What! You Didn’t Read My Money Making Mortgage Broker Lead Generating Stuff!

Yippee, I got the loan!

Friday nights with good friends and a good wine is a great way to end a busy week.

And as you do with like minded entrepreneurial friends we were bouncing around our “take over the world ideas, million dollar breakthroughs and world changing ideological schemes”.

By the end of the night I’m sure we’d pulled at least 17 million dollars and solved all the worlds problems, it was hard work but obviously worth it.

The particular friend we were visiting is in real estate and although he’s not been in the industry that long he’s pulling good listings and sales and carving out a healthy career even against all the odds of the market being slow. A man of action and a quick learner and certainly open to innovative marketing stuff.

It turns out that he subscribes to my e-marketing newsletter so I started talking about my recent post on testimonials. He hesitantly confessed he hadn’t read the recent post knowing full well that I would get on my pedestal and rant… “What, you didn’t read my stuff?”

Even when I wrote the post I had visions of real estate agents with photos of ecstatic home owners putting ‘Sold’ stickers on the ‘For Sale’ sign out the front of their house with a big ‘thumbs up’. What a better way to show prospects that you get results… right!

(What, you didn’t read my previous post too?)

Or a photo of the buyers… with the agent, beaming smiles, keys in hand at of the front door of their new dream home.

Why would you go to all this bother? People look at pictures, hello!

Don’t you think an ‘imagery’ style testimonial is a lot more powerful than a whole heap of text? I’d like to think everyone reads my stuff but the reality is we’re all busy and you know the old adage ‘a picture tells a thousand words’.

Why do you think I place a picture in my posts? To try and get them read.

I heard a fellow marketer coin the expression – ‘results in advance’. Using picture testimonials in this way is exactly that. Use the right pictures and you are showing your prospects the outcome they will achieve by doing business with you.

With any transaction there is the process but it’s the outcome that people want – focus on the outcome. Get a mix of testimonials and photo’s.

Another point that needs to be made is that of ANY marketing idea you read or hear about the question should never be “Can I make that work for me?” but rather the question should ALWAYS be “How can I make that work for me?” Most ideas can be adapted so use your imagination.

If you add a twist to any marketing idea it is sure to make you stand out over all the other brokers… and isn’t that what marketing is all about? Standing out! Differentiating you from the ‘pack’!

So to subscribers… be warned… I will find out if you don’t read my stuff. We have ways…

Seriously, we all want the one idea that will bring us 100 new clients but the reality is… it’s probably going to be 20 ideas that pull 5 clients each time… but we still end up with 100 clients.

A side note… the marketing stuff we do and advocate can be systemised meaning that once it’s set up… it’s an auto-pilot lead generating prospect converting money making marketing machine… works for me!

PS: A colleague and friend made a comment on my last post… you can too. I’ll tell you why it good for you in my next post. Click on the blue headline in the post or right here to have your say now.

Committed to Generating “Highly Qualified” Leads and Making You More Commissions,

Peter B Butler.

Finally: A lead generation and marketing system that runs alongside even the best referral systems and generates an independent stream of “highly qualified” clients for brokers that’s self managed so they ‘own’ it and positions them as the experts in their area and ends all those lame, frustrating and sometimes costly prospecting methods.

All those in favour of that say ‘AYE’!

To find out more go to Smart Mortgage Marketing or go here to get your FREE Marketing and Website Audit! valued at $350.

Mortgage Broker Testimonials That Actually Make You Money…

Last week I raved about “What others say about you is ‘infinitely more believable’ than what you say”.

I also challenged those who already use testimonials that there is a powerful way to get them and use them and the lame way.

• What should your testimonials say?
• How to double the power and readership of yours!
• When is the best time to get your testimonial?
• How should they be signed?
• How and where should you use them?

What if you don’t have any testimonials?

It’s not that difficult. Start at the beginning, first talk to clients you know just love you.

Ask them outright. Tell them you need their help and just be up front of them. Let them know you’re going to make it easy for them and you don’t expect them to write a novel about you. Most people are willing to give a testimonial but some people have difficulty putting pen to paper and that’s pretty well the only reason they might resist.

