Mortgage Marketing Tips

How do you do that? Very simple indeed!

Have you ever heard of the principle of acclimatization? It goes like this: Put a frog into a boiling pot of water, and it will jump out of the pot. But put it in a pot of room temperature water, slowly raise the heat and within a few minutes the frog is boiled.

The same thing applies to prospecting. If you talk to a prospect and you quickly start selling him without even building a report and asking honest questions, the prospect will resist and resent you for the remainder of the conversation. Remember people do not want to be sold. They want to know how much you care about them.

But if you start asking questions, build a report and show that you care about him, the prospect won't even suspect you. So the next time you get a prospect on the phone, instead of trying to sell him your services and scaring him, ease your way into a great and profitable dialog.

Over the past few years it's been obvious that mortgage brokers have been the scapegoat of telemarketing companies and Internet lead providers. (There are close to 12,000,000,000 (yes, that's 12 billion) pages and about 10,000,000 (yes, that's 10 millions) being added daily. As more and more companies are increasingly competing for first position on search engines many small companies are finding it more and more difficult to earn money and compete with the Goliaths like, for example, LowerMyBills.

As more and more consumers are on the Do Not Call List (97 millions since October 1, 2003), telemarketing companies have fewer consumers to call. Thus there are fewer prospects available. Homeowners who have not yet registered on the Do Not Call List are getting more and more phone calls everyday from telemarketing companies. How do many lead providers stay in business? They continue their good standing business practices or they are underhanded trying to maintain their nice lifestyle.

So loan officers should be more and more cautious with whom they choose to do business with. Be cautious of those who do not accept credit cards. If you have to send a check or a wire it is very suspicious and easy not to fulfill your order. You can have more peace of mind if you choose a company that accepts credit cards as you can always dispute if necessary. Make sure you pay with a credit card and NOT YOUR CHECK CARD even if it has a VISA, MasterCard logo. Check cards are NOT CREDIT CARDS and you won't have any recourse.

Keep in mind that because a company accepts credit cards dos not GUARANTEE YOUR SATISFACTION.

REFERRALS MEAN NOTHING. I have known loan officers who were happy with a lead company and the other loan officer got ripped-off. REFERRALS OFFER NO GUARANTEE.

Crooks know exactly what they do. The law is too lax and it is very easy to rip people off. It cost as much as $1500 to hire a lawyer plus you have to fly in the state where the lead company is. So you will have to pay as much as $2000 to get your money back WITH NO ASSURANCE THAT YOU CAN EVER GET YOUR MONEY BACK. Those crooks have a lifestyle to maintain, they owe money to everyone, have tax liens and can file bankruptcy anytime they wish. If they steal your money it's because they have financial difficulties. What does that mean to you? YOU WON'T GET YOUR MONEY BACK and those crooks know it perfectly, so that is why they choose to scam you $1000, $2000, $3000 and even more. DO NOT TRUST ANYONE IN THIS BUSINESS. Use common sense. See what they promise you. If it is too good to be true then RUN AWAY.

Some companies even guarantee a CLOSING RATIO. That is B.S! How can someone guarantees a closing ratio to someone they don't even know? IMPOSSIBLE. Don't dream IT CANNOT HAPPEN. Only naive people will fall for such a scam!

So how do you protect yourself?

• Don't trust anyone
• Search your due diligence
• Use your common sense
• Try to pay with a credit card
• Check the company with the local Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org or you may also visit http://ripoffreport.com
• If it's too good to be true, run as fast as you can, it usually is.

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Tips: 06/04/2005

Secret in Advertising
by Andre Plessis

Have you ever wonder what it takes to succeed in advertising. Do you wonder if there is one secret formula? Well, yes there is and the secret in advertising is persistence, persistence and persistence.

If your goal is to stay in business for a very long time, then using the secret formula just bellow will undoubtedly make you very rich.

Over the years I have seen many individuals and businesses order online advertising services, mailing lists, leads but rarely people reorder. When I started my business 2 1/2 years ago I started advertising in search engines and I never, ever stopped advertising since. There is not one month I skipped advertising not even one since January 2003. It is probably why I grossed $250,000 the first year and $450,000 the second year.

Many business owners fail to understand that they have to keep advertising if they want the phone to ring. Remember that if consumers and businesses do not buy from you they buy from the competition.

The most important question you should ask yourself is how many times should you promote your offer to the same audience. Once, twice, three times or may be more?

Here is the answer:

1. The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
2. The second time, he does not notice it.
3. The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
4. The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
5. The fifth time, he reads it.
6. The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
7. The seventh time, he reads it through and says, 'Oh brother!'
8. The eighth time, he says, 'Here's that confounded thing again!'
9. The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
10. The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
11. The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
12. The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
13. The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.
14. The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.
15. The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
16. The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.
17. The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
18. The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
19. The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
20. The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.
 

The list you've just read was written by a gentleman named Thomas Smith of London in l885.

Is it different nowadays? Could this formula be different today? The answer is the same as it was hundreds years ago and if you fail to understand the logic behind this, you won't stand a chance to stay in business but your competition will.

But if you understand how the prospect's mind work, I can assure you that you dramatically increase your chances of being successful in business and in fact you will be more successful that your competition.

Do you think commitment is easy to maintain after an ad has run nineteen times and nobody is buying?

It is obviously not easy. But now that you understand how the prospect's mind work, you know that the key to success in advertising is repetition.

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Tips: 05/01/2005

Radio Interviews

One of the best ways to become known as an expert as a mortgage broker is to do radio interviews. You could be a guest on a local radio show that deals with home loans.

You could discuss with the host about your expertise in helping first time home buyers get into a home even though they had a past bankruptcy and no money down. You can pick any subject that will create interest to an audience that will be listening.

You can take questions from the audience and answer their questions. Remember that all those listeners are potential buyers.

To get started select a radio station. Next send the station and the host your media kit . Then follow up with a phone call. You must choose a topic you feel you are the expert in and that will create real interest to an audience.

It is possible to have your own show as well. Typically the radio station will charge you a fee for half an hour or an hour show. You can then get a title company, a real estate agent or others to become a sponsor and pay the cost of the radio show. You could be doing this every week, discuss a different subject each time and have guests who join the discussion.

Radio interview is one of the quickest ways to become known as an expert in your field and get new clients without spending too much on untargeted advertising.

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