What is your competition doing for business?

I really think that this is an important question to ask yourself. How can you compete if you do not know where the goal posts are?

My colleague Travis Carter and I have experimented with this a little bit. In posts like this that reference interest rates you need to take note of the time stamp on the post.

I had a client call me up and tell me that Community Bank is offering her a 5.875% on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. Her qualifications are lacking in that her scores are below 700 and she is looking for a cash out refinance. She explained something to me about it being Community Bank's "secondary product".

I called Community Bank to find out what they are offering. I called up and simply asked "what is your rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage?" because that is a very common question in this business. The lady on the other end of the phone who was very nice by the way told me that she can give ME a 5.875% on a 30 year fixed. She did not even ask my name before quoting me a rate let alone pull my credit or even ask me any questions about my income.

I thanked her kindly and moved on.

Travis has a client whom he is working with who he experienced something similar with. His client came in to the office and said that Wells Fargo was offering her a 5.875% rate and again this borrower was not truly qualified for that rate. Travis told her to take it; partially because if she really could get that rate he would prefer her to take it than to take his loan at a higher rate and partially because he knew that it was not out there. After she left he then called Wells Fargo and explained to them that he is in the business and he knows what is out there and that he is looking to finance some property. He gave his client's scenario to the LO anonymously and he was given a quote of 6.375%. Shortly after that his client called him up and explained to him that the rep at Wells Fargo cannot do what she promised after having pulled and reviewed credit.

Since then I have been calling my competition anonymously just to see what approach they are taking and I have to tell you, I am amazed that some of my competitors are still in business. I can't believe how some of these people get away with operating out there.

After having spoken to much of my competition I am quite confident with regard to our position within our local market. I truly feel that there is no-one left to compete with. As long as we keep doing what we are doing our market share will continue to increase.

Anyone else have these kind of experiences? Please share; It is vital to know what t6he competition is doing and I was pleasantly surprised to see how lackluster the performance is of most of my competitors in my local market area.

Thanks for reading; I welcome your comments.