the sad-sack lunch-at-your-desk routine a pass and take a walk in the park; eat your meal while watching the birds. Or call a colleague and suggest you try that new sushi place. On the other hand, if you need to work on a closing or other mental task, staying focused at your desk is probably a better idea. Just try not to make a habit of it.


7. Music to your ears. While the younger generation seems to have earbuds surgically implanted, the AARP story does note that workers listening to music tend to complete tasks quicker and come up with better ideas than their quiet-loving colleagues. If you prefer to save music for after business hours, it still helps reduce stress, so listen to what you enjoy most when you’re unwinding at home, or on the drive there.



 

 

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Finding the Balance of Flow (part 1)

Finding the Balance of Flow

Each of us has a limited capacity or reserve of physical, intellectual, or emotional energy that we draw from each day. This week Dr. Stephen Campbell looks at ways we can achieve a balance between those things that fill us and those that drain us.

7 Things to Do When Business is Slow

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Customer service has waned in the last decade

Do you hear the crickets yet? Many reverse mortgage originators and managers report an unusual silence in sales inquiries, calls, etc. The optimistic side of us hopes it’s jus the calm before the storm. Truth to told there are ebbs and flows to any business cycle.


With that in mind here are seven things we can do when business is slow.


  1. 1. Research your local market. Reverse Market Insight’s Neighborhood Dashboard is a great tool to learn more about your local market and uncover unseen opportunities.

  • 2. Optimize your online presence. Can local older homeowners or their children find you if they search for reverse mortgages in your area? If not you’re effectively invisible. If you need to start from scratch or just improve your existing website, reach out to us and let’s find a time to chat.

  2. 3. Reach out to local professionals or begin building a network. Local businesses live or die based on relationships. We’re not the exception to the rule. Disciplined relationship building begins with planning and commitment. Find where the people you want to know mingle and join. Make yourself available and useful by volunteering at events or fundraisers. Your status and value will be noted. 

  4. 4. Enhance your skillset. When’s the last time you read a book on sales techniques, attended a seminar or workshop? If you have more time on your hands now may be the opportunity to get started. 

  6. 5. Drip, drip, drip with email. Do you know it typically a person will see your email five to six times before they respond. Setup a series of emails that introduces yourself or your services. Be careful not to hammer them with too many emails in a short period of time lest they unsubscribe. A Client Relationship Manager such as Reverse Focus’ Sales Engine has just such a tool!

  8. 6. Call your previous borrowers. Has their situation changed? Do they need assistance in requesting a withdrawal from their reverse mortgage? How are things going in general for them? Remember, people don’t care until they know how much you care about them. At the end, ask if they may know anyone who could benefit from a reverse mortgage just as they did.

  10. 7. Prepare for rate cuts. Some economists feel the feel the Federal Reserve has been too slow to cut interest rates most are betting they will cut rates this spring. If true, are you prepared? If you’re fortunate enough to have a CRM (Client Relationship Manager), then look for recent applicants who were short-to-close. Reach out to them (by phone and email). Explain that you are closely watching interest rates and if they drop enough to increase their loan proceeds to qualify without bringing in cash to the closing you will be the first to call them. 


In closing, when it comes to sales there’s one thing a close friend told me a decade ago that sticks with me to this day- ‘Activity leads to opportunities’. A good reminder and perhaps another way to say the harder I work the luckier I get.


Let us know what activities you find productive during this sales season in the comment section below. 


 

 

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Do More By Doing Less

How doing less makes you more productive!

Did you know that those who work 46 weeks per year actually outperform those who work all year without a vacation?  Even just taking one week off may not be enough. The trick for loan originators is most of you are only paid for the loans you close. So taking time off may feel like your watching money blow by, but is it really? 

 

Here are some benefits of carving out time to get away from the daily grind of originating reverse mortgages or managing those who do.

 

First, vacations give you something to look forward to. This force you to get serious about your time management, schedule your tasks, and get laser-focused. 

 

Second, taking a break improves your health. Is it really worth skipping taking some me or we time only to get run down and sick. Stressed out workers are 63% more likely to take sick pay and miss time at the office. I guess that trade-off wasn’t such a great deal after all.

 

Third, vacations improve your long-term health reducing your likelihood of a heart attack, stroke, depression, or anxiety. Let’s book that flight. 

 

Fourth, stepping back from work duties allows you to clear your mind and boost your creativity. Are you working on a big project? Taking a break may actually improve the quality of your work.

 

Fifty, just planning a vacation improves your mood. My wife and I found several informative YouTube videos with travel tips before our trip to New Orleans last December. The building excitement of what we would see and do boosted our spirits.

 

After putting your nose to the grindstone and cranking away there’s something special about relishing time away from the hustle and bustle of your everyday work life. Plan a vacation or stay-cation but make it happen. You’ll thank yourself later.

Customer Service: Is it extinct?

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Customer service has waned in the last decade

Actress Andie MacDowell became embroiled in a minor brouhaha. She was on a flight instead of the first class seat she’d paid for, and gosh, it was disheartening to hobnob with the unwashed masses.

 

At least, that’s how the media spun it. Actually, MacDowell insists, she just wanted to receive the level of customer service she’d purchased.>Customer service seems to be going the way of the landline phone, which is unfortunate — especially in a service business. Yet providing stellar service doesn’t need to be a big deal. Consider these contrasting scenarios: 


Heartbreak Hotel?

