My name is Don Reynolds. After
having owned a successful wedding invitation store for seven
years, my sales started to plummet alarmingly after 9/11.
I observed that the mortgage brokers were thriving, even though
every other industry seemed hopeless. I began brokering loans
myself, and a few months later, Wells Fargo hired me as a loan
officer.
In 2005, I became a Senior Mortgage Planner for Great Southwest
Mortgage. I now have the ability to market myself in unique
ways with my Myers website. I especially like the way I can
change the appearance and features of my site dramatically,
making the website truly "mine." This really appealed
to me because previously, my photo was the only unique website
feature I could use to distinguish myself from the other loan
officers.
Ironically, my old retail store, whose plummeting sales caused
me to look for a new job, has become a key component to my first-time
homebuyer marketing! I converted TheInvitationShoppe.com
into a marketing engine for my loan practice. The great thing
about all wedding event-oriented businesses (whether flowers,
photography, or cakes) is that they are the equivalent to
receiving "tomorrow's newspaper today." Think
about how important is it to know who is getting married or
engaged: I'm in touch with prospects months before they start
to shop for a home and a mortgage. This puts me in a good position
to share my abundance of leads with my favorite realtors
and helps them become successful with leads from me, instead
of begging every Realtor I know to give me a chance at their
client's loan.
The reason I have a website may be a little different from what
people would expect. Rather than using it to draw in new clients,
I use my website to give better service to the clients that
I have. It conveys to my clients that they are working with
the right mortgage planner. My website is the hub of information
for all their financial needs. For example, if a client needs
a disclosure, I take them to my site. If they want to know what
their payment on a loan would be, I show them how to check it
on the calculators. If they want to locate recorded documents,
they can use my site to get to the correct government agency.
Having all this information in one place also makes my life
much easier as well. |
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My
website influences 100 percent of my business because I'm always
referencing it and referring people to it. I'm always training
my clients to use it as a resource.
Back when I was a loan officer with Wells Fargo, I was generating
about $10 million a year. Our goal for 2006 is to exceed
$30 million, and it looks like we will be able to double that
next year, even in a so-called "down" market.
I attribute this success to the improved efficiencies we've
achieved by implementing our Myers web technology into our loan
practice.
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100%
of my business is
influenced by my website.
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I love my website. It's easy to adapt it to what I want it to
do, and it's easy for my clients to get to the information they're
looking for. And the cost-effectiveness of my website is
unbelievable. Just compare the cost of a website against
spending $15 thousand on magazine ads,
or a tiny thirty to sixty second spot on the radio! Plus, I
no longer have to "overnight" loan docs. My clients
can print them from the website and fax them back. The delivery
companies just lost my business!
I'm
going to keep building momentum this year by adding something
new to my Myers website every month. Also, I've been doing
homebuyer and growth-building seminars, and I'll be adding
a new retirement workshop next year.
My
best advice to a new loan officer is to "quit trying
to sell people stuff," and just be yourself. If people
like you, and find you knowledgeable, they will want you to
help them. Focus on helping other people. When you're doing
the right things, money is never a worry. It always comes.
Visit
Don Reynolds at http://www.calldonreynolds.com
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