Written By: Larry Bettag, Production Manager for Cherry Creek Mortgage, St. Charles, IL. He is a member of the Mortgage Speakers Bureau, has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, Doctorate of Jurisprudence (Attorney) and past marketing director for a nationally-known surgery center. Contact him at LBettag@ccmc-net.com.
Why are WORDS the most powerful weapon you have?
Words alone have been the precipitating factor to many wars. As a result, many have died from wars that have been started by the words of others. Additionally, as we’ve recently seen, careers have been crippled by the failure to control a person’s words. Although it’s not known as to the extent of permanent damage that words have hurt their careers, Mel Gibson and Michael Richards have said things that have had a negative monetary impact on their careers and livelihood.
|
So what’s the fuss about words? If used properly, words can have an amazing impact on the things that we do day to day. Specifically, words can be used to create our destination in our lending careers.
|
A slip of the foot and you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never recover. ~ Benjamin Franklin
|
For those who believe the Bible, the world and everything in it was created from the words of God alone. In Genesis, God said, “…let there be light,” and light was created. All seven days of creation occurred this way. God spoke - it was.
What do words have to do with lending? Everything! Market reports for 2007 indicate that mortgage origination will be down between fifteen and twenty percent. I believe that those who are verbally or orally connecting with their clients, in a diligent and purposed manner, will not only survive in 2007, but gain market share as well.
|
Intentional, verbal communication with your clients will drive your business to new levels. Many people ask what do you say to your clients when you call them? First, if you’re like me, you may be reluctant in calling clients whom you may not have spoken to for a long time. You may have closed their loan last year, promised to call them up and then not done anything other than send them a thank you note and your monthly mailers. While that’s all good and well, referrals will grow by the deepening of a relationship with your clients.
|
A friend of mine averages twenty closings per month.
When I asked him the secret to his success, he said that he does two hours of outbound calls every day to his past clients. He told me something that relates back to the “excuses” part of this article. He said that he has so many interruptions and so much interference in his office each day. Most importantly, he said that those distractions would exist whether he makes the outbound phone calls or not. Basically, the non-negotiable boundary that he has built around his business is the two hours per day of outbound calls. He said that a bad month is fifteen closings. Wouldn’t you feel better if fifteen closings were a bad month for you? For those of you who average fifteen a month now, imagine what it’d do for your business.
|
The purpose of this exercise is to attempt to create and deepen relationships with your clients. The first time you call your database is the most difficult. Overcoming your call reluctance is the most difficult for the majority of people. I have a law degree and a Master’s in Clinical Psychology (I know what you’re saying…what a freak). Because of what I learned in Psych-101, I can tell you that there are two primary reasons why the calls never get made.
First, people paralyze themselves with fear. The greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. People build up irrational fears in order to prevent themselves from making calls. A common irrational thought is something like this….
“I haven’t spoken to this person in over a year. They’re going to think that I’m being weird.”
I haven’t spoken to this person in over a year. They’re going to think that my business stinks and that I’m only
calling them now because I want something.”
Or the worst fear yet...
“I haven’t spoken to my clients in over a year, I don’t think that they’ll even remember who I am.”
How about one final one…
“I screwed up their loan so bad that there’s no way that they’d ever want to talk to me again.”
I’d love to say that I haven’t had one of these thoughts. Not me. I’m perfect. This article is becoming a bit of my personal confession. The truth of the matter is that I’ve mastered my own excuses better than anyone I know. So rather than making what I know is a positive change for the better, I’d rely on my weak excuses that I’ve mastered, so that I don’t have to get out of my comfort zone. You know, the fear of the unknown. Frankly, that’s pretty stupid.
Read More
