Telling Vs Selling

This article is written for mortgage brokers specifically - but could be helpful to any technical person who has to sell his/her extensive knowledge and experience, and often fall into the trap of: Telling Vs Selling!


Your job as a mortgage broker is basically a sales position. You earn a commission on each loan you produce. To originate those loans successfully, a certain amount of "selling" is commonly required: selling the real estate agent to refer you, selling the borrower on a particular loan program, and selling that same borrower on you, your company, and the decision to move forward.While we all know that mortgage broking is basically sales, it is also widely known that most originators have never been taught how to sell. Like so many other things in life, when we are not properly trained how to do something (play golf, change a car tire, or paint a bedroom), we can make a lot of mistakes. When it comes to selling, the most common mistake is the tendency to talk too much. This doesn't make us bad people. (all we try to do is to impress our potential customer with our extensive knowledge, and feed them with all the facts WE think they need to know!).Rather, we are simply unaware of how we are selling and the effect is has on the customer. Here are a few examples:
* You answer a rate shopper's phone call. Instead of asking a series of detailed questions to get at what they want to accomplish, you spend most of the call talking about various loan product options, rates, down payments, monthly payment requirements, closing costs, and paperwork guidelines.
* You visit a real estate agent. Instead of asking about and listening to his or her needs, you dominate the meeting with rate sheets, product fliers, and a rendition of how great you and your company are in meeting closing deadlines.
* You meet a builder at a community social event. Instead of getting to know this person and what his company is all about, you immediately launch into a monologue of construction lending programs and financing options you have to offer.
Somewhere along the line, most salespeople assumed that selling is essentially doing a lot of talking. But truly effective selling is so much more than that.
Here's what all good salespeople understand:
* Clients will not open up and talk about their situation until a rapport has been established and they feel comfortable doing so.
* The client will not expose his or her needs unless you take the time to ask the right questions. * Clients will not listen to your solutions unless they feel you understand his or her situation and needs.
* Clients will not talk and share information unless they feel you are listening and genuinely care to help.
*The client will not commit to action unless you have presented the right solution.
Although this may seems simple, it is a concept that is hard for some to understand. "Aren't we just supposed to go out there and talk about our loan programs?" will ask a broker? "My boss said to make up a bunch of rate sheets and go out to tell Real Estate agents about what we can do. Isn't that the way we should sell ourselves?" The answer to both questions is a resounding: No! Being good at telling is not necessarily being good at selling. Every day mortgage brokers get rejected and discouraged because they employ this old "show up and throw up" approach to doing business. Again, they are not bad people. They have just never been taught the right way to sell.
There are two types of salespeople in this business: Consultants and Dealers. (I chose the word Dealers due to my association to the stereotypical second-hand car salesman in a car dealership: they have a certain amount of existing stock, and they need to “get rid” of it. There isn’t a nice way to “get rid” of stock. You do what you have to do!)
Here are the contrasts:
* Consultants are on the client's agenda. Dealers are on their own agenda.
* Consultants do most of the listening. Dealers do most of the talking.
* Consultants focus on the relationship. Dealers focus on product and price.
* Consultants work for the referral. Dealers work for the "close."
* Consultants are admired and welcomed. Dealers are looked down upon and avoided.

Top-producing mortgage brokers are great examples of this. How many top producers do you know who walks around real estate offices passing out rate sheets? None. Can you name a superstar mortgage broker who doesn't work hard to get to know his or her clients, build relationships, and ask for referrals? Probably not. These top-producers used to understand the golden rule of success in selling: Sell to others the way you would want to be sold to. Not anymore! Now we have the Platinum Rule: Sell to others the way THEY would like to be sold to! Seek to first understand the client, their wants, their desires, and their obstacles. Then try to understand how they will make a decision: do they make their decisions based on logic, or based on emotions? Treat your prospects as individuals, and try to understand what motivates them to act.
Put yourself in the position as a client, what would you want? Would you want a mortgage broker talking incessantly about himself/his products/his company/his rates, and other offerings? Or would you want a mortgage broker asking questions, listening and presenting clear solutions to help you achieve what you want to achieve? Would you rather do business with a dealer or a consultant? The answer is obvious.
I'm sure that if you are taking the time to read this, it is your desire to be seen as a quality lending consultant and someone who your customers, clients, and prospects admire and trust with their home financing decisions. If this is so, then you must be certain the approach that you are taking in selling to your customers, clients, and prospects is the right one, the consultative one. Take this quick true or false quiz:
1. I tend to talk too much.
2. I mostly dominate and take over my client conversations.
3. When preparing for a sales call, I spend more time thinking about the information I want to share than the questions I want to ask.
4. I enjoy demonstrating my knowledge and expertise of home financing.
5. My friends (and if applicable, my spouse) would secretly say I could improve my listening skills.
6. My clients would not necessarily think of me as a "consultant."
If you answered "true" to two or more of these statements, you could use a little "sales training" about now. One of the best, easiest, and cheapest ways to do this is with role playing. (I know, you don't like to role play. Well, most people don't really enjoy doing 100 sit-ups every night. But it doesn't take long, it is good for them, and they see some great results. The same is true for role playing.) Here's how it can work:
1. Find two other people to participate. These should be two colleagues, who could also benefit from this exercise.
2. Ask one to role play a client, you be the broker, and the third person is your observer.
3. Demonstrate a 10-minute sales encounter with a client. This could be a phone inquiry, a Real estate agency sales visit, or a borrower pre-qualification meeting. Do what you normally do and say what you normally say.
4. When finished, ask the client and the observer to answer these questions accurately and honestly:
* What did I do well in that encounter? (If they’re not sure - help them focus on their answers by giving them hints:
* How was my body language – open or closed? Did I welcome their comments, or was I folding arms when they talked?
* Have they noticed my Questioning techniques? Which ones? Did it get results?* During those 10 minutes, what percentage of the time was I talking?
* Was the information I provided too much, too little, or just right?
* What kind of job did I do at listening? Rate me from 1 to 10.( you’ve got two ears and one mouth – you should listen twice as much as you talk).
* Was I doing too much "telling?" When?
* How interested did I seem in the client's situation?
* Name two things I could do a little better next time.
The feedback you receive from your colleagues can point you in the direction of significantly better sales calls and converting a higher number of opportunities. You'll discover quickly how to gravitate away from dealing (telling) and more toward the role of consulting (selling).
Take this feedback into the real world and apply what you learned. Be consciously aware of your talk time with clients and how much information you give versus how much you receive. You'll find yourself focused more on building rapport, asking good questions, and active listening with far less emphasis on talking. Before long, you'll notice more lively conversations; a better, more relaxed approach; and clients who seem even more comfortable working with you.

Brought to you by Raz Chorev, infulenced by Jack Daly