The Four Biggest Marketing Mistakes That Cost Your Referrals

Are you making these without realizing it?

1. Relationship Surrogacy
You wouldn’t want a surrogate doctor to come in to replace your doctor after an operation. Then why put a surrogate between you and your client base? Most marketing programs are sold with the idea of keeping you from having to be involved. They say things like, “You sit back, we’ll do all the work, and you’ll be the expert in your field. The go-to professional.” These programs employ what’s known in the industry as “relevant content” and a slick delivery system. There are no Mortgage or Real Estate professionals who can vouch for any of them.

Do you remember when they said, “Having a website is the most important thing?” Lots of money was earned building websites and most of them see little to no traffic at all. Literally, NO business is gained on a Loan Officer’s personal website. The only thing that’s going to increase referrals from your past clients is the relationship you developed with them during the loan process. Don’t put in a surrogate to manage your message OR your relationship. The result is proven over and over again. It destroys referrals.

2. Neglected Client List
A neglected client list is the biggest reason thousands of dollars are left on the table. Your client list is a living and breathing referral source that can produce business for generations through families and friends.

A well-maintained client list is extremely valuable! But it’s only valuable to you. Here’s why: Like it or not, you’ve developed a relationship with every single person you’ve worked with. This is what makes it a very special list. The only thing your competitor’s client list and your client list have in common is that they’re all homeowners. However, what your client list has in common among its members is very unique. YOU are what all your clients have in common.  You have intimate knowledge of their financial picture and know more about them than their doctors do in many cases.

You should treat your list like a thoroughbred racehorse. If you do a loan for a past client on a new home, UPDATE THE MAILING ADDRESS! Express to anyone who helps you that accurately adding to your list and watching for duplicates is paramount. Never put notes in the address fields or empty address fields. We’ve seen notes in the address field that can be pretty damaging, everything from lives with mother, chronically unemployed, BKPT, and worse! Don’t do that! Can you imagine sending out marketing materials with that type of info on the label? Don’t neglect your client list. It’s literally the key to more referrals.

3. Marketing With the Wrong Medium
This is the single biggest killer of referrals. Social Media is an amazing concept. I could go on about the effect social media has on dopamine. The rise of Dopamine goes hand in hand with the fall of serotonin. Dopamine is a pleasure neurotransmitter (sex, gambling, food, etc.) at its core. I WANT MORE! Serotonin is the happiness or contentment neurotransmitter (I’m happy, I don’t need anymore). Social media is addictive because it creates a desire for social interaction that never really materializes and this raises dopamine and we crave more! Hence people who eat dinner at home or at restaurants are staring at their cell phones. Studies show that social media doesn’t make us happy, but rather it makes us depressed. A rise in dopamine means a fall in serotonin.

Why is social media the wrong medium for loan officers? Those addicted to social media (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.), don’t have anything other than recreation on their minds. This is why the loan officer’s Facebook feed has very few “likes” on very few posts and no one is sharing them other than supportive spouses, parents, and assistants. Your posts don’t stand a chance against the need for attention, acceptance, admiration, and entertainment.

4) Mistaking Activity for Achievement
As we get wrapped up in technology, we’re convinced of the notion that everybody’s online, so that’s where we should be marketing. This is simply wrong. Social media and email marketing work great for impulse purchases and low-ticket items. A local pizza or sandwich special, a movie ticket, and a snack package as a free gift for coming in on a Tuesday evening for a burger.
These are low-ticket items. Loans and Real Estate are NOT low-ticket Items. Providing and servicing them is better handled by someone who can be trusted. Twisting a social media platform like a pretzel to turn it into a marketing strategy doesn’t work unless you can deliver the desire of the buyer on the spot! Just because many are addicted to the imitation social construct that is Facebook, doesn’t mean they’re buying all their goods and services there much less their home loans.

Let’s be realistic. No one sees a crafty and clever Facebook post and flies off the couch to call their loan officer because they just “had to have another loan.” A lot of time goes into social media and it’s because it’s highly addictive. Your offer HAS TO BE a good fit. Loans aren’t a good fit. If you’ve put in the time and effort to be “social”, trying to turn posts about Fannie, Freddie, Market Reports, and Curb appeal into a “rockin’ conversation” then you already recognize that you’re mistaking activity for achievement.

Someone has to be honest about these things, better it’s someone with a solution…

So, what do you do about it?
If you feel as though you “just want to find what works” in order to generate referrals, it’s a lot easier than you may think. The four mistakes listed above are the most common and a lot of so-called “marketing experts” are really just opportunistic marketers selling one size fits all Facebook and Email marketing to someone that legitimately needs help. In the car industry, they say, “there’s an ass for every seat, and a seat for every ass” I was 19 when I bought my first car and the car salesman was annoyed that I hadn’t made up my mind and that’s what he said to me. Needless to say, he didn’t get my business.

What you need to do is learn what works and what doesn’t. Know enough to where you can make an informed decision on how to proceed with your marketing in a way that works and will continue to work. You can be generating referrals and a living breathing referral source that lasts a lifetime. This is where Exodus comes in. You should be completely aware of how sphere of influence marketing works before you make another move because that’s where your referrals are and that’s where your next deal is likely to come from.

So here’s a recap.

You develop a relationship with every single person you help achieve the American Dream. Squandering that relationship isn’t the best way to get referrals. Once that relationship is lost, It’s rarely regained. Keeping that relationship intact is NOT going to happen by:

1. Someone else talks for you or let relevant content replace you in the relationship that you’ve developed. (Mistake #1)
2. Neglecting the value of the people with real-world experience with your services and professionalism (Mistake #2)
3. Using the wrong medium (vehicle) to communicate with your client base (Mistake #3)
4. Putting in time effort as well as resources that are nothing more than remedial activities and justifying that time and effort by viewing it as an achievement. (Mistake #4)

We’re happy to share this information with you and there’s plenty more. If you’d like to receive additional marketing tips and insights going forward, subscribe to our mailing list. Or pick up the phone and give us a call. We’re always here to help you get it right. Schedule your free Discovery Call today!