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The mortgage business was never a cake walk. Brokers, loan officers and team leaders have always had to constantly find new ways to market and reinvent themselves in an often volatile and highly competitive environment.
But with recent demographic shifts and technology disruption, even the most tried-and-tested mortgage marketing simply won’t cut it anymore.
This game is zero-sum. If your mortgage marketing ideas are not up-to-date, you may quickly find yourself struggling to keep your business afloat.
The good news is, there is a wealth of successful mortgage professionals who are able to keep themselves at the front of the pack, no matter what’s happening in the market. For these standout brokers, flexible tactics coupled with a consistent, systematic approach to marketing their mortgage business is what allows them to prosper no matter what.
Neel Dhingra
mortgage banker and branch manager at All Western Mortgage
Even though Neel and his multi-state team have been in the top-tier in Nevada and Cali for at least a decade, he still managed to quadruple his success (and net income!) in just one year from 2018 to 2019—and for Neel and the team at All Western Mortgage, there are no signs of stopping.
With guests like Gary Vaynerchuk and Jerry West, Neel’s YouTube channel is growing by the second. For rainmakers like Neel, putting yourself out there is no longer about gaining a competitive edge. It’s fast becoming a minimum requirement for success in mortgage marketing.
And with 90.4% of millenials and 77.5% of Gen X active social media users, there’s plenty of data to back that up.
“I’ve gained significant market share in my market through content marketing,” says Neel, “And the overall pie did not grow. This means the additional business came at a competitors expense.”
So, yes. Online content is a requirement. But that doesn’t mean you need to rush to create branded social media profiles on every major platform.
For experts like Neel, it’s less about being everywhere all the time and more about the strength of the content you put out there.
Here’s Neel on how to make sure your content works for you and not against you: “When thinking of what type of content to post online, regardless of the platform, you need to ask yourself:
“What would someone get from watching or reading this piece of content?”
“If your content marketing is helping others, then it will work,” Neel continues, “If the goal is solely to get yourself more business or make more sales, it won’t work.”
It really is that simple.
Neel’s YouTube channel includes dozens of interviews with star guests from Tom Ferry to Ryan Serhant.
Christine Beckwith
President, CCO & Master Coach at 20/20 Vision for Success
For experts like Christine Beckwith, truly stellar mortgage marketing starts with awareness—and before you do anything else, you really need to wrap your head around just how saturated the mortgage market has become.
Because best practices quickly become the worst practices when everyone is doing the same thing over and over.
Christine, an award-winning author, consultant, and an industry veteran with almost two decades of experience at top executive roles in the finance mortgage industry, believes now is a great time for every business who is brave enough to try new things.
And when it comes to marketing her business, this is one mortgage expert who’s not afraid to color outside the lines. She and her team have been having a ton of fun with their new lifestyle content on social media.
Christine isn’t afraid to be herself on social media. The 20/20 Vision for Success social channels are awesomely curated with relevant business and personal success tips as well some friendly content that’s just, well… fun.
“We had one post with a cute up-close pic of cow with its head cocked sideways, the tag line said ‘Holy Cow, we have found the true path to Success’,” says Christine, “And one with a bee pollinating this enormous sunflower and said ‘Sometime the job can BEE overwhelming!’ People are really loving these ads.”
Christine takes comfort in the fact that there’s no such thing as a magic formula for marketing your mortgage business. These days, she’s all about innovating on the fly.
“With so many homeowners working from home a good old-fashioned mailer may hit the target far harder than it would have two months ago, and be far more sentimental and meaningful,” explains Christine.
“We had begun doing this here at 20/20 VSC last year, and every 90 days our business partners and our clients receive something of value at home. We attach a note card with a cute tag line and an ask to share on social media.”
It’s a great way to take a multi-channel approach to the classic mortgage mailer.
“Marketers have to learn to stand on their heads and clap their feet. If you can’t keep the audience’s attention, then that is the first obstacle that will defeat you.”
Dale Vermillion
mortgage expert, author and founder of Mortgage Champions
Having trained more than 1,000,000 loan originators over the last 23 years, Dale Vermillion is positive of one thing:
Now more than ever, mortgage pros will find it extremely rewarding to reach out to their sphere of influence.
