Prospecting – Page 9 – Pat Sherlock

The Death of AIDA and the Rise of Personal Branding

Recently, I discussed how today’s selling environment requires originators to form a tribe of followers because they are providing important information to improve their customer’s lives. Selling has moved from pushing products to being a valued educator and leader. Smart originators recognize that hawking mortgage products doesn’t create trust; what does is sharing personal passions, […]

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New Selling Model: Deliver Value Daily

Not a day passes when I don’t hear from a manager about how difficult mortgage origination has become. Whether it is battling to recruit top producers or pricing wars regarding interest rates and closing fees, there is no question that competition is fierce. As one sales executive said to me recently, “it is hand-to-hand combat

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Fixing Mortgage Bizarro World!

Last week I spoke at a conference where the agenda was dominated by technology presentations. This is fairly typical of many industry events. My topic regarding sales personnel and the future sales organization was the next to last session. After my presentation, one attendee lamented, “I don’t know why there is such emphasis on

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When Managers Make Poor People Decisions Because of the Sunk Costs Fallacy

Anyone who has ever managed in mortgage banking has had a discussion with their supervisor regarding employees who are not working out as planned. The conversation usually goes something like “If we invest more time and money into this underperforming salesperson, he or she will turnaround and improve.” The problem with this approach is that

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Are Your LOs Demanding Sales Leads?

Recently, a mortgage executive told me that an originator had asked to use his personal marketing budget to buy leads from third-party vendors. Fortunately, the executive refused the originator’s request. Unfortunately, these requests are becoming more frequent and are indicative of the poor quality of originators at many mortgage lenders today. Before the internet, I

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Two Sales Metrics that Really Matter in Origination

This year, a projected 20% reduction in volume is forcing many sales organizations to address difficult issues in order to improve sales results. Traditionally, mortgage firms have attempted to increase production by hiring more originators. Others are counting on technology to make the difference in reducing costs and generating more business. In my opinion, the

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Convincing Prospective Referral Sources: “Why Change Now?”

This year, prospecting for new referral sources or brokers has been one of the most frequently requested topics in my sales training sessions. There is no question that lack of referral sources is directly linked to low volume for originators. Having a handful of referral partners is no longer enough to succeed in the current

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Wake-Up Call: Why are Retail Originators at 2.5 units per month?

Recent numbers from the MBA and Stratmor show that the average production per originator has fallen dramatically from the refinance era to a new low of 2.5 units a month. Bank originators have a slightly higher average primarily because they receive leads from the company. These numbers are a wake-up call to lenders that improvements

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What Percentage of a Realtor’s Customers come from Referrals?

Recently, the National Association of Realtors published survey results on broker’s key challenges. I have listed a few highlights that I think have important ramifications for anyone in housing finance: • The top three challenges that real estate brokers anticipate in the next two years are: 1. Keeping up with technology 2. Maintaining an adequate

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What do Realtors want from Loan Officers?

During my recent training class on prospecting, participants discussed, “What do Realtors really want from originators?” An excellent place to find answers to that question is on ActiveRain, an online community of real estate professionals who write blogs, exchange best practices and share information. One post from a Texas Realtor revealed important insights on what

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