[caption id="attachment_9654" align="alignright" width="150"] Dave Hershman[/caption]

As a reminder, here's the original question: "I understand why no one could have predicted the pandemic. However, it seems to me that we should have geared up for lower rates as soon as it happened. Why did it seem like these record low rates and the increase in business took the country by surprise? The lack of foresight had taken me by surprise and I wound up missing many opportunities as others jumped on my previous customers before I could act. Plus, my company was not ready for the volume. Why can’t we get better predictions?"

In my previous column, I wrote about how difficult it can be to predict changes, the importance of being ready for changes and having a fully locked and loaded system to take advantage of marketing changes.

Part of being ready is delivering value to your database. Thus, we must first define value. Even though you are "selling" home loans, that is not what your sphere is interested in. Your sphere is interested in houses. This means that it is particularly important to relate anything having to do with financing to their home or the home they wish to acquire. No one gets up on a Sunday morning and looks at their spouse and says, let's go shop for mortgages today, honey. They browse and shop for houses.

We do understand that loans are a way to obtain homes, but the majority of clients would pay cash if they could. Just like if they could get good teeth without going to a dentist, they would. Many relate going to a residential lender to a dentist appointment, or a necessary evil that may hurt.

Thus, the value you provide to them must be related to housing, whether it is updates, articles or newsletters. Yes, financing information is important, but only as it relates to obtaining a home, or making their home more valuable.

When it comes to refinances, we are trying to add another aspect of value--putting them in better financial position. This could be lowering their payment on a home, eliminating mortgage insurance, or perhaps paying off burdensome debts. When you talk about adding value to improve their finances, you realize that you could actually raise their payment, but help them accelerate the gain of equity more quickly. That requires looking at the bigger picture.

We start by asking what you are advertising. If you are marketing rates and programs, instead of superior service levels, you are not addressing a major concern of your clients. And it is not enough for you to say that you give great service within your marketing efforts. Your customers must make this statement for you.

These testimonials are called social proof and are an integral part of marketing--from formal surveys to web reviews. These represent proof of your reputation. Of course, in order to get this feedback, you must first deliver great service. And you must ask for the feedback regarding the process.

How do you deliver great service, especially when rates are at historic lows and lenders are inundated? You must start with setting the right expectations. If you advertise approvals and closings in 30 days and you can't deliver, you will be overpromising and under-delivering. From there you will never receive referrals, which should be our long-term goal.

Setting expectations is also important during the application process. You have heard the adage, garbage in, garbage out. If your applications are well documented, you will have a better result from the process. The consumer will help you in this regard if you set the right expectations, including invoking a sense of urgency. As a matter of fact, you must set this expectation of urgency for everyone within the process. That is the trait of a leader.

Dave Hershman is Senior VP of Sales of Weichert Financial and the top author in the mortgage industry. Dave has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School. His site is www.OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..