Art of Mortgage Marketing

Business owners become trapped when they decide to do it all themselves. It hinders growth and freedom and makes it harder for the business to build wealth. 

The truth is, even the best, smartest and most talented people don’t serve every purpose and role in their companies. With the best intentions, you can end up holding everything up because there’s so much on your plate. 

The goal shouldn’t be to be to control everything, but to run a finely oiled machine that allows you to step into true freedom. The whole goal of making bold, intelligent strategic investments in your business is to remove you from being a bottleneck. What are the perils of filling up our time doing menial tasks and not delegating them? How can you liberate yourself so you can catapult your business?

In this episode, I talk about how to get more freedom, and get your business out of survival mode. 

You’re not going to be able to build a business that sets you free if you think that you have to do it yourself if you want it done right. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• Why you shouldn’t be a generalist 
  Focus on being a specialist, not a generalist. Specialists bring unique value to the table and can have more freedom in their businesses because they can hire highly talented people. 
  
  
• How to truly set yourself apart with value 
  What makes you a bottleneck in your business is the erroneous belief that the only unique value you offer is to be available all the time. You can have time freedom and be more present with your family and interests without losing business. 
  
  
• The limiting beliefs that are holding your business back 
  There are belief systems that allow you to create systems and belief systems that will keep you enslaved to your business. Limiting beliefs don’t usually come along. People who believe they have to do it all, also believe that there isn’t any quality talent that matches their standard.
  
  

We also discussed:

• Why you shouldn’t be a generalist 
• How to truly set yourself apart with value 
• The limiting beliefs that are holding your business back

A lot of mortgage professionals are thriving riding the Refi boom, but the fact is, rates will go up at some point and we have to be prepared for that. Now is the time to start dominating in the purchase market, and to do that, we need to start building relationships with the top-producing Realtors in our markets.

How can we build relationships with top Realtors when they’re notorious for not giving most loan officers the time of day? The key lies in differentiating ourselves.

To stand out to Realtors, we need to show them we’re more than just loan officers who can fog a mirror. That said, we also don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make an impact. Distinguishing ourselves is often simpler than we think.

How can we stand out to Realtors and get them to give us the time of day? On this episode, we discuss how to get top Realtors to take notice of us. 

Riding the Refi boom is always great. However, when rates go up, you don't want to be scrambling to get into the purchase market. Set up solid foundations so when it happens, you’re prepared. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• Stop following the herd
  Conventional methods produce conventional results, so stop following the crowd. Focus on bringing unique value to Realtors and stop competing with the masses who do the bare minimum.
  
  
• Reposition what we do
  We aren’t in the mortgage industry, we’re in the marketing industry. The money is in marketing, so when we introduce ourselves as marketing partners, Realtors take note. 
  
  
• Be different, but don’t reinvent the wheel
  Often loan officers shy away from offering unique value because we’re worried we’re not creative enough. However, the best way to bring great value is by sharing tried-and-tested systems with Realtors. Don’t waste time looking for something new and improved, find what works and stick with it!

In order to be effective at building partnerships with top-dog Realtors, we need to be able to handle objections like pros. We need to have the superpower of eliminating those objections in advance by constantly raising the standard of what we’re offering. 

It’s common to experience apathy and high walls of resistance from the agents we approach, along with the dreaded objection, “I’ve already got a Mortgage Lender.”

If we equip ourselves with the tools, mindset and know-how to handle and obliterate this objection, it will never get in our way again. 

What is the root cause of this objection and what does it tell us about how the agent sees us? How can we become so irreplaceable and indispensable that all those lame objections just magically melt away? In this episode, we talk about how to objection-proof yourself, and become the LO agents want to work with.

The objection “I already have a lender” is a smoke screen, and a symptom that you’re doing things the wrong way and the hard way. -Doren Aldana 

Three Things You’ll Learn in This Episode 

• What top dog agents are looking for in lender partners 
  When agents say they are already working with another agent, it’s because we’re not bringing anything unique and compelling to the table. Top dog agents are looking for unique value and people who can bring them the results matched with their standards. 
  
