Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Marketing ideas, first time home buyer newsletter for apartment complex residents, building real estate agent partnership by selling self at sales meetings, portfolio planning
I'm on the finance side, but I was hoping the agents here might be able to share a few marketing ideas. I'm looking for a new direction towards marketing...
Currently I send out direct mail to targeted home owners by LTV, loan amount, loan type, loan seasoning, and area.
I'm also putting together a first time home buyer letter which I plan to direct to local apartment complexes through the use of mail route postage (about 16 cents each).
I've also created a very nice color flyer which I'm trying to get placed in local businesses, in return I will create a page for them on my website. I've not had much luck so far with this, as most businesses don't want to "clutter" their space with flyers.
Anyone have any other ideas on how to try and get customers?
My second question would be what is the best way to develop a partnership with a real estate agent? I'm sure many of you are accosted weekly by loan officers trying to get loans, and really not offering you anything in return other than preaching great service.
If someone comes in with a very organized, professional presentation, we enjoy meeting new lenders, service providers, etc in our monthly office sales mtg. Best presentations are those that focus on a specific issue and provide knowledge we can use. Our broker is usually willing to give 10 minutes or so, but if the speaker really has good info, the agents will respond and keep him/her around--you have to be able to set yourself apart.
Sounds like you are off to a great start. Just be sure that each of those postcards addresses the potential clients needs - not yours. Truthfully, they don't care a lick about you. They only care about what you, your products, and your experience can do for them. Only after you provide them with exemplary service and solve a problem for them will they care about you. Make sure your advertising reflects this truth.
My last marketing piece appears to have been a mistake. I thought a tactic of offering usefull advice first would be a good idea. I made this calculation based on how sick of people are of mortgage letters. However, I forgot my target audience is people who need, or are thinking about a new mortgage. So I put too much value on the free information I told people about, assuming everyone would want to employ it. My mistake was that many people don't care about the free info, so they may never have discovered that I was in the mortgage business.
My last letter discussed how to slow down junk mail by using www.optoutprescreen.com and also my personal thoughts on junkmail. By the third paragraph I was discussing my "pitch" but I bet that was too late for many readers.
I think I'm going to go back to my older style of letter. This letter talks about my honestly and experience, and how I can help them. It's oddly enough much different than the typical letter. I think I'll offer the free information after I'm sure they know who I am, and what I'm about. I'm hoping my learning how to make a website, and developing it from scratch in the last 20 days helps as well.
Thanks for the info on a major key of approaching real estate brokerages.
I think I might go back to an old idea that I think is used much more often these days. Provide the realtor with loan options based on the sales price of any given home. This way, they can place 3 loan options showing possible payments on the back of the flyer for the house they are trying to sell.
Guess it's just slow, and I have to find the right niche. I'm hoping the investment in local marketing will build up a strong local client base, which tend to be more loyal.
Jeff - realtors are always on the lookout for a good lender. I would think that concentrating on the individual realtors would be your best bet. They're the ones that have buyers (hopefully), including out-of-town buyers. It's pretty tough for you to market directly to a potential buyer from out of the area.
I appreciate solutions and lots of financing options for my clients. It only takes one deal that falls through because of a lender, and you're burned on that lender from that point forward. On the other hand, one tough-to-close deal that hangs together because of a good lender can gain you referals for life. That's how I got hooked up with my current lender I recommend. She did a great job on a REO mfg'd home that was a NIGHTMARE. The deal would have fallen through had it not been for her. Most lenders would have walked away from the deal. but I figured if she'd jump through hoops for a low $ deal like this, that she'd take really good care of my high-end clients, too.
The other things I appreciate about her: She's always honest and above-board, and has told clients if they need to sell first instead of get a bridge loan or equity loan. She also "thinks outside the box" and has been able to finance in some difficult scenarios. She's always there to answer my questions, even when the client has gotten financing through another source.
Bottom line, Jeff - if you've got that kind of service, let realtors know about it. Ordinary service is, well . . . ordinary. If you've got some extra knowledge and a great attitude, market it to realtors. And once somebody uses you and likes you, they'll recommend your services to other agents in their office, and pretty soon you'll be handling most of that office's business.
I guess I really should develop a portfolio of stories of past loans. I've always excelled at knowing more about any given loan, knowing nearly every pitfall, and knowing nearly every loophole. I was offered the training position after only being in the business for 3 months, and have since done every position all the way up to running a company.
