Loan Officer Survival Training

Sales Lessons From My Kid: Closing, Goals, Enthusiasm & Overcoming Objections!

Chris Johnson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:59:16 +0000

Yesterday I went with my 3 year old Jack to sell some lemonade. See, last week, Jack had a dollar left over from his May birthday, and wanted to put it to use. He was going to buy a matchbox car from Marc’s, but then he saw Buzz Lightyear. At first, I was going to suggest a Matchbox car, but he was smitten. Nothing mattered but Buzz. And when a 3 year old is willing to defer gratification to get something, you sieze the moment.

So, we planned a lemonade stand. When a 3 year old is looking forward to something, it’s about the best thing in the world, and he was telling everyone at Church about his Lemonade stand (for Buzz Lightyear).

We made the lemonade, and we went out. Jack was enthusiastic when I told him that he was going to be helping thirsty people. And he had the goal focused in his mind. I’ve never been more proud of him.

Eight Sales Lessons from my kid.

He was focused on people that he could help, not people that couldn’t. We were at a busy street corner, and he was offering cars a drink. When someone said no, he said, “they must not be thirsty.” How can you focus on people you can help?
He was focused on his goal. Heather and I don’t buy him a ton of toys. Rewards for achievement mostly, but this has been it. His goal was his own Buz Lightyear, and that was novel enough for him to have that BURNED into his mind. Rejection didn’t matter because he had a goal that was HUGE for him. Would focusing MORE on Goals Help You With Your Sales?
He was happy, enthusiastic and grateful: Because he was motivated by his goal (which was a Peak Experience for him and me both), he was GLAD to help people, and absolutely gleeful when people were coming up to him. What would be different if we were all happier and more enthusiastic and more grateful?
He was flat out friendly. He looked people right in the eye, and anyone who got close he talked to, he said hi.
He asked dead simple questions: Nothing was convoluted because he just turned three. “Would you like some of Jack’s special lemonade?” The answer was yes or no. How could you simplify your presentation?
He didn’t settle for the first no. He asked the exact same question again, when people said no. How persistent are you?
He overcame objections. A guy pulled up in a Wrangler, and Jack made his offer. The guy rejected jack. Jack then said, “Well, what do you have to drink, then?” Are you settling for the first ‘no’ and wandering off?
He Anticipated Objections: He informed people that “you have time for this,” as they were walking by or driving by. Not having time is something jack hears probably too much, but knowing in advance what the objection might be and working it into the early part of his presentation was a killer move. What objections come up? How can you work them into your ultra-simple presentation?

Oh, if my son can overcome objections, so can you. No excuses. A three year old can focus on a goal and go knock it out. So can you. We make things more complicated and harder than they need to be. Just focus on what we do and be well.

And if you haven’t signed up for a class yet, do it! We’re offering month-to-month for the month of July, so there are no long term contracts! We’re getting into social media this month. Learn to use LinkedIn and Facebook to get business.

We’ll see you soon!

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Loan Officer Survival Training: Insanity.

Chris Johnson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:52:54 +0000

You’d be absolutely insane to only have one way to get business. And the problem with my competition is that they believe that ‘one way’ is best. Some people go afterrefi mailers like they are the end-all, be-all. That’s great, but what if the market keeps going in the wrong direction? What if things get worse, and nobody can refi anyone anymore?

Having your family’s lifestyle rely on JUST ONE SOURCE of leads is a surefire path to the bankruptcy courthouse. What if that source dies, and you can’t pay your bills? As a responsible training provider, I have to make sure that my people don’t just have one source that they have many.

What’s more powerful? Relying on leads, or generating your own?

What’s more powerful, having one way to make money, or having ten?

We teach Mortgage Lenders:

Closing leads from Realtors
Getting CLOSABLE DEALS off of Facebook.
Getting closable deals off of Linkedin, Myspace
How to write a blog that gets you business.
Closing leads from mailers.
How Loan Officers can Use Craig’s List.
Using Classified Ads
IVR systems.
Closing leads from Credit Union turn downs (hey, they should be TAXED LIKE BANKS, but let’s use ‘em)
Working with Real Estate Investors.
Generating Buyer Leads
generating apartment leads.
Running a daily schedule.
Getting deals by using YOUTUBE testimonials.
Working with financial planners.
Working with BK attorneys.
How to close deals faster
How to get your title people working faster.

Except when we teach getting Realtors, we teach two methds a monthA lot more, and everything is done STEP BY STEP, and it’s stuff that I’ve actually DONE, not “BS” that I just talk about. So when you’re looking at getting coaching, think about it: do you know anyone that is teaching pure, unadulterated lead generation? I believe a loan officer should be able to get off a plane in a new city and fund $2mm the next month., without a referral base. I got a package at $56.00 a month AND you get a free FLIP camera if you sign up here.

