Interview with a Winner:
Steven Marshall
"Those that really hit it out of the park in this business have strong relationships
with their strategic partners. They have extremely high service standards, and
they have created "clients for life" by taking such great care of them."
Steven Marshall, Bellevue Mutual Mortgage, Bellevue,WA
2002 Origination Volume: $207 million
2002 Average loan amount: Approximately $400,000.00
Software: Mortgage Coach, Point, ACT, Outlook
Boni Lonnsburry: How did you get started in the business?
Steven Marshall: I started working evenings as a mortgage leads telemarketer 11 years ago, while I was in college. I worked my way up in the company, becoming an assistant loan officer within a few months, then their top loan officer a few months later. In less than a year, I was promoted to vice president and had a group of loan officers working under me. Shortly thereafter, I started my own company. So I was off to a real fast start the first year I was in the business.
Boni: How did you jump start so quickly?
Steven: Maybe I made it sound better than it was. To be a top loan officer for that company didn't require much - the company is out of business now. But early on I was really committed to sales training (audiotapes and books), and I was very tenacious with regard to generating leads and clients. Plus, I entered the business at a time when there were a lot of refinances, so it was fairly easy to become established.
Boni: What mistake do you think rookie loan officers make?
Steven: The biggest mistake new and old loan officers make is not coming up with a "referral by design" plan. This is a plan where the loan officers take such great care of the clients they have, that the clients refer them to other potential buyers and referral sources.
When you're new in this business, you're just trying to get leads. It's hard to focus on building a referral based business, or a "client for life" business. But that is the key philosophy. Go get the leads, but make sure, when you close their loan, they are thrilled - they are going to generate future referrals for you.
Boni: Did you always have that philosophy?
Steven: Not initially. I acquired it two or three years into the business. 1994 was a brutal year. I almost got knocked out of the business that year because it was so brutal. But at that time, I saw very clearly that one happy client at a time, one "raving fan" client at a time, was the way to grow my business.
Today I'm benefiting from nine years of going out of my way to make sure clients are thrilled enough to tell their friends and family about me. When a refinance boom hits, I'm a trusted advisor. I've built that trust over all these years and have earned their loyalty.
Boni: How do you build trust with your clients?
Steven: I have a really sophisticated system in place because I've done thousands of loans (I close a hundred loans a month) and I need sophisticated systems because I can't touch clients personally the way that I could when I was newer in the business.
When I was brand new, and for the first several years, I went out of my way to make sure clients were thrilled. Part of it was anticipating any problems in advance and going out of my way to exceed people's expectation. I'd look for unique ways to make clients feel appreciated and valued. I'd send thoughtful gifts, handwritten notes and treat
everyone professionally.
I'd certainly ask for their referrals. I would say, "We want to take such great care of you that you'll tell other people about us." It is important to say these things as you are growing your business. Now, we ask for referrals at the bottom of every email and in the body of every letter.
Phrases that we use a lot are, "The greatest compliment we could ever get is a personal referral" or, "Your loan is our number one priority" or, "I really appreciate you and value your referrals" or, "By the way, if you know of anybody who would appreciate this same great level of service, we'd love to take care of them too." There are many different ways to say it, but we're always asking for referrals in a professional, soft way.
Boni: Do you think veteran loan officers make different mistakes from the rookies?
Steven: Their mistakes are more amplified, in my opinion. When you are a rookie, you're forced to be in a scenario where you're chasing leads. If you're a veteran, and you have wowed your customers over the past years, become their trusted advisor, added value, stayed in contact, built relationships and asked for referrals, then you should have almost unlimited repeat and referral business.
Because it is so busy right now, we're all guilty of occasionally failing to maintain our high service standards. We're all guilty of not serving every customer at the level it took us to get where we are - we're just getting the deals done.
Boni: If you had a son or daughter entering the business, what would you tell them?
Steven: Become a premium service provider by building your market niche around being the most professional, service oriented, thoughtful, accountable and professional loan officer. You'll build your business one happy client at a time through their referrals.
It is easy to go chase the next lead. It's especially easy when you are new, and that becomes the way most of our industry does business. They are constantly chasing leads instead of building long term relationships. Those that really hit it out of the park in this business have strong relationships with their strategic partners. They have extremely high service standards, and they have created "clients for life" by taking such great care of them.
Boni: What was your most successful marketing campaign?
