In today’s selling environment, having an initial conversation or setting up a face-to-face meeting with a prospective buyer is more difficult than ever. Wary of salespeople, consumers aren’t interested in talking to someone they don’t know. Whether the outreach is to a referral source who already has a lender relationship or a consumer who doesn’t […]
Three Action Steps for Effective Prospecting Read More »
Originators will often claim that a niche product, flexible underwriting or the latest mobile app is integral to their sales success. In my view, there is another factor that is often overlooked: Top salespeople have strong referral source and customer networks that they work consistently. It is probably no surprise that the very best originators
Your Social Network Strength Determines Your Selling Success Read More »
When speaking to originators and their managers, I hear frequent complaints about how tough origination is now. Many executives lament that their usual marketing efforts aren’t working as they once did. Unfortunately, many are still using a “spray and pray” approach to marketing. This strategy involves distributing mass marketing pieces and hoping that the message
“Spray and Pray” Marketing is Dead Read More »
Last week, a lender reached out to me regarding consulting services because the company’s production was down 20% from the previous year. This is a familiar scenario in mortgage banking where companies that once had high volumes are experiencing lower production and higher costs. The big question is what can lenders do to turn around their
Are You Running Your Business Like an Ostrich? Read More »
Last week at the NY Secondary Market conference, most of the sales executives I met with asked, “What is the most important issue going forward for the industry?” My response I think will be surprising to many. While improving the manufacturing part of the process is important and long overdue, I believe our real challenge
The Changing Role of Loan Officers Read More »
In today’s volatile financial marketplace, lenders and their originators must position themselves as different from their competitors if they want to be successful. This reality is challenging everyone to abolish a “being average mindset” in delivering their services from prospecting to closing. Not doing so is a ticket to becoming irrelevant. Obviously, differentiating yourself
If Nothing Changes, then Nothing Changes Read More »
In a recent conversation with a veteran mortgage banking trainer, he commented that invariably in every class, there are adopters of the new selling techniques and those who plainly reject what is being taught. In my consulting practice I’ve seen this time and again. I find that top originators are more than willing to learn
Are Your Originators “Training Fakers\” or Resisters? Read More »
In a recent conversation with a veteran mortgage banking trainer, he commented that invariably in every class, there are adopters of the new selling techniques and those who plainly reject what is being taught. In my consulting practice I’ve seen this time and again. I find that top originators are more than willing to learn
Are Your Originators “Training Fakers\” or Resisters? Read More »
In recent conversations with originators, the complaint I hear most often is that they are working harder than ever and seeing less results. They attribute their lower production to an ultra-competitive environment where they conduct pre-approvals only to have the customer go with another lender with better pricing. In many cases, this feedback is coming
Are You a Sales Ninja? Read More »
A recent Washington Post article highlighted George Mason University’s new program where Starship Technologies installed robots on the campus to deliver food to students. The article mentioned how successful the robots were in driving students to eat breakfast, a meal that is usually skipped 88% of the time by undergraduates. In my view, the most
The Starship Has Landed Read More »
