How To Get Mortgage Clients To Stop Dragging Their Feet When Shopping For A Home Loan

by: Rob Lawrence
At one time, borrower procrastination wasn’t a common problem, but has now become one, as more and more people got into the mortgage industry. Many of them were bad apples, incompetent or worse. Bad experiences and bad memories are what you are competing with. For some customers, rate shopping is a game. No matter how hard you try, they will never go with you. They just want to see how low a rate you could get them. It may be that they aren’t procrastinating, but rather are just putting you off, because they decided to go with someone else. Anything they say such as “hassle”, “it’s not worth it”, etc. may be just a cover. On the other hand, if the deal you give the customer isn’t meaty enough for them, (meaning that they aren’t going to save a significant amount), some customers will simply throw up their hands in frustration. These are the ones that have gotten burnt before in the process, leaving a sour taste in their mouth. For them, it’s just not worth it. Provided your mortgage deal makes sense and is in the best interest of the customer, here are a few ways I’ve learned to get clients to stop dragging their feet. 1. Explain the entire process in full. Show them how simple it is and that you will take care of all the necessary paperwork. They merely have to follow your lead. Although, getting a mortgage is a long and tedious process, you have to prove your case and demonstrate that your firm is different from the rest. Despite what the customer has experienced in the past, you aren’t like other loan officers. Building this sort of credibility starts from the first phone call, and is one critical skill I advocate in my Sink or Swim Loan Closing System at http://www.loanclosingsystem.com 2. Create a compelling reason to act. How much will they save per month? How much in interest will they save over the life of the loan? Demonstrate the financial incentive to them in black and white. 3. Translate the financial numbers into a real-life perspective that clients can understand. People need to be able to rationalize things. How many nights-out is this? How much extra “fun” money will they have? Whatever the client is into, put the financial motive into a physical, tangible one. When people think about things that way, money becomes all the more real. 4. Let them know that there will be “pain” if they don’t act. The opportunity won’t last forever, and their reluctance to act will cost them in the long run. Are the interest rates rising? Is there something about their situation that will affect their ability to refinance in the future? Are they looking for cash out, and if so, can the pain of their debts/bills be used to motivate them? 5. If the customer doesn’t listen to reason, and still won’t act, they may have paralysis by analysis. I call these the “engineer types”, as they want to nit pick every part of the process and will shop forever, always looking for a better deal. My advice—give up on these loans. They will cause you more trouble than they’re worth.