Once they have agreed there are two ways to handle this:

• Simply tell them you have 2, 3 or 6 drafts for them to choose from so whatever they feel comfortable with is great… or
• You can have a questionnaire, quick and simple, for them to tick a few boxes and make a comment if they choose. You can make your testimonial from this…

Obviously you need to prepare some drafts or the questionnaires with some compelling emotional copy. Doing it this way can avoid all those ordinary legalistic testimonials. I have a few of those in my testimonial arsenal and appreciate the spiel but if I’d done it a little different in the early days some of my testimonials would be a lot more powerful. Here’s an example, great guy too.

Hi Peter, I am writing this email to thank you for the wonderful job you have done in putting together our Website for LoanEasy. Not only are we extremely happy with the look and functionality of the site but we are appreciative of the guidance regarding the marketing side of promoting our business.  Whilst putting our marketing plan together with you we have found you to be helpful, courteous and patient as well as open to our ideas whilst adding your experience to the marketing mix.

We look forward to an ongoing relationship with you as we go forward.

Kind regards,

Mark Coonan – Managing Director

P: 1300 883 453 F: 08 9330 8750 WA FINANCE BROKERS LICENSE 4509

A point to remember is to ask them to sign whatever they choose giving their permission for you to use their comments and testimonial. Even if you have a great relationship with them this is still a wise protocol to follow. If they email it to you that is implied permission so you’re good to go.

So when is the best time to get your testimonial?

Straight away of course! Emotional testimonials are so powerful. When people are emotional they speak with passion and power and that’s exactly what you want. Capture that from now on, always.

So what should your testimonials say?

They need to support your Unique Selling Position and your claim to fame. The more specific they are the more powerful they are. People relate to specifics and this is a relationship building tool… right?

That’s a point… why haven’t I got more specific testimonials?

Wish me luck trying to get any testimonial out of a broker. You people make it hard for me, playing everything so close to the chest – all guarding your territory so fervently it seems. I have more testimonials coming but I’ve had to make an offer with extra coaching in the deal at no charge as the bait for “Actually tell us some real numbers in your results” testimonial. It’s a legal and ethical bribe, the numbers don’t lie. This is what I’m driven to working with brokers, things are grim hey

Back to “what your testimonials should say”.

Make sure they are varied. In drawing up the drafts or questionnaire make sure you have a range of testimonial responses. Obviously they need to be positive statements and need to address the benefits of using you. For every benefit you should have at least one testimonial. Try and build a testimonial base giving you many testimonials for every benefit. Know this, you can never have too many testimonials.

How should your testimonials be signed?

Remember, the whole essence of having testimonials is to provide credibility. To help with credibility it is important to include as much information about the client as possible. It shows people they’re real.

You should include their name, occupation, suburb and city… and even a phone number if they’re courageous. Having that preponderance of proof elevates your credibility exponentially…

How do I make sure that people read my testimonials?

By giving it a headline… BUT… there is a golden rule that you have to abide by. The headline text has to come from the testimonial itself, otherwise it’s not legitimate. That’s my take. Apart from it being unethical to edit or alter if you only use excerpts from the testimonial  for the headline then you know that you’re saying exactly what your client DID say and not what you think they would say. Make sense?

How can you make your testimonials stand out over every other broker?

Having a photo shifts the reality factor like no other but you can even take this to the next level.

Surely you’ve heard of Joe Girard, the World’s Greatest Salesman. A car salesman even, quite a remarkable man and the point here without going into his full story is he leveraged off and pioneered using photographic proof like no other. Every car he sold he had a photo taken of himself handing over the keys to his client with their new car.

Why is that so powerful? Not only is he showing evidence of happy clients but he’s tied them to himself in the photo. The other factor is showing the fruit of the deal, the car, that new toy. It paints the picture of the end transaction of doing business with me, you.

Maybe there’s something I’m missing but why aren’t brokers showing the world their clients being handed a set of keys at the front door of their new house, all with beaming smiles. Those smiles will capture the hearts of your prospects like you wouldn’t believe and strip away any resistance to do business with you.

