Is Your Business In Danger of Instant Obsolessence?
A New Post By Chris Johnson
Business Development Consultant
Read other posts by Chris Johnson
If you are only getting business one way, your business is probably unhealthy. There are tons of originators that were left holding the bag when subprime collapsed. People who had their cars repossessed, who have no clue how to survive the rules of the new game. That was completely avoidable with even a LITTLE bit of diversification.
Big bluechip, "stable" companies die all the time. Bear Stearns is the latest, but they were preceded by Lucent, MCI/WorldCom, Enron, and many, many more. We see a ton of human interest stories about how retirements are wiped out when the employees had too much of their earnings in employee stock plans, and how nobody saw the death of that company.
Deal is, when you have all of your eggs in one basket you don't control, you could be toast.
Direct Mail Could dry up, social networking could be toast, your prospecting scripts could become obsolete, the Refi Market could die, Financial Planners could all launch their own in house lending solutions.
To have a stable income and successful business, you must have a minimum of 10 sources of leads you can go back to, and more. I have compiled a list of 129 distinct, radically different and relatively predictable places where an originator can get business. Some require long term commitment and expertise (working with attorneys on Chapter 13 buyouts), and some don't (calling Realtors to troll for purchase business).
So here is a partial list of things you can be doing to get business; not everything will work for you, but you need to think outside the box, and outside your comfort zone if you have less than ten things you're doing to get business.
- Calling Realtors (prospecting)
- Direct Mail
- Opt In Email Campaigns
- Lunch and Learns
- Calling ARM resets
- Working Internet Leads
- Networking groups (rotari, BNI, AmSpirit)
- Getting involved with School Districts
- Print advertising
- Craig's List
- Incredible customer service (Referrals)
- Calling other brokers/bankers for turndowns.
- Door Knocking
- Apartment Complex Marketing
- Event sponsorship
- Working Relo Buyers
- Construction/Builder Business.
- Database Marketing...
- Abandoned File Marketing
...etc.
The point is, people can get by as leveraged people for some (sometimes long) period of time, but they can't survive long term. If you have a method that is really working, don't abandon it--do it with vigor and gusto. Exlpoit it, but grow your business. Make it a pattern, a system, and step outside of your comfort zone. Commit to trying a new method for getting business every month, acquire new skills and try new things.
A rule of thumb: If you have 30% of your business from the same source...you need to diversify.
The mortgage refinancing industry is at a point where the only homeowners being offered a mortgage are the ones with high credit scores.
Being in the mortgage list business I know the sub prime market has dried up and our clients are now mostly targeting FHA and high FICO scores.
It's a lower commission than subprime mortgages but easier approvals as well.
Posted by: Chris (mortgage list specialist) Burns | March 18, 2008 at 09:27 AM