Do I need to tell you to sign up?

There are people I can’t help.

Chris Johnson — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:40:18 +0000

The law of averages, the old 80/20 rule, whatever you wanna call it, applies to this business too. Meaning this: of the students that sign up, so far only about 20% of people take action and step out of their comfort zone.

About 80% of the people show up to the calls that I give, which is great. But 20% of the people take action and do what we ask. What we ask isn’t that much–all we are doing is teaching 2 ways of getting business each month, and holding you accountable to that. Right now, we’re teaching you how to get Reatlor business. Next month we’ll teach you how to use Facebook and Myspace.

(Oh,did I tell you? I earned $24,000 in my first quarter on Facebook)?

So, I can’t help you if you’re not gonna take action and trust the program. If you’re already depressed, and think your last days in the business are coming…DON’T JOIN. I can’t help you.

If, however, you’re ready to take action, to do things and to grow your business, and you’re ready to increase your skills…by all means, JOIN THE PROGRAM. Come train with us so you’re going to win the game, OK?

You can call me at 614-839-4850, or you can email me at chris@loanofficersurvivaltraining.com to get started.

Have fun, make money, survive and thrive.

Oh yeah, tomorrow, i’m going to talk about an activity stack.

Next Survival Call:

Chris Johnson — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:44:00 +0000

7:2:08
3:30 PM Eastern.

Details to follow. Sign up in the sidebar.

We’re going to talk about ruthless social media marketing for Loan Officers.

Give Us 90 Minutes A Day…

Chris Johnson — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:27:00 +0000

OK, this is goofy.

Another company that I’m competing with that said all I teach is cold calling. Hours and hours of tedious cold calling every day. I’ve never said that. In fact, the MOST that you’ll do is 90 minutes, and it’s not even that ‘cold.’

90 minutes a day connecting with past clients, helping Real Estate Agents, people that they know, reaching out to business leaders. I tell you the words to say. You practice, you call and deliver your version of my script. You call 25 people each day. And….at the end of the week, you’ve collected 3 or 4 loan applications from people that already like you. And at the end of the month, you’ve closed 6 or 7 easy loans…just from this source.

Oh, yeah, you’ve got 8 or nine other things that you’re doing at any given time, too, so you’re not doing just one thing to get business.

We don’t care how you get business. (Like our buddy BawldGuy, who is making a special guest post tomorrow, we only care that you go get it). My whole philosophy is different. I’ll teach you a 2 methods every month. You’ll be assigned homework so you can learn what works for YOU. Then you decide what stays in your business plan and what goes, but if the wind shifts again (and it will), you’ll be ready with the skills you need.

Like I say, it’s insanity to only have one way to get deals in the door.

And anyone that teaches that…just gotta wonder what they’re after.

90 minutes is all it takes and you get really great at:

getting more people to know you.
harvesting deals off of myspace and facebook.
Being the go-to-LO for some top producing realtors.

Oh yeah, I believe in watching your ROI like a hawk. I don’t think that you need to subscribe to every single stinking widget on the planet to make it in this business, and I think you need to spend less than $4.00 per YEAR on each past client. That’s plenty.

I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Loan Officer Training: Do What’s Easy.

Chris Johnson — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:27:47 +0000

It’s easier to find the PERFECT customer…

…than it is to try to bang out tough loans.

It’s easier to help friends that already trust you….

…than it is to sell strangers on why they should use you.

It’s easier to do 90 minutes of work and be focused and done…

…than it is to wonder where the day went and what to do.

It’s easier to be willing to face rejection.

than it is to wonder

It’s easier to put your hand out and be noticed…

…than it is to be passive.

But it’s HARD to get started. There are some serious barriers to getting started, and when you can overcome what’s hard…then this business, even today, gets seriously easy, and fun.

===

Links for the day:

Folks, you need to read more than just me:

http://mortgagecicerone.com -to become a mortgage leader.

http://bloodhoundrealty.com/bloodhoundblog -a pull no punches industry (and increasingly, technology), blog.

http://lenderama.com -the original mortgage loan blog.

Subscribe to all of these blogs either via email or via RSS. You do know how to use RSS, Right?

Not surprisingly, you can find me at all of those places, blogging constantly to keep the industry going.

Also, watch this space because Tuesday I’m releasing a bunch of new content for you guys.

Have fun, close loans, make money

What We Teach.

Chris Johnson — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:41:48 +0000

Meta Improvement.

What is metaimprovement? Simply put: improving the rate that you improve is the most important part of any training program. You have to improve, but more importantly, you have to improve the rate that you improve.

