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Money is Easy–And Not All That Impressive.

By Filed Under: selling/marketing

sharp stick Note: Sharp Stick Fridays is an every Friday Feature where I tear apart the conventional, sleepy wisdom of the RE.NET.   We are taking the behaviors of Realtors/Lenders to their logical end product. A chance, maybe to channel my inner Housing Panic.

We Know What You Take, But What Are You Here To Give?

So many real estate agents, mortgage brokers,  and hangers on came into this business around 2001, and made a fortune.   Was a 6 year run that people were able to drive German Automobiles, eat fine wine, and make every dime they wanted to.

But there was no gratitude.  The assumption was never that this was a novel time that was not to be repeated.   There was nothing more than a sense of entitlement throughout the industry.  Realtors said, “My buyers lied to me, and had me show 23 houses and wound up buying with someone else.”

Mortgage people said, “What, the Realtor* is getting paid 3% and he had a problem with me making two upfront points.”  (And probably 3 out the back, but that’s neither here nor there)

Blown Mortgage, the #1 Source of Mortgage News and CommentThe industry brought compensation far beyond the level of skill that the practitioners were forced to exhibit.   So, all sense of proportion was lost.  The famous quote about George Bush was that he was ‘born on third base, but thought he hit a triple.’   They thought they had earned ‘every penny,’ of the largesse that the industry brought to anyone on the coasts that was practicing Real Estate at the Right time.

Let’s list a ton of houses, let’s be hard to reach, and pretend that this success is sooooooooooooo stressful.   Let’s treat our clients like numbers, and let’s pretend we’re more important than we are!   Comeuppance is always a bitch.

Realtors, were, by and large terrible at their jobs, provided self centered advice (Oh, sure, buy that slab PUD for 600k, it’s a GREAT find, what bubble, I need my $18k)

Mortgage Brokers, by and large, were committing INDUSTRY SANCTIONED fraud.   Let’s make sure that we acknowledge this.  It wasn’t a few bad actors.   It’s everyone.   I don’t know a single realtor who didn’t have a deep knowledge of “stated W2″ suicide loans.   And even though Option Arms were never really popular here in Ohio, they still existed.  The fraud was not even considered fraud.   It was something else, business as usual, the way deals get done, whatever.   Stated loan abuses were the worst–I heard a phone conversation from a reasonably honest loan officer in 2006…”Well, the question isn’t what you made last year, it’s what you intend to make this year…” Under that standard, then I qualify for Buckingham Palace.

Mediocrity, pompousity,grandiosity, and probably obtusity had been the rage. I myself was guilty.   You get real confused when you’re making money and think that’s a reflection of the vitality of your soul.  It’s easy to do.   Look at PacMan Jones.

Also consider: It’s not that novel or difficult to score $250,000 a year.  Really.  But if you’re an incessant shill, who is alone on the weekends, what the hell does it really matter how much money you’ve earned?   The money part doesn’t make any of us special.

So now that the jig is up, the news is out, and they’ve finally found you, how do you move on?

First, Last and Always, The Client’s Best Interests

You might have been a lead monkey in the past.  Hell, you might have been the guy that caused this mess.

The deal is that you’re probably not getting prosecuted.  You’ll probably be allowed to keep your business, your license, if not your house.  And if you learned the right lessons (the wrong lessons being the Moral Hazard), you can use this to make some money.

Get out of fantasyland.  The days of overcompensation may return, but not for a while.  And in the mean time, there are people that need us more than ever.  A good practitioner that gets in the habit of being a Fiduciary, will not have any shortage of deals or clients.  Sometimes the best move for the client is no move.  And you can’t fake honesty, people have B.S. detectors.  If you lie as a habit, people will figure it out, find out and resist your every move.  So don’t lie.

Our industry bred an army of middle aged obtuse boomers with a serious entitlement attitude.   So be grateful.  Don’t have your neurons fire ad infinitum on what things you “deserve” because, seriously, how much of yourself was used to help people?  How many times have you treated citizens as things to close instead of people?   Sew something great, and give of yourself, and you’ll reap spectacular rewards.

Your checkbook balance isn’t the sum total of your life.

…

Monday the podcast starts…

And then we’re doing a conference call in just a few days.

Go sell something.  And be humble and grateful for the opportunity.

OH–In Case you don’t see the stuff I see:

Jeff has impeccable taste in music.  So much so that I don’t rely on myself to find any music anymore, I just snag what he likes.  My new-favorite-band is the Hold Steady.  They are unlikely to make it huge.   My second favorite is Dan Bern.  Sometimes Dan is my favorite.  Probably most of the time.  But anyway, Chips Ahoy! is a great tune.   Maybe Eric will dig this one, although Certain Songs is more summery.

