February 2009 - Smart Mortgage Marketing

Archives for February 2009

When the yellow pages rep came to see me…

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jennifer-colemanWhen the yellow pages rep came to see me he started to tell me what I needed. I then told him what I wanted and showed him my ad. He then tried to change most of the ad.

I suggested that he change nothing and that I was confident that what I had would work. To cut a long story short the ad was left as is and he gave me a $600 discount on the original price.

The best part was that he booked for a cut and colour the next day. I guess the ad worked before it even went to print.

Jennifer Coleman of Snipz Hair Salon in Edge Hill.

Top Rankings in Google in Only 14 Days!

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boxing-man-300I just got off the phone with yet another rapt client. Jim’s site is only 14 days old, as in like the domain name was only registered 17 days ago – It’s a brand newie.

The reason I’m clarifying that it because quite a few of our clients have us rebuild their site which means the domain has been around for a while and Google has probably been there before, albeit not often.

You can find out easily if your site has been ‘indexed’ (visited) by Google!

… and even how many pages are indexed.

I had another client who had a domain registered for 9 months, they had a static holding page with their contact details and it got left like that for another 8 months.

I always like to do a bit of homework on a site before I change even one thing – Hey, you can’t measure a big improvement unless you have a starting point and a bench mark right?

It turns out that even after 8 months this site had not been indexed; now that’s sad.

Now, me being the show off that I am we took that site from obscurity, and I mean total website no-mans land, if Google doesn’t know the site even exists then how can it show up in any search results… ummm, it can’t!

Anyway, from obscurity to having 8 pages indexed within 5 days (there was only 8 pages at that stage) and I’ve just checked it now and all 40 pages are indexed… and only 3 days ago. I can’t give you the URL ‘cause the client watches his traffic closely and he’d kill me, sorry.

That’s why the “Smarter WebSites” model is so awesome.

Have a listen to what Jim says on this audio, he’s a very happy man let me tell you.

Back to the pages index check – put this in the Google Search Bar (not the address bar)

site:www.yourdomainname.extension (obviously your domain name with the extension)

you will then get the results displayed like this in the top right corner

so for me that’s

site:www.peterbutler.com.au

These are my results

Results 1 – 10 of about 78 from www.peterbutler.com.au. (0.04 seconds)

So Google recognize that I have 78 pages. Don’t give me grief about my own site, I know, a few leaks here and there. It’s like the proverbial mechanics car – always left till last.

As a side note, my own sites get indexed every day – the Google Gods have smiled upon me! That’s what the “Smarter WebSites” System will do for your site.

So for Jim – not only is he Page 1 in Google but position 2 and 3…

Click here to listen in to Jim and I, you’ll pick up a tip on lead generation for your own site – “Like why else would you have a site but if not to generate leads, and then qualified leads at that?

You’d be amazed at how many people forget that!

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

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Yippee, I got the loan!
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.

peter-butler-signature


peter-butler-150

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.



What! You Didn’t Read My Money Making Small Business Lead Generating Stuff!

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Yippe! I got the loan!
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 Money,

Peter B Butler.

peter-butler-signature



peter-butler-150

Finally: A lead generation and marketing system that generates a stream of “highly qualified” clients for small business owners and retailers that’s self managed so they ‘own’ it and it positions them as the experts in their area and ends all lame and frustrating and sometimes costly advertising and marketing methods.

All those in favour of that say ‘AYE’!

To find out more go to Peter B Butler on… Direct Response Marketing, Websites and Lead Generation!


Testimonials That Actually Make You Money

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p_050Last 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 😐

I do have quite a collection from the Yellow Pages Ads clients and coaching clients which is great… Hey, I give good phone… and ads 😆

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 business?

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 business owners showing the world their clients being made happy. It doesn’t matter what you flog, surely you can show your clients with their new “whatever it is”, 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.

Why haven’t you got those photos’ in your showroom, on the office wall, in a show and tell book and 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 Smarter Marketing System. To find out how you can access this you can go here NOW!

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

Peter B Butler.

peter-butler-signature



peter-butler-150

Finally: A lead generation and marketing system that generates a stream of “highly qualified” clients for small business owners and retailers that’s self managed so they ‘own’ it and it positions them as the experts in their area and ends all lame and frustrating and sometimes costly advertising and marketing methods.

All those in favour of that say ‘AYE’!

To find out more go to Peter B Butler on… Direct Response Marketing, Websites and Lead Generation!


Mortgage Broker Testimonials That Actually Make You Money…

by 1 Comment

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.

peter-butler-signature


peter-butler-150

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.