5 Steps to Learn from Failure: Friday’s Food for Thought

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If you missed last week’s Food for Thought on a stress-free work life you can view it here.

Five Steps to Learn from Failure:

1.  What can I learn from this?

2.  What could I have done differently?

3.  Do I need to acquire or improve some skills?

4.  Who can I learn from?

5.  What will I do next?

Reverse Mortgage Sales Success Tips

Is Anybody Home? Focus In Client Relationships

Undivided attention

During a recent consultation with a coaching client the discussion turned to the topic of focus and how to stay on task when there are so many potential distractions in a given day. This got me thinking……

Having been a speaker as well as an attendee at many mortgage industry and senior related functions, I can’t help but notice how more and more, when the speaker is presenting, much of the audience is engaged in other activities. No this is not a commentary on the speaker himself, quite the contrary. It seems that we are all so concerned about staying connected 100% of the time, that we could miss a good presentation or discussion. When you are part of the audience, you have taken the time out of your day to attend a presentation- so really be there! You just may walk away with a nugget of marketing information that will help you build your pipeline. Put down the blackberry, the i-phone, the Droid, the (fill in other name of gadget here) and be there.

Client Focus

The same goes for the time you are spending with your senior clients. Personally, I love it when my clients tell me the story of their life. It often affords me great insight into how to best present the reverse mortgage and its benefits. I am not looking at my watch (or worse, my phone) while we are talking but rather devoting my full attention to them. I take notes and nod from time to time to show that I am paying attention. I ask leading questions to spur further conversation. Being 100% focused on the client during any interaction distinguishes you as a true professional, not just another loan officer. Try this in your day to day appointments, put down the phone and focus on what is taking place right there and then. You just might learn something!

 

How to Build Trust Part 2: Trust and the Aging Process

The process of aging makes one more vulnerable when it comes to trust

While it’s true that people don’t change dramatically just because they grow older (see Marketing to the Mature Homeowner/Part 1), there is one area in which aging makes us more vulnerable: trust.

As people age and watch spouses, friends and family members die, the lyrics from The Cure’s tune, Trust, may express how they feel: There is no one left in the world that I can hold onto / There is really no one left at all. Lack of a support system can and does affect older adults psychologically.
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The response to these transitions can either be fear, in which seniors become less confident in people overall, or outreach, where, in their desire to connect, they misguidedly place their faith in everyone from the caller who tells them they’ve just won a sweepstakes, to the salesperson who suggests a risky investment.

Because such unscrupulous individuals and businesses often prey on older adults’ loneliness or hope, it behooves reverse mortgage professionals to understand the concerns unique to this cohort group.

To build a strong relationship with older reverse mortgage prospects:

  • Allow plenty of time to get acquainted. Regardless of whether they seem secure or anxious, many mature adults (particularly “older” seniors, 75+) love having a new audience for their stories, especially those revolving around something as precious as their lifelong home;
  • Develop a strong sense of their personal situation. Is a reverse mortgage a prudent move for them — or are they simply enjoying the regular contact visiting with you offers, even if this takes place over the phone?
  • Go slowly. In our frenetic world, it’s easy to forget that the spryest senior will likely operate at a somewhat slower pace than you do. Be willing to explain information more than once, and in different ways, until it’s clear your prospect comprehends all the specifics.
  • Reach out. Going the extra mile might be a cliché, but doing so never is. If a senior turns out to be an excellent reverse mortgage prospect in every way, yet clearly thrives under your attention, reach out: make a home visit if possible, bring a small gift, find a referral for another need they mention. These demonstrations of caring will not only help seal the deal; your kindness also boosts your client’s quality of life.

Reverse Mortgage Relationships with Seniors

5 Steps to a Stress-Free Work Life: Friday’s Food for Thought

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Work got you stressed? Try these five steps.

Step 1 – What is taking up a lot of your focus and energy?
Write down a list of everything you are thinking about and stressing about.

Step 2 – What would be a successful outcome to this situation?
To each point on the list, visualize what a perfect solution would be and then write it down.

Step 3 – How important is it that this task is done?
By answering this question, you learn if this task is something you need and should do or if it really isn’t that important and can be eliminated.

Step 4 – What action could you take to move the project towards that goal?
Once you know that the idea is an important one, write down what the next action you can take to move the goal towards its perfect solution.

Step 5 – Decide when you are going to do the action
Write it down in your calendar.

Let Go and Relax

Do you feel how much more relaxed you are now that you don’t have to remember all your ideas? Now that you know that they will be done?

