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It is about the Relationship not the sale

It is about the Relationship

by Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender

Today many lenders advertise the ease and affordability of mortgage loans. It does not matter if you have good credit bad credit purchasing a home or refinancing. The pitch is the same. Yesterday I spent an hour watching the latest and greatest infomercial on the topic of mortgage loans from A direct lender. We have 50 year, 40 year and 30 year terms with options like pick a payment, bad credit loans, foreclosure bail outs, chapter 13 bail outs and the list goes on and on and on.

I was hoping that this down turn in business would put these kinds of people out of business. I guess I was wrong. You see a mortgage loan regardless of reason or circumstances is about the relationship you can create and foster with another person. It is not about these fancy commercials designed to suck you in so you can be swindled. I decided to call the number and see what was what.

The person who answered the phone could not answer basic questions about rate and in fact refused to unless she could pull my credit. I told her my credit score was 747 and I had only two bills and that I was interested in refinancing. Needless to say the sales pitch was high pressure and in the end she offered me an adjustable rate mortgage at 6.75% for one year. She made no attempt to create a relationship with me, she made no attempt to get to why I wanted to refinance.

In Real Estate Sales as well as Mortgage financing it is all about the relationship and allowing yourself to get inside you clients head and help them achieve the achievable dream.

Michael Mapes can be reached at 757.599.1810 ext 225 or on the web at http://www.theresponsiblemortgagelender.com/ or apply online at www.suntrustmortgage.com/mmapes

Posted by Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage on 10/14/2007 11:29 AM

Comments (5)

it is about the relationship no the sales

This post has been included in Virginia Information Newport News City County, VA Information Newport News, VA Information

5 Comments on It is about the Relationship not the sale

OCT

2007

Michael this is right on point.

I totally agree with you, it is totally about relationships. As a Realtor, I get calls all the time from folks who want to sell me something, but they have no idea what my needs are? They just keep telling me what they think my needs are and try to sell me on it.

I use these situations as a learning experience, that I will not treat my clients that way.

You would think that people would see through the high pressure sales people but yet they keep going to these types. Having these high pressure kinds of people in our respective industries makes the ones who actually do care about the client seem like true service experts! I love getting referrals from people that have worked with the 'bad' ones of the business and are so very impressed with my level of service and truly caring about their needs - you get what you give.

Michael - Good for you for doing your homework. I attend classes and watch things that I think my clients may be exposed to as well. It's a good way to find out what our clients may be getting mis-informed about. Bottome line, the most important thing we can do is find out the reasons people want to move or refinance their homes. Then, we can help them to do what is best for them.

You're dead on, Michael. Relationships, relationships, relationships = everyone is in and stays in the deal(s) for the long haul. In the end, it's always the relationship that sticks! Thanks (great to read this from your industry)!

Hi Michael,

You are dead on, I agree with Terry, unfortunately, you are also dead right.

The problem is that as an industry, we are being beat at our own game. We are being out-marketed on the web.

Please go the the following link and see how you fare with the ad budgets of the industry movers.

http://www.clickz.com/3627201

This will show you who are the top 50 on-line advertisers in our industry. I think you will be surprised.

Remember, we have driven all of our clients for the past 7 years to the web, by putting our web address on everything and telling them about our fantastic websites with free information. Afterall, over 90% of home buyers and sellers now start their search on the web. WOW. When you see where the big money is, you can see why they are winning the game.

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