Every broker must have a short statement they can make when someone asks them what they do. That statement must express the value you offer in a way that clearly and quickly answers the burning question that is in their mind, which is ‘what’s in it for me’.
Just saying ‘I’m a Mortgage Broker’ doesn’t cut it because that just commoditises you and provides no point of difference or clear benefit to them.
Similarly, the other extreme of creating some grand description, such as such as saying ‘Personal Home Finance Executive’ or ‘Dream Home Purchasing Manager’ doesn’t help either as it is more than likely just going to confuse people.
Both of these are really just job titles, which is you talking about you. Everything in sales and marketing has to be about what’s in it for the person you are speaking to, what are you going to do for them.
There is a definite formula to this that I subscribe to that is focussed on the client and solving their problems, not just talking about yourself as the first two options do.
The formula is this:
Problem -> Solution -> Proof
It goes like this: “You know this problem? Well, what we do is solution. In fact, proof.”
Every business exists to solve a problem and you need to know the problem you solve and the benefits you provide to your clients.
A renovation company exists because a growing family is getting sick and tired of living on top of each other and wants more room. Their solution is to build some extra rooms onto the house.
A granny flat builder exists because a middle aged couple needs to take care of their aging parents and is worried about them living on their own. Their solution is to built a self-contained unit in the backyard.
Those are the problems and the solutions as seen by the customers of these businesses. The next thing is to have a very short, true story that proves what you have said. Stories, particularly of clients similar to the people you are talking to, are a great way to get their interest.
Here is my personal example:
“You know how the Mortgage Broking industry is very competitive so it’s hard for small and independent brokers to get new clients and referral partners? Well, what we do is give Mortgage Brokers ways to systematically attract and convert new clients and build professional referral relationships. In fact, we had a new broker join us recently who had no sales or marketing background whatsoever and hadn’t been able to get any real estate agents referring to him. So we made him a co-branded version of our book, The 7 Easy Steps to Mortgage Freedom. Using it he picked up the first agent he showed it to and has already been referred 3 deals in the first month.”
Or how about this one:
“You know how hard it is to get Real Estate Agents to refer clients to you because so many other brokers are promising them the same service as you are? Well, we just show them our book, The 7 Easy Steps to Mortgage Freedom and explain how they can use it to get more listings, which is what they really want. In fact, a broker who joined me a year ago told me that they had set up more agents as referrers using it than they had been able to do in the past 10 years!
Both of those examples, by the way, are completely true.
As a Mortgage Broker, do you see yourself in this story, does the problem I have described relate to you? Is my solution applicable to you? Does the proof story I told get you interested in learning more?
That is the exact outcome you want to achieve in your statement.
You should also have different statements for different types of prospective clients. As always, you need to be relevant to them.
For example:
“You know how it is hard for first home buyers to save up a deposit as houses keep getting more expensive? Well, what we do is to keep track of all the options for them to get started sooner than they might realise, including government incentives, latest low deposit lender offers across a wide range of major lenders, parental assistance loans and other initiatives and innovations for first home buyers. In fact, we recently helped a young couple buy their home a full year ahead of when they through they would be able to.”
Or how about this:
“You know how there are so many changing home loan offers advertised all the time promising to save you thousands of dollars. Well, what I do is stay on top of all those latest loan offers across a very wide range of major lenders, while also keeping track of all my client’s home loans. It’s my job to make sure their home loans are always amongst the most competitive available so they can just leave it up to me to take care of handle any paperwork. Just recently one of my clients wasn’t getting all the rate cuts they should have, so I switched them to a much better deal and saved them $287 a month in interest.”
The process of creating your own statement is very useful because it focusses you on exactly what the problem is that your business addresses and what your solution is. Successful brokers have a very good understanding of these two things and are able to convey that to potential clients in a way that is simple and is about their client, not about themselves.
In fact, I would even go so far as to say that my 7 Easy Steps to Mortgage Freedom book is just one, albeit very long, Problem -> Solution -> Proof statement.
Try making one for yourself:
“You know this problem? Well, what we do is solution. In fact, proof.”