6 Fool Proof Secrets to Improve Your Origination Efforts

Written by Sam Collins Tuesday, 02 March 2010 17:11

Articles - Sales and Marketing

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Examining your own reverse mortgage marketing techniques and follow-up strategies is a constant and ongoing challenge. Here are 6 foolproof secrets to improving your origination efforts, enabling you to become the master of originations and growing your reverse mortgage business.

Secret #1:  The Real Definition of “Successful Marketing”
“The Right Message…to the Right Market…at the Right Time!”
Most miss at least one of the latter in their marketing efforts.   Many spend a lot on their own image rather than concentrating on direct response.  It’s important to test your offers.  Create several marketing offers using direct mail, phone, email, post cards, and seminars.  Following up on your leads must be persistent and resilient for you to earn the trust of senior prospects.   We know the market areas we want are senior homeowners, but in today’s market you must go a step further and break it down even further.  Knowing the right time is a challenge in our business, but patient persistence combined with follow up will make you the winner.

Secret #2:  “Cherry Picking” and the three types of Reverse leads.
Every time you do any Reverse Mortgage lead marketing, the senior leads you get can be broken down and divided into three categories:

1.    Leads that are ready NOW (I call them Hot leads) we all want the cherry deals.  Give me those cherry picked leads all day and I’ll show you how good I can really be!
2.    Leads that are not ready NOW, but will be ready soon (Warm –these leads are critical to your Success).
3.    Leads that may never be ready (Cold or bad leads that lead nowhere).

Secret #3:  Timing is everything!
 The difference between lettuce and garbage is timing.  You must be ready to do a reverse mortgage for your senior client when they are ready…NOT when you are!  Timing can work for you, not against you, if you use consistent and regular follow-up methods with your senior client.  The problem is most of us give up to soon.  The cost of generating prospects no longer allows you this luxury.  If you give up too soon, guess who is going to take your business?

Secret #4:  Transform from Hunting To Harvesting.
The conversion process when working with a senior client can be long and tedious.  When you are in the hunting process you are often dialing for dollars, you become just another salesman.  When you turn to Harvesting, you can close the lead gap and see your profits and originations increase, by becoming a friend and consultant. Harvesting is your goal in fool proofing your efforts.  You must be determined to reap the harvest by investing both your time and money in following up on each and every prospect, until they say no or they can no longer be contacted.

Secret #5:  You must have a living, breathing, senior client database.
Your willingness to compile and manage your past, current, and future group of senior clients, will most likely determine your success or failure.  It does not take long for your senior clients to forget about you if you lose contact with them.  In some cases I’ve seen it take 90 days for a client to forget you, but I think the senior market numbers are probably at least half of that number.  Your senior client database is worth more than stock, worth more than real estate or intellectual property; they are your key to current and future profits.

Secret #6: Education, Repetition, and Variety.
A handful of random telephone calls will not produce the big numbers for you to succeed and increase originations.
 
You must commit to use a multi tiered approach:
1.  Education.  Your touch points and follow-ups must educate your seniors by providing them valuable information.
2.  Repetition.  It is a proven fact we must hear the same thing over and over again before it sinks in.  This is even more important in senior marketing.  Don’t be afraid to contact your senior prospects often.   Most love to hear from you.  You want to become the welcome guest and forge a relationship. Make a friend. The more friends we make, the more chances we have of success!
3.  Variety.  Utilize a variety of communication methods, such as letters, direct mail, phone, email, greeting cards. When you contact your senior prospect with multiple approaches, your process becomes more and more powerful.  You can no longer use a single tiered approach.  Today it takes all you have to hang in there and be successful.

There you have it, the six foolproof secrets to improve your originations.  The reality is simple, these methods have been around for years, yet very few follow these principles consistently or none follow them at all. If you read this far, you are no doubt ahead of the pack. Take the time to tear out these pages and post them where you will see them daily.  Give yourself a challenge to work through each of these methods.  If you put these six methods into actions, you will be amazed at the improvements in your business!

I speak with loan officers daily and hear the pain being endured.  The many changes in our business can drive even the best of us to doubt where to go next.  Please don’t allow yourself to go there, when there is room for survival and growth.  Remember, you are not in the reverse mortgage business; you are in the marketing business.  Those who out market their competitors using logical and ethical methodologies will survive and strive. 
Good Luck!