Shut Up & Sell – sometimes less is more

I haven’t posted here for awhile because I’ve been busy in my office getting some new employees up to speed. It’s nice to have a growing business, but sometimes the “growing pains” are not fun.

I had a sales meeting with two loan originators today and I want to pass along what we discussed.

One of the LO’s was closing 2-3 times the number of loans as the other guy. Both of them work in my office and they are both working leads that I provide to them.

Since they are essentially getting the same number and quality of leads, their results should be pretty close to the same, right?

So I asked both of them what they were doing so we could learn from the successful guy.

The the top producing guy spent only about 10-15 minutes on the phone with a new lead. He gets their basic information and then tells them he wants to spend a couple of hours checking different lenders (we are a mortgage broker) so he can get them the best solution. He then sends them an email with 2-4 program options. He does not try to close them on the initial incoming call, he closes them with his follow up calls and/or emails.

The other guy spent anywhere from 30-60 minutes talking to a prospect on the initial incoming call. He typically attempted to close them (i.e. get a loan application) on the first call.

Instinctively, it would seem that the guy who spent the most time on the phone with the leads would have a better chance of closing them because he is building rapport.

But the reality is that the he was probably giving the prospects TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

It’s great to educate your clients and help them make an informed decision, but you have to know what to shut up and let them make a decision.

Here is a simple yet very powerful marketing/sales formula:

1) Tell ‘em what you’ve got.
2) Tell ‘em what it will do for them.
3) Tell ‘em what you want them to do next.

If you keep that in mind when talking to your mortgage loan prospects, you might find that you take more applications and close more loans.

Don’t leave out any of the 3 steps, but don’t overdo it.

The top producing LO in my office has a very simple mental script that he sticks to on EVERY call. He doesn’t get sidetracked with a lot of extraneous details, he moves the conversation along using the 3-step marketing formula above.

Now, don’t get me wrong. He is very friendly and engages the clients in small talk, but he doesn’t let them lead the conversation off the track.

If you find yourself spending a lot of time talking to people but not closing as many loans as you think you should, try to be more efficient in your conversations.

When I was a journalism student, my professor always preached “Less is more!” In other words, be concise.

A short 10-15 minute conversation focused on the 3-step sales formula will be more powerful than a rambling hour long conversation with no predetermined purpose or goal.

Keep this in mind on your next sales calls.