  
• Why we need to focus on improving our marketing ability 
  When you realize that you’re a marketing professional first and a mortgage professional second, you will start to pursue building marketing muscle instead of the minutiae that doesn’t push us forward or appeal to top agents.
  
  
• The true message behind the “I’ve already got a lender” objection
  Saying they already work with an LO is a smoke screen and an excuse to get you off the phone. They’ll only do this if they see you as another run of the mill LO, and not a potential partner who stands out from the crowd.

The biggest thing holding people back from achieving the lives of their dreams isn’t a lack of talent or capacity -  it’s fear. Fear is something we all experience at some point, but we shouldn’t allow it to control us and hold us back. 

Is it possible to eradicate fear?  If so, do we even want to get rid of it? What are we afraid of in the first place?

Fear is a natural human condition, and having it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With that said, we can learn to gain authority over it.

On this episode, we discuss the 3 types of fear that hold mortgage professionals back from achieving their dreams and how to overcome them. 

Rise up and gain authority over your fears. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• Everyone fears failure, but we have to remind ourselves that without risk, there can be no reward. Stop letting the fear of failure stunt growth!
  
  
• Something that stops a lot of us from claiming the life we deserve is fear of embarrassment. However, we have to remind ourselves that just as much as putting ourselves out there can cause people to judge us, it can also get them to love us. 
  
  
• Most of us have felt the fear of not being enough. The best way to overcome this is by knowing we were created to serve a purpose and are destined for greatness - of course we’re enough!

We’re in a refi boom right now, and while it’s tempting to put all our effort and energy on the low-hanging fruit, the last thing you want is to be unequipped when the refi boom inevitably ends. Even though many mortgage pros are only doing refi’s, now is not the time to be blindly following the herd.

If you become too myopically focused on the low-hanging fruit to the detriment of building consistent purchase business, your income will tank and you’ll end up regretting not building a diversified business.

Why is the purchase market the most reliable, successful and consistent source of business? How do you build a multi-pillar, multi-prong, multi-revenue stream business right now, while still taking advantage of the refi surge?

In this episode, I talk about the perils of having a business that’s too reliant on refi’s, and what will happen when you don’t shift to being proactive about the purchase market.

You want to be as diversified as you can so you are least and last affected by market downturns, not first and most. -Doren Aldana   

Takeaways 

• Refi money is not freedom money. Purchase deals have a lot more commitment because there’s a physical tangible outcome. 
  
  
• Refi business is driven by low interest rates; as soon as they go up, you’ll be in trouble. 
  
  
• Even though there is high uncertainty in the market right now, there will continue to be purchase business transactions. 

With so many people hunkering down waiting for this covid-19 storm to blow over, it’s easy to think that it’s impossible to grow your business right now. But even in the midst of a storm, there are still opportunities to build relationships with top-producing agents and become their exclusive partners.

In fact, right now we can use the state of the market to make moves to win. We just need to have the right weapons in our arsenals. What are some of the biggest mistakes and missteps that make agents not want to work with you? 

How can you go from grovelling for business to mutual loyalty and partnership? In this episode, I talk about an effective and efficient system to attract cream-of-the-crop Realtor partners with zero chasing, begging or bribing. I reveal a system that can take you from frustration and stagnation to 11 appointments in one day without a single cold call.

 Use the turbulence to get better, wiser and sharper and to win. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways  

• You can never attract and work with top producers if you’re not working to raise your own standards, routines and activities. 
  
  
• This is the best time to expand, because everyone else is contracting. Some of the biggest increases in market share happen in times like this. 
  
  
• Now more than ever, Realtors want to talk to mortgage officers who can truly add value and solve their problems. 
  

As we continue trudging through these trying times, nothing in our lives feels usual, and the shadow of an uncertain future continues to loom over us. 

