End of the Year Momentum

We have talked all fall about pushing hard to end the year and begin 2019 with momentum. Many of you have really done well and are seeing solid closing numbers for December and good pipelines for January and February closings, as well as a number of new referral partners; so job well done! The key here is not to let your momentum slip away by easing up this last weekend of 2018. Just finish the journey by making one last round of calls to your referral partners letting them know your availability this weekend. Connect with your pre-approvals and let them know that this coming weekend may bring a great value in home shopping before the January rush when those who wanted to wait until the holidays were over to begin shopping!

You also must be really clear within your own company about the rules you need to follow during the government shut down. Some of you may not be affected at all, and others may face significant challenges with certain loan products. Since too many possibilities exist from location to location and lender to lender, PLEASE get very clear on what your specific policies and procedures are before confirming or denying anyone. Remember, your rules maybe different than others. Avoid making statements about what may or may not be possible OUTSIDE your own company policy!

Check for open houses this weekend, there may be more than you think or none at all! You do have to look! Check any files still left to close this year and be sure all the little things are done because it may be a challenge finding help on Monday the 31^st!

Last but not least, complete any loose ends on your business plan and schedule. Make any little adjustments or tweaks so that next Wednesday the 2^ndyou can hit your mark and begin the year strong. 2019 is going to be a great year for you if you have done the work and are prepared!

Have a safe and Happy New Year! As always, any questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

 

Advertisement

It Works if You Work

What a great time of year and what fantastic results we are seeing from those executing the end of year plan. For many, December will be a record breaking month; one entire branch following the plan is setting a sales record by closing 50% more units in December than they did in October! Who said you can’t do business after Thanksgiving? So why are some mortgage professionals setting sales records while others are convinced that there was no business to be had? The answer is simple, there is always business to be had and you just have to get out in front of it!

One of the best parts of this is that it isn’t coming from any one activity or effort, its coming from all areas. New closings from those who said they couldn’t close in time. Deals from those people who didn’t know they could even buy a home. Deals are closing for people who are trading up and trading down to get into their new homes for Christmas, others are buying because now is a great time to buy a home

From the “Black Friday Home Sale” to the countdown to year end; from working hard with open houses to getting in front of the preapprovals who haven’t bought yet. From working with builders to reduce completed inventory, to moving renters into home ownership and more, the final push of activity has resulted in significant loan opportunities to close in 2018, but more importantly, established and identified new relationships that will produce opportunities in 2019 and beyond!

Our efforts and activities don’t disappear at the end of any month or year. Our business is a constant flow of activities and opportunities, some of which are almost instant results; others are deals that will close well into the future. One of my people closed a deal this week that was a man he began working with in March of 2016. They both stuck to the plan and the deal, and that buyer’s life, got to a result created by actions over time!

There are going to be buyers and sellers engaged in the process this weekend! There will be open houses just days before Christmas for sellers that need to sell and there will be buyers looking that are trying to buy! Do you have a plan for this weekend and the days between Christmas and New Year’s? Unless you are going on vacation, working just a few hours each day could help you land some new opportunities that you would have never had a chance at if you hadn’t!

2019 is just a few more days away. What kind of momentum do you have going into January? Is your business plan complete, your preapproval file full, does your pipeline have deals ready to close on time or early; have you run through your new prospecting schedule and prepared your marketing calendar for 2018? If you have, you are ready to go!

Finish the year strong with solid momentum and energy! Have a safe and Merry Christmas! Share kindness with those you love and those in need! We will be back next week!

Here Is What Is Working

As we are wrapping up 2018 and looking at what is working for those committed to improving their business, here are the three things I am finding that are working best for those who have improved the most.

• Use of video. For 7 years I have been pushing for mortgage professionals to incorporate video in their business to better connect and communicate. Video works for you 24/7/365. Putting together your video business cards, FAQs, short tutorials, and especially the use of video coupons.
• Birthday calls. The simple act of calling your clients and referral partners on their birthday has been a huge boost in opportunities for those making the call. This one simple act that takes less than 10 minutes a day can help grow your business by more than 30%!
• File replacement. Mining your files for potential new opportunities to do loans or find new referral partners has proven to do just that, create new opportunities while working on current ones.

There are many other tools and techniques out there you can use and many things that will work well or better than others. The important thing is to take a good look at your business and see the one or two things that take less than ten or fifteen minutes a day to do that will substantially change your business!

One other point I wanted to bring to your attention this week is the value of the note. A simple hand written note can really change the perception and the level of connection between a person and a product or service provider. A simple case in point is my recent trip to Ohio last week. I left Florida where it was 82 degrees and arrived in Columbus to find in to be 21! On the drive to my hotel, it was windy and then it began to snow. When I got to the hotel and got by bags out of the car, the cold, wind, and snow was really putting a damper on my mood for sure!

I checked in and got to my room just wanting to get my clothes put away and warm up when I spotted a note on the desk. It read:

“Mr. White,

Welcome to our hotel! Thank you so much for choosing us for your stay! We are so excited to host you, especially as a valued Gold Hilton Honors member! If there is anything we can do for you while you are here, please let us know!

-yours in hospitality,

Front Desk Team

Needless to say, this really helped change my mood and reset my focus for this trip. It also confirmed to me the power of the handwritten note! I have this note and will keep it as a reminder that personal attention to detail in the form of a simple note is still a very powerful tool in providing an exceptional customer experience!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

One Weekend Left

Most of us only have one weekend left to secure new business to close in 2018. Some of you may be able to stretch it out a bit further, but realistically we are looking at the last weekend this weekend. With that in mind, what are you plans? A few simple steps might help:

• Record a video about this being the last weekend to bring in files to close in 2018.
• Share the video on YouTube®, Facebook®, Twitter®, LinkedIn®, and with every real estate office and referral partner you have.
• Target every small bank and credit union either with the video or just a flier brought to each office on Friday.
• Locate every Open House this weekend and share the same information via video and flier with each agent and prospective buyer.
• Call every pre-approval you have currently, and go back and look at every pre-approval you lost touch with and share this information!

It won’t take that much energy and the rewards can be enormous. Besides, what else do you have to do? Even if you don’t find a loan, you will get practice at doing a video, sharing important information, and contacting people who need to hear from you because they might NEED you!

The next things I need to talk about this week are holiday parties. Holiday parties can make or maybe break your career. Holiday celebrations are important. Just be sure you do a good job of making good choices! Attend the ones important to you and your business, but avoid too much holiday cheer; and by that I mean don’t drink! Nothing can ruin you faster that a DUI or being drunk at a party. In fact, you might consider being the designated driver for those who drink too much and don’t have Uber yet!

On the success story side of things, some of you worked the “Black Friday Sale” and made a few people’s holiday by helping them into their first home. Others found new business by using the “Pie Giveaway”. Others remained committed to working Open Houses and found people in need of your help. And last but not least, we had one group already put together eight transactions to close this year for a builder’s inventory homes. All of this is very cool and I am sure there are a few new success stories still to come this holiday season!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com