CUSTOMER SERVICE ATTITUDE

This "customer service creed" borrowed from a Denver, CO Appliance Repair Company says it all...

“Because the customer has a need, we have a job to do! Because the customer has a choice, we must be the better choice! Because the customer has urgency, we must be quick! Because the customer has high expectations, we must excel! Because the customer has influence, we have the hope for more customers!”

Notice there is nothing referring to price in their motto. Because when service is this good, price is a secondary consideration whether you are fixing appliances or originating mortgages!

MONEY

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gather money little by little makes it grow.”

This is a great one for our industry because there are three great lessons in this one sentence!

First, that honest money is the only good money despite the huge amount of dishonesty that runs rampant in the mortgage business.

Secondly, to save money especially due to the volatile nature of our incomes which dictate that we save for the inevitable rainy day.

Finally, it illustrates the face that becoming wealthy is usually a process that times time and can't be rushed by things like picking the next hot stock or other forms of gambling and/or dishonesty. Any good financial planner will tell you that investing "little by little" is a proven strategy for wealth building,

Isn't it amazing how the books of Proverbs shows us how business and life's basic questions and issues have had the same answers for thousands of years?!?

PROVERBS REVISITED

A few months ago we looked at some of the wisdom found in the book of Proverbs. Quite possibly the world's first and still finest business/self help book ever published. Your responses were so overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic that an encore is in order.

“Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.”

We all know that knowledge is power but sometimes we take for granted that knowledge is precious and so very fundamental to our lives. Thanks to our ever expanding world of population and technology the amount of available information is now increasing at an exponential rate.

Back in the days of Provers, however, information was scarce, primarily because electricity wasn't going to be invented for another 2900 years or so. Therefore, most of their information came from "lips that speak knowledge" which are still in high demand where you look!

COMMUNICATION (PART 2)

“Communication breakdown, it’s always the same. Having a nervous breakdown, drive me insane!”

Those Led Zeppelin boys had it right on the money when they wrote these words back in 1968. Communication breakdowns will drive you and your customers insane and it is almost always the same old mistakes.

To avoid those same old mistakes, be proactive in your communications. If something needs to be communicated, do it and do it immediately.

The proactive Loan Officers calls the parties to the transaction after the loan application, when the appraisal is received, upon loan approval and when the settlement statements are complete. If you don't do these things, you will not only receive more interruptions than you should but you will also be missing out on some great opportunities to impress those who can help you in the future. 

The most important communication, however, is that of a potential problem with the borrower's ability to qualify. This is where many Loan Officers communications totally breakdown and this is the part that will also make your customers the most upset. Whatever the issue is, it probably won't go away just because you wished for it, so you may as well be proactive. Communicate issues immediately and watch your days become more productive and your service levels soar!

COMMUNICATION

“Communication- 1: an act of transmitting 2: message 3: exchange of information or opinions 4: a means of communicating.”

Communication or more specifically lack of communication is the pitfall of many Loan Officers who are often frustrated with the difficulty of their typical transaction. The most efficient mortgage professionals are those who communicate proactively rather than reactively because it keeps them in control of their day rather than letting the day control them.

Today and tomorrow we will look at a few tips to sharpen your communications skills which will also give you back the gift of previous time.

The first suggestion is to use email whenever communicating with more than two people whenever possible. 

Secondly, and I know some of you will disagree, but whenever you need to get a specific communication to only one person, use the telephone and voice mail, not email. Unless you can type faster than you can talk, in which case the people at Guinness Book of World Records would probably be interested in meeting you!

SERVICE!!!

Customer service breeds customer retention and make no mistake we are in a service industry. While our product is a commodity, it is how we deliver the product (our service) that sets us apart from the competition. 

Striving to achieve outstanding service should be a daily ritual in order to consistently exceed the customer's expectations. Happy customers tell their friends because they want them to have the same experience. Every loan is another opportunity to generate Raving Fans which will generate referrals. 

Reading "Raving Fans" is always a great way to kick start you service mentality even if you have already read it 20 times.

There has been enough written on customer service to fill a municipal library but these 4 C's of mortgage lending customer service are the basics from which to start...

• Competence
• Caring
• Communication
• Closing

BE GENEROUS

The more love you give the more you find. There is maybe no greater truth in life!

Another spin on the same theme is what you give you get back. In fact many generous people and people of great faith will tell you that their experience is more like what you give you get back tenfold.

So just because your income is not what it once was, avoid cutting back on your generosity for it will probably mean less coming back to you in return. Give time if you can't give money but don't stop giving or you will find that you will receive much less.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

Now that business has slowed down it is time to cut back on expenses such as customer entertainment, promotions, and Media Center advertising right? WRONG!!!!!!

One of the basics of business is that when times are slow... advertise!

Businesses do this all of the time. Car manufacturers are a classic example of a business that will advertise more when times are slow in order to give their business a lift.

Currently it seems like about half of the ads on the radio are for mortgage companies. (Don't some of them make you ill?) Some of these companies may be hanging on for dear life right now, but at least they realize that getting their word out is the only way they will survive since most of them are only in the refi business.

This does not mean you need to buy a radio ad, billboards all over town or a 30 second spot on American Idol. we are all small businesses run by an individual and therefore more individualized marketing is in order rather than shot gunning your message to the whole world at a tremendous cost.

What you, as an individual, need to avoid is the temptation to spend less on your business just because you are making less. That is a recipe for disaster and any top producer will tell you so. So click on the Media Center web site and decide on a few new products and services that will have the greatest impact for your business and invest in it!

Hint: the Realtor Appreciation Campaign is both reasonably price and highly effective.