Sometimes it's all a matter of being different, and truly
standing apart from the crowd.
As loan officers, we tend to get the same advice from our
managers, we read the same books and listen to the same audio
programs.
We want to find new business, but we are all being told to find
new business from the same sources (so the effectiveness of any
marketing that we do is diminished to some respect).
I love watching salespeople take bold actions when it comes to
marketing and prospecting for new business.
I knew of one loan officer who ordered 100 pumpkins a few weeks
before Halloween. He had made an arrangement with a local
supermarket to use a portion of their parking lot to give out
the pumpkins.
He placed an ad in the paper, put a few flyers in nearby grocery
stores, diners and laudromats, and was lucky enough to have the
local newspaper cover the story the morning he gave out the
pumpkins.
It was a huge success!
The turn out was overwhelming. He ran out of pumpkins with two
hours of starting, but he met 100 people and couples that day,
and he walked away with 8 good leads for immediate business.
Was it hard work? Sure it was, but it all paid off many times
over. And the reason why it paid off was because the average
loan officer just wouldn't have done it.
Another young and ambitious loan officer really pushed the
envelope.
He had just started out and was looking for a way to break the
ice when meeting new real estate agents. So this is what he did:
He went to the local discount shoe store, and purchased 5 pairs
of plain black shoes (they were about $5 a pair).
He printed small labels to put on the shoelaces that read:
Hi. My name is John Smith and I am trying to "get my foot in the
door." I will be back to your office next Tuesday morning to
meet with you.
He then went to a real estate office that he was going to focus
on this month, and place one shoe in each of the mailboxes of
the agents.
Was this a little much? Possibly. And I wish I could have seen
the real estate agents' faces when they pulled their shoes out
of their mailboxes.
But the young loan officer did break the ice and he did get a
very productive referral source from that office. And even till
this day, whenever someone from that real estate office seems,
they say "Hey, you're the guy with the shoes."
So think creatively with your marketing efforts. Stand apart
from the average loan officer. Be different and be remembered.
About the author:
Joe Pahl is a marketing consultant and co-creator of the Loan
Maker Gold System for Loan Officers (
www.LoanMakerGold.com). To
receive his free eCourse "7 Strategies Loan Officers Can Take to
Guarantee an Awesome 2006" please sent blank email to
loanmakergold-ecourse@getresponse.com
