Create a Business Development System
Systems are for professionals
When people think about marketing—whether that means meeting agents, doing social media, mailing out postcards or thank you cards, or speaking in front of groups of people—they often don’t talk about their “systems”.
I think that’s a mistake. I think systems get a bad rap for being boring or something that only boring people use.
Systems are for professionals. You want to be a professional, don’t you?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is “Automate the ordinary; humanize the extraordinary.”
That’s the quote as I heard it, but the quote that I have propagated in its place has a slightly different ring to it, and it provides a glimpse into how I view my systems:
“Automate the ordinary so that you can humanize the extraordinary”.
Having a system in place to optimize your marketing and business development activities is so important because it empowers you to be your best. Not only does it save you time, but it enables you to focus that extra time on making the most impact. It’s about efficiency, yes, but it’s also about efficacy. It’s about not missing anything or letting important activities fall through the cracks, yes, but it’s also about being able to do more too.
The Swaleh Team Way
Personally, I have four main processes that I use to run my business development and marketing efforts. Those four processes make up my System. I have named that system “The Swaleh Team Way”.
And I know what you're thinking,” this guy's obsessed. He literally liked his system so much that he gave it a name, and he even named it after himself... oh boy…”
I get it. I do! But let me tell you why I think this is important. When you name something, you own it. You're no longer just doing it because you ‘have to’, you are taking responsibility and accountability for it. You're giving it life. You're making it its own thing and you will be surprised at what that can do for you.
Remember, we're talking about marketing.
Everything I do, is marketing.
The way we do our loans, is marketing.
The way we answer phones, is marketing.
The words we choose to use,
This random accidental poem, even this, is marketing.
And when you name your system—when you own it, when you give it a life of its own—you can now use it... guess what... …you got it…as marketing.
Allow me to demonstrate just one way in which this is true.
Take 1:
Realtor: “I don’t know Mike, I’m pretty busy. If I meet you for coffee, what are you going to be able to do for me that's any different than any other lender out there?”
Old Mike: “Well that's a great question. You see, our rates are decent, but we have great service. I mean we really take care of our clients. We have the best service, and I have lots of experience. So much experience. So much service. And I know a really cool coffee place, better coffee than you've ever had. Oh you've been there? Well but did I tell you about our service?”
Lame.
Take 2:
Realtor: “I don’t know Mike, I’m pretty busy. If I meet you for coffee, what are you going to be able to do for me that's any different than any other lender out there? Are you just going to tell me about your service like the last schmo?”
Somewhat More Enlightened Mike: ”Ha, that's funny. I know a lot of lenders talk about how good their service is, and I'm sure they're great, but it’s a lot of the same ‘ol same. Instead, I have designed an intentional and repeatable system that makes sure we not only deliver the same great customer experience to every client, but that allows us to insert special moments that make us and you more memorable, and that leads to more referrals for both of us. I call it the Swaleh Team Way, and I'd like to share with you how you can borrow parts of it yourself to grow your business with your own referral partners and database too. Actually, if you'd like to come by the office, I have coffee here and I can show you some of our material. Sound good?”
Now we’re cooking.
But again, that’s just one conversation in which having a system that you love enough to name can help you.
My Four Mortgage Business Systems
One of my four processes is focused on meeting more potential referral partners, cultivating those relationships, and getting them to the point where they start sending homebuyer leads. It’s a numbers game.
While it is not feasible to expect that you can convert every single Realtor that you meet in this world into a referral partner, by applying a smartly designed system over and over again at scale, you can certainly expect to develop relationships with a certain percentage of them.
10-Step Agent Development
My 10-Step Agent Development process is built on the premise that it takes at least 4-6 touches to foster enough trust to send you a referral, and I want to exceed that and leave as little to chance as possible.
I leverage thank you notes, gifting, all of the amazing marketing technology that we have access to here at Fairway, personal touches and bulk touches, events and presentations, intentional timing, and my 10th step even repeats quarterly to make sure I don't lose touch unless I want to lose touch.
