Pre-Qualification 2.0: Selling Emotion After The Objection

The title of this blog really sums up the Pre-Qualification process and is the start of how you can really maximize the time between now until the close of the loan (and after the close as well).  As I mentioned previously, Overcoming the First Objection is a task that will help you establish an initial rapport and really show that you are a professional in the field!

Now, when we get past that first objection of, “I’m already pre-qualified”, you should have two objectives in mind.  (1) Learn As Much About Your Client’s Real Estate Search As Possible, and (2) Build The Strongest Relationship With Your Client Through Questions That Trigger Emotional Responses.

A Pre-Qualification has very little to do with loan programs, and everything to do with emotion and that warm fuzzy feeling called trust!  If you can have a trust-building conversation with these clients and insert the pre-qual questions throughout the conversation, you aren’t selling the loan anymore, but you are selling emotion!

Instead of going straight into the questions on the pre-qualification, use a “tell me about” scenario (i.e. Tell me about the neighborhoods that interest you (pro’s and con’s).  These will open the conversation by the client telling you about their interests.  As Mark Madsen pointed out to me recently, people do not enjoy shopping for a mortgage, but they do enjoy shopping for a home. 

So, alter your sales approach and have the client talk about what interests them in the Real Estate process!  David Bartels points out in his blog Five Keys to Selling Smarter with Great Questions to care about the answer after the question is asked.  This means that you should write them down and know the answers that your client gives.  You will be able to utilize these later in the process as well!

After you get past the why’s of the neighborhoods, go into a visual question that will allow the client to see their family in a specific locality (i.e. So far in your search, which neighborhood can you see you and your family living?).  Not only does this show you care about the client’s overall views on their prospective Real Estate, but it is gives you an insider’s idea with regard to the Real Estate Agent.

Ask the client to describe their ideal home (i.e. Tell me a little bit about what you are looking for in this home).  This taps into more depth on the property description section of the 1003 asking the technical questions.  However, notice the difference between that, and “how many bedrooms and bathrooms are you looking for”?  There is definitely a significant difference there!

If there is a portion that was missed in the description, bring it up within the conversation, and avoid getting into the stringent questions like “Year Built”.  Instead, switch the approach to, “Now, do you see yourself in a newer home, or do you like the older homes”?  Just try to stay away from the actual 1003 questions.

After you find out that information, you can ask the question that will drive one of the better emotional responses, “How would it feel if you were to actually find that home tomorrow in that neighborhood with _____, _____, and _____.  Those blank spaces are the pro’s that they client mentioned when you were talking with him/her about the neighborhood’s that are preferred.  This is really starting to drive that emotion, and it really shows that you were listening and caring about the answers the client was giving!

In conclusion, after that first objection has been taken care of, it is extremely important that you go into something that interests the client; preferably a topic related to their home purchase.

The next segment to this will be about collecting the employment and income information from the client via conversation and not technical 1003 questions, and building a stronger relationship with the client while that is all going on!

Rapport Building with Home Improvement Clients

Over the past couple of years, equity has been extremely accessible to our clients. Times in our industry are changing with regard to guidelines and lending ability. However, that shouldn’t distract you from creating a relationship with your refinance clientele. I have touched on the refinance with debt consolidation clients in my previous post, and I would like to touch on the refinance with Home Improvements clientele as well for this post.

These clients are just like any other refinance client where they are looking for the loan program that fits their needs and overall goals. They might superficially want the best rates and fees, but it all comes down to relationships and rapport. I stress again, that finding out these goals and true needs in the first contact will help establish a better relationship and better rapport with your clients, and most likely make or break them from financing with you!

So, how will you be different from the mortgage broker down the street, and create that lasting relationship? You know…the one you get referrals out of? Simple, right?

Right! We ask the right open-ended questions that will trigger emotionally driven responses!

Put yourself in their shoes and get involved with what are their primary reasons of why they need/want to do the home improvements. Here are some key questions that might help emit poignant answers:

• Tell me about the project you’re looking to do
• What led you and your family to want to do this project?
• How will these improvement benefit you and your family (besides most likely adding value to the home)
• Tell me about the steps you’ve already taken for this (estimates, etc)
• What do you think are the next steps prior to the improvements? (more estimates, or are they just waiting to close…hint, if you phrase it right, there could be a potential buying sign here)
• So, if we take those steps, how long will it take before the project is completed? (This is a closed-ended question that will help you re-capture control of the conversation)

Once you start getting into how long the project is going to take and you know overall idea behind the improvements, you can keep a conversation going about pictures they can take with their family in their new living room, or maybe by the new in-ground pool. You can go into how good the barbeque chicken is going to taste and how nice it will be to use a grill on that new deck off the back door. There are a plethora of things that you can bring up in discussion that will help them paint a picture of what is to come after they finance with you!

They, most likely, didn’t get this feeling from the other guy down the street which puts you ahead of the game even before you’ve presented figures or programs, and even before you’ve taken a look at their credit situation.

It’s really that simple; to make a conversation out of this first contact instead a straight up, no-conversation, closed-ended 1003. And guess what? If your rate and fees are off a little bit, the client will most likely come back to you anyway because you truly know the value of their refinance. You’ve also shown that you care about their home, and you care about their unique financial and living situation.

Be different from the average Loan Officer, and create those relationships! I wish you all the best!

-Andy Scherer (Connecticut Mortgage Trainer)