 

True service is subtle and sincere. Many years ago, I took a colleague who was in town for a conference to lunch at Campton Place, a five-star San Francisco hotel. Lunch for the two of us was $30 before tip (about $55 today). My colleague murmured, “I don’t mind paying $30 for a meal like this; it was worth it.” And while the lunch was scrumptious, she wasn’t referring to the food so much as the five-star service: waitstaff who magically refilled water glasses and bread baskets before we even thought to ask, and presented each course with a flourish. The message was clear: there is nothing we would rather be doing than serving you.

 

Shelley related what had transpired at her own hotel. Her complicated surname was misspelled on her name badge. She asked for a new one. The staff told her, “We’re busy now; come back later.” She did, and the extra badges couldn’t be located. Finally, she took a felt tip pen from her purse and redid the badge herself.

I described a similar experience at the library. (This was before Google and smartphones solved our research requests instantaneously.) I needed a single page of information from a reference book at a different location. My librarian verified its availability. When I drove across town to the other branch, the book was in use upstairs. I asked whether the librarian could fax me the page I needed when it was available if I paid for it now, reasoning that it would just take her a minute and would save me another trip across town. “Oh, no,” she replied with a tinge of amazement, “We don’t have time for special requests like that here.

 

Service With A Smile

 

The loan officer who called my attention to the dearth of service in service businesses said, “The lack of good customer service can be a real detriment to future incoming business, and I have always prided myself on doing things the right way. I also taught this as a topic as an adjunct professor at our local college.

“There is a motto that sums it up: ‘Treat People Right’. It is packed with what should be done to preserve your client relationships and grow new ones.”How do you do this in your reverse mortgage business? It’s easier than you may think. Kissmetrics suggests eight (here are four) fresh customer service ideas that can work for the reverse mortgage industry, such as:


1. Make a video. For senior prospects, seeing a friendly face answer basic HECM questions creates a connection before you or they even pick up the phone. This HECMWorld blog post describes how to create a compelling, service-oriented reverse mortgage video.  

 

2. Publish reports. Take one of our weekly blog posts that focuses on senior topics, such as this piece on eight ways to transition into retirement, or this one on the value of embracing change, create a brief “report”, and email or snail mail it with a personal note, suggesting your prospect may find the material of interest. This builds credibility, with a warm fuzzy: everyone loves getting personal mail, especially seniors — and especially in the form of a letter they can hold in their hands.


3. Send a personal thank-you note. Like the above, hand-written thank-you notes are so rare you’ll immediately catapult to the head of the class. It takes almost no time to dash off a line of appreciation to the senior prospect or client by name, on your good stationery or on a greeting card.


4. Showcase customer support. Just as people have confidence in 5-star reviews, it pays to show off your customer kudos. If you have a Reverse Focus website, let prospects (and clients) see those client satisfaction ratings and testimonials. As the Kissmetrics blog states, “not only does it help potential customers make a decision, it also helps reaffirm the faith existing customers have in them.”

You have the potential to be a Campton Place in every transaction. All it takes is a firm commitment to client care.

 

 

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5 Ways to Beat the Sales Doldroms

 

Are you familiar with the word doldrums? In our modern lexicon it describes a slump, loss of motion, lack of productivity, or listlessness. For sailors the doldrums were no laughing matter before the advent of steamships and diesel powered vessels. Mariners used the term to describe a windless and potentially deadly zone near the equator where ships could get stuck or days, weeks, or longer as the sails hung slack. 

 

Today many mortgage and real estate professionals are in this windless limbo and consequently may find themselves with empty sails feeling uneasy, bored, or fearful.

 

So how do we start paddling back to where the wind can fill our sails? Here are five strategies for your consideration.

 

1. Be Consistent

 

Habits and routines may seem boring but they can serve us well. Practice consistent routines for outbound sales calls, mining your client and prospect data in a CRM, and meeting with area professionals who interact with potential borrowers. To ensure you don’t fall off the wagon schedule each of these as recurring events on your calendar. 

 

2. Use the Stockdale Paradox

 

The Stockdale Paradox embodies two elements: confronting the brutal truth of your current situation while maintaining an unwavering faith or belief that you will prevail in the end. This principle is named after Vietnam prisoner of war James Stockdale who was imprisoned in the infamous Hanoi Hilton where he developed several psychological tools of survival. Take stock of where your business stands today and boost your perseverence by envisioning where you want to be.

 

3. Adjust your message

 

Is your typical sales approach effective with homeowners? Is your marketing producing results? If not, take the time to dive deep into what motivated your past clients and take the pulse of your local market. Have conditions changed? Is the standard pitch of eliminating required mortgage payments working? If not, work to develop a relevant message.

 

4. Keep the essentials

 

There are some expenses that should be eliminated and others that shouldn’t. If you find yourself with fewer closings and less income resist the temptation to fold the tent. Folding the tent is eliminating those key services and tools that are essential to you continuing to market, engage, and followup with potential borrowers.

 

5. Stay in touch

 

When business slows take advantage of your time by getting on the phone. Professionals across all industries find that the more personal contacts they make the more likely they are to find a deal. Call your past borrowers and check in on how they’re doing. Ask for a referral. Meet a local advisor or realtor for coffee. No matter what- keep building relationships.

What do you do during a slow business season? Share your experience in the comment section below.Â