Wouldn’t it be nice to have access to other brains, to help build your reverse mortgage business and to test-drive new ideas? There’s a way to do so without resorting to sci-fi: MasterMind groups
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A Paradigm Shift in Home Equity has begun. The iconic American dream and home ownership have become so intertwined it is difficult to separate the two.
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The reverse mortgage is deceptively simply to the casual observer and even loan professionals. As we know under the surface the product is quite complex.
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Assumptions are mental shortcuts we take to save us time and energy but they may in fact be hurting our business and personal lives. Many of these assumptions are…
Continue readingMinding Your Mobile Manners
Cellphone Etiquette for the Reverse Mortgage Professional
OK, you’ve got your Reverse Focus mobile phone app. It’s a fabulous new convenience for staying up to the nanosecond on the reverse mortgage industry so you can better serve your clients. But think twice about how and when you use that phone.
In the old days, before businesspeople had cell phones grafted to their hips or ears like indispensable appendages, the rules of etiquette for phone use at work were simple: you made and returned business calls, didn’t answer the phone during a meeting, and hoped staff didn’t make too many personal calls on company time.
Mobile phones changed everything. While it’s now comical to see teens sitting together, texting the person next to them, this behavior isn’t very funny in a business environment. A professional who plunks a smart phone onto the desk at the start of a meeting is essentially announcing to the prospect or client that an incoming call trumps present company. There’s no quicker way to nix a budding business relationship — especially with seniors.
Here are eight tips for minding your mobile manners, so you’ll keep clients, colleagues and everyone else around you happy — and possibly boost business in the bargain:
1. Don’t just hold the phone — hide it. Remember the ’60s slang, “outasight”? That’s what your cell phone ought to be in any business situation. Unless you’re a head of state or expectant father, there’s little that can’t wait. And if you do keep the phone on your person, set it to “vibrate”.
2. Choose a dignified ringtone. Sure, you’ll receive non-business calls. But how will you feel if your cell starts playing hip-hop music when you’re about to meet with a reverse mortgage prospect? Not very hip…
3. Keep your voice down. For some reason, people using cell phones seem to think the person they’re talking to is partially deaf. Nobody wants to hear your conversation…and if you happen to be sitting in the airport, catching up on calls while awaiting your flight, do you want everyone around you to know the intricacies of your reverse mortgage business — or your client’s private details?
4. Be brief. Ever sat in a restaurant and heard the intimate details of someone’s love life via their cell conversation? Not appetizing. Many eateries now post notices that they are “cell phone free zones”. If you must make or receive a call in a public venue, be quick, and arrange to talk at length later if necessary.
5. Turn your phone off at all times in the following places: museums, cemeteries, theaters, dentist or doctor waiting rooms, places of worship, hospital emergency rooms — and public restrooms. You really can wait to conduct business until you’ve finished that other business.
6. Act the part. You may look at each incoming number and determine how to answer based on who’s calling, but the one time you forget, it’s a key reverse mortgage prospect to whom you’ve just said, “Yo, dude!” Ouch. Choose a professional greeting and use it consistently: “Hello, this is Jim” or “ABC Reverse Mortgage, Susan speaking.”
7. Respect personal space. When you’re talking in public, follow the dictum of the tune by The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”. Try to stay at least ten feet from anyone else while on the call.
8. Never talk or text while driving. Cell phones may not contain alcoholic content, but if you’re talking at the wheel, you’re driving while impaired — even if you use a hands-free earpiece. Texting is even more dangerous; a number of severe accidents have been caused by someone text messaging while driving. In addition, in many states using a hand-held device while driving is now against the law.
The Must Stay
Reverse Mortgages Must Stay to Meet Demand. With the words of one senator asking why not stop the reverse mortgage program ringing in our collective ears, it is comforting to hear that housing experts see things differently. The Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission…
Continue readingFebruary Top 100 Retail HECM Lenders Report
Download your February Top 100 Retail HECM Lenders Report Here.
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#1 Security One is establishing their place as the nation’s top retail reverse mortgage lender while Maverick Funding broke the top ten landing #10.
How to be a Powerful Presenter
Whether you speak before groups, on the phone or at the kitchen table there are some techniques you can use to increase your effectiveness and impact.
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