Tim Braheem has ranked as one of the top producing Loan Executives in the nation and will be the KICKOFF SPEAKER for the 5th Annual "Turn On Your Million Dollar Brain" Mortgage Workshops. He is the CEO and founder of LoanToolbox, and has appeared on CNNfn as an authority on the subject of mortgage market trends. Mr. Braheem provides seminars in the United States and abroad to motivate professionals to higher levels of success. If you are interested in Tim Braheem speaking to your group, please visit, www.MortgageSpeakersBureau.com.
The crux of customer relationship management (CRM) is the marriage of database technology and marketing. The idea of managing relationships is as old as the hills. But using database technology to cultivate relationships more efficiently is the basis of many successful business models in the mortgage industry today.
Data means nothing if you can’t use it. But using a database correctly means you and your team are working together more cohesively, and responding to customers’ needs more effectively to inspire loyalty and referrals. It means cross selling at numerous times throughout the loan process. It means targeting clients and prospects with relevant marketing material, and taking advantage of the opportunity to measure your efforts more accurately. From there, you can focus your attention on the strategies that work best for you and set standards within your business platform that gear you and your team toward greater success.
Gathering the Right Information
Ultimately, the road to success begins with “relational” thinking rather than “transactional” thinking. Years ago I kept track of all the loan information on my clients on index cards, which I had nicely organized in a shoebox. It didn’t take long for me to realize it would be beneficial to have all of this information in a database with triggers set to alert me when a refinance would benefit the client, and have the ability to correspond quickly by generating mail merge letters. I transitioned into running effective reports
and setting the building blocks for firm relationships.
However, it's important to note that you can literally gather too much information on a client. There are many loan officers who collect a significant amount of data but don’t use it to serve the customer or market to them. Make sure you are gathering the right information. Decide what you can realistically manage in the way of information flow. Always consider 1) What you will do with this information to make it useful in your business model and; 2) Make an impact on the client's financial future. Don’t waste time gathering information that you will never use.
Initially, the loan application became my guide for gathering information. The personal property section of the loan application is a great tool in this respect. Don't just stop at the generic question, “How much is the value of your personal property?” Find out if they have Jet-Skis, an art collection, horses, baseball cards, a coin collection, a wine collection, etc. The more you know about them, the easier it is to take that conversation to a personal level and find common ground with your client.
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