Art of Mortgage Marketing

5 Deadly Marketing Mistakes That Cause You To Bleed Profits (And How To Avoid Them)

It doesn’t matter how much drive and ambition we have... if our marketing game isn’t on point, we’re only going to end up spinning our wheels and grinding our gears.

As loan officers, we often make the mistake of thinking mortgage is our area of expertise, but that just ain’t so. We’re in the marketing business, and until and unless we acknowledge that and adjust our strategies accordingly, we’ll never reach the goals we’ve set for ourselves.

The problem is, most LOs just don’t know what they don’t know. Where have we been going wrong until now, and what does audacious, effective, and result-driven marketing look like? How can we kick our efforts up a notch and blast our businesses to new heights?

In this episode, I’m sharing the 5 most common marketing mistakes in the mortgage business, and what we can do to make sure they never happen again. 

"Success comes from your ability to market effectively." -Doren Aldana  

Takeaways 

• Why marketing is the NUMBER ONE component of a booming business: 
  
  Why would any ambitious mortgage pro want to be the ‘best-kept secret’ in their market? 
  
  
• The importance of working ON our businesses, rather than IN them: 
  
  Sure, we’ll make a living by working in our businesses, but why stop there? Wouldn’t we rather make a fortune?
  
  
• Why chasing isn’t a marketing strategy: 
  
  Does chasing after partners, hoping they’ll toss us any spare bones really sound like the path to industry dominance?

5 BIG Brakes That Slow Down Your Business Growth

When pushing our businesses to the next level, many of us think in terms of what we should be doing, but sometimes it’s more important to think about what we need to stop doing.

No amount of pressing on the throttle will give us a smooth ride if we aren’t letting off the brakes. The question is, what are those brakes in our businesses? 

Which activities are keeping us stuck in place, and how can we root them out of our routines for good? 

In this episode, I share how to stop spinning our wheels and start moving forward in a smooth ride to flow, fun, and fulfillment.

 

"If you're constantly being sucked into paper-pushing, you’re putting the brakes on in your business." -Doren Aldana

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

• How stinkin’ thinkin’ holds us back: 
  
  We all have an unlimited capacity for greatness, so what’s stopping us from making our dreams a reality? 
  
  
• How to put a stop to paper-pushing, pronto: 
  
  How can we expect to reach new heights when we’re trapped under the muck and mire of minutiae? 
  
  
• Why weak systems set us up for mediocrity: 
  
  Repeating each step of our processes each time they need to be undertaken isn’t the same as having a business. Have we created glorified jobs for ourselves?

Why "Good" is the Mortal Enemy of Great and How to Avoid the Trap of Complacency

Thanks to crazy low rates and being deemed an essential service in the face of the pandemic, our industry is faring far better than most, and there’s no denying that we’ve been blessed with an avalanche of awesome. However, if we want to take advantage of all this, we simply can’t afford to be complacent.

 

It’s easy to feel secure when we’re in a place of relative comfort, but the truth is, being comfortable will never truly fulfill us. We’re seeking greatness, and that requires us to push past our self-imposed limits.

 

How can we get over the short-lived contentment that comes with comfort, and start pushing for more? What can we do to motivate ourselves for greatness when all our material goals have already been met?

 

Most importantly, is it possible to do all of the above without doing it the hard way?


In this episode, I’m sharing why ‘good’ holds us back from great, and what we can do to break the shackles of so-called comfort.

 

"The problem with settling for ‘good’ is we start to compromise and coddle our comfort zone." -Doren Aldana

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

 

• How to jump off the time-for-money treadmill: 
  
  Are we building practices that require our undivided time and attention or are we building businesses that can set us free? 

 

• Why busting out of the comfort zone is non-negotiable: 
  
  Everyone wants to achieve independence, autonomy, and freedom. The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we willing to step out of our comfort zones and do what it takes? 

 

• How to quit ‘making do’ and start making HISTORY: 
  
  Are our dreams audacious enough that we have no other option than to step into our champion selves and make them a reality?

Why Most Mortgage Pros Fail To Reach Their Goals (And How to Avoid Those Costly Landmines)

As we move into 2021, it’s not enough to think about how we’ll sustain past results. We have to aim for newer, higher, and more audacious heights. The question is, do we have what it takes to conquer the mountains ahead?

 

For many LOs, setting goals isn’t the problem. However, the same can’t be said for execution, because far too often our dreams are left unrealized. Where are we going wrong? 

 

What’s stopping so many of us from reaching our goals, and what can we do to change that for good? Is there a way to do that without doing it the hard way? 

 

In this episode, I’m sharing the 5 common causes of failure in this business and how to avoid them.

