Turn Client Love into Your Best Marketing Strategy: How to Craft an Authentic Elevator Pitch
If you’ve ever struggled to explain what you do in a way that feels both authentic and memorable, you’re not alone. For years, I wrestled with crafting an elevator pitch that didn’t sound like every other loan officer out there. I wanted to sound real, not rehearsed, but without falling into the trap of humble-bragging—or worse, being boring.
Sound familiar?
The good news is, if you’re not sure how to talk about yourself, your clients already have. Their reviews and testimonials are gold mines of insight into your unique value. They hold the words, themes, and stories that set you apart. All you have to do is leverage them.
Here’s how I did it—and how you can too.
Step 1: Collect the Data
First, gather as many client reviews as possible. For me, it was over 500 testimonials on experience.com. If you don’t have as many, that’s fine—quality over quantity. What matters is that these reviews are authentic reflections of what your clients value most about working with you.
Step 2: Analyze for Themes
I pasted my reviews into ChatGPT and asked:
"Can you analyze my reviews and look for common words or themes that tell me what my clients love about me overall?"
From this, I discovered four key themes:
A smooth and easy process.
Prompt and clear communication.
Professionalism and expertise.
Personalized service tailored to individual needs.
Your themes might be different. Maybe your clients rave about your creativity, your knack for solving problems, or how you make them feel heard. The point is to find the patterns.
Step 3: Craft Your Pitch (and Refine It!)
With the themes in hand, I asked ChatGPT to turn them into an elevator pitch. The result was fine—but too generic. It sounded like something any loan officer could claim, and it wasn’t in my voice.
Here’s where the magic happened: I kept refining. I asked ChatGPT to make it sound more like me: witty, slightly irreverent, yet professional. After a few iterations, I landed on this:
"I help people buy homes and survive the mortgage process with their sanity intact. My team and I keep it simple, stress-free, and maybe even a little fun—yes, fun in mortgages is possible. Clients love that we’re quick, clear, and compassionate. Buying a home is a big deal, but we make it feel less like pulling teeth and more like checking off a life goal."
That’s when it clicked.
Step 4: Make It Yours
Here’s where you come in. This isn’t about copying my pitch; it’s about finding yours. Use these steps to create something authentic:
Start with your clients’ words. Analyze their reviews for themes and language.
Focus on what sets you apart. Think about what makes you different—not what you think people want to hear.
Refine until it feels right. If it doesn’t feel like you, keep tweaking. Experiment with tone, humor, or conciseness until it clicks.
Step 5: Test It
Try your pitch out loud. Share it with a trusted friend or colleague and ask for honest feedback. Does it feel genuine? Does it make people want to learn more?
Why This Works
This strategy works because it shifts the focus from you telling people how great you are to letting your clients do the talking. It’s authentic, client-focused, and cuts through the noise of generic pitches.
Your Challenge
Take 30 minutes this week to dive into your client reviews. Use AI or your own analysis to pull out themes, craft a pitch, and test it out. You might be surprised by what your clients love most about you—and how much easier it becomes to talk about what you do.
So, what do you do? Have you asked your clients lately?
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.
