Branding Yourself – Shaping Your Image
In meeting several of you at the NRMLA Annual Meeting, I realized one thing- each of you have a powerful and unique brand. Your best brand is you...
Your Brand is YOU!
5 Ways to attract potential borrowers
Grassroots marketing still works. Here’s how
A little creativity goes a long way when it comes to attracting past prospects and senior homeowners in your area…
The most important question you should ask
What is the most important question you should be asking during your appointments?
Email John what you think is the most important question to ask during an appointment.
About John Luddy: John has trained reverse mortgage professionals how to be successful when sitting face-to-face at the kitchen table with prospective HECM borrowers. Norcom is looking for qualified loan officer candidates. To learn more call 1-860-507-2582 or email John Luddy here
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What Netflix & Costco can teach us
Our industry can benefit from the lessons taught in market disruption
Market disruption has pushed many household bands into extinction and created new multi-billion dollar corporate giants. Consider these example. As the internet became increasingly fast Netflix quickly crushed the brick and mortar business model of Blockbuster Video allowing consumers to avoid long lines, late fees, and limited selections. When Betamax, and VHS tapes first entered the market many in Hollywood openly lamented that this was the beginning of the end of box office movie sales. Then came online music. Napster disrupted the tightly regulated sale of music controlled by a handful of record labels allowing anyone with an internet connection to download and play nearly any song. The music industry balked, filed suit and then eventually embraced the digital revolution foisted upon them leading to the debut of Apple’s iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and others.
Each of these market disruptions is instructive, providing us a keen insight into how industry’s resist change and fade into extinction or adapt and increase market share. While on a much smaller scale, the reverse mortgage industry is facing a similar conundrum- albeit much of it born from regulation rather than innovation.
There are typically two approaches industry’s have taken to increase their appeal to consumers: offering a plethora of products or simplified selections. Consider the…
Forget home runs…
The real secret to closing more loans is not what you may expect
All the expertise, sales skill, and ability to influence does little to increase sales without one thing…
FREE Online Exposure: How to be an expert on social media
How to be THE expert on social media
When it comes to advertising on social media you must comply with a myriad of compliance issues? But what about opening up the conversation on topics related to retirement, outliving one’s money, or aging in place? This week we share some strateges to get you started…
Viewers share their ideas to attract borrowers
How sharing what works for you benefits all
Last week we asked you, our loyal viewers, to share what’s helped you attract potential HECM borrowers and grow your business. Well, several of you took the time to submit your ideas. Thank you, sincerely. Here are a few.
Networking and calling on attorneys. Many have created and nurtured relationships with attorneys who specialize in estate planning, senior benefits, Medicaid, real estate. The real advantage is their clients implicitly trust their attorney’s recommendations, and if they recommend you, there’s no better lead.
Another viewer uses focused newsletters. While many are sending out a generic newsletter template to their entire database this seasoned pro uses a more targeted approach. “I believe it is our focused newsletters sent to specific lists of potential borrowers that sustain our business and many times we get calls years after the first contact stating that the reason we are being contacted is the newsletter”, he said.
Finding Opportunity in a Down Market
Yogi Berra said ‘the future ain’t what it used to be”. One of the biggest challenges any industry, city or individual can face is to embrace the reality that things will never be like they were before and look for new ways to succeed in the new normal of doing business.
Continue readingTogether We Are Stronger
How sharing what works for you benefits all
Success is not a zero sum game. Would you be willing to share what is working for you in attracting and closing more loans despite recent changes to the reverse mortgage? You can remain anonymous or request that we use your name. Either way, your inputs are appreciated and will help your fellow originators across the country. Submit your ideas here.
Despite Challenges This Was the Best HECM Decade
A long-term perspective of HECM endorsement volume
Our collective experience as reverse mortgage professionals shapes our perspective. Much of that perspective in recent years was influenced by falling endorsement volumes. The reverse mortgage industry posted a record 114,000 endorsements in 2009 just as the housing and economic crash began in earnest. Consequently volumes plummeted with housing values. In the years that followed, endorsement declines were commonly attributed to increased relegation and product changes. But what perspective can we gain when looking at our industry’s growth in the last decade?
James Veale is a numbers guy. Not surprising considering his extensive work prior to originating reverse mortgages as a Certified Public Accountant with a Masters in taxation. In his recent column published in Reverse Mortgage Daily Veale writes, “During the last decade, the industry produced more than twice as many endorsements (707,915) as the total endorsements for all fiscal years that preceded it (346,177). We not only saw the 500,000th endorsement in the last decade but also the 1 millionth.”
As a frame of reference, let’s review previous HECM marketing efforts.The summer edition of Reverse Mortgage Magazine published by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) touted 2017 as the ‘30th anniversary of the HECM’. In its first decade, the HECM was a relative unknown to older homeowners. That quickly changed in the mid-2000’s when big bank lenders such as…
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