 

Dig deep and connect with your ‘why’, because that’s the rocket fuel that will propel you forward. -Doren Aldana

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

• Why our ‘why’ should never be based on income alone: 
  Sure, we all have our own ‘why’s’, but are they compelling enough to execute on?

• How to eradicate our fears and dive into making our dreams a reality: 
  How can we climb out from under the cloud of fear, anxiety, and stress without giving way to delusional optimism?

• The importance of the right systems, structure, and support: 
  Why beat around the bush and meander in the wilderness when there’s a straight path to the cash? 

How to Find Hope in the Face of Seemingly Hopeless Situations, and Turn Pain into a Positive Purpose w/Michael Chabot

2020 has brought significant challenges into all of our lives, and many of us are experiencing real pain at the moment. However, it’s important to remember that the depths of darkness we’ve been through are equal to the heights of the light we can shine in this world, and we can get through this. 

 

That being said, moving through grief of any kind is often easier said than done. In truth, there are some things we’ll never truly ‘move on’ from- but we can move forward.

 

The question is, how? How can we move forward when it feels like life as we’ve always known it is falling apart? What can we do to get through our darkest days and back into the light?

 

In this episode, host of The Daily Decision and My Journey 2 Hope podcasts, Michael Chabot shares how to keep going in the face of difficulties. 

You can't move past your difficulties until you decide that’s what you want. -Michael Chabot

Three Things You'll Learn From This Episode

• How to move out of the season of grief: 
  Only we can determine when we’ll move out of the grieving stage. What will be the catalyst for that decision? 
  
  
• Why positivity alone can’t turn pain into purpose: 
  How can we expect run-of-the-mill motivational nonsense to connect us with our true calling when we’re not viscerally connected to it? 
  
  
• How to handle the bad days as they arise: 
  Even as we heal, there will be harder days. How do we deal with them without backtracking on any of the progress we’ve already made?

 

Guest Bio- 

 

Michael Chabot is the host of the My Journey 2 Hope and The Daily Decision podcasts. He is passionate about helping people realize that even though challenges are inevitable, we have the power to overcome anything life throws our way. Having experienced tragedy first hand, Michael shares his story in the hopes that others see it’s possible to have hope, even after trauma. Michael is the Senior Vice President of Residential Lending at Draper and Kramer.

 

To find out more, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/michael.chabot.75

https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheDailyDecisionPodcast%2F

https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMyJourney2Hope%2F 

https://anchor.fm/michael-chabot6

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-daily-decision-michael-chabot-vYVtqgx-PNp/

https://dkmortgage.com/chabot/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-chabot 

 

And to find out more about the Gabriella’s Heart Foundation, go to:

http://gabriellasheart.org/ 

Other podcasts mentioned in this episode:
https://impacttheory.com/

5 Steps to Make 2021 Your Absolute Best Year Yet...Even If Rates Go Up!

We’re on the brink of a new year, and with that comes a ton of opportunity. However, it also comes with a lot of uncertainty, and many LOs are starting to worry about what their businesses will look like in the coming months.

Are we likely to see an increase in rates and a decrease in inventory in the near future, and what would that mean for our business? More importantly, will it matter at all?

What can we do now to position ourselves to prosper in the face of anything 2021 throws our way?

In this episode, I share the steps guaranteed to make 2021 our year of domination, no matter what.

 

It’s time to get yourself prepared and positioned to prosper, regardless of market conditions. -Doren Aldana

Three Things You'll Learn From This Episode

 

• Why clarity is the first step to creating the lives we want: 
  How can we create a clear, compelling vision for what we want to achieve in 2021? What's the most effective day-to-day game plan to crush our targets?
  
  
• How to tap into our true ‘why': 
  It’s one thing to have dreams for the future, but what happens if we don’t make them a reality? What’s at stake for us and our families?
  
  
• The power of identifying the gap: 
  How big is the gap between where we are now and where we want to be, and what can we do to bridge the divide, while working SMARTER, not harder?

The Suck of Living in Worry Prison (And How to Escape to Planet Prosper, Once and For All)

Anxiety about the future is something most mortgage professionals have experienced, but it being a common phenomenon doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.  

 

When we’re agonizing over what the future holds, our emotions are more than a blip on the radar. They can be all-consuming and even hold us back from reaching our full potential, and for that reason we should never brush worry off as something small. 

 

What’s causing us to feel this way in the first place, and what can we do to put a stop to it? Will we ever be able to cut nervous tension out of our lives completely? 

 

In this episode, I’m sharing how different loan officers experience worry, and what we can do to stop it from controlling us.