Many people are facing a difficult season, and we’re all feeling the pinch brought on by a contraction of activity, business and income. 

It’s natural to want to keep our heads down so that the storm blows over, but these seasons call for leaders who can step up to the plate and be a light in the darkness. 

How do we maintain the right mindset in the face of a foreboding future? What are the things that really matter and move the needle in this time? How do we move from panic and fear to power and faith? 

In this episode, I share how we can keep going and even use this time to grow and expand. 

We are all prophets of our own futures by virtue of what we expect. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• There’s actually more opportunity than ever before right now with so many competitors stepping out of the way, but we need to adopt the right mindset and wear the right lenses in order to see it. 
  
  
• A big part of being pillars of strength in hard times is empathy, openness and vulnerability. Learn how these virtues make the people around us feel safe. 
  
• Life is an ebbing and flowing of crisis and instead of wishing it didn’t happen, we can find power and strength in accepting it and adopting a more optimistic perspective.

We’re all living through a time where life is anything but ordinary or the usual, and we’ve decided to do something a little different with our podcast, and that’s celebrate our client wins and successes. 

In order to be leaders, game changers and merchants of certainty, we need to be a light in this time of darkness. This is why our clients are sharing their stories, their life-changing, business-activating, profit-elevating marketing and mindset secrets. 

On this episode, you’re going to hear snippets from our client interviews and hear how they’ve found growth even in the midst of the market challenges we’re experiencing. This will arm you with the inspiration, motivation and strategies to keep going even when everything around us is telling us to hunker down. 

If you want to be the leader who inherits the market of tomorrow, you’ve got to rise up and find a way to turn adversity into opportunity. - Doren Aldana

We’re living in uncertain and turbulent times, and this can take a toll on a business that doesn’t have the right pillars and systems built into it. 

Why do mortgage pros struggle to build a stable and consistent pipeline even in the best of times? Where should we be intensifying our marketing and relationship-building efforts? 

On this special webinar episode, I talk about the fastest and most consistent path to cash, and how to build longevity, peace of mind and security in your business. 

We need to have accurate thinking, be prudent and vigilant to hedge ourselves against these uncertainties so when the storms hit we can survive and thrive in the face of it. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• If your database marketing is on point, you should be getting 1-3 deals a month for every 100 past clients.  
  
  
• Build stability through diversification. Have multiple pillars, lead sources and streams, partners and profit centers. 
  
  
• Work only with top producing agents, that’s Realtors doing 20+ transactions a year.
  
  
  At the start of the show, I shared why we should always be prepared for storms and downturns, and how we can thrive regardless of market conditions. I talked about the most reliable markets we should be focusing our attention on, and answered questions on what new LOs can do right now to hit the ground running. 
  
  

  I also shared:

  • The importance of systems 
  • Clients who have improved their income and their lives by implementing our system 
  • How to stabilize your business

The coronavirus epidemic and its impact on our health and wealth is weighing on everyone’s mind; but right now more than ever, it’s important that we show up powerfully in the face of this challenge. How do we remain effective and impactful at this moment? How can we avoid getting caught in fear and panic? In this episode, we talked about how to create a proactive plan to prosper in this time of challenge and strain.  

Keep yourself anchored in an emotional home of resourcefulness, love, peace and proactive action. -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• When people are facing extreme fear and experiences of uncertainty, this is when we need leaders who work to expand when everyone else is contracting. 
  
  
• Take reasonable precautions to protect you and your family, but don’t participate in the massive panic that’s happening.
  
  
• Stress reveals the cracks in our businesses which we overlook when things are good. 
  
  
• Don’t over-consume fear-spewing news and content.

On this episode, I talked about how to get through this challenging time with poise, peace, resourcefulness and love. I talked about the importance of having and sticking to a champion level routine. I also shared the difference between informative and actionable information, and fear-driven content. 

We also discussed:

• The importance of keeping your eyes open and being clear-headed
• Why good leaders are needed now more than ever 
• How to be in drive mode instead of drift mode