Scotsman Guide - September 2011 Residential Edition

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By Dale Vermillion president and Ceo Vermillion Consulting inc.

5;Ways;to;Thrive
Separate yourself from the competition and ensure your future survival

Today’s mortgage environment is different than it was in 2006, but when I travel the country training thousands of mortgage professionals, I see a failure to adapt to the new mortgage environment. this problem is particularly prevalent among more-veteran loan officers and managers.

the air is thick with feelings of entitlement. too many people want to make the money they used to make for the number of loans they used to close and with the shortcuts they used to take and still maintain the freedoms they used to enjoy. Continuing to do the same old things is a sure-fire formula for failure in the midst of today’s massive regulatory and economic changes. today, we have to work harder and smarter if we want to succeed.

So what will it take to succeed in this changing and evolving market? there are five strategies you can implement now to thrive today and survive in the future.

1. Diversify your marketing

We have been blessed with historically low rates for several years now. Rates will increase, however, and when they do, the first thing that will be affected is lead volume. there will be an immediate drop in the number of marketing sources you currently rely on, and the higher the rate increase, the bigger the impact.

to succeed, you need to have additional sources of lead generation already established. these include:

• aggregator leads: purchasing leads from aggregator sources allows you to maintain a steady flow of leads by buying them on an as-needed basis.

• repeat and referral leads: Implement
an effective and consistent market-
ing campaign by phone, mail and/or
e-mail with your previous client base.
Re-establish relationships with ev-
ery client you have ever made a loan
to and solicit each one for refinances
and referrals. try to average three
referrals per client, as three referral
applications will typically get you one
new closed loan.

“Establish your credibility and
prove to your customers that
you are there
to help them

make today’s borrowers particularly worried and distrusting. Consequently, earning their trust has never before been more important.

Establish your credibility and prove to your customers that you are there to help them and are watching out for their best interests. You do this by demonstrating your integrity and by developing relationships with them. Become knowledgeable about their family, financial goals and concerns.

and are watching out for their best interests.”

Accelerate your private money loans

4. Make a difference

Great loan officers understand that their only goal is to positively impact their borrowers’ lives. Become the loan officer they can rely on for the rest of their lives. A mortgage is the largest, most personal and most important financial decision many people ever make. It’s not a decision they want to make with a stranger, but with a competent and trusted adviser.

that means not just meeting their short-term needs, but also helping them achieve their long-term goals. truly separate yourself from the competition by helping them build cash reserves, maximize and protect their equity, maximize tax benefits, and get out of debt quicker. When you can help your borrowers manage all their finances, you become a valuable asset.

Have you ever wondered why your private lender real estate loan is taking so long? Have delays ever caused you to lose an important deal? Are you just plain frustrated with all the waiting?

Now there’s a fast and efficient solution. It’s the new 1-2-3 Funding program. It’s specially designed for real estate investors and it’s available exclusively from Stout Street Funding.

Get loan preapprovals in one business day

Final loan approvals get done in two. Funding gets done in three. There are no fees, no prepayment penalties, and multiple deals are welcome. We actively seek viable deals in virtually every major metropolitan area in the country.

Get the details at stoutstreetfunding.com or call us directly.

• third-party leads: Cultivate third-party referrals and affinity relationships with sources like Realtors, financial planners, certified public accountants, and real estate and divorce attorneys. You can no longer rely on just inside lead generation such as Internet leads, direct mail and rate tables. You have to use third-party sales, too. this can be done face to face or via phone or e-mail. If you are predominantly or solely a refinance lender, you should build a purchase strategy immediately.

• networking leads: Look for opportunities everywhere you go. Ask everyone you meet if they are homeowners and interested in saving money or if they would like to become a home-owner if they currently are not one.

Stout Street’s new 1-2-3 Funding Program can get you a loan preapproval in just one business day.

2. Quit selling rate

the biggest mistake that salespeople fall into is selling rate upfront. When you do this, you not only become just another loan officer, but you actually increase your competition.

When you quote rates upfront, you give borrowers offers they can use as a bargaining chip with competitors. Additionally, you are not telling the truth because you won’t know the borrowers’ rate until you know more about them.

Even if your rate is a little higher, that doesn’t mean a competitor’s loan is better. Rate only affects payments in a mortgage. What is most important to the borrower is not what they pay, but what they get. It’s value — the benefits of the mortgage — that matters most.

5. Focus on today

You inhibit your ability to close high volume units when you dwell too much on your past successes or on the future. You can achieve double-digit loan production by simply focusing on making a sale today.

When you focus on your past sales or pipelines, you create a negative thought process and stop focusing on selling. When you focus on just one lead, one sale and one day at a time, however, you will never have a bad month. By making just one sale each day, you effectively put 20 or 21 deals in your pipeline each month. Whether your conversion from sale to close is 70 percent or 50 percent, you are still guaranteed at least 10 loans per month. •

SM

3. Build relationships the media’s attacks on the mortgage industry and the sour economic climate

Dale Vermillion is a prominent industry speaker and president and CEO of Vermillion Consulting Inc., a consulting and training firm for mortgage professionals. He is author of Navigating the Mortgage Maze: The Simple Truth About Financing Your Home. He also founded Mortgage professionals providing Hope, a nonprofit organization that aids impoverished children and families in rural India. to learn more, visit www.dalevermillion.com or www.mpph.org, or call (888) VCI-EDGE (824-3343).