Six Simple Steps for Getting more Apps./ By Jay Conners
When I first started out as a loan officer, one of the things I
found to be the toughest, was taking an application over the
phone. I just didn?t seem to have the skills, nor did I have a
plan. I was literally calling people on the phone and saying
something to the effect of; Hello, my name is Jay Conners, and
this is what I do, and this is why I am calling, would you be
interested? No wonder I wasn?t having any success.
Knowing that my pathetic tag line wasn?t going to cut it, I knew
that I would have to change my approach.
Over time, through trial and error, and a whole lot of sales
training, I was able to incorporate my own six step process for
making a sales call. Keep in mind that this approach works just
as well face to face as it does over the phone, and can be used
in many situations, not just selling mortgages.
Follow these six simple steps, and you?ll be on your way to
taking more apps.
1. Be prepared
* Have a clean desk, a clean desk is proven to provide a less
stressful work environment. Plus this way you won?t be searching
for that elusive pen. * Have everything you need at your
fingertips. ie; pens, pencils, calculator, scrap paper, computer
on, and of course a blank application. * Not having all of the
necessities readily available, leads to having to find them, and
having to find them leads to dead air, dead air can kill a
conversation.
2. The personal touch
* Once you have your customer on the phone, and have introduced
yourself, it is important that you relax them. Engage them in
small talk about something other than a mortgage, ie; the
obvious one, the weather, if a dog is barking in the background,
ask about the dog, people love to talk about their pets, etc.,
etc. This technique gets them talking and gives the conversation
a personal tone that will last throughout, and once the
conversation turns to business it becomes all the more easy.
3. Make your assessment
* Ask probing questions, find out exactly what it is your
customer is looking for, if they are unsure, you can help to
educate them. Also, ask open-ended questions. An example of this
would be; Tell me more about why you have decided to refinance
your home? The tell me more part of the question forces them to
go into greater detail than just a one word answer. These
techniques will help you come to assessment of just what product
or program best fits your customer?s needs.
4. Make your pitch
*Now that you have gathered all of the appropriate information,
you are ready to make your pitch. Start by saying something in
the area of based on what we have discussed this evening, I
think this product would best suit your needs, A challenge you
may be confronted with might be, well I need to think about it.
One way to meet this head on is to ask if there is any thing you
did not explain clearly enough, and that you would be happy to
go over everything again. Once you have an agreement and your
customer is comfortable, you can then move on to step five.
5. Close the deal
* Once your customer has decided on a mortgage product, do not
let them off the phone without their 100% buy in, say something
to the effect of; Now that we have decided on a program, lets
not waste another minute, I will go ahead and order the
appraisal, title, credit report, etc. If you are discussing a
purchase, ask permission to contact their realtor so that you
may introduce yourself.
6. Follow up
* Step six goes without saying, but it bears repeating. The
follow up is extremely important. Customers hate to be left in
the dark. Every time something happens, give them a call. When
their appraisal comes in, give them a call, when their title
comes in, give them a call, etc. The more you keep them in the
loop, the stronger the relationship becomes, and the better the
chance they will refer you business.
So there you have it, the six step sales process.
I understand that every scenario is different and sometimes
these six steps will not apply. But please don?t be afraid to
give it a shot. Make an attempt to commit the six sales steps to
memory. Make it fun, give it your own name, roll play with an
associate for practice, or personalize it by adding, or tweaking
a few things of your own. But most of all use it to your
advantage, it helped me increase my number of applications per
week and I?m sure it will help you to.
About the author:
Jay Conners is the owner of http://www.jconners.com a mortgage
resource center for mortgage brokers, loan officers, and
lenders. He is also the owner of www.callprospect.com a mortgage
lead company
|