Rapport: You Don’t Matter. You Are Here To Add Value

By Filed Under: selling/marketing, Start Here

First the X broker has a post about how to run a mortgage company, then I see a Blown Mortgage post about how mortgage shoppers lie.

I’ll say this: those people that say ethics and integrity don’t enhance your business are wrong.

Those people that say they are at a competitive disadvantage when facing down with the used money shills are wrong.

The people that say that you have to lie to be truly successful are wrong.

It’s easy to say, “oh, poor salesman” the buyer lied. It’s easy to say, “yup, they went with another provider because that provider lied.

But look: when you lose the game it’s because of selling skills. On every single call, I tell people that they have many options for doing this, and it’s all a matter of preference. I gain a commitment to use me, and tell them that I have all the programs. I rarely offer quotes, and I have never worked with a lead. You’re whining because someone offered a program you didn’t.

Make it part of the pitch. Learn that this is what buyers want, and this is what is needed to…win the game. Don’t give your power to the shills and chop shops. Claim it for yourself. Win with a better process, which INCLUDES a sales process that makes people comfortable, AND makes them committed to using you (in part by touching quickly on every product).

Anyone Who Relies On Rapport Alone is Disconnected From Reality.

Write that five times. Sure, people DO buy the product because they like you, but seriously, as Matthew Ferry says: if people could swallow a pill and be done with us, they would. Nobody has recreational conversations with accountants, mortgage brokers, Realtors (oh, God, Realtors!).

That’s why the Xbroker says that sales monkeys are worthless. Because it’s tedious.

We are paid handsomely to perform a specific service. We have enough friends, our clients have enough friends. Sure, we want relationships, but we have to achieve basic competence first.

In the time it takes to build rapport, you can be halfway done with the work that you’re doing, and it’s a more authentic experience that customers will like more.

There’s a REASON for the saying: familiarity breeds contempt. If you are preternaturally competent, there is no chance that a shill can get you, over the long haul.

Salespeople Are Morons!

Salespeople, get over yourselves. Especially you mortgage brokers. You don’t matter! You are facilitating the process, and tellin’ em about your cat, your education is no more relevant to their mortgage needs than what you watched on TV last night.

It’s imbecilic and ego centric.

It’s insulting to your customers and dishonors their intentions.

For every second you spend spewing bile about yourself, you’re NOT LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMER.

Let’s consider something: Does every 3 toothed hillbilly that applies with you have a lot of common ground? Heck no. Should they be served by you? Heck yes. Do you owe it to them to honor their intentions? Abso-friggin-lutely. You sure as heck do. But do they care about your personal preferences?

In life, you’re truly lucky if your wife gives a shit, why presume that some stranger will.

This does not mean that you don’t seek relationships and real connection.

But it’s in the context of your buyer’s intended purpose.

Rapport comes throughout process as the people realize how good you are at what you do.

Rapport comes by demontrating your intent to serve, and using that as a common ground.

Rapport comes after you help.

So what do I do instead?

I’ll get after the Xbroker’s new business model in a minute. He’s on to something that makes a ton of sense–especially getting rid of the low value salespeople.

  1. Plan- We do the same 7 or 8 things over and over again (in my business: take an ap, prepare a package, present program options, choose a lender, submit a package, meet conditions, and close). Be world class at the tasks that matter, and every nuance to best case scenario.
  2. Rehearse and Practice: Rather than checking bloglines or reader.google.com, why not practice with a buddy taking an application, or look over the loan file that we did. What went right? What went wrong? When you take an application, what do do right? What do you do wrong?
  3. Document: It goes with #1, but write down what you’re going to say, write down the information that the customer needs. Listen to what the cusotmer says, and handle the same ten or so questions to the best of your abilities. Have what you need handy, at your fingertips.
  4. Gain a commitment: If you’re a professional you’re either working with a client, or you’re not. Not a lot of in between there. Even if they say they are shopping, gain a commitment to come back to you BEFORE you quote them.
  5. Explain the process: In my business, the price is an hourly concern. If you get a quote at 10 in the morning, it may be better or worse at 3pm. It’s like asking how much a particular stock is. People can beat me due to timing, and offer a deal I can lock people in at.
  6. Stop caring if they like you. The money talks. They close with you? They like you. Happy customers don’t need intimacy.

More later, this is probably part I and I’ll cut it up and push it out elsewhere.