 

Step out of fear and into faith, love, and the best version of yourself. -Doren Aldana

Takeaways

 

• What’s keeping newbies in a perpetual state of panic: 
  
  How can we be sure we’ll make it in this industry, so we don’t have to stick our tails between our legs, admit defeat, and scurry back to our 9-5 grinds? 

 

• How veterans are impacted by the worry prison: 
  
  Most veterans have had bountiful businesses as a result of the refi boom, but what happens when rates inevitably increase? Will we be able to sustain the incredible income we’ve grown accustomed to? 

 

• The fear that affects newbies and veterans alike: 
  
  We all got into this business to create freedom for ourselves, but what happens if our dreams never become reality?

Practice Builders vs. Business Builders: What's The Difference and Why Does it Matter?

In the wake of the refi boom, many mortgage professionals have found their wallets fuller, but their lives emptier. We’ve burned ourselves out en-masse, with the common matchstick that is working IN our businesses, rather than ON them.

 

We signed up for this business because we wanted more freedom, autonomy, and independence, so why have so many of us ended up becoming chief, cook, and bottle washer? How have we made such a complete 180?

 

How can we get back into loving what we do, instead of waking up every morning for a soulless grind?

 

In this episode, I share that our collective burnout is a symptom of building practices instead of building businesses.

If you want true freedom, autonomy, and independence, being a practice builder will not bode well. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways 

 

• Why we need to redefine our idea of brokenness: 
  Is having a ton of money in the bank as important as having our health and the freedom to spend time with our loved ones? 

 

• The key distinction between building a practice vs building a business: 
  Can we step out of our businesses for a couple of weeks without everything falling apart, or have we built ourselves a glorified j-o-b? 

 

• How to get back into loving what we do: 
  How can we stop working because we ‘have to’ and start enjoying our careers again, so we can step into our divine calling?

 

The Top 7 Ways to Automate Your Mortgage Business, So It Runs Like a Finely-Oiled Machine In Your Absence

No one gets into this industry with the intention of trading all their time for money, but by insisting on doing everything themselves, many mortgage pros have sacrificed their dreams of freedom in favor of doing it the hard way. 

 

To build the kind of businesses that set us free, we have to stop relying on human efforts to get everything done. It’s the 21st century, so why are so many of us still shying away from automation?

 

Does the prospect of learning new systems scare us too much to dive into the deep end? How can we move past that fear and start implementing the kinds of systems that blast our businesses to astronomical heights?

 

In this episode, I’m sharing which parts of our businesses we need to automate for maximum results.

To build a business that sets you free, you need systems that undergird your operations so you’re not trading time for money. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways 

 

• Why automating our lead capture is the only way to move forward: 
  
  How can we expect to capture all our leads’ data and track the thread of communication when we’re still settling for caveman tracking from the dark ages, like Excel spreadsheets? 

 

• Why tracking leads by source is vital for a thriving business: 
  
  Why spend an inordinate amount of time on a lead source that brings in the smallest percentage of our business? 

 

• How to automate Realtor attraction: 
  
  Capturing the attention of top dog Realtors is mission-critical for a booming business, but too many of us are still doing it the hard way. Instead of cold-calling agents, why not use 21st-century technology to automate the process? 

 

The Best Way to Prospect for New Loans - Without Having To Meet Face to Face (Even If You're a Newbie)

Pre-COVID, meeting top producers in person was a great way to build profitable relationships, but that’s no longer an option. If we plan to dominate the industry in the face of the pandemic, we have to roll with the times and find a new way forward.

 

A lot of so-called ‘experts’ would have us believe the next best option is cold-calling, but that’s doing it the hard way. COVID-19 or not, we’ve still got to find the fastest path to the cash -- and that means ditching old school strategies for good.

 

How should we be marketing ourselves to top dog agents in a time when networking as we knew it no longer exists? Are there any foolproof solutions in unprecedented times, or is it time to try reinventing the wheel?

 

In this episode, I’m sharing how both newbie LOs and seasoned pros can build solid connections with top producers, without meeting anyone face to face.

The shortest path to the cash in this business, newbie or veteran, is and always will be attracting top-producing Realtors who make you their exclusive and act as your brand ambassador. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways 

 

• The WORST way to prospect during this time: 
  
  Cold-calling and reaching out to Realtors to be ‘helpful’ sure is better than doing nothing at all, but is it the smartest, most fruitful way to capture the attention of top producers?
  
  
• How to attract top producers without smiling and dialing: 
  
  Realtors aren’t answering phones anymore, and if they are, chances are they’re spending the full duration of the call trying to get rid of us. How can we attract the attention of the top dogs using 21st century technology?
  
  
• How to shatter the perception that LOs are loan leeches: 
  
  How can we change the way top producing agents see us, so we can go from mortgage hawker to marketing partner in their eyes?