Before making this post I sent an email to my graphics department and asked for a whimsical image that played well with the content on this post. Here’s what they came up with:

Ok so maybe they had a bit too much fun with it, but it definitely makes the point!

(It seems that the title of this post guided the direction of their drawing)

Back to the point at hand, I was definitely impressed with how well Carl White has incorporated social media into a miniature online community. His approach is an example for the rest of us of what social media is all about.

It’s about having an audience. Think of it this way, when you speak who is listening? If you suddenly had the greatest loan program in the world, who would know about it? If your audience is small, then that means you have to work hard at “selling” as you don’t have a lot of ears waiting to hear what you have to say. But if your audience is ready built in the form of a responsive online community (Just like Carl built using FaceBook) then you don’t really have to ‘sell’ as much now do you?

There’s familiarity there, so you talk. You ask questions, you make comments, you make invitations… The people are listening, and sales become a by-product. Sure, salesmanship is still involved, but we’re no longer sinking or swimming based on cold calling.

I have immense respect for what Carl accomplished with social media, and he definitely deserves recognition for this. So for 2010, from the loan officer community to you Carl: “Congratulations, and thank you for the fine example you’ve set for the rest of us!”

Next on my list is those two crazy guys over at TBWS – Frank Garay and Brian Stevens… Is it just me, or did these guys come out of nowhere, and absolutely dominate the industry? What a wonderful example of how to use targeted information to build your audience! I’m not sure how many daily listeners/watchers TBWS currently has, but I seem to recall being quite impressed with the estimates they threw at me back in 2009. As we inch into 2011, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to learn that they’ve doubled those numbers.

The formula? Good information, a great delivery system (Video), and a heaping helping of personality to make the information entertaining. Let’s face it people – Our industry can be dry, dull, and boring! Sure, related news may be interesting to us as this is out livelihood… But to outsiders, this stuff is a veritable snooze-fest!

However, Think Big Work Small is one of the only mortgage/real estate services I’ve personally witnessed where outsiders (Non-mortgage people) subscribed and regularly enjoy the show. In other words, the information is relevant, but spiced up in such a way that just about anyone can enjoy it!

This is what is often referred to as ‘info-tainment’. It’s informational in nature, and entertaining at the same time. This can be a difficult concept to master, as it requires a fine balance. Too much focus on entertainment, and your core message is lost. Too heavy handed with the information, and you risk overloading your recipients. Frank and Brian seem to have nailed down the right balance, and I applaud them for making such a splash in this industry. I look forward to their videos every morning.

So there you have it! Carl White and Think Big Work Small are my 2 picks for the Mortgage Marketing Heroes of 2010. I apologize if the tone of this post has been gushing, but I enjoy having the opportunity to point to wonderful examples of marketing gone right. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years to all of you. Make it a great one.

Note: This post is for entertainment – Nothing to learn here today other than some cheap laughs at my expense! Enjoy!

Have you ever had something happen to you that was so embarrassing you later found it impossible to think about without your face turning red? Do any of those events take place while at work, or in the field presenting to  a potential client? My friends at SBTV are hosting a contest to see who submits the most “horrifying presentation story.” I entered my story yesterday. Read it and weep for me ok? Yes, it really did happen, and yes I still embarrass myself talking about it to this day. Here it is:

My presentation horror story is one of those “cringe worthy” events that hurts to even think about. This happened when I was a brand spanking new sales rep for a rather well known telecommunications giant. (So please cut me some slack for my reactions ok? I was still a youngling!) I had scheduled a presentation with a potential client that was far bigger than any I had worked with up to this point, so I was stoked as you might imagine!

Practically walking on air at this point as I had worked nearly 6 months to land this appointment with regional manager and VP of this massive firm. The only issue I had to overcome was the client could only meet with me at 7:00 in the morning, so I had to ask my boss permission to go straight to the appointment from my house the following morning. He agreed and gave me a little pep talk that amounted to a “go get ‘em” and “don’t screw this up” all rolled into one 45 second speech.

I set my alarm, put on my best attire, and left the house early to beat rush hour traffic… Traffic was great, I was set to arrive professionally 5 minutes early- everything was going my way! It would take a Yak and 10 oxen to pull the massive smile from my face! Or so I thought. See, even though it seemed as if the stars were aligned in my favor at this point, apparently fate has a wicked sense of humor and decided my smile was a tad bit too large and perhaps even mildly offensive as I was about to discover.

I pull into the lot exactly 7 minutes early and park the car, careful to avoid any of the “reserved” spots.  Before exiting the vehicle I did one of those last minute review mirror checks to make sure I was “studly” enough to make a great first impression. Come on, you all know what I mean. Where you look in the mirror and check your “angles” from the left to the right to make sure there’s nothing funny hanging from your teeth, or a suspicious smear on your face…

Go through the process with me now: Tie looks good? Check… Right side of face free from errant food or hair? Check… Left side of face? Chec…. Er, HAIRY? Wha??? What is this? Some kind of bad dream?My  pulse accelerated from zero to 500 in a fraction of a second as it suddenly dawned on me that I had stupidly managed to completely shave one side of my face, while the other side remained untouched by my trusty razor! I believe my inward response was something akin to “Nooooooooooooooo!”

