7 Proven Sales Techniques Loan Originators Should Steal

Your role as a mortgage professional isn’t confined only to the activities specific to loan processing. You’re also responsible for selling the loan service. Steal these top sales techniques to improve your closing rate immediately.

Understand Your Value Wedge and Let It Saturate Your Message

More commonly known as “value proposition,” your value wedge emphasizes what makes you different from your competitors. Let’s face it; there are overlaps between what you can offer versus the competitor. However, there are considerable and pivotal differences –and that’s precisely what drives the sale.

Your mortgage value wedge must meet three criteria if it’s going to be an effective sales tactic. They are:

1. The message is unique to you. It should be easy to differentiate your message from that of your competitors.
2. Communicates a value that is significant to your borrowers. Identify gaps in mortgage acquisition and highlight how you effectively resolve them.
3. It should be honest. Reviews, referrals, and even your mortgage technology should serve as proof of your message.

Hit all three of those marks, and you’ll have a provocative mortgage sales message that communicates an irresistible offer to your borrowers.

Leverage Technology To Increase Sales

Technology is a driving force behind every successful salesperson, and we’re not just saying that because we build mortgage tech. It’s a fact that technology supports higher sales rates. While every tech tool has specific features depending on its functionality, generally speaking, technology helps the closing by:

• Leveling the competitive playing field for small versus big lenders.
• Expands the mortgage pros capabilities with tools that offer more value to borrowers.
• Positions the mortgage pro or lender as innovative.
• Widens communication reach. With tech, the mortgage pro has multiple channels by which to make the sale
• Increases responsiveness and performance, two foundational components that have built billion-dollar corporations, such as Zillow and Airbnb.

Of course, that’s just an overview. For in-depth details on a superior mortgage tech stack’s features and benefits, visit our product pages and request a live demo.

Give Your Borrower a “Hero Story”

Writers have been using the “hero story” angle for centuries because people have an innate desire to be a hero. By putting your prospect front and center of the Borrower Journey, you heighten their hero story and intensify their mortgage inquiry intention. You also aid them in reaching goals with less friction.

Here’s how that plays out between the loan prospect and you.

The Borrower’s “Hero” Journey:

1. The borrower encounters the challenge and struggles with it.
2. The borrower meets a mentor (you) that understands their struggle.
3. The mentor provides valuable insight and gives them an actionable plan.
4. Feeling confident and empowered, the borrower takes action.
5. The borrower reaches their goal, realizing their potential and exhilarated by the sense of accomplishment.

By the way, that’s not the only time your prospect should be at the center of the journey. Read this to understand the difference between Multichannel and Omnichannel in lending, where omnichannel lending also positions the borrower in the center.

Use More “You” Phrasing, Not “We”

You may mistakenly think that it’s better to phrase statements in “we” rather than “you” because the former expresses empathy –a likable attribute. While well-intentioned and seemingly logical, studies show that using “you” phrases is more effective for selling.

The reasons that “you” is better are threefold:

• It conveys that the borrower is in control. This powerful position relates to the “hero story” tactic we discussed above.
• It amplifies your message, making it stand apart from your competitor’s messages.
• Consumers feel comfortable with “we” only if there’s already a relationship with that business. Otherwise, “we” sounds suspicious.

Ask “Big Picture” Questions

Big picture or open-ended questions help you to gauge your borrower’s needs. Seems silly to ask a mortgage prospect what they need, right? “They need money to buy a home,” you may proclaim. But it’s not that black and white. Many reasons ultimately compel someone to inquire about a home loan. Once you figure out what those reasons are for that particular borrower, you’ll know precisely how to craft your sales message.

Knowing the right questions to ask doesn’t require a psych degree, but it does follow a specific framework: Rapport, Goals/Conflicts, Resolutions, Moving Forward. These are examples of questions for each of those categories.

Rapport

• How did you hear about us?
• How are things at work or your business?
• How are your kids adjusting to school? Are they online or back in the classroom?

Goals/Conflicts

• Applying for a home loan can be completed quickly with me. Are there any outside factors that could hold you back from moving forward?
• Have you applied for a mortgage before? What did you like or dislike about the experience?
• What goals do you hope to achieve this year? In five years?

Resolutions

• How can getting a home loan improve your life and that of your family?
• Would this property be a “forever home” or an investment home?
• How important is technology and mobility to you when it comes to working with a mortgage pro?

Moving Forward

• If I were to fast-forward to three years from now, what would your life look like?
• What would a successful experience in applying for a loan look like to you?
• What do you think would be different if we were to work together?

Pro tip: These interview-style questions are how we designed our SmartApp1003 and one of the reasons that our clients have higher rates of completed mortgage applications!