Anxiety Sells

retirement anxiety


Like it or not, the reality is that fear and anxiety sell. To put a point on it, fear motivates us to take proactive steps to reduce risks with a reasonable solution where we would typically run to comfort instead. As it’s said, ‘action defers anxiety’.

Here are just a few motivating fears and the actions many have taken.

Fear: A young income-earner worries his family would suffer financially should he die prematurely.

Action: They purchase a life insurance policy.

Fear: A conservative investor worries that today’s low interest-earning CDs and money market accounts won’t allow them to keep up with inflation.
Action: They purchase an investment/contract that guarantees a higher interest rate.

Fear: A senior widow is anxious that medical expenses outside of Medicare will break the bank.
Action: She purchases a Medicare Supplement policy to reduce her financial exposure.

Fear: The U.S. Debt just added $2 trillion to the federal ledger making federal debt exceed our annual gross domestic product (GDP) for the first time since World War II. Higher taxes are likely to follow.
Action: They convert their existing IRAs to Roth IRAs to stop future tax liabilities.

Fear: Inflation is likely to increase substantially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic making nearly everything more expensive.
Action: They get a reverse mortgage which eliminates their existing mortgage payments and leaves them an available line of credit should they need to increase their cash flow even more.

Ethically we never want to sell only from a position of fear. However, we should ask the uncomfortable ‘what if’ questions to uncover a homeowner’s hidden fears. Those things they wouldn’t volunteer to discuss yet eat away at their peace of mind. After all is it better to shy away from sensitive topics for our own comfort or check to see if the homeowner could benefit by taking some proactive steps to leverage their home’s value?

Now more than ever before older homeowners would benefit by thinking through the realistic ‘what if scenarios’ that most retirees wrestle are struggling with. So, let’s commit to getting a little uncomfortable ourselves and address the proverbial elephant in the room.

retirement anxiety 

 

Start making this one call


What’s a blast from the past call? Find out in this week’s installment of Friday’s Food for Thought. 

The One Question You Should Always Ask



The 1 question Tom O’Donoghue asks on every single sales appointment

A silver bullet? More like a golden one. Here’s the one question Tom asks on every appointment that you should ask as well…

They love a good story!


We all love a good story. Here’s how you can use storytelling with your potential borrowers. 

Succeeding in Tough Times: An Interview with Tom O’Donoghue



Tom O’Donoghue shares how he’s consistently closing several loans each month

Our industry is rich with experienced and ethical professionals. Tom O’Donoghue of Reverse Loans Now is just such a person. In Part 1 of our exclusive interview Tom shares exactly how he’s built relationships with area professionals, maintains those relationships, and what every originator should do when the borrower has a CPA.

The Holiday Slump

6 ways to avoid a costly holiday sales slump

The big slump. That’s often what the holidays are for sales professionals. That may even include even reverse mortgage originators (gasp).

Years ago when working in financial services fellow agents would often disappear in December. This was before the age of social media so no ‘proof of life’ photos were available online to soothe my fears that perhaps they had been placed into witness protection or worse.

The truth is too often many believe that no one will be available or wants to hear from them during the holiday. Okay, certainly you could say that on Christmas eve or Christmas day. Beyond that, the need and interest in the reverse mortgage may be heightened as expenses mount, and bank balances dwindle. Perhaps the cash stuck in the bricks and mortar in their home just became that much more important.

A slump in sales in December would certainly be felt in February. With that in mind here are some practical strategies to have optimal engagement with potential borrowers:

  1. Send a holiday greetings email to those who’ve closed a loan, those who didn’t and especially to those who are sitting on the fence. Don’t ask for a sale- just include a short and heartfelt message.
  2. Mail a Christmas card to your top referring professionals. Attorneys, CPAs, and realtors still maintain the tradition of sending holiday cards and are accustomed to receiving them as well. Address your envelopes in your own hand. (See #6)
  3. Host an open house event. It may be too late to squeeze a date before Christmas, but you can certainly host a new year’s themed event. Remember the purpose of your open house is not to make sales but to express your gratitude and stay top of mind.
  4. Email gift ideas for several age groups. While few will admit it, often we find ourselves stumped to find the perfect gift for that special someone.
  5. Schedule appointments for the new year. If all else fails, schedule a meeting in January after the holiday frenzy has settled. Be sure to make a note in your CRM or calendar to remind them 5 days before your meeting.
  6. (BONUS): Send a New Years’ card. For the new year? Indeed. You will stand head and shoulders above the glut of Christmas cards sent.