At this stage I I must of looked like a mad man as I clawed at the hairy side of my face a bit making sure I was actually awake and not caught smack in the middle of a cruel, but very realistic nightmare. My mind raced as I noticed that in less than 4 minutes I’d be standing in front of 2 very important, and very demanding executives looking far more like a mildly crazed Batman villain (2 Face) rather than the polished professional you trust with a 6 figure contract!

No amount of words could describe the look of sheer terror that spread across my face at this moment, so I won’t even try to describe it. Just use your imagination and multiply it by 27 and you’ll likely be pretty close.

“What do I do? What CAN I do?” It’s moments such as this that you realize just how far your brain is willing to reach to weasel its way out of awkward situations such as this. Every nutty idea was entertained, but quickly dismissed. Can I make it through the whole presentation with the unshaven left side of my face resting in my palm so they don’t see my mistake? No, no… Never work. I doubt they’ll think I’m normal if I stand up with my face still resting in my palm and my elbow floating in free space. Might find that a tad bit odd…

Can I insist on walking to only one side of the prospects and only look at them from my “clean” angle so they never have a chance to witness my humiliation? No, no… That won’t work either as I’m sure they’ll find my tremendously odd and wonder why this twitchy kid can’t look them straight in the face… Doubt they’d want to do business with a man such as that.

I even considered calling the whole thing off and coming back later, but I knew that my boss would never excuse such a decision, and I would never get a second crack at this! What the heck? How did this happen anyway? (I remembered that as I was shaving early in the morning, the phone rang, and I got into a lengthy discussion with a friend I rarely hear from. Out of habit, I washed the cream from my face as I was chatting, and moved on, forgetting to finish up before I left the house. Mindless mistake I never made again!)

With 1 minute left on the clock, my early arrival opportunity down the drain, I sucked it up and marched right through the front door painfully aware of the eyes seemingly fixated on the lower hemisphere of my face as I announced my appointment for 7:00.

I felt like a doomed soldier marching to certain death at this juncture. Face red as an over-ripe cherry and sweat building up so quickly you’d think I was standing 4 inches from a heat lamp. I waited my fate in the cushy office chairs as I heard the elevator ding signaling my meeting was seconds away. Two well dressed men stepped out of the elevator and walked in my direction hands extended in greeting.

I had decided to admit my stupid mistake early on instead of trying to hide it, or play it off. I think I over-did the apology and killed off any chance of redemption as I was overly self conscious through the entire meeting, probably looking like a wide eyed maniac as I over-played the “Eye contact” rule in an effort to force the men into looking at my eyes instead of my half clean, half Wookie chin and neck. Don’t think it came off too well! Then again, I was new to sales, and not too polished, so I don’t feel too bad as I look back on this experience.

Naturally I didn’t land the sale. I assume the unspoken message I sent to these VIP’s was “if this guy forgets to shave half his face, what else would he forget?” Can’t say that I blame them, nor can I blame my boss for being disappointed with my performance that day! But I will say this… I learned an important lesson that day so many years ago! Always, always, always carry a spare razor in your glove-box!

That’s my presentation horror story… What’s yours? Would love to hear your comments below as well, that way I don’t feel all alone in telling my story of screw-up numero uno:

http://apps.facebook.com/contestshq/contests/49018

Ok, since Thanksgiving is but 1 day away, let’s proceed with today’s special facts. This time, it’s coming at you with a twist! I just stumbled across a fun little “quiz” that I think you might enjoy. How much do you really know about Thanksgiving, turkeys, and the like? Haha… Time to find out! I got 11 out of the 20 questions right. I’m sure you’ll beat my score. Post it here when you do! Haha!

Thanksgiving and Turkey Quiz – Click here

Ok, have some fun with that quiz… Now, here’s my strange but true facts:

- 45 million Turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving
- 22 million Turkeys are eaten each Christmas

- A 16-week-old Turkey is called a “fryer”. A 5- to 7-month-old Turkey is called a “young roaster” and a 1-year-old Turkey is a “yearling”. Any Turkey 15 months or older is called “mature”

- Turkey breeding has caused Turkeys’ breasts to grow so large that the Turkeys fall over

- A 15lb. Turkey consists of 70% white meat and 30% dark meat

- The black-feathered (and thin) Wild Turkeys are not same as the white-feathered (very overweight) ones that we serve at Thanksgiving and other holidays

- Wild Turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour

- Commercially raised Turkeys cannot fly (primarily because they are too top-heavy).

- Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining

- Wild Turkeys can run 20 miles per hour

Wow… Turkey’s drowning in hte rain just because they look up? I think I just found something to be thankful for; that I don’t drown when I look up in the rain too! Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed these little bits of trivia and the quiz. I also wish all of you a wonderful holiday with friends, family, and loved ones. Make it a day to remember. Keep the stressful thoughts to a minimum and enjoy the holiday. Now… I wonder if I’d get in trouble if everyone found a slice missing from the Pumpkin Pie tomorrow?

I’ll just blaim it on the cat…

Chad Weber – Loan Officer Marketing Lab – Request Free Online Demo