Let’s look at the crucial first phone call with an enquirer. We each have a script that we follow, even if we’re not aware of it. There are certain habits that we have as a result of what we believe we need to deliver to the client in the first few minutes of speaking with them. From the moment we get a call from an enquirer who says that they are interested in a home loan, there are things we think we need to give them, and there are things we think that we need to get from them. Here is an example dialogue that illustrates the typical process that most brokers go through in the first few minutes of the call.

“Hello. I’m just calling because I’m interested in some information about getting a home loan.”

“Okay. Would you tell me a little bit about what you‘re looking to do?”

“Sure. We’re looking to upsize. We’ve just sold our home, and we‘re looking to buy something a bit bigger. So we’re going to need a home loan, and I’m just looking for some information in regard to that.”

“Okay, so it’ll be a second-time purchase. It’s bigger than the home you’ve just sold. Are you currently renting? Have you already moved somewhere else?”

“No, we’ve just sold.”

“Okay, so have you got a budget in mind in terms of what you would like to spend on the next home?”

“Yeah, we’re thinking about $600,000.”

“Great. And how much would you like to put toward that purchase?”

“I think we’ll have about $300,000.”

“Okay, so we’ll be looking to lend about half of the amount. So I just need to get some more information from you to be able to determine what your borrowing capacity might be. I need to find out information like the income coming in and the outgoing liabilities going out of the home, and then just get a quick idea of approximately what your borrowing capacity would be.“

“Okay”

“So are you living with a partner?”

“Yes“‘

“Areyou both working?”

“Yes”‘

In the remainder of the call, the broker goes through a few more standard questions to determine the enquirer’s capacity to take on the loan. Remember: to deliver the best possible customer service, we must empathize and see through the client’s eyes. Has the broker in the example above effectively conveyed that she understands the client’s position? Was the conversation conducted from the perspective of the broker or the client? No. Most of the conversation was spent gathering information for the broker. All of the information the broker collects here is important, but it is positioned at the wrong part of the conversation, and it is not pitched from the perspective of the client.

At the front end of a call, you are selling yourself. The goal is that the client will buy you. The loan is not our primary concern in the first two minutes. We know that they have already made the decision to buy a home loan. We have no say in that. I’m not going to worry about that in the first two minutes of the conversation. I’m going to worry about how the client feels. Here’s an example of a conversation with those principles in mind.

“Hello. I’m just calling because I’m interested in some information about getting a home loan.“

“Okay. Would you tell me a little bit about what you’re looking to do?”

“I’m looking to buy a bigger house.”

“I see. And why are you looking to do that?”

“Well my wife is pregnant, and we already have two kids, so we’re going to need a bigger place.”

“Right. So you probably need to get another room.“

“Right. We’re thinking about setting up a nursery, all of that.”

“Great. Where‘s your current house?”

“It’s at Highbury.”

“Oh, alright, do you like Highbury?”

“Yeah, yeah.“

“And where are you moving to?”

“Oh, we‘re thinking about moving to Golden Grove.“

“That‘s interesting. Why did you choose there?”

 

Here, the broker is taking a genuine interest in the person they are speaking to on the phone. They have already begun developing a relationship. Developing a relationship in business is exactly like developing a personal relationship in life. You must bring that person closer to you in your first interaction. You ask them questions and listen intently to their answers. You demonstrate an honest interest in them. All of your questions at the front end of the phone call need to be about empathizing with the client as a person who has certain motivations for what they are doing.

This is not what most brokers usually do. Most brokers usually have conversations more like the first example, where they are focused on the transaction of the loan rather than the building of a relationship. The transaction of the home loan is not what you control in this situation. We have already established that a person will either buy a home loan or they will not, and that decision is out of your hands. What you can do, though, is inspire confidence in the person who calls you and therefore create a point of difference between yourself and every other broker out there. The question of whether or not the person will buy a home loan is decided before you are part of the picture. The real question is whether they are going to buy a home loan from you.