“Organic is best,” shares Dale, a renowned mortgage expert, author, and founder of Mortgage Champions, the national best-in-class training program for mortgage professionals and organizations.
Applying for a loan is stressful enough for your customers, but doing it amidst a global crisis? That adds a whole new layer of overwhelm.
Long story short: Mortgage customers want to do business with someone they know.
“No matter how you market (direct mail, media, internet, social, ads, etc.), the best is always mining past customers and turndowns and building repeat and referral business, both through your customers, connections and third-party sources (Realtors, builders, etc.),” says Dale.
Makes sense. But here’s the crucial part. According to experts like Dale, the trick to doing more business with your SOI is to: “Be relational, not transactional.”
In other words: “Don’t sell.”
“Investigate and educate,” explains Dale. “Know your audience and focus on education that helps them where they are at. Don’t try to ‘sell’ them on you or your services. Focus on connection and compassion in communication.”
Brian Sacks
nationally-renowned mortgage expert and Mortgage Loan Originator, Homebridge
“Most loan originators believe that it’s their job to originate loan. It’s not,” shares Brian Sacks, a nationally-renowned mortgage expert with over 5,325 mortgage transactions under his belt.“Your job is to create more demand for your services than you could possibly have time for.”
With decades of authoring courses for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, not to mention several dozens of high-profile media appearances on ABC, NBS, and CBS under his belt, Brian is not only a master of mortgage lending, he’s also a master of mortgage marketing.
Even after 35 years in the industry, Brian still finds new ways to push his marketing even further. “Most loan officers suffer from fear rather than prosperous thinking,” he shares.
By simply staying focused on generating demand (not deals), Brian closed 38 loans last month, his most successful month to date, and he did it amidst a global public health crisis.
For example, every mortgage professional knows about the immense value of partnerships with Realtors. Yet, many still struggle to attract enough business from their referral partners.
“The typical loan officer does things backwards. They ask real estate agents: ‘Please give me a loan, I’ll do a great job for you!” Brian doesn’t play that game.
“When people chase you, you have an advantage,” he explains.
The top-producing broker regularly teaches seminars, webinars and other courses to help real estate agents keep up with trends in the market—and boost his business in the process.
Brian uses a simple three-step process to help his coaching members replicate his success in mortgage marketing:
“Pick a niche. Become an expert. And let everyone know about it.”
“People are asking me: ‘Should I use social media? Yes! ‘Should I use email or mail?’ Yes! Use both. These are not mutually exclusive,” he points out.
When it comes to demand generation, it’s less of the means and more about taking consistent action to market your mortgage business. You can learn more about Brian’s unique approach to demand creation in his Top Originator Formula Facebook group.
Sean Herrero
loan expert, branch manager & SVP of Mortgage Lending
“I would rather have someone explain to me how I can buy a home with less money down since I lost money in the markets during COVID 19, than have someone market to me that they are a top producer for 20 years,” shares Sean Herrero, branch manager and SVP of Mortgage Lending in Danville, California.
Ironically, Sean IS a top producer. In his third year as a full-time loan officer, he closed $75M and today he is on track to close $100M in 2020.
But you wouldn’t know that from his marketing campaigns.
“You have to start off with understanding the difference between marketing, branding, and selling,” says Sean, “These are thought to be the same thing, when they are entirely different.”
Here’s how he sees it:
“People want to work with people they can relate to. Market in a way that you are solving people’s problems, not marketing yourself in a braggadocious way.”
“We are not sales people as mortgage advisors. Put people before yourself,” Sean adds.
He’s got a point. With changes in the market the rule, not the exception, the only constant in your prospects life is the value you do (or don’t) deliver to them.
“Rates are a commodity, so what are we selling? We are advisors. Give data and analysis to help people make educated decisions,” Sean continues.
For him, it’s simple. If you want to generate and convert more leads for your mortgage business you need to “Stop selling and start serving.”
Once you’re clear on that, Sean sees flexibility to be one of the key advantages in today’s market: “Be nimble. What was working yesterday may not work today.”
“Analyze your business, the market, and the current needs of the people you serve and be willing and able to turn on a dime.”
And whatever you do, keep moving forward.