How’s that sound? Fair enough? Watch me present the material live, so you’ll know just how well it really works! Here’s what you do. Register here:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/972530378

The webinar begins at 1:00 Central Time, so that’s 11:00 for those of you in PST, and 2:00 for EST. Bring your most difficult marketing questions too – I’ll answer all of them. (As time allows anyway…) If you value getting loans from Realtors, be there. See you on Monday!

Make sure you’ve caught up with the latest training this week by clicking here:

Mortgage Marketing Ideas

NOTE: Online demo and Mortgage Marketing Tools section is up and running. Click to view

Today I’d like to share a little tip with you that has helped me out a lot. This would fall into the mortgage lead generation category. We’re all busy right? No one would argue that point. But don’t you often find that sometimes you feel like you’re working a LOT, and very little is getting done?

I hate that feeling, so I did something about it. I created a little sheet for myself, Monday – Friday. At the beginning of each week I spent about 30 minutes writing down the most important money making activities I could participate in. These were labeled as PRIORITY 1.

Other activities that still needed to get done were labeled as PRIORITY 2.  As I ran low on time, I’d pull out my sheet and make sure that all the priority 1 tasks were completed. Seems so simple, but having the tasks written down kept me from those forehead slapping moments of “DARN! I can’t believe I forgot….”

You know those moments well don’t you? We all do. So why not give this a shot? Organize your day so that you’re spending most of your time doing the things that get you paid.

Ok, so we’ve had plenty of “what” and “why” posts this week, now it’s time to give you some “HOW TO!” This post is called Mortgage Marketing Tools for a reason…

One thing that really mystifies me is why loan officers seem so resistant to learning how to market on the internet. With FSBO Lead Portal, I train both lenders and realtors, and I have to tell you, when it comes to online marketing, realtors are light-years ahead of loan officers in their willingness to learn and take action.

Sure, the agents have an advantage in that they have a product (homes) that tends to lend itself to online marketing, but let’s not make excuses… Instead, let’s make money! Sound good to you? Ok then, let’s get started. Today’s post is for those of you sitting around with a blog, but very little activity going on.

Without traffic, your blog (Just like any website) is useless! The blog you’re looking at right now, was picked up by Yahoo, MSN, and even Google in just under 3 days. We spent 0 dollars, and 0 cents in promoting it. Yet here you are, happily reading away! How’d we do it? I made use of the list you see below (Let’s call this mortgage marketing tool #1)

www.pingomatic.com

This is great. Sure, if you’re hosting your own blog, there are usually plugins with WordPress that can handle auto-pinging. But this is a great tool to target your focus on pinging some major directories when you’ve updated your blog. “Pinging” is basically a blogs way of tapping other blog directories (Which already have tons of traffic by the way) and saying “Hey!I’m over here! Come check me out!”

www.feedburner.com

I love this thing! You simply enter your blog URL and it will tell you what RSS feeds you have setup – if any. I went RSS crazy on www.fsboleadportal.com/blog back in April, and I needed to check and validate my feeds. In the middle of doing this, I simply setup a free account with Feedburner and now have access to traffic stats, subscribers and more. Powerful tool. It’s not nearly as complicated as it may sound. Just click on the link, and add your blog URL, and see what happens… Good times!

www.rssmicro.com

Here’s a feed directory you should be using. It took me all of 60 seconds to upload my information here. Not the largest directory around, but it has plenty of quality links. You can even search for other blogs you might want to add to your blog roll, or comment on. Get used to visiting sites such as this. If you want traffic, you need to go where the traffic already exists.

www.blogcatalog.com

The first rule of blogging is it has to be seen to be of any use to you. Get your blog added to some blog communities out there. Blog Catalog is massive! It also doesn’t hurt that you can setup a mini-community, and even get feedback from other blog owners. The backlinks…Don’t forget the valuable backlinks! (When submitting your blog, don’t forget to insert a few keywords you are optimizing for within the blog description! This will help!)

www.mybloglog.com

Here’s Yahoo’s entry into the blog directory arena. Another useful tool very similar to Blog Catalog. Use the same recommendation I made above when setting up your free account. My Blog Log also lets you syndicate dozens of accounts from social networking sites all in one place. Good stuff!

The tools listed above should be enough to get you started. If you complete each task above, and still crave more traffic generating activities, then here’s some more in my archives:

http://www.technorati.com/ping/

wwwfeedplex.com

www.blogsweet.com

www.solarwarp.net

There you have it! A quick overview of how to get traffic quick! I don’t want to hear any excuses. Just click on the links, and start submitting! If you have a blog, it will be better off when you’re done than when you started. Give it a few days for the links to start showing up. But don’t stop there! This is just the beginning. See you on the search engines!

