sales Archives - Page 9 of 17

What they’re not telling you

reverse mortgage news, senior, home equity

HECM originators: the silent objection for many older homeowners is using up their home equity

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When you sit down with a potential reverse mortgage borrower, you know they didn’t invite you over for a cup of coffee. Before they clicked on your ad, picked up the phone or sent in a card there was an underlying need or concern that motivated them. The most successful originators don’t dive into how a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage works but instead ask them what they would like to accomplish. A wise approach that cuts through the minutia of the loan and isolates underlying motivations. Despite their intentions, there may be one silent objection they are not sharing- their apprehension in using home equity…

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Allergies

Allergies: they’re more than physical

After walking out to my car the find a fresh yellow blanket of pollen, and sneezing so loudly I wondered if nearby drivers could hear me, allergies came to mind. Top of mind.

Allergies are our body’s immune system reacting abnormally to a foreign substance it sees as harmful. We are familiar with common allergies, but what about mental allergies? That is how we react to negative stimuli or situations in our environment.

One effective method is immunotherapy. Immunotherapy patients with severe pollen allergies have minute doses of the offending allergens introduced into their bodies in increasing doses over time until the body produces its own immunity. Applying this method to mental or emotional allergies has its merits as well. If you’re fearful of a specific situation, make it a point to place yourself in that circumstance and practice a new more effective response.

If you find yourself riddled with anxiety, begin to employ healthy methods to reduce and ultimately sooth your troubled mind. Are you continually vexed with rudeness, dishonesty or selfishness? Make it a point to eliminate all contact with toxic individuals whenever possible. Living with allergies is no fun, but doing nothing to treat them is even worse. What mental allergies do you encounter and how do you overcome them?

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productivity psychology sales training

Old Habits Won’t Open New Doors

Top producers have broken free from the old way of doing business

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Habits are there for a reason. They bring us comfort with their predictability and yet are often the root of our frustration. Ironic? Not so much. Chalk it up to human nature, and in many cases, it’s the usual way of doing business. There’s no denying that the established market for the HECM has been fundamentally transformed. A loan that once was best-suited to the needs-based borrower that is house-rich and cash-poor has become increasingly difficult for financially-challenged homeowners to qualify for. Today we examine the habitual approaches to marketing and communication with homeowners and how some have broken free from old habits to open new doors.

Those in the habit of focusing their efforts on the needs-based borrower are most vulnerable in a contracting HECM market. Yet some are finding creative and viable strategies to attract qualified reverse mortgage borrower…

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Marketing sales

They’re checking you out

Potential borrowers are looking you up. Are you ready?

[Watch last week’s episode]

Let’s talk about social media and blogs. Smart Insights, an online publisher and learning platform that helps maximize their online marketing, shows us the importance of having a consistent social media presence. They found that 82% of baby boomers use Facebook, 60% spend time reading blogs, and more than half will visit your company website when seeing your social media post.

So what does this tell us? First, now is the time to ensure you have a steady stream of relevant and compliant content to post on your social media channels. Always check with your broker or lender first. Many can assist you in providing the content you need. Second- look at your company’s website. Does it list you as one of their current reverse mortgage specialists? Boomers visit company websites to see if the lender behind your post is established, reputable, and professional, Third- consider blogging. Well-written blog articles help establish your credibility and expertise. Your lender or broker may have a blog, and you can also create your own in our turn-key reverse mortgage website creator MyLoanOfficer. Marketing online doesn’t have to be rocket science, it just takes a little know-how and planning.

Marketing sales social media website

If it was your first day as a HECM originator

If you were to start again as a reverse mortgage originator

If I were to go back to originating reverse mortgages today I can tell you exactly what I’d do. First I would get myself a professional website- after all- who wants to do business with someone who cannot be found online? Very few would.

Next, I would hire an SEO expert to get my website ranked on the first page of Google knowing that the vast majority of those searching for services online rarely ever go to page two, or much less page three. Then I would be a joiner! Join my local

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Marketing sales SEO training

Customer Service, You Say?

True Customer Service is Subtle & Sincere

Actress Andie MacDowell became embroiled in a minor brouhaha. She was seated in coach 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.

customer service Reverse Mortgage sales

Authenticity Sells

Being your authentic self in the sale

Sales is a tricky business and can tempt you to ‘put on’ a different persona which can sabotage your sales success. This week we look at five keys to remaining authentic…

psychology sales

e Pluribus Unum

Out of many, we are one

We are all familiar with the phrase imprinted on our currency which reads e Pluribus Unum: ‘Out of many, one”. As the Roman empire continued to expand the unspoken civic religion was to take many individuals from its far-flung territories and turn them into a Roman. Centuries later this worthy phrase was adopted by a newly-formed nation whose founders knew well the importance of a diverse yet unified people.

Today the reverse mortgage industry embodies this famous Latin phrase with a sales force of varying backgrounds, expertise and age groups. Chief among the unifying factors is the underlying ethos of reverse mortgage professionals- that is to...

positive thinking sales

Is Optimism Overrated?

Is optimism overrated? Is it an empty word? Some say yes.

Optimism is good for our mental health and overall outlook but it will do nothing to improve our situation. Optimism without action is empty.

Don’t be mistaken, optimism has several advantages, the chief among them being that it opens our minds to see and seize opportunities a pessimistic mind would overlook. However, the most important quality of optimism is that it can be the fuel to take action. Optimism is seeing the opportunities in the challenges we face, whereas action is the bridge to making the desired outcome a reality.

An optimistic individual who does not take action may find their optimism souring into a pessimistic outlook. Even worse, they will find themselves regretting the actions they didn’t take. Regret is much more painful than pessimism in that it’s disappointment fully realized.

For us to begin taking positive steps to build our business requires some measure of optimism. But where does pessimism come into play?

Psychologists have identified two types of pessimism. Depressive and defensive. Depressive pessimism saps the will power of the individual who believes they lack the skills, resources, and talent to succeed. In its simplest form, it says ‘why even bother?’. Defensive pessimists are quite different. They worry about specific potential negative outcomes and then harness that anxiety to take action. A defensive mindset anticipates the unexpected and seeks to find ways to adapt and overcome.

Whether you are a self-described pessimist or optimist, know how to harness each to a positive end result. Seek the mindset that best serves you while remaining rooted in the reality of the challenges you face.

Is optimism overrated? Yes, when it results in no action taken. However, it remains a priceless asset in helping us take the first steps toward deliberate and continued activities to grow our business.

psychology sales

More than a cliche: Back to Basics

Download the January Top 100 HECM Lenders Report

Increased sales skills effectiveness

One of the things we don’t have to tell you is that the business of originating reverse mortgages is challenging. Some see new sales opportunities. Others say it is time to get back to basics. That was one of the themes heard on last week’s conference call presented by Reverse Mortgage Daily. But don’t dismiss this as a common cliche. It’s not.

The reality is reverse mortgage originators are now being forced to revisit core sales skills and strategies to make a living in today’s challenging marketplace. What are those strategies? We will touch on a few today. But before we do a here’s a collective gut check. ‘Am I do everything possible today to see the maximum number of potential reverse mortgage borrowers?’ Most of us can honestly answer- no- seeing that there is always room for improvement.

First, how often you’re getting out of your office?

Tom Kelly’s Article: The Comparative Expense of a Reverse Mortage