You are going to know me, and trust me, the only variable is going to be whether or not they actually like me. That part is up to me!
Your Agent Audition
My next process ensures that my team truly nails their “auditions”. When an agent sends us their first ever referral, I want to (again) leave nothing to chance and make sure that they continue sending them after they see how we respond. We only get one chance to make a first impression and we aren’t going to “wing it”. My New-Agent-First-Lead process keeps us ready to impress; we’re not throwin’ away our shot.
The Perfect Loan Process
My third process is a fairly common one in the industry: The Perfect Loan Process. This process exists with top LO’s all over the country. While many of the details or choices within the perfect loan process can be different from Loan Officer to Loan Officer, you will find that most of the best Mortgage Advisors all over have some sort of process in place to make sure their team is executing the loan flow consistently and extraordinarily every single time.
Please note, this process is not about doing the loan correctly. That is just base-level competency. Your perfect loan process should be about doing the loan in such a way that it leads to MORE loans (ie. referrals).
The Triple Whammy Protocol
My fourth and final business development process is created to guarantee that we take advantage of the very unique and special opportunity that we have when we meet somebody specifically via a loan in process (a Loan Related Contact as I call them). Usually, that is a Listing Agent but every once in a while it will be a Buyer’s Agent as well.
I first learned about the Triple Whammy Protocol from one of my mentors (you may have heard of the Man in Black, William Dawes?) and have since added my own unique (weird?) flair to it.
Please note this is different than my My 10-Step Agent Development process, and quite frankly it should convert at a higher rate.
You work through My 10-Step Agent Development process and then hopefully the New-Agent-First-Lead process in hopes to get the chance to audition and show your Perfect Loan Process (see how that flows?), but when you are meeting somebody via a transaction in process you get to skip ahead and that is tremendously valuable, and hence why it needs its own process.
What You Should Do Now
I showed you mine; now go create your own.
This is my system, and these are my core processes. You can steal them, borrow them as a foundation to build your own from, or ignore them completely and create your own from scratch. If you do any of the above, you will be ahead of the game.
Just don't do nothing.
Don't go another day without having some sort of system in place that helps you maximize your efforts and use your time efficiently. There are so many people to learn from at this company—so many great ways of doing things differently. I always say that we never seem to have an ideas problem, but we frequently find ourselves having execution problems. I've given you some ideas, now go implement! Implementation separates the dreamers from the winners.
It’s important to understand that having these scripted processes in place doesn’t make us robotic. It makes us consistent, and the key win for us is that when we free ourselves by needing to spend less time thinking about what to do next in the moment or reinventing the wheel we can spend our mental energy on how to be special, and how to create moments that will set us apart from the competition! It gives us the flexibility to try new things, test what works, and delight our customers and referral partners along the way.
It takes us less energy to be decent, so we can focus on being great.
Many loan officers know that they need systems.
You know you need a CRM.
You know you need to develop your own perfect loan process.
You know you need to be calling the listing agent on every one of your loans in process.
You know you need to be on social media.
You know you need to be prospecting.
You know that you need to follow up with people.
You know that having a gifting strategy can help you stand out.
But, my friend, do you understand that having a system that pulls all of that together allows each facet to feed off of the other and can be infinitely more effective than doing any of these things individually?
Well, now you do.
Written By Mike Swaleh
Husband and father. Branch Manager. Avid sports fan. Aspiring Renaissance Man. Proud to be part of a company that believes in doing the right thing, doing it the right way, and giving back to our communities, our clients, and our Veterans.
Michael Swaleh is a long-time student and teacher of the mortgage industry, but his path and experiences are a little different. Originally licensed as a Financial Advisor, Mike moved to mortgages in 2006 around the time he earned his Master's in Business Administration.
Quickly, he rose to the management ranks due to an unrelenting focus on accountability, quality, and expectation setting.