Steps

How to Build Trust with Reverse Mortgage Prospects: Part 1:

Communication is Key

You can hold a home in living trust, or create a trust fund for the next generation. But building an emotional “trust fund” with potential reverse mortgage clients — one you can draw upon throughout the sales cycle — is not as simple as a monetary investment. Creating trust calls for a wealth of skills that must be both genuine, and polished to a high gloss.

Building trust is an art form. The average reverse mortgage sales cycle until purchase is nine months — the amount of time it takes for a baby to be born. It’s an apt metaphor. In birthing their reverse mortgages, the seniors you serve are initiating a major life change that can be thrilling and scary at the same time.

What’s more, the manner in which reverse mortgage professionals interact with prospects is changing, from face-to-face “meetings at the kitchen table” to Call Center referrals, where you may never see your prospect in person. While Baby Boomers are often more comfortable making purchases by phone or even over the Internet than their forebears, it’s also true that one’s home is typically the largest asset someone owns, and transacting a reverse mortgage with a faceless originator requires a high level of trust in the person, as well as the process.

Here are several keys to developing client rapport:

Be highly knowledgeable. The more you know about the nuances of reverse mortgages, and how these options affect your target market, the easier it will be to build a trust-based relationship.

Communicate clearly and honestly. Share the disadvantages as well as the advantages of a reverse mortgage, e.g.:

  • Do your prospects understand that the consuming equity from a reverse mortgage would otherwise be passed to their heirs or estate?
  • What if they want or need to move due to health issues or changing priorities, just a year or two after securing a reverse mortgage?

Listen deeply to their story. Why is this couple or individual looking into a reverse mortgage now? What’s driving them? This is your best starting point.

In Part 2, we’ll look at factors that influence seniors’ ability to trust, as they grow older.
Reverse Mortgage Trust, Build Trust with Reverse Mortgage Prospects

Road block: Lack of funds for HUD Counseling: Industry Leader Update

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Lack of funding for HUD counseling creating a road block for those who need it the most

As we enjoyed our weekend October 1st came and went marking the beginning of the fiscal year 2012 and more importantly the date when funding from the government for mandated HUD counseling stops. This is creating delays in scheduling counseling and even worse may prevent lower income homeowners without the money for upfront counseling fees from moving forward. Either way you slice it, this is hurting the potential borrower the worst.

Lack Of Funds For HUD Counseling From Congress
Ironically when the government created the HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) program, counseling was a built in requirement. Why does congress fail to fund a requirement for a federal program they created in the first place? Politics aside it appears we may have some hope of seeing funds restored at some level in the future.

What are your thoughts? How would you propose HUD counseling be funded outside of the government. Leave your comments below.

 

The truth about relocating: Marketing to the mature homeowner part 4

Senior Moving“When I retire I plan on moving to a smaller home.”
“When I retire I’ll relocate to be closer to the kids.”

Although people may make similar statements in middle age, the reality is quite different. One study found the general move rate for seniors aged 55-64 to be just 7.4 percent per year. Clearly, while the idea of relocating to a senior-centric area (such as Florida) or to be nearer adult children might appeal, the pull of the home where they’ve raised those children, built a life, entertained their friends, and created a lifetime of memories is often stronger.

This is a boon for reverse mortgage professionals, who can help people avoid having to sell their memories (i.e., their home) in order to generate sufficient cash flow for their golden years.

There are emotional and logistical issues to moving and/or downsizing, as well as financial considerations. For some people, moving makes a lot of sense: the house is just too big, or their health isn’t up to caring for it. For the vast majority, however, aging in place (see our series on mature homeowners) is the keynote for savvy seniors, thus making them ideal reverse mortgage leads.

To better understand your target market, consider that leaving their long-term homestead means:

  • Emotional upheaval. Their house holds a lifetime of memories, as does the neighborhood. They’ve built relationships with everyone from the grocer to the librarian to their auto mechanic; it can be as difficult to let go of these peripheral connections as it is to say goodbye to cherished friends.
  • Relinquishing friendships. It’s harder to meet and form new friendships as we age, partly because we don’t have the built-in people access we did when we were younger (through school, work, civic and community activities, health clubs, etc). Some seniors may have decades-long friendships in the town where they’ve lived all their adult lives; losing these friends at this life stage could precipitate depression.
  • Logistics. Not only does relocation — especially to a smaller dwelling — necessitate selling, storing, or giving away precious possessions (a huge task in itself), there’s also the matter of adjusting to a whole new area, and choosing a new doctor, dentist, hairdresser, grocery store, etc. Many people can find these tasks daunting, depending on their age, mobility and overall health.

Thus, in marketing reverse mortgages to the mature homeowner, it’s wise to recognize and acknowledge their choice to stay put, for all these reasons and more. Your reverse mortgage prospects will feel validated in their decision — especially knowing that the equity in their beloved home can help support them as they grow older.