CW – www.loanofficermarketinglab.com – www.fsboleadportal.com

Have you ever asked yourself this question? With all the crazy happenings in the industry these days, it’s easy to get down on yourself, and feel powerless to do anything about your career. It starts to feel as if the market has targeted you specifically and is punching you over and over again… Even hitting you when you’re down…

I hate that feeling! It stinks! The best news you’ll hear all day is that there is something you can do about it! You can have control over your career even in the worst of times. So what can you do?

You can start with these 3 things to give yourself a kick in the pants:

1. Stop wasting time

It’s unbelievable how much time is wasted each day on non-revenue generating activities. Every week I speak with at least a small handful of loan officers (Even in California) who are still managing to close 8 – 10 loans or more per month. When I brag about these laon officers on my conference calls, it never fails to inspire at least 1 or 2 loan officers to speak up and object, claiming it’s impossible to accomplish in this market.

My answer to this? Take a look at how much time was wasted in the middle of the refi boom… Compare that to what you are wasting in todays market… About the same right? Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to do things the same, even when we shouldn’t!

In a down market, you need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people! I’ll say it again: in a down market you need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people! What people? Prospects, realtors, fsbo’s, affinity partners etc… Hold teleseminars to save cash, but leverage your time. Network with realtors, host mastermind round table discussions…

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you structure your day properly. You know all that time you’re spending responding to low priority emails, and checking each and every voicemail right away? Yep, that time could be spent making you money…

Stop taking bad advice

It drives me nuts when I see loan officers spinning their wheels because they are so desperate for answers, they’ll listen to anyone. Yes, I am talking about the dreaded “message board education.” I understand the need for socialization, and getting some advice and friendly conversation all at the same time can be great!

But there’s a crowd of loan officers who do nothing more than ask question after question after question on message boards, and build their marketing plans based on what they are told… Funny thing is, spend enough time on these boards, and you’ll find the very same people giving you advice on how to make money, or on how to successfuly market yourself complaining about how broke they are!

Anyone else see the disconnect here? Just because something sounds good on paper doesn’t mean it’s worth your time. You’re busy, and you need to spend your time on high payoff activities, not the whim of another well meaning, but ultimately dead broke loan officer! How would you feel showing up at an aerobics class if the instructor was in far worse shape than anyone in the class chomping on a donut while barking out orders? (Don’t misunderstand me. Good advice can come from anywhere… But don’t place the ultimate success or failure of your career on the line so blatantly. Be picky)

Learn from professionals, and take the time to understand the fundamentals of marketing so that you can differentiate from good advice, and bad. (Plenty of “pros” out there giving bad advice as well!)

3. Do what’s uncomfortable

What would be the most uncomfortable thing you do right now? Pick up the phone and cold call the top 10 agents in your city? Give an office presentation at the most successful realty office in town? Record a video and plaster your face all over Youtube?

DO IT!! The reason so many loan officers are failing and dropping like flies these days is because they choose to be so darn ordinary! Always worried about how uncomfortable they’ll be if they speak to a group of realtors and lose their train of thought… Worried that they might be asked a question and not know the answer… Worried that recording a video is too hard, and advertising online makes them nervous…

See any true physical roadblocks there? None! It’s all mental! You have a choice to do what most are unwilling to do (Which is where the money is at by the way) and most of us choose to make our days ordinary instead of extraordinary…

Personally, I’d rather be uncomfortable for 45 minutes giving a presentation, than be uncomfortable all month worrying about whetehr my bills will be paid or not. Think about it! Better yet, DO something about it!

Chad Weber – www.loanofficermarketinglab.com

I know what you’re thinking… “Hey Chad, what the heck are you doing posting on your blog at 4:37 am Monday morning!?” Well, something has been eating at me. I needed to get it out, so here we go.

When things go wrong, what do you do? When something isn’t working for you, how do you respond? I cannot count the number of times loan officers call me up begging for a solution to their lead generation problems, but in the same breath they tell me all the things they have tried that don’t work.

I hear things such as:

“That doesn’t work here”

“Realtors are different here – they won’t work with me”

“I tried marketing to fsbo’s – that doesn’t work”

See where this is headed? Me being the ever-curious individual that I am, I cannot help but dig a little further. It takes a little pressing, but usually I find that these same loan officers who are complaining that “nothing works” are usually trying something out for all of 2 or 3 weeks and then giving up!

This is not what I call commitment guys! Tossing something aside because it didn’t yield results in 2 or 3 weeks is a guaranteed way to fail. Even those who stick it out a bit longer are usually so convinced that they are doing everything right the first time around, that all the blame for the failure goes to the marketing plan, and not to themselves.

But let me ask you a pointed question. How many of us could pick up a guitar and hammer out an AC/DC solo the first time around with no practice? Not I! (I’ve got the earplugs to prove it!) Let’s try something simpler. When you first learned to drive a car with a manual transmission (Or even an automatic for that matter) – Did you hop in and head out for a cross country road-trip?

