3 Ways to Pitch Your Niche
Gain a steady stream of clients by establishing and announcing your expertise
By Tim Davis, vice president of marketing, Titan Home Loans
For mortgage brokers, success often revolves around answering one question: What’s the single best
thing I can do to generate business today?
The answer: Pick a niche.
Brokers looking to grow their business
should establish an expertise and stick
with it. It’s also wise to use free and low-cost marketing tools to deliver you message and promote your knowledge.
It’s an old saying, but it’s true: You can
get rich in your niche. Despite accepting
that truth, many brokers struggle to grasp
the concept. Others dismiss it outright,
and some believe that developing a niche
will hurt their business by eliminating
them from certain deals and by shrinking
their client list.
To the contrary, when done correctly,
establishing a niche will increase your
credibility and your qualified referrals.
Here’s a three-step process for promoting your area of expertise and becoming rich in your niche. Before you tackle
these steps, educate yourself about the
niche you choose.
Step 1: Be remembered
The more people who know what you do,
the better your chances of receiving referrals. The essential thing to remember here
is that we’re not talking about the number
of people who know you but the number of
people who know what you do.
Thousands of advertisements and innumerable interruptions bombard people
every day. The only way to stick out in
someone’s mind is to differentiate yourself
from the crowd.
People may remember that you’re in the
mortgage business even if you don’t have a
niche. More people, however, will remember you if you develop a specialty such as
first-time-homebuyer loans, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs loans or reverse
mortgages, just to name a few.
In essence, your job is to build a com-mission-free sales force every time you
meet someone. That’s difficult if you don’t
have a niche to which you can point.
People might remember you’re a mortgage broker, but if they don’t know that
you have a specialty, why would they refer friends and associates to you instead
of anyone else? Everyone you meet should
know who you are and your expertise.
[a cramped apartment] and concerned
about [buying their first home].”
Along the lines of keeping it simple,
make sure to avoid industry lingo. Don’t
talk about debt-to-income or loan-to-value
ratios. Instead, use common language to
explain things.
be amazed how many people will begin to
think of you as the expert you say you are.
It’s important to make sure you can back
up what you say, as well.
■ ■ ■
Step 2: Be prepared
In almost every new social setting you enter, someone is bound to ask: What do you
do for a living?
As you grow with your niche, you’ll find
leads replaced with qualified referrals,
which in turn will lead to more business
and easier closings. Although trying to
do a little of everything sometimes might
seem wise, developing a niche and linking
your name with a specific area of expertise
can provide an easier path to riches.
Illustration: Dennis Wunsch
Past Article
by Tim Davis
“Speak Your Way to Referrals,”
June 2008
View this article and more at
scotsmanguide.com
You should want to hear this question,
and you should be prepared to answer with
a succinct response that communicates
your selling proposition. If you instead
answer with a general statement about the
mortgage business and different types of
loans, you fall short of making a new connection that could lead to business.
Your unique selling proposition should
be specific and simple. It also should address problems consumers face.
Here’s a script that can help focus your
answer the next time someone asks you
what you do for a living: “I work with people who are [blank]. They’re usually frustrated by [blank], struggling with [blank]
and concerned about [blank].”
Notice the words “frustrated,” “
struggling” and “concerned.” These words
grab people’s attention and create mental pictures of potential associates you
could help.
A broker who specializes in making
loans to first-time homebuyers, for example, might fill in the blanks like this:
“I work with people who are [first-time
homebuyers]. They’re usually frustrated
by [noisy neighbors], struggling with
Step 3: Get out the message
Beyond introducing yourself to people at
social functions, you should label yourself
as an expert more widely. People have a
tendency to label others anyway, so why
not attach the label you’d prefer people
to use?
One of the easiest labels to give yourself
takes the following form: [Your name] is
the leading expert on [your niche] in [your
city]. You can think of more-creative labels to give yourself, but make sure that
whatever you choose communicates who
you are, your niche and your geographical
concentration.
Use your label on your e-mail signature,
business card, Web site, voice mail and fax
cover letter. Each of these represents a free
or low-cost marketing opportunity.
When you start to label yourself, you’ll
Tim Davis is vice president of marketing at Titan
Home Loans and a 16-year
industry veteran. He also
is an industry author and
speaker and a nationwide
coach on marketing for loan
originators. Davis hosts
“The Originators Guide,” a free podcast for loan
originators. Visit www.theoriginatorsguide.com
or reach him at timdavis@titanhomeloans.net or
(615) 255-2352, ext. 102.
