Packing a Punch in Your Mortgage Broker Marketing Tools

Are your mortgage broker marketing tools bringing you the attention you need? If you aren’t getting a responses or sales, it could be that your marketing tools lack the sparkle to attract your prospects attention. Fortunately, by following just a few easy tips, you can retool your marketing efforts and client approach to capture the attention of your prospects and get the response you need.

Tip #1 - Headlines Draw in Readers. Regardless of your marketing material (letters, postcards, ads, etc.), a headline grabs attention. Headlines are teasers that get the reader thinking. The best headline tells the reader the benefit they’ll get by reading more. Who doesn’t want to read something that will help them? Some examples of headlines with benefits are, “4 techniques to protect your credit score” or “3 steps to reduce your monthly bills”. Make sure a headline is on all of your marketing materials.

Tip #2 - Toot Your Own Horn. When you do something right, make sure the client knows about it. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes - sometimes the client doesn’t realize how hard you are working to help them. They will never know if you don’t tell them. You can educate the client without seeming like a braggart. For instance, “The financing on this loan was touch and go, but I was able to show the lender that your credit has improved in the last two years.” Let the client know just how valuable you are as a mortgage professional.

Tip #3 - Mind Your Manners. Your mother always told you to write thank you notes. Little did she know how important it could be to your business today. A hand-written thank you note could do more to bring in repeat business than any other marketing tool. A thank you shows clients that you appreciate them. You spread good will every time you give a thank you, whether it’s to clients, to underwriters that help you out quickly, to processors that speed through applications, or realtors that give referrals. A thank you note shows that you are a caring individual.

Tip #4 - Strive to be Better. Even the best run machine runs better with regular maintenance. Your goal should be constant improvement throughout your business process. If you are doing something well, what could you do to be even better? If you can implement one small change a day, you’ll have completely restructured and improved your business in a couple of months. For instance, attend a conference on improving marketing, show testimonials from clients on your materials, personalize your email signature, add consumer help links to your website. Find ways to constantly improve and continually add value to your services.

Tip #5 - Look for Inspiration. Lots of other businesses are great at adding innovations to their services. Don’t be afraid to adapt their ideas into your own business, especially when it makes you stand out amongst other mortgage brokers. Think about the services other business use, and how you can adapt them to the mortgage industry. For instance, some booksellers send out an email with a notice of the hot, new bestseller. Why not send out daily rate information to clients that request it? How about a checklist for clients for post-closing, or maybe a daily email to inform them as their loan processes? Think about ways that you can add additional service to your clients.

Your mortgage broker marketing tools are critical to your success. Your marketing efforts bring the attention of prospects and clients to your services. With the right marketing, you’ll have prospects lined up around corner.

Jeffrey Nelson helps loan officers increase loan originations by getting referrals from real estate agents.

Click here to get a free Video Book. It shows Jeffrey’s exclusive marketing solution for getting clients from real estate agents in as little as 30 days.

Visit us at www.Loan-Officer-Marketing.com

Even though felines tend to be very healthy for the duration of their lives, they do have some common cat ailments. For the most part, a healthy diet and careful grooming will alleviate and even prevent many common cat ailments. If your cat changes its behavior or schedule of activities, a checkup with a veterinarian is highly recommended. While the turnout may be one or more common cat ailments, it never hurts to be on the safe side.

Sometimes it seems like cats and hair balls go hand in hand. Even a short haired cat will occasionally develop a few. If you have a medium to long haired cat, brushing and combing is essential to preventing this and other common cat ailments. Aside from helping your cat look like a show piece, brushing will help remove dead hair that your cat would swallow in the course of washing.

In order to prevent hair balls, you may also want to add a teaspoon of fish oil to cat food once a week. This will help any hair that the cat ingests pass through the digestive system. You may also want to try feeding your cat a teaspoon of bran or canned pumpkin each day. If your cat is feral, it may chew on grass or other plants to help manage this and other common cat ailments.

Fleas can wreak absolute havoc in your cats life. Not only are they itchy, they can spread diseases. Some cats develop physical allergies to fleas, while others will experience emotional and mental distress. Similar to hair balls, routine grooming will help keep fleas to a minimum. Flea collars are also readily available to treat this and some other related common cat ailments. There are also environmentally friendly fur rubs that will deter fleas and give your cat a pleasant odor at the same time. If your cat is highly intolerant of fleas, you may also want to ask your veterinarian about flea inoculations.

If you notice your cat scratching inside his/her ears, some other common cat ailments may be present. Similar to fleas, ear mites and wax buildup can be very annoying and disturbing to your cat. They also rank well near the top when it comes to easily treated common cat ailments. Chances are your cat’s veterinarian will notice ear mites and wax during annual checkups. The medication for both conditions is fairly easy to administer, and will provide a great deal of relief to your cat. It is important to treat ear mites early, as they can do a great deal of damage to your cat’s hearing and long term health.