These are just a few ways to beat the holiday sales slump. What strategies would you add to this list? Leave your ideas in the comment section below.

How to Overcome Confirmation Bias


The first step is knowing you have confirmation bias too

Are you Selling or Serving?


Why the authentic approach works

I owe much to a friend who gave me Lou Cassara’s book ‘From Selling to Serving”. At that time I was a greenhorn in the insurance and financial services industry. Regardless, I attended countless sales seminars to improve my skills. I even read Tommy Hopkins “How to Master the Art of Selling” which was a tremendous help in closing more deals and substantially increasing my income. Yet there were times I began to question some of what I had been taught? Was I becoming your typical salesman?

HECM improvements will pay dividends

The focus on foreclosure prevention and servicing will pay dividends for both consumers and industry participants alike


It’s a fact every salesperson and reverse mortgage professional must embrace- the vast majority of consumers inherently distrust salespeople. Will recent HECM changes help bolster the product’s legitimacy in the public eye? How will you approach the nuances of future policies and present them to homeowners?

The irony is that every major purchase from buying a home, a car or investing in your retirement entails working with a sales professional. The same applies to reverse mortgage professionals who approach a distrustful public. Further compounding this general skepticism are products whose unique features are highly advantageous leading many to say ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’. The good news is that recent changes to the federally-insured reverse mortgage may have helped us close the credibility gap.

It can be argued that recent changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage may help improve the loan’s reception and close the credibility gap. The Financial Assessment raised the bar of entry excluding homeowners with a questionable credit history and late tax and insurance payments. Now Congress is looking to HECM loan servicers to modify their communication with borrowers before property taxes are due, and how delinquencies are handled. These reforms will help reduce foreclosures actions which are key to keeping and building public trust.

One witness representing the Government Accountability Ofice outlined the need for additional data collection from FHA, especially for foreclosure actions. This data could provide additional insight into how to further prevent foreclosures.

The good news is we have no major cutbacks in principal limit factors or changes in FHA insurance premium pricing. In addition, the outstanding HECM changes discussed in recent months are not guaranteed to be implemented. With that in mind, our best course of action is to continue reaching out to those who would benefit from a HECM being embued with the confidence that comes with Congress openly supporting the need for the program and acknowledging the impact of previous reforms.

The Highest Good

HECM sales present opportunities to respond with virtue

“Summum Bonum”

“Summum Bonum”. The highest good was a phrase Rome’s famed orator Cicero was inclined to recite before his audiences. The greatest good or the sum of all that benefits your fellow man/woman. It’s a phase every HECM (reverse mortgage) professional should keep in mind when approaching every potential borrower.

The highest good is also embodied as the Stoic definition of virtue. The stoic tradition held that virtue is composed of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.

Applying these principles lets see how each could fit into our interactions as a reverse mortgage professional.

Wisdom

  • Am I overwhelming the homeowner with information?
  • Are they looking for a quick fix?
  • What is their communication style and am I using it?

Courage

  • Am I willing to be direct about their current financial situation?
  • Am I willing to make less money do to the right thing?
  • Am I willing to discuss any property issues?

Temperance

  • Are ethics at the forefront of how we interact in this loan transaction?
  • Am I showing sensitivity to their needs, hopes, and previous disappointments?
  • Am I willing to slow down my pace in the interest of them holding firm to the information being presented?

Justice

  • If they were my grandparents how would I proceed?
  • Did someone else try to deceive or rip them off?
  • Do my words and actions reflect the value of honesty?