Quote of the Week

For the past few months I've been doing some industry specific training in the mortgage business on the topic of marketing.

As I've spoken to dozens of loan officers I've come to the conclusion that many of them are making a lot of promises. The same promises in fact to borrowers, real estate agents and other referral sources in attempt to get new or repeat business. Unfortunately that's a challenge for two reasons:

First, from a positioning perspective, these loan officers all sound a like, and the promises of great rates, faster turnaround time and better service don't mean anything because every other LO in the industry is saying the same thing.

Second, the majority of the promises made by all of these LO's simply don't materialize. So when a loan officer comes along later making the same promises (and supposedly the same benefits) - they remind the client of a negative experience instead of positive results. This happens over and over and over...

In fact this type of challenge happens in every industry, making promises and keeping them is the essence of this quote from Jim Rohn:

"Better understated than overstated. Let people be surprised that it was more than you promised and easier than you said."

In fact, making small promises with a prospect, new client or established client and keeping those promises is the best way to build solid relationships. Promise you'll send something by a certain time - do it. Promise you'll return a call at a certain time - do it.

I'm convinced that if you just did what you say you'll do with prospects and clients, that they'll forgive you for almost any of the other major mistakes that can be made in a sales transaction and account relationship.

Need to build some value in one of your relationships? Make some promises - and keep them.

TK