Steven: My most successful marketing campaign, to my existing client base, was inviting a large group of my customers to a Seattle Mariners game. I took a Hallmark-type card, with a picture of Safeco field (where the Seattle Mariners play), and used a handwritten-type font to create a note that read, "Thank you for being one of my favorite clients. I appreciate you and value your business. I've purchased a few extra Mariner tickets that I'd like to give you as my way of saying thank you for your business and your referrals. If you'd like to go the Mariners game on this date, just send me an email and I'll mail those to you."
I sent the cards out to 500 customers, but the message looked like it was generated just for one. Then, when they emailed me, I had a
pre-saved reply with a similar message that read, "Thank you for your request for the tickets, I'll make sure to drop those in the mail. Again, thank you for being such a great client. I've really appreciated your referrals over the years and look forward to a long term business relationship with you and handling all of your mortgage financing needs. If I can ever be of service to friends or family, please don't hesitate
to call."
I included a note with the tickets as well. The campaign was mostly about saying thank you, but also about subtly asking for referrals. They got a gift, and I had three opportunities to thank them for their business in a personal way, even though I did it with a systemized approach. Even those who didn't take me up on the tickets still appreciated the thought and the offer.
The unfortunate thing is that when a business gets to the size of mine, you almost have to use systems like that just to maintain a good relationship. When my business was smaller, I had more opportunity for one-to-one relationships. I've used creative marketing as I've grown my business to feel more connected with my clients. The ideal scenario, if the business were smaller, would be to call each client and give them the "thank you" presentation, then go out of the way at the game to stop by and thank them in person.
I break my database down to three or four different groups, and I market to each group differently. 60 of my best clients, who have kids, were recently sent Mother's Day flowers with a note that read, "Thank you for being one of my favorite clients, Happy Mother's Day." In terms of the number of clients who called to thank me, it was by far the most impactful and thoughtful marketing I've done.
Boni: Who or what was the biggest contributor to your success?
Steven: Todd Duncan has been the biggest contributor. I often times wonder, if I hadn't gone to my first "Mastery" seminar in 1992, would I be where I'm at today? Now I'm coached by Todd and am intimately involved with his organization. Early on, Todd taught me the concept of helping your real estate agents be more successful. It isn't just about getting their next loan; it is about passionately, and with focus, going in and being a value-added resource for them. Make it your mission to make them more successful. This leads to the concept of creating clients for life by taking such incredibly good care of them that they refer their friends and family to you.
Boni: You mentioned that early in your career, you did a lot of listening to audio tapes on sales training? What are some of your favorites?
Steven: Number one is Tony Robbins. Hands down, he does the best audiotapes. Number two and three are Brian Tracy and Jim Roan.
Boni: If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your current business?
Steven: I would elevate the service level and build stronger systems to communicate more effectively with my clients, as well as find more unique ways to make them feel special. I'd raise the standard of service to one not contemplated by any other mortgage professional or service-based company.
I'm convinced that you can never over-service a client, if done appropriately and professionally. That is the way to get more referrals than you ever dreamed possible. The difference between a client who is thrilled and one who is just satisfied is the difference between one referral (maybe) over the next several years and multiple loans.
In my case, I need to build stronger systems from the time a lead calls, all the way through caring for a client for multiple years, and making that client feel more special, more appreciated, and like their needs are being met like never before.
Boni: What are your goals now?
Steven: I'd like to grow my business into the $500 million to billion dollar range in production, and build a team below me to support it and allow me to work less in the business. My goal would be to make work "optional" within a few years, but continue to build a business that makes a difference and serves people at an exceptionally high level.
Boni: Is there anything else you'd like to say to other loan officers who aspire to the kind of success that you've created?
Steven: One of my favorite quotes is, "Begin, act as though it is impossible to fail, boldness has genius, power and magic in it." (Goethe) The key to success in this business is implementation. Create the marketing plan and implement it. Build a service platform that delights people and implement it.
It's easy to think like a salesperson instead of thinking like an entrepreneur or a business owner. When I look at people who have succeeded at an extremely high level in this business, invariably they are implementers. They hear the good ideas that you find in publications like Top Producer Strategies, and they implement those ideas instead of just reading about them. There are many great ideas in the industry, and so many people who are succeeding at levels that were unimaginable just a few years ago. The difference between those who do and those who don't is implementation of the good ideas.