3 Tips to Advance Your Career as a Broker
Perhaps, like many, one of your goals this year is advancing your career. Establishing your career as a broker can be difficult, as you not only navigate a complicated process, but also work on gaining and retaining valuable clients. However, as many know, a career as a broker is often rewarding -helping others achieve the dream of homeownership brings with it a true feeling of accomplishment.
Focus on the Big Picture
Unfortunately, lost deals are going to happen, they’re part of doing business. Balance lost deals by seeking larger clients, staying organized, and staying focused.
Seeking larger clients can help you gain more profit off of each deal you close. Ideally, you’re aiming for 1 to 2 percent on each loan, getting 1 percent of a large loan can help you excel your career faster.
It can be overwhelming- the volume of calls to make and emails to answer, but staying organized and focused can help you stay on top of things. Make sure to align your expectations – out of every 100 calls, a good closing rate is 1 to 3 percent. Maximize your productivity when possible – the best time to make sales related phone calls is Wednesday or Thursday between 8-9 AM and 4-6PM.
Don’t be afraid to hire help, this will allow you to focus on drumming up new business, while others handle processing and other necessary paperwork.
Keep Learning
Depending on specific state requirements, you can advance your career by getting a degree or certain licensing. Increasing your legitimacy can help you land bigger opportunities. Remember, people will look at your LinkedIn and social pages, and seeing these things can give you added credibility.
Continually remain aware of changes in licensure, to make sure you’re always in accordance with them. Licensing requirements may become more stringent due to an increased awareness in predatory lending. Succeeding as a mortgage broker should be your sole focus- in fact, the HUD handbook discourages mortgage originators from taking another job in the real estate industry.
Reframe advancements in technology not as a threat, but as an opportunity. Despite online technology, borrowers will still want to enlist the help of trusted advisors, perhaps more so now than ever.
Provide Excellent Customer Service
The digital world brings with it certain expectations- quick responses being one of them. The majority of buyers, 81 percent, expect a response within 24 hours (source: Zillow Group Report, 2017). Taking too long to respond, could mean a lost deal.
Often times, rates don’t vary much from lender to lender, therefore a consumer will select a mortgage professional based on their perception of them- trustworthiness, responsiveness, and knowledge are valued the most (source: Zillow Group Report, 2017). Cultivate your confidence and communication skills so that your prospective clients feel well informed, trust your ability and are likely to refer you to others. Word-of-mouth referrals are still a big driver for business- with about half of buyers choosing their mortgage professional based on referrals (source: Zillow Group Report, 2017).
Many mortgage brokers are turning toward a soft-sell approach to boost their sales output, through “educational-based marketing.” Not only does this help boost your perceived knowledge, but it’s a less invasive way to engage with clients. Rather than pushing directly for a sale, try educating them on topics like “what to look for in a mortgage broker,” or “common mistakes people make when refinancing.” This will help establish you as an expert in your field.
The changing mortgage landscape has made the home loan market more complex than ever before, especially for first-time homebuyers. Use this to your advantage- your expertise is more valued than ever before!
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