Of course not, it took a bit of practice to smooth things out and make it a habit. So how come so many originators assume that they’re doing everything right, and point their fingers at “realtors” “fsbo’s” “the market” “the marketing plan” etc?

When your lead generation efforts go a little “haywire” take a step back, look a little closer at what you are (and are not) doing, and apply some common sense.  More often than not, you’ll find that there are several pieces of the puzzle missing, or in desperate need of tweaking.

If you’re really smart (Taking a cue from Stefan’s post last night and adding some “peer pressure”) you’ll invest some time into your career even before things get rough. Remember what they say about “an ounce of prevention?” (Whoever “they” are, they’re pretty smart!)

To make this task a no brainer for you, I’ve attached a useful document that can help you with this exercise. It’s name is nothing special (I simply call it my Accountability Form) but as you’ll soon see, the document is. It will help you zero in on what you’re doing right, and more importantly, what needs some attention.

Download Accountability Form here

Ok loan officers… Let’s make it a GREAT week!

Chad Weber – www.loanofficermarketinglab.com

I want to talk to you guys about something. Networking. If I had to take a wild guess as to how many loan officers (percentage-wise) actually get a reliable amount of business from realtors (Or any affinity partner for that matter) I’d have to guess that number is less than 20%.

There’s nothing scientific about this number, but I’m basing this off the fact that I speak with thousands of loan officers each year and most of them want to know 1 thing… How do I get more loans closed!? Better than 80% of these loan officers tell me they are not working with realtors.

I cringe at this. I cringe because in a market this tough, why would you want to make your job more difficult than it has to be? If you had to get your house cleaned in the shortest amount of time possible, would you rather do it yourself, or have 3 others helping you?

When the market gets rough, and all your prospects seem to be hiding behind parked vehicles when they see you coming, or crawling under rocks, do you want to continue doing all the “hunting” yourself, or would you like some help?

Both you and your local real estate agents are going after the same prospects. It’s time you put together an assembly line of lead gneerators. If you keep hacking at your prospecting efforts by yourself, you’re going to wear yourself down. (A rule of thumb here, not a reference to all of you)

But take a small group of frustrated, yet motivated professionals who are sick and tired of empty pipelines and are ready to make a change… Well, you can make some great things happen! How do you make this happen?

You’ll have to wait and see. I have a shiny new blog here to fill up with posts… So keep checking back to see what gems we have in store for you…

www.loanofficermarketinglab.com

The Worst Loan officer in the World

I’ve created an imaginary situation for you to read. This guy is a loan officer/trainer, and this is a list of his preferred methods to market himself. Would you buy into his products/methods? (The answer will quickly become obvious)

He claims to have the solution for loan officers who want to get more business from real estate agents. Who doesn’t want that right? Take a look at his marketing strategies:

Problem: Don’t you hate when your well thought out value statement is shot down into burning flames by a real estate agent with no vision? “But can’t you see the brilliance in my carefully crafted sales message?” you ask in frustration.

To make matters worse the agent usually throws out some sort of smoke-screen objection without really listening to your pitch. Annoying isn’t it? Well fear no more! We have a solution!

Ultra-Awesome-Super-Duper Solution:

Next time you have one of those short-sighted agents on the phone, you can get your message heard loud and clear with this super secret strategy! Ever wondered why your message is not heard by your target agents? It’s because you’re talking far too slow!

That’s right, the next time you have a prospective heavy hitter on the phone I want you to start talking as fast as humanly possible! Giant, run on sentences are the order of the day here folks! The agent won’t know what hit ‘em!

I’m serious, once you hear the ringing stop, and a voice answer on the other line, I want you poised like a race horse at the starting line ready to jabber! Launch into your script at 3 times your normal speed and don’t stop for air. (If you do, they might be able to slip an objection in)

Before you know it, the agent on the other line is helpless to stop you as they listen to your carefully crafted message that is sure to land you an appointment. This particular strategy has other benefits as well. What used to take you 40 – 60 seconds to communicate is now slashed to a mere 8 – 10 seconds!

Think of all the time you’ll save on your prospecting! Plus, when you’re talking at this breakneck pace, chances are you won’t even hear the objection if the agent manages to slip one in. If you don’t hear it, it doesn’t count!

Mind Blowing Reality Altering Strategy #2:

Don’t you just hate it when you spend hard earned dollars on sending pens, notepads, mousepads, staplers, stress toys, coffe mugs, beer can coolers, pencil holders, and whig-whams to your realtor prospects without getting anything in return?

I know I do… I mean come on people. We spend good money on having our names and phone number branded onto these useful office items (Especially whig-whams… I don’t know how I’d get through the day without my whig-whams) and no one seems to care!

