Let me apologize up front for (maybe) scaring the pants off of you, but just when you thought RESPA Reform has gone away and Uncle Mel Martinez has resigned, there is a new threat to the mortgage industry as we know it - Wal-Mart!

I recently attended a mortgage conference where one of the panelists stated that the loan originator population has doubled (and maybe even tripled) within the last 3 years. With all the new faces in the industry today, and a new way of thinking about marketing and mortgages, the prediction has been that there would be a higher percentage of "mortgage veterans" leaving the business. Reason? They won't know how to compete against the new mortgage landscape.

Take my brother-in-law for example. He lives in a small town in South Dakota and got into the mortgage business a few years ago. He decided that he could not compete with the banks and mortgage companies who have been entrenched there for years. So, he asked a local home improvement store if he could move a desk near the lumber department area and provide home equity loan financing for people who are remodeling their homes. He's made over $60,000 "minding" the store 3 days per week.

Here's a twist on a recent Inman News article (where the fear is that Wal-Mart's next step will be selling real estate):

1. Imagine Wal-Mart greeters (loan officers) at every open house.
2. Wal-Mart will force the secondary market to be realistic about their pricing because we all know that Wal-Mart forces its suppliers to offer rock bottom pricing.
3. The masters of efficiency will automate the mortgage process within a year.
4. Wal-Mart will force down loan officer commissions.
5. Wal-Mart's "10-foot-rule" will apply. Whenever an associate is within 10-feet of a customer, the person is to be looked in the eye, greeted and asked if they need any help. Imagine a Wal-Mart loan officer walking around the store soliciting loans.
6. Customers will get a Sam's Club Membership card as a free gift with every mortgage.
7. Bentonville, Arkansas will be the secondary marketing capital of the world.

Now, I don't mean to keep harping about this - but if you hope to be successful and compete against the Wal-Marts or Home Depots of the world, you'll need to think differently.

Do you ever find yourself walking into your office in the morning - with no appointments scheduled - and decide that you were going to develop a marketing piece - just because you had nothing to do that day?

Every month, we will provide you with 2 or 3 marketing ideas, which will be designed to generate leads from past clients and real estate agents. We will also provide you with an explanation on how to develop each. By the end of 2004, you will have a complete marketing calendar you can use year, after year, after year. Check out January's suggestions, or CLICK HERE to subscribe NOW.

Be prepared for the Wal-Marts and the Home Depot's to be your competition because it's not a matter of IF - just a matter of WHEN. Develop your customer loyalty program so when your clients hear the word "mortgages", they think of you first.

Wishing you a great Holiday
and successful New Year!

Karen Deis, Publisher

Copyright, 2003, LoanOfficerMagazine.com

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