The space shuttle you see spends all of it’s energy accelerating so it can leave Earth’s massive gravitational pull. Its rockets are designed to continually accelerate until it gets to a safe altitude to orbit the earth. The shuttle starts very slowly, and then continues to gain speed as it climbs.

You have to add thrust and always improve your ‘acceleration,’ or rather, the RATE that you improve. You must always get better at getting better. The difference between some other mortgage people is that they spoon feed you techniques. We have no shortage of techniques, but we also teach the 2.0 mindset you need….so you can eventually do what’s comfortable for you.

What if mailers stop working? What if Facebook stops working? Will you know how to turn your business on a dime and generate new leads? Or will you be stuck spending money for mailing and coaching?

Remember when we got our consumer business via cold calling? The Do Not Call list came out and it killed a lot of loan officers. What’s certain is this:

ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TECHNIQUE WILL SOMEDAY BE OBSOLETE. LEARNING HOW TO LEARN WILL ALWAYS SERVE YOU.

When you are always adding thrust to your rockets, you will eventually escape the gravitational pull of mediocrity. You will have the power to control every aspect of your business. You’re going to eventually have an engine that can blast off anything because you’ve improved everything that you do.

We want to improve:

Skills and how to acquire new skills. (Because at some point you’ll graduate from Survival Training, but we want you to have something to take with you.)
Mindset AND the acquisition of a better mindset.

There are a ton of tools in our toolbox now, and some of them are tactics (i.e. to quickly get your people saying good things about you on youtube). Others are strategic, like our Survival Manifesto–a 40 page overview of the skills you need to survive a 2.0 world and compete and beat everyone in your marketplace.

Do you want to learn more about us?

Join a class.

Check out our podcast.

Order something from our store (opens at 3pm)

Get some free stuff

Image courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/pcw/.

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Unemployment Rate Is Up…So Now What?

Chris Johnson — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:14:23 +0000

You heard it here.

The unemployment rate has gone through the roof in today’s report. And every article seems to blame "the subprime mess". So what the REAL question is is this: what are we going to do about it? Let’s keep in mind:

We have one of the LOWEST unemployment rates when compared to all other industrialized democracies + russia.
94.5 people that want jobs, have jobs. Think about that–only 5.5% of the people are down.

So, what next?

#1: realize that people are scared. Use marketing and a MANOR that reassures them.

Important: NEVER say "don’t worry," because people WILL do the opposite of what you tell them to. Never say "don’t" anything. Instead say, ‘this should have a good outcome.’ Let me prove it:

Don’t think of a purple horse.

#2: With benefits being cut…who should you market to?

HR departments. A special call is coming that tells you EXACLTY how to get to do an in office presentation in 10-15 tries. You will have the ‘tacit endorsement’ of the company, and ‘hello, captive audience.’

#3: What about your past clients?

Now might be a great time to pitch ‘rainy day’ money to them. Go through your database. Who has equity? Make it so that they can cash out to have 40-50k in CASH in a moneymarket. Having money in your pocket…in tough times–lots of people have equity in their homes, and it might be smart now to get some of it out.

I’ll be on my A game next week as next week is SELLING week. Remember: you can close people that you get in through the 12th.

Loan Officer Training: What CHANGE do YOU need in YOUR Business?

Chris Johnson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:20:02 +0000

Look, a lot of people’s business are off. And now, instead of diligently chasing every lending tree lead that’s on their chair, making follow up calls, and doing work, they sit with a SHELL SHOCKED look and don’t do much of anything.

Incomes are down but skilled loan officers (I’m not talking about the sales monkeys) are getting their heads kicked in by not accepting the conditions of this market.

If I was in that condition, I’d CHANGE my behavior and realize:

What worked in ‘05 doesn’t work today.
I’ve gotta find new sources to market myself.
I’ve gotta spend more time in lead generation.

That’s it, man. If your income is down….there are still ways to get the income up and get to the point where you’re earning money on a regular basis. If your income is down, it’s still possible to permanently fix that, and it takes action, and we teach you on a DAILY basis what actions to take.

Fix what’s wrong, baby.

Oh–and if you guys want to train with us? Tomorrow’s class is on CONVERTING REAL ESTATE AGENTS QUICKLY.

IT starts at 2PM EST/11PM PST, and if you sign up, and take the ACTION we want, you’ll have new Realtor Relationships by the end of the year.

L.O.S.T Class Schedule.

Chris Johnson — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:53:35 +0000

Good Morning. Just wanted a place for you to check the class schedule so you could see exactly what we are offering and when.

Some of this is subject to change based on your feedback.

The "blue" topics are about business generation.

The "Yellow" are market updates and other topics.

We will do all of this via Powerpoint.

Students, I will be sending the invite codes out on Saturday this week. I’m working on something very cool that will benefit all of us.

Anyhow, for the schedule of classes, click here.