I get even more bent out of shape when I stop by their office to see that they’re using the  items I spent money to send them, and yet they still haven’t called me to give me a loan! How ungrateful!

The days of pulling all your hair out in frustration are almost over though. The next big thing in office “brandables” is here! T-SHIRTS! That’s right faithful readers I said T-SHIRTS! Forget wasting money on those useless pens that no one cares about. How can your agents NOT think of you when they wake up in the morning with your sunny, smiling face ready to greet them plastered across their belly!

Some guy who was good at marketing once said that you should keep your name and face “in front of your prospects” as much as possible. Can this solution be any more relevant? Your face is on the front of the shirt! (And your phone number too if you pay us extra)

Think of all the exposure you’re going to get… Every time they look in the mirror they will see you, the super loan officer who needs their loans smiling back at them. (Imagine all the times you look In the mirror throughout the day: brushing teeth, brushing hair, washing face, etc.) I hope your processor is ready to work hard, as you’re sure to get a flood of referrals with this innovative new approach!

PS – “Please specify size and slogan. “The best way to start your day” will serve as default slogan should one not be included with your order

Limited Time “The Competition Is Going To Have Me Shut Down For Revealing This” Strategy

I have to be careful. The competition is probably listening in and is trying to get me shut down for revealing these secrets… I don’t have much time, so let’s hurry!

This is what I like to call my “Mailbox Overload” approach. You’ve stopped by the realtors offices to drop off your stuff before right? What do you see?  Other peoples stuff of course! Well, one day I was out and about making my rounds at local realty shops, and I just plain got mad!

I got mad because I spent 48 bucks to fill up my tank to make these office visits. I got mad because I couldn’t believe other loan officers were arrogant enough to think they can butt in on my territory. I got mad because my mortgage was due, my cell phone shut off, and I needed money now…

But with these yahoo’s trying to clutter up the mailbox of my prescious realtor prospects; my message could be mistaken as “just another loan officer wanting a loan” and get tossed in the trash! Who wants that? “Not me” I said…

So here’s what I did. I went back to my office and made a commitment to beat these jokers at their own game! “You want to play hardball? Let’s play hardball!”

I logged into my computer and opened up Word. Typing furiously I created document after document after document. Mailers, rate sheets, feature sheets, recipes, comic strips and more were all armed, ready, locked, and loaded.

No longer would I have to worry about my message getting lost in the sea of “junk mail” these realtors are getting every single day! I was the loan officer who decided to yell loudest! Sure, the mailing schedule was rigorous.

But it was worth it! 5 pieces of mail every single day…per agent… And it wasn’t just sheets of paper I mailed either! On page 19 of your new marketing guide you’ll read about the time I sent out cookbooks to every agent in the city! Each page was stuffed with a business card so matter what culinary delight the realtor wanted to indulge in for the day, MY CARD was hiding within ready to strike!

(Be careful though. I received a few complaints about cards spilling all over the stove after my first mailout. After that “incident” I discovered the usefulness of clear tape)

When you’re ready to discover the secrets of how to cram an agents mailbox full of stuff each day, then you’re ready for “Mailbox Overload.” (Formerly known as “Project Cubby Stuff”)

——-

Ok guys. Now onto the serious part of today’s message. Yes, as hard to believe as it may be, there are serious messages hidden between the lines of this article. How would you describe the imaginary loan officer (and product pusher) above? Clueless? Mis-directed? I’m not sure if words exist to accurately describe this poor fellow.

But in all seriousness, loan officers all across the U.S. struggle to get business from real estate agents day after day and see very little in return for their efforts. While many attempt to place blame, or label their market as “too difficult” the reality of the situation is that most of these originators are simply not taking the time to truly understand who their target is, and what they really want. (The above being an extreme example of course, but the concepts still apply)

More rate sheets, promises to share leads, stories about how long your company has been in business, carbon copy phone scripts, etc. are not too high up on the “want list” I assure you. Any market that is heavily marketed to will have a knee-jerk reaction to blow the solicitor off.

It’s natural and we all do it. How would you respond to 5 telemarketers per day bugging you about a new cell phone plan? What if this went on for months, or even years? How would you respond to these calls? It would take one heck of a phone call to get your attention, and inspire you to listen to the offer right?

Of course. So we should expect a similar condition to exist within the real estate community since most loan officers all use the same offer, same approach, and same marketing tactics. The lesson of the day here? Put some thought into your approach.

How would you want to be approached if the situation were reversed? How can you be creative, while also respecting the time and space of your target prospects? How can you communicate value without wasting time making empty claims and promises? (Add substance to your message – value)

We’ll provide some examples in a later post. In the meantime, please stay away from T-shirts, fast talkers, and over-filled mailboxes!

CW- www.loanofficermarketinglab.com