I got a message the other day from a mortgage broker that passed on my e-book. Despite having heard good things about it–she said that she was passing, on the grounds that it didn’t have 100% new information–and she’s been in the business almost 20 years. Whatever that means.
There are probably plenty of good reasons to not buy it, but seriously–not having new information? Craziest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s like going to the gym and not getting on the treadmill because they’ve been around since the 1950’s. THere are new ideas out there for sure, but
My favorite books on selling are:
- How To Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
- How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success in Selling, Frank Bettger
- The Sales Bible, Jeffrey Gitomer
None of this stuff is new now, and none of it was that new even when it came out. Oh, it was a clearer way of putting the information out there, but as far as sheer novelty goes, there are always better resources. Still–if everyone just read the Bettger book and applied it…
Betcha everyone would sell WAY more mortgages than they would.
It’s totally excusable to reject information if your business is absolutely growing, but in the same sentence she said she had gone from 20 million to 4 million in this market. Joel Pate said in this month’s (40 page w/20 ad pages + 8 pages of useless graphics+ 3 pages of pictures) Broker Magazine that there is still plenty of business to be had. But if someone comes to the table as an expert…and ignores the fact that they only have 8 closings and 900k through 5 months of the year…
…what good is that experience?
On the other hand, if someone has years of experience as a trusted advisor, helping people in all economic conditions get the best loan for themselves, that is valuable experience, and definitely worth something. Results–not experience–are what matters in this world.
Chris Johnson runs the new site, LoanOfficerSurvivalTraining.com.
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7 responses so far ↓
1 Todd Carpenter // May 22, 2008 at 11:09 am
I’ve been rereading How To Win Friends and Influence People in my spare time. It’s an amazing book, that apparently effected me quite bit.
I’ll be doing a presentation at RE BlogWorld that is basically, How To Win Friends and Influence People… Online.
great advice is timeless
2 Gina Gardner // May 22, 2008 at 11:18 am
Marketing to the Affluent is also good. Opens up a great market (even though it’s a little harder to serve these days :))
3 Chris Johnson // May 22, 2008 at 5:04 pm
@Todd very cool. I am excited to see your presentation.
@gina ordered.
4 Tom Vanderwell // May 22, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Chris,
You’re absolutely right. It will be 20 years next month that I’ve been in this business and I’m still learning things. Oh, and my business is growing this year, not dropping.
Part of it is because I’m doing the financial advisor role, part of it is because I’m working my tail off and part of it is because I’m hanging out with people like you, Todd, Greg etc. and learning a lot about how to do things better.
Tom
5 The Mortgage Cicerone // May 23, 2008 at 7:49 am
A reporter once asked Jerry Rice (arguably the best receiver ever to play the game) what the secret to his success was. His response was; “I return to the fundamentals every year, whereas most don’t. Most professional athletes think since they have reached the professional ranks, they have mastered the fundamentals…I don’t believe that. That’s why I report and attend all the rookie camps, that is why I condition harder than my peers, that is why I the first to practice and the last to leave.”
6 Austin Real Estate Blog - Ki // May 28, 2008 at 12:46 am
I love “How To Win Friends and Influence People”. Not only is a great book today but I think it will still be a great book 20 years from now. If I have children that go into business i will still be the first book I give to them.
7 Mortgage Sarasota // May 28, 2008 at 9:41 am
Its funny how someone can go from $20M to $4M and think that she knows everything there is to know about the business. If so, then why has she not adjusted to this market cycle… clearly if she has been in this business for 20 years she has seen a slow housing market.
Building momentum is a constant process of looking at your goals and measuring the results of the daily activities that you perform to reach those goals. The fundamentals are all the same, however in different market cycles those *daily activities* change, and that ultimately defines if you will survive and thrive in any market.
I don’t know how much you are offering your ebook for (link didnt go to a page), but I would imagine if my business was suffering such a pull back, the cost of your book would be nothing if I could glean one golden nugget of advice that could get me to think differently and redefine what it is that I am doing that clearly is not working.
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