Mortgage & Real Estate Marketing
The Missing Ingredient

We often hear people complain about marketing, while not understanding how marketing works, much less what it actually is. The stress level for some people is alarming and can bring out the worst in them. Since marketing for the Loan Officer and Real Estate Agent is our business, and we why some people are cynical when they start thinking about marketing after having invested in things that didn’t work in the past.

Some folks are so shell-shocked at what’s failed them and yet continue these practices because they feel they “have to do something!” And you should do something, and we’re going to explain what needs to be done, what’s missing. 

In all aspects of marketing, there are levels of understanding that are unique to most industries, products, and/or services.

Some require no interaction whatsoever. Amazon gives us the experience of personalized shopping with no interaction from Amazon, aside from the interface they’ve developed to provide that experience. I’ve never spoken to one of their reps on the phone, nor received an email that was even remotely personal.

This works for Amazon because of the nature of what and how they sell. They sell everything and they sell it by not interacting with us as people. We’re free to buy what we want privately.

As a marketing company, we can advertise on several mediums because of the nature of the product we sell. We can use Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Email Marketing and it all works well. Again, this is because of the nature of what we produce and service as well as the nature of our client’s product, service, and market.

You sell money, mortgages, homes, and/or property. It’s impossible to sell these products and/or services without interaction. Yet, the missing ingredient in the way most LOs and REAs market themselves is like Amazon, or at least many are trying to do it that way. You and I can appreciate email and how quickly we can get to the point, but a consumer getting emails from a loan officer, a broker, or a bank does not receive the same appreciation as a juicy cheeseburger does. Think about that for a moment.

When I consider what many LOs and REAs say about marketing or the negative connotation that comes from even the mildest discussions of it, I know that it’s not because marketing doesn’t work, but because mortgage and real estate marketing is wildly  misunderstood. I’ve said ad nauseam, ad infinitum that you can’t sell loans like you do pizza and shoes. But when we consider the reason, it’s very clear and painfully obvious. The missing ingredient is a personal connection. It’s the one thing that most, if not all, purported online marketing lacks. Things like “Set it and forget it,” “You don’t have to do anything,” “Put your marketing on autopilot,” etc. You have to be a real person in the real world, not a virtual person in the virtual online world.

There are scores of articles and videos online about the psychology of why people prefer dealing with real people as well as how loyalty works in both brand and service. Without resorting to visually busy carpets (in casinos), red wallpaper (in restaurants), and the absence of clocks in establishments that want to keep your attention (also in casinos), you can’t trick someone into buying a house, applying for a loan, or to like and appreciate who you are. Out of convenience, the selfish component wants to “market” someone into giving them their business, without interaction; it simply can’t be done consistently; not for the Loan Officer or the REA. Your personality, your personhood plays a role in how well your marketing comes across, how authentic you are, along with how willing you are to share yourself with your past clients that have trusted you. This is your edge against your competition, your missing ingredient, and a big factor in how much people are going to like you, trust you, and more importantly, refer you to those they love and care about.

This is a huge subject to be sure however, by coming to grips with the reality of the human condition, you’ll find that referrals are far easier to generate. Those who share themselves, share their knowledge, and become family do infinitely better than those who don’t.

This is where Exodus Marketing comes in. We help you use that missing ingredient and help you make more money through marketing than you otherwise would.

Set up a free Discovery Call and see for yourself.