How do I even begin! After I saw this I thought it had to be some sort of joke, but sadly it’s not.

I came across the above site while doing my daily due diligence to bring only the best for this awesome community. You can check out the site yourself but, long story short the authors of the blog feel wronged and have chosen to take it out online. Let this serve as a reminder to all of us that Google has a long memory and this will be online long after the dispute is settled.

Without pointing fingers here I want to take a lesson from this. Our clients are smart. They are much smarter than we give them credit for and are capable of displaying that intelligence in surprising and creative ways.

I had a client invite me to barbeque – very nice. This guy had a client setup a blog aimed at making him look like a jerk…

What are our takeaways from this?

1. Set up a Vanity RSS Feed – Go to blogsearch.google.com and enter your name in quotations. Example: “Daniel Martin” When you click search an RSS button will appear in the bottom left corner. Subscribe to that feed in your feed reader and you will know any time someone says something (good or bad) about you.
2. Give Your Clients Some Credit – In the past lenders tried to hide behind complex terminology and overwhelming numbers. The chances are pretty good that your clients have gathered a lot of information without you! Your job in this new age is to help them wrap their head around that info so they can make wise decisions with it. Don’t play a game with them. Sooner or later you will get found out and it will not be pretty.
3. Own Up – If you screw up, own up or someone will do it for you. Again. Not pretty.

What are your thoughts? What are your takeaways?

Let’s talk about brand loyalty.

To establish brand loyalty in the mortgage industry is difficult but, not impossible. This is just one among quite a few posts in the near future that will deal with building a brand in the mortgage industry. I was inspired to do this after yesterday’s interview with Ryan Stephens. Let me start with a story.

So, I went to get lunch at my local Taco Bell which, incidentally, is right next to a McDonalds. As I saw the sign approaching, making sweet promises of crunchy chicken tacos coated in fire sauce, I rolled down my window in anticipation of placing my order. I made the left turn into the parking lot only to be greeted by the unholy red glow of 24 brake lights. There were 12 cars standing between me and a solid Tex-Mex combo.

I took my place in line and began reading the “Next Oil Change in…” sticker on the windshield for the 1000^th time. After about 10 min I realized I hadn’t moved much and the strangest feeling took over my body. I began craving a sesame seed bun. Visions of french fries played across my eyelids. Amadeus’ Requim K626:Lux Aeterna played slowly in the background as I removed myself from the line. Magically my car and I found ourselves across the asphalt ocean from Taco Bell at the order screen for McDonalds. Within 48 seconds I had ordered, paid, received my food (with 2 ketchup packets), and taken the first bite of a hot crispy fry.

I am a consumer too. I don’t want to wait and neither do your referral partners; neither do your clients.

When your clients call you to “get a loan” they don’t want to sit in a queue for 20 minutes wrestling with your automated attendant. They want you in 60 seconds or not at all. When your referral partner calls, she doesn’t want to leave a voicemail in anticipation of callback “sometime soon,” either you call back in 10 minutes or she’s calling the next guy in line.

I am not saying loyalty is dead. I am saying loyalty is earned through consistently meeting expectations, everything else is fair game. Taco Bell has built a brand which I am well aware of but, I am not loyal to it. Why? Because Taco Bell is always slow, McDonalds is not. That is my truth. That is my perception.

The first step in building brand loyalty is to know what type of brand you are building. The problem is not lack of business in the mortgage industry. There is still plenty of business to be had. The problem is that most originators fall into the first 2 categories:

1. Car Chaser – This originator jumps on every fad and craze as they become available. Realtors based purchase money business? I am all over it! Wait – mortgage planning as a college savings plan? I want on! – did you say FSBO lead generation? Riches here I come!
   

   I think you get the picture. This isn’t entirely the loan originators fault however. Many of our “trusted industry leaders” are for sale to the highest bidder and change their “success strategies” when they change their underwear. Today it is LO beware as you head to yet another conference that may mask yet another sales pitch designed to fill the coffers of those “in charge.”

2. Stalwart Martyr – This originator has used email once in the last 10 years and had a heart attack as he/she hit the send button. The internet is a fad. Refinances? They are a fad too. REALTORs? Pretty sure they’re a fad as well. This individual has had the same business model as long as he/she has been in the business and that’s how it will stay.
3. Brand Builders - Those that know who they are, why they are in business, where they are going,   and how they are getting there.