If you financed a client into a car, or a boat… why are those photos’ not on your office wall, or on your website?

We’ve all got happy clients right? If we don’t show off the joy when we get the deal done then who will?

Stop being a slow learner and start shouting how good you are in any way you can. Tell the world! This is only one of the many tips and tricks in our Mortgage Broking $$$ Millions Marketing System. To find out how you can access this go here NOW!

Committed to Generating “Highly Qualified” Leads and Making You More Commissions,

Peter B Butler.

Finally: A lead generation and marketing system that runs alongside even the best referral systems and generates an independent stream of “highly qualified” clients for brokers that’s self managed so they ‘own’ it and positions them as the experts in their area and ends all those lame, frustrating and sometimes costly prospecting methods.

All those in favour of that say ‘AYE’!

To find out more go to Smart Mortgage Marketing or go here to get your FREE Marketing and Website Audit! valued at $350.

Lead Generation Strategies to get the Best Quality Clients.

The last couple of “Lead Generating Web Site and Marketing Machines” we’ve set up for clients have been missing some specific content I needed.

And it shouldn’t have been!

So I want to give you the heads up on what you should be doing right now, whether you ever use us or not… and this is an absolute must for all brokers.

What others say about you is “infinitely more believable” than what you say about you…

… think about it.

How much more likely are you to try a new store or go to a restaurant if a friend or family member told you about it?

A lot more likely!

… imagine you then saw an ad in your local newspaper for this business.

You could almost speak with authority and recommend it to others even if you hadn’t been there yet. If someone you know and trust is making a recommendation it invariably means you are going to trust their judgement.

This is a very powerful marketing strategy that you need to embrace fully and use to its full extent.

You’ve probably heard me rave previously about what I call “gush factor” service. Forget the wow factor… we should all move our service to the gush factor level but that’s another rave.

My point is this. What is the value of creating gush factor service and great client rapport if nobody shares it with the world?

No value!!! It’s great to give good service and have happy clients but you really are leaving a lot of money on the table if you ‘don’t get this right’.

… a high gush factor with someone singing your praises is a really powerful tool.

Testimonials provide credibility as well as proof.

Not sure about you but I’m a bit of a gadget freak and I need reasonable amounts of retail therapy. Hey, we all have a vice or three. When I’m out with friends and family I use their recommendations and experiences a lot so I to know where to get the best value for my retail therapy sessions.

So why is this all so powerful? Like most brokers you rely on referrals for new business… a lot!

But you always need to be preparing for the possibility you’ll lose some of those referral centres at some point. We all need to maintain or build our own independent new client streams.

Isn’t that why you’re an independent broker in the first place?

By using testimonials to provide this credibility and proof of what you say about you is true you’re also switching the psychology of your prospect or new client. They’re already pre-disposed to do business with you. The trust factor is high which means they’re like a direct referred client.

Using the Direct Response Marketing and Lead Generating model of the Smart Mortgage Marketing system with testimonials is like a self generating referral centre all on its own.

That’s powerful. So what did we do about getting those missing testimonials? Got on the phone to back track what we and started a system to collect as much as we could.

Imagine your arsenal if you’d started this a year or three ago.

Some brokers already get testimonials and might be saying ‘So what, been there and done that”.

Well, get this… There is a powerful way to get them and use them and the lame way.

• What should your testimonials say?
• How to double the power and readership of yours!
• When is the best time to get your testimonial?
• How should they be signed?
• How and where should you use them?

All this and more will be covered next week…

Speak then.

Committed to Generating “Highly Qualified” Leads and Making You More Commissions,

Peter B Butler.

Finally: A lead generation and marketing system that runs alongside even the best referral systems and generates an independent stream of “highly qualified” clients for brokers that’s self managed so they ‘own’ it and positions them as the experts in their area and ends all those lame, frustrating and sometimes costly prospecting methods.

All those in favour of that say ‘AYE’!

To find out more go to Smart Mortgage Marketing or go here to get your FREE Marketing and Website Audit! valued at $350.