The firms wanted to work with us b/c they loved our website, focus, messaging, image, etc. They were happy to avoid the basics of “Marketing 101.”
What was most interesting though was how incapable these elite firms were of actually “selling.”
Several of the firms simply got on the phone and proceeded to explain how incredibly awesome they were without asking us a single question about our specific needs.
We were shocked b/c “Selling 101” is all about asking questions and eliciting needs, and nothing more – no matter how great your service or product is.
At JVM, our entire training program is geared around asking a large number or relevant questions to make sure we understand the exact needs of every referral source and borrower.
Final Point: The key is to ask relevant questions. About five years ago, I took a call from an eighty-year-old Russian physicist who emigrated from Russia in the late 1980s to teach at Cal. I felt like I struck gold. We talked for over an hour about WWII, Stalin, Khrushchev, Gorbachev, Reagan, Perestroika, and Glasnost, among other things.
The problem was that I forgot to ask him about his loan. Heejin fired me from referral-taking, and the referring Realtor was none too pleased either :).
Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 01524255, NMLS# 310167
