[caption id="attachment_9789" align="alignright" width="300"] Pat Sherlock[/caption]

But, when the boom cycle ends, originators can be in peril of losing their jobs and their income. What can originators do to avoid these ups and downs?

The boom and bust cycle has fostered the belief that selling is about waves and catching them at the right time. I certainly hear that from many executives and producers who will often say “I am just trying to ride the refinance wave out as long as possible, then I will retire.”

Then, they always seem to be caught off guard when the downturn happens and they feverishly try to save their income levels. This scenario is currently playing out in mortgage banking.

In recent years, the industry had moved out of a refinance cycle to a purchase money market environment. Now, we have entered another mini-refinance boom with recent declining interest rates. While originators and lenders are currently making money, the new flux of refinance business will delay, for many, the changes that they need to make to survive when the easy business stops.

How to Stop the Boom or Bust Cycle
Here are three strategies I recommend to lessen the impact of a downward cycle.

1. Prospect for new business during good times and bad. When a boom period occurs, originators often stop prospecting. Then, when the market does change, they are behind when it comes to finding customers and referral sources. The best correction for a bust cycle centers on a continual effort by producers to promote their personal brand. In busy times, prospecting still must be done. Sales professionals with assistants can delegate this marketing function. For those without assistants, personal brand promotion can be outsourced to freelancers or virtual assistants.
2. Be active on social media daily. Since the consumer starts the home-buying process online, it is necessary to be active and engaged on social media every day. It is critical for originators to be in front of consumers before they reach out to a lender. Today, originators must be top of mind for prospects and referral sources in their territory if they want to capture for new business. This is another opportunity to use virtual assistants to help manage content distribution to a target audience. Producers who fail to maintain a daily social media presence are allowing their personal brands to fade away in the marketplace.
3. Share valuable content with former customers. These are people that an originator has done business with and know their service levels well. Former customers are a category of potential referral sources that often get ignored by many originators to the detriment of their sales performance. Keeping in touch with these contacts is a golden opportunity for originators and requires a personalized approach. Sending out a postcard or a generic letter through a CRM system is not as impactful if it is not relevant.
   Consumers and referral sources crave personalization. Today, this means providing customized educational videos and content that is valuable and relevant to recipients. During the loan process and the many conversations that originators have with their borrowers gives them an opportunity to glean information that reflects a consumer’s interests and passions.

Originators have a rare opportunity to form relationships that can last a lifetime. Don’t let it slip away just because interest rates have declined. In the end, developing deeper relationships with customers and referral sources are what ends the boom and bust selling cycles.