1. Feature Article: MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE AND OFFLINE 2. Holiday Gift Ideas 3. New! Self employed borrower training 4. Question of the month 5. Mortgage job board information 6. Tell us what you think
================== Feature Article ======================= MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE AND OFFLINE
Everyone in the mortgage industry should know how to market themselves. Whether you are a broker, a loan officer, or a processor matters not. The more effective you are at communicating your unique skills and abilities, the more successful your career will be. If you’re a broker, you’ll want to be skilled at marketing your services to your customers as well as marketing your company to potential employees. As a loan officer, you must learn to market your expertise to give the borrower the confidence to place their trust in you. As an in-house or contract processor, you’ll want to be skilled at marketing the benefits of your processing services to originators. If you miss the boat on this one, you’re sure to have a lack luster career.
What’s the best way to let your particular market know that you’re ready and willing to serve them? It depends. It depends on a number of factors including who your marketing target is and what forms of media they rely on most for information. With that in mind, you’ll want to consider both your online and offline options. Let’s take a look at them.
ONLINE – The Internet wins hands down for being the fastest, most economical way to reach the masses. You can market your services via a website. You can advertise in online classified ads. You can stay in contact with the click of your mouse using auto responders, e-mail blasts, and fax blasts software. What would normally take a team of folks, lots of money and time, can now be accomplished by 1-2 individuals in a very short time. As a loan officer, you can take in twice as many applications by offering online pre-qualifications. As a processor, you can increase your level of productivity by offering online file submissions and status reports. The more creative you are the more you can enhance your bottom line.
OFFLINE –As wonderful as the Internet is, there are still those who prefer receiving direct mail. Others simply don’t have Internet access. Even some of those that do have Internet access still have dial-up and dread the waiting. With that in mind, it’s important to supplement your online efforts offline. We’re all familiar with the age old classified ads and sales letters, so let’s look at a few other offline tactics. You can get the word out more with postcards, neighborhood bulletin boards, flyers, seminars, promotional license plates, magnetic car signs and more. You can also sponsor your neighborhood sports team or charitable events. If you’ve got the time and resources, why not develop your own newsworthy event such as a contest, scholarship, or other event.
Now that you’ve taken a quick look at both online and offline marketing, we hope you’ve come up with a few ideas to expand your outreach for 2007.
------------------------------------------------ Happy Holidays! We Appreciate Your Support
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Holiday Gift Ideas That Everyone Loves...
Still pondering what to get a co-worker or loved one? Here are a few great ideas:
- Visa/MasterCard Gift Card - Store Gift Card - Dinner and Movie Package - E-bay gift certificate - Gift Basket - Day Spa package - Health club membership - Music
------------------------------------------------ Struggling With Self-Employed Borrower Deals?
Ease the Load With Our New Training Class:
Understanding the Self-Employed Borrower
Get the tools you need to go beyond “stated income”. Learn more about the self employed borrower profile and what you can do to speed up the loan process. For more information on this Click-n-Learn Online™ class visit our website at:
--------------------------------------------------- QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Q. I tend to get bogged down with verifications, particularly VODs. With all the bank mergers and acquisitions, it seems to take forever to uncover who is the current custodian of information. Any suggestions?
A. A lot of processors and LOs face the same challenge. In fact it is one of the causes of loan delays. A great way to speed up the process is to rely on master directories for banks, brokerage firms, and credit unions. These are typically online and up-to-date. In the rare instances when they’re not, the person you reach can usually point you to the right place. You can find a few helpful resources on our Mortgage Links page. Just click the link that follows or copy and paste it into your web browser:
The Most Comprehensive Source of Mortgage Training Articles on the Internet Today...
Take a test drive www.completemortgagenetwork.com ___________________________________________________
Learn Powerful Processing Strategies That Give You Real Results!
Join us for our next online e-class that reveals the secret to fast and efficient loan processing. The class begins January 3, 2007. Get the registration and tuition details:
Job Board Solutions through Complete Mortgage Processing
Mortgageboard.com provides an Internet Job Board that caters specifically to the Mortgage, Banking, Escrow & Title Insurance Industries.
As you may know, Mortgageboard.com is the official job board of Complete Mortgage Processing. To get more information about posting positions on the site and having access to the resume database call (877) 846-5478 Toll Free or go to www.mortgageboard.com
Mention the Complete Mortgage Processing Newsletter and receive discounts of 10 to 20% off select packages* to all employers.
*Discounts redeemable once and not in conjunction with other offers.
If you have already purchased our Loan Processor In-A-Box® workbook or used our other training resources, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what has helped and what you’d like to see more of. Leave a message at our Feedback line at 1 (800) 609-9006 x2128 or just click here to submit your comments online. You can also send us an e-mail to processinghelp@aol.com or fax us at (702) 543-5397.
--------------------------------------------------- Complete Mortgage Processing provides live and online training resources for mortgage professionals. For more tips and tools to help you be more productive, visit our website at www.completemortgageprocessing.com
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