Over the course of my career — as a salesperson, a sales manager, a senior executive and now, as a sales trainer — I’ve watched selling undergo dramatic changes. Prospecting is harder, competition is fiercer and closing is never a sure thing. One of the most monumental changes is that the balance of power has […]
The famous line from the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, he will come,” is often quoted in the business world to imply that attracting customers is simply a matter of creating a great product or service and bringing it into the marketplace. However, smart sales professionals understand that having a worthy product […]
According to NAR’s annual research report on the real estate industry, nearly 75% of home buyers selected a real estate agent after interviewing only one person. The study also found that for the vast majority of customers, the agent was referred by the buyer’s family and friends. While this is no surprise, it confirms […]
In my training classes, there is often a lot of discussion about who is responsible for establishing a differentiation strategy in an originator’s territory. Most producers believe that differentiation has to do with their lender’s branding and marketing and not about them personally. Industry research proves otherwise. At the point of sale, customers are […]
Last week, I surveyed the top 50 mortgage sales executives on how effective their originators were at marketing to realtors and expanding their referral base. The results were eye-opening. The majority of survey participants rated their originators less than 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest). I simultaneously surveyed […]
Last week, a mortgage executive exclaimed, “It’s a dog fight in mortgage origination!” as he described the current lending environment. Indeed, fierce competition, crazy pricing and non-existent housing inventory have created additional challenges in an already volatile marketplace. To compound these issues, Zillow recently noted that almost 50% of sellers are receiving contracts for […]
In 2020, many originators pushed prospecting to the backburner. Thanks to the record-breaking refinance boom, originators were able to hit volume and income goals without much effort in the prospecting department. This year, a very different story is playing out. While interest rates are still low, marketplace volatility has complicated the financial outlook. A recent […]
One positive impact of the pandemic is that originators have been forced to connect with customers via video conferencing. Before Covid-19 restrictions, some originators incorporated video into their sales process but many producers had not. With the rise of remote working, video conferencing has become a primary tool for personal interaction. Even sales leaders […]
The most common selling mantras are based on the concept of “doing more.” Managers have forever emphasized that if originators simply work harder, knock on more doors or make more calls, sales success is guaranteed. While this sounds reasonable, it is not correct. It takes something else to succeed in origination. In selling, the “doing […]
With recent interest rates at historic lows, originators haven’t had to worry about perfecting their selling skills because customers have come to them in droves. At the same time, Covid-19 restrictions have prompted consumers to shop remotely for food, cars, and everything in between. In response, businesses have quickly rolled out applications and delivery […]