Loan Officers, Who Are You?

Who are you? While this may sound like a rather simple, if not dumb question, I really want to know. What I mean by asking this, is do you really know how you come across to the agents you are marketing to? Here are a few quick stories that I was reminded of today while helping out a young loan officer on the phone. Here it is:

When I first set out to develop a core group of realtors to work with, I jumped right into it. I had no problem picking up the phone and scheduling appointments, but I couldn't help notice that my results were only mediocre. If I hammered the phones long enough, I could usually count on 2-3 appointments with realtors per week. The problem was, no matter how many agents I met with, I never seemed to get the referrals that I was promised. Oh sure, the agents would talk all day long about how we would do this together or that together, but it never seemed to come to fruition.

I heard every excuse in the book. My favorite excuse was "I don't have any deals right now." I heard this often enough to know when I was being fed a "line." After a short while of working my butt off, with nothing to show for it, I decided to do some internal investigations. You know the kind, where you look inside your business to see what is going wrong.

After a few false starts, I finally arrived at me. By this I mean my image, my approach, my appearance, everything. I took a long hard look at who I think I am versus who the agents think I am. In order to do this, I had to put "me" under the microscope. This involved a few things:

1. Tape recorder
2. Honest, trustworthy friend or associate
3. Another friend who has no affiliation with my business

The tape recorder was for my phone. Since the first impression is a lasting one as they say, I decided it was best for me to get a good idea of how I was being perceived on the phone. I made several calls to agents for a day, recorded the calls, and then played them back. As I played the calls back, I also typed the words as they flowed. (Yes this involved lots of stop and rewind) This may seem like tedious work, but it was vital to my success. What I heard blew me away!

Up to this point I had always had the mental impression that I was a rather smooth talker. I could tell you the general bullet points of my script, and it sounded great. However, when I listened to myself on the tape, and then typed out what I had said, so I could read the approach, I was almost embarrassed for myself!

Let me tell you, that the difference between what we think we sound like, and what we think we say can be night and day when reality sinks in! I urge you to do this exercise!

Remember that when you approach these agents, not only do you have to overcome the knee-jerk objections, but you also have to pass the test of the critical eye. The agent is sizing you up and judging you the entire time your mouth is open. You are being judged on everything from professionalism, demeanor and poise, to honesty and sincerity. Fair or not, these judgments are being made and they are being made quickly. Why not tip the odds in your favor by judging yourself first?

I mentioned above that I used two friends or acquaintances for this exercise as well. The idea here was to get an honest opinion from someone who was already in the business, and then another from someone who had no experience.

I was looking for both an insiders and an outsider's point of view. Could I explain things in such a way that even an outsider would understand my approach? Did I give the impression of someone professional and successful?

Ask the friends to provide constructive criticism. Do this part of the exercise separate though, as you want independent unbiased opinions. Give your presentation to the friend, and ask for feedback on:

1. Scripting
2. Poise
3. Confidence
4. Eye contact
5. Sincerity
6. Pace/modulation
7. Authority

If you do not speak with authority and confidence then no script is going to help you much. This was my problem. Once I listened to the tape of my presentations, I immediately went to work on correcting my approach to sound more confident and authoritative. I am not suggesting that you dominate the conversation merely that you have to show the agent that you are a successful and confident individual. Who wants to do business with someone who doesn't even believe his own words?

Perform these simple exercises and make the improvements needed then you will notice a difference in the way agents perceive you and your services.