I know I am over-simplifying something as big and daunting as building brand loyalty but, this is the place I wanted to start. As we begin a few weeks long discussion around building your brand, decide which Loan Officer Category you fall into. If you are in one of the first 2 categories, “welcome.” I hope to assist you in navigating the change in your personal business philosophy.

Your first challenge is simple. Sit down and answer 4 questions for me before I add the next post.

Who are you really?

Why are you in business? (You aren’t a charity are you?)

Where do you want your business to go?

How do you plan on getting there? (Do you even have a plan?)

To those of you who are in the 3^rd Category, you are my heroes! In this mad mortgage world anyone who keeps their eyes on the prize is “awesome” in my book.

Now for my closing question!

Taco Bell or McDonalds? Answer in the comments below!

photo courtesy of Bob Wilson - check him out here - http://www.robertwilson.us/

I was so excited to get Ryan Stephens on here and pick his brain regarding brand building and brand marketing. I will let the interview speak for itself, enjoy! SO without further fan fare let the interview begin!

Ryan, what was your first encounter with Social Media? (i.e. facebook, myspace, yahoo groups, twitter, etc.)

I suppose you could consider my participation in forums and my use of AIM as a social media encounter, but I used these prior to the terminology ’social media’ being coined. With this in mind, my first encounter with social media was Facebook. As a college student I actually submitted a request for my university to ‘have’ Facebook because when it first started it was primarily used by the bigger universities. At the time, I had no idea just how powerful of a tool it could be. I just wanted an easier way to keep in touch with friends.

I really discovered the power of social media when I decided to pursue online marketing. As a Millennial it is important for me to be well-read about tools that will impact my future, and social media is one of the those tools. To me marketing is about sharing stories in a way that creates meaning to people. Social media enables me (in any number of roles — a friend, an employee, a marketer) to share my perspective in an effort to build shared meaning and understanding. Social media depends on the interaction, unlike a newspaper or the radio, and that’s something that Generation Y really embraces.
Why is providing “useful free content to anyone looking to acquire more knowledge with respect to online marketing” so important to you?

Honestly, I think it boils down to a passion for two things: online marketing and helping people. For a long time I was that ‘newbie’ scouring for hours through blogs and squeeze pages trying to figure out how to make money online. Once I finally realized that it’s not so much about how I make money, but about how I can help other people achieve their online dreams, the monetary compensation took care of itself. That’s where the inclination to start Ryan Stephens Marketing came from.

Since then I have read and studied business in-depth and I have witnessed firsthand how many people just don’t get it. Just today a lady was telling me about how her car broke down in this small town, and they got it to a dealership to see about fixing it. The dealership gave them another car to drive, told them to go to their destination (another city about an hour away) and on their way back (in a couple of days) they would have their car fixed. They had no rapport with the lady or her family. But how many people do you think that lady has told that story to since then? What if only 2 of those 50+ people purchase their next car at that dealership?

Too many people make marketing too hard. They want to learn all these crazy SEO (search engine optimization) tricks, or traffic generation methods, and certainly you have to be found, but just providing a product or a service that people need, and providing it with great hospitality can separate you from the pack. I think that’s the message that I’m currently trying to convey more so than anything else you might stumble across on my blog.
What are some of the tools you use to interact with your clients? (i.e. blog, podcast, videos, twitter, etc.)

Obviously my blog is one of the primary tools I use to interact with clients. It allows me to share what I hope to be the ‘useful free content’ mentioned above. I believe in under promising and over delivering, and to me my blog is part of that. It allows me the ability to help others and to facilitate conversation on topics I am passionate about. I love receiving comments and feedback on my blog, because to me that is confirmation that I am doing something right in that I am at least sparking people to think about prominent issues with respect to marketing and/or Generation Y.

I am still experimenting with Twitter. I admit that I am a little behind the curve there, and I’m not certain that it is a platform that is conducive to my approach. With Twitter, unless someone is providing me AMAZING content and value consistently I expect some reciprocation if I’m following them, and I hope that they expect the same from me. Truth be told, if that number gets very high though I feel that I would be doing those followers a disservice because there’s no feasible way I could avidly follow them all.

I communicate with clients frequently via both e-mail and skype. I pride myself on getting back to people as quickly as possible, so much so that it some time prevents me from completing work that should take priority. I suspect that it might bite me in the ass eventually, but for now I am hoping that it serves as a testament to the quality of service that I try to provide my clientele.

LinkedIn is another resource that I am very interested in, and envision myself using significantly in the future, but alas time is no man’s friend. I would love to connect with anyone reading this though.