Now I'm back to just a plain old loan officer, and I didn't realize that service was still that important. Well at least I assumed it wasn't an important selling point, simply because to me it's the easiest thing to preach that you are good at.
I think I'll take some time and develop some marketing material that discusses options for all types of buyers, and how I can quickly make them a stronger buyer in a short time.
I've been slacking on pulling the trigger on the purchase side of the business because of this, and I know this is really where the majority of the business is.
I appreciate the insight Gretchen, thank you.
One other note... is it worth mentioning that I'm intimately familiar with the job of the Real Estate Agent, and Escrow Officers, and that I have often done the jobs of each when they have dropped the ball? I don't want to offend egos, and not sure if mentioning something like that would sound egotistical, or just confident in my strong experience?
One other note... is it worth mentioning that I'm intimately familiar with the job of the Real Estate Agent, and Escrow Officers, and that I have often done the jobs of each when they have dropped the ball? I don't want to offend egos, and not sure if mentioning something like that would sound egotistical, or just confident in my strong experience?
Well, as long as you were tactful Might be a nice point to make with the buyer (not in front of their agent of course) Actually, your expertise on the escrow side of things can be very valuable, especially if the buyer and their agent are forced to use a predetermined title company (such as in the case of REO's). If you're forced to use an escrow company that's not top-notch it can be stressful, and having a loan officer that's on top of things like that can really help.
Do you work for a mortgage broker or banker or for one of the big bank lenders? Each one of those has their niche. I've occasionally had problems with some of the big lenders that do all their underwriting in another state. That can hold things up, as well as the fact that they're not familiar with the local appraisers, and will occasionally send out an appraiser from the nearest metro area. We also have some unique requirements in AZ (Loan Status Report and Loan Status Update) that some of the "big boys" aren't familiar with.
Anything a loan officer can do to facillitate the loan and get it closed on time is a BIG plus. So you might try running some numbers to show how often your loans close on time. It was interesting that in a recent survey, "not closing on time" was the biggest complaint that buyers and sellers had about their most recent real estate transaction.
Hey there- I would also look up Brian Buffini. He an amazing marketin guru for this industry. I have a guy that does my lending that follows his system and has been very succesful. It is true though, on the realtor side, if you can make a deal go smoothly, realtors will use you for life. Networking is the key! Word of mouth is huge in this industry.
Everyone claims to have honesty and integrity, as well as experience and knowledge and so on and so on. None of that matters. It's how you can use those traits to solve a problem for your potential clients. Think about situations where you have made very creative mortgage loans or helped someone with a problem. If they had that problem, don't you think others might? Use quick case studies that address how you solved a problem that others might be having. That's when it will resonate with the reader!
Laugh trying to give you a bump to rep to thank some of you, but they are telling me to "spread it around" before I can... funny.
Anyways... Brian Buffini... I'm familiar with his stuff, and I really do need to get back into that style.
Regarding closing on time, it's extremely rare that my loans, or loans I was overseeing closed late... mainly because I try and push my purchase loans to close about 4-5 days ahead of time... then I just make the lender sit on it. (typically I hold out one key funding condition that they need before the final wire )
I work for a fairly large mortgage brokerage, but I am completely independant of them in a sense. I work from my own home office, and pay for everything I do.
My biggest issue is that I ran an office with too much loyalty to employees for too long. I was paid purely on profit, and have not had a paycheck since October. I used to have a nice chunk for emergencies I did Ops, and managed two full branches, while dealing with all of marketing. I was stretched too thin to do my own loans for a check... something I look back on and give myself the big idiot sticker on the forehead for.
Now I'm back on my own, about 2.5 months now, and it's almost like starting from scratch again. The market is horrible...so I have to find something that sets me apart, and fast
I think I'll make a short but aggressive letter with a strong 3 paragraph opening (figure that's about all they will read), then I can follow up with more details and examples (assuming I have their attention).
I appreciate the input from everyone, and thank you... I'm just about to fire off a much more detailed letter to some CA targets. Wish me luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Might be a nice point to make with the buyer (not in front of their agent of course
) Actually, your expertise on the escrow side of things can be very valuable, especially if the buyer and their agent are forced to use a predetermined title company (such as in the case of REO's). If you're forced to use an escrow company that's not top-notch it can be stressful, and having a loan officer that's on top of things like that can really help.