Both podcasts and video are something that is on the horizon for RSM. They are mediums that I have explored and just have not had the free time to implement at this point.
Let’s talk Marketing. Loan Officers are struggling with a lot of negative press but, the individuals who have built a strong personal brand don’t seem to be affected.

Negative press is partially part of the gig so I will not get into that. I think that comes with virtually any job though and especially with jobs that the average consumer does not understand in full. Those people are forced to deal with the media, and we all know how that goes. That aside, you are a 100% right that the individuals who have built a strong brand for themselves are going to succeed; they stand out. When you see Daniel Rothamel wearing a zebra tie you remember, “Oh yeah, he’s the “Real Estate Zebra,” I remember him.” By branding himself that way, he’s increased his reach and visibility.

(If you want some great insight into how to build your own personal brand then you need to check out  Dan Schwabel’s Personal Branding Blog.

So maybe you’re a loan officer and you’re asking yourself “how do I build my brand? It’s tough to be that innovative.” Well I agree, and you can take one look at the title of my blog and realize that evidently I didn’t come up with something as cool as the ‘Real Estate Zebra’ or ‘Mad Mortgage World.’ First of all, I went with my name in the title because I want my name to become synonymous with marketing (eventually), but more importantly I realized something that a lot of people do not: what other people say about your brand is more important than what you say about your brand. This is something Schwabel touches on frequently, and it is something I have always embraced.

If you are over delivering and consistently providing people with great value, they’ll talk, and they’ll talk in a way that makes others find you. Great marketing = great stories. Think the car dealership example from earlier. Is having the visibility that an innovative approach affords a great start? Absolutely, but doing business the right way, selflessly helping others, and being authentic (something you’ve mentioned Daniel) can overcome a lack of creativity; in that I don’t have to go to work in a clown suit to get noticed.

What are some ways that Loan Officers can begin separating themselves from the “rest of the pack?” i.e. what are some steps to take or mistakes to avoid?

• Provide great content consistently – To me, this might be the single most important way to separate yourself. If Seth Godin was a jackass, I would still read Seth Godin’s riffs on marketing because they’re awesome. They make me think, I learn from their application, and as a result I grow as a marketer. Always aim to provide the best possible value to the consumer.
• Be authentic and honest – Loan officers, marketers, umpires… It shouldn’t matter. You should always, out of respect for yourself and your clientele be authentic and honest. Providing the great value is how you get a brand in the first place, but not obeying this commandment is the quickest way to lose it. If you make a mistake, own up right away and try to rectify the situation as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
• Value relationships – This is something that took me a while to get when I first started. Traditional advertising is dead. You can shout through a megaphone all day long about how great your product is, but I couldn’t care less until someone else starts telling me it’s great; you let me give it a trial test, etc. So don’t yell at people and shove your idea down their throat. Listen and learn what your consumer needs and then try to provide them with a solution. Value the relationship first and foremost. If you can’t give them the best solution send them to someone who can. Chances are they’ll come back to you when they need something else.
• Be more prepared – Know your industry inside and out, at least a specific niche. Be the best at what you do, or at least capable of seeming like the best. Before doing a consulting session I ask the client a few questions that give me some indication as to where they are and where they want to go or what they want to accomplish. I seek out their personal brand and learn everything I can about what they embody. This enables me to provide insight into how I can specifically help them and not just give them generic re-hashed advice.
• It’s reciprocal – Make it a conversation, a discussion, a sounding board. Bounce ideas off of people. You aren’t going to ruin credibility by asking your clients questions, you’re going to gain their respect. If you take a reciprocal approach you can utilize feedback to logically map out the best strategic insights for your clientele based on your knowledge and their insight.
• Be passionate – It speaks for itself, and it’s contagious. Aside from that, if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing then you probably should not be doing it in the first place.
  

  Final Thoughts for us as we continue into the future given the current press regarding the lending industry.

  You can sulk and gripe and moan about all the negative press or you can take a step towards changing it. If you work hard to create a solid brand for yourself and you’re not timid, in that you are putting yourself out there and actively trying to make changes, and you are utilizing social media and other web 2.0 tools to get ahead and stay ahead, then there’s no reason why you cannot set the tone for the future of the lending industry. Start a blog, follow your predecessors and learn from them, and expand your ability to best serve your clientele.

  Thanks for having me Daniel. It’s been a true pleasure.

Join the conversation and place any questions you have for Ryan in the comments below!