Finally, few people realize emotional and mental distress are common cat ailments. As an example, if you move out of one home and into another, a grown cat may find it difficult to adapt. There are many stories of transplant cats taking to their paws and returning to their old home, even if it is thousands of miles away. When you own a cat, it is important to realize that they have very stringent rules about their physical territory. They will guard their “property” much as a human owner might. While we cannot see the cat version of fences created by stool and urine markings, cats most certainly recognize the territories of others of their species.

As with humans, cats can suffer from a wide array of ailments that start off with very subtle symptoms. Aside from yearly check ups, it is very important to take your cat to the veterinarian if you notice changes in what time the cat eats, or engages in other occupations. That said, for the most part, if you adopt a kitten or full grown cat, you can look forward to at least one decade of living with a happy, healthy companion. That said, common cat ailments should not be overlooked or ignored.

CS Swarens is the president of Find a Pet Online. 800 998-7065

For additional information on dogs, cats, birds, horses, and exotic pets visit the internet’s pet resource including pet classifieds at http://www.findapetonline.com

Research over 45 cat breed profiles http://www.findapetonline.com/cat_breeds_a_z.html

My husband, Mark, and I got back from vacation 2 days ago. We had our dog, Zoey, in the local Pet Motel, and we picked her up yesterday. It was the longest we had been without out her (10 days), and we missed her so much.

Dogs are so cool. I used to be a cat person by default. As an adult I lived mostly in apartments or houses with very little yards. It would have been a disservice to have a dog under those circumstances. Since exercise is the most important thing that dogs need - a place to run is imperative to his spirit. If you have ever watched (and paid attention) to Cesar Millan’s show, The Dog Whisperer, you know what a dog needs. In order of importance they are: exercise, discipline, and affection.

I was a little surprised when I first learned this - exercise and discipline over affection - I mean, come on! Well, dogs are different than humans after all. The walking that they need provides much needed mental stimulation for these animals.

This makes sense when I see Zoey going crazy when the word “walk” is spoken, or when her internal clock goes off, and it is simply time. What makes dogs need it so badly? According to Cesar it’s in their DNA. When dogs walk it is how they connect. They also become intellectually stimulated by the fresh environment.

This is not so different then us, humans. I know I feel heavier and out of touch when I don’t spend time outside - especially when there is some walking involved. The difference is that I sometimes have to be pushed and prodded into going on a walk. Zoey (and all the other dogs I know) make it clear, in their own unique way, that they really, really want to go on a walk.

I believe we have much to learn from dogs. Void of ego, they supply lots of love to those that care for them. Whether we grow old or fat they love us just the same. Their needs are simple and consistent, and they are clueless to the latest trends. Occasionally I do catch Zoey in a state of embarrassment. She is a bit clumsy, and sometimes bumps into things. That’s when I get the “I hope you didn’t see that” look.

But, who knows, maybe I am mistaking the expression… either way, such lack of grace endears me even more to her. It reminds me that it is our imperfections that make us especially lovable - whether we be human or canine.

Copyright 2007/Avenstar Enterprises Inc.

Kim McGinnis is a freelance writer and entrepreneur. Visit her at her most recent blog, Be Like Nature: http://www.belikenature.com

If you are looking for inspirational items to create a sense of serenity in your home (inside and out) visit Kim at her beautiful website, A Zen Gift http://azengift.com

To find out about Magical Fireflies, an absolutely unique & magical product, go to Kim’s very popular site http://www.magicalfireflies.com

“Are you teaching your baby to sign?”, “Are you going to use sign language with your baby?”, “My baby knows over 50 signs already, and she’s only 10 months! Are you teaching Evalee sign language?”. These are just a few examples of what I was subjected to when I was pregnant and after I had my daughter Evalee. Honestly, I didn’t know there was such as thing as baby sign language until I got pregnant. The idea sounded intriguing… so I did some research and purchased a few books. I have “Baby Sign Language Basics, Early Communication for Hearing Babies & Toddlers” by Monta Z. Briant, “Teach Your Tot to Sign - The Parent’s Guide to American Sign Language” by Stacy A. Thompson and the children’s board book “My First Signs” by Annie Kubler. I thumbed through them a bit before she was born and started to use some basic signs like milk, more, eat & sleep when she was around 6 months or so. Evalee really took to the board book with its wonderful illustrations. If I had to recommend one book that would be it.

Evalee is now 19 months and uses only a few signs. Her catalog consists of milk, more, eat, cookie, out, mommy, dog, book, water, please & thank you. I was excited about it at first, to be able to communicate with her as early as 10 or 11 months was great. Lately I’ve been questioning my decision to teach her sign. I realize all kids develop at their own speed but she isn’t talking as much as her peers. She seems to rely on the signs a lot, so much so that I have yet to hear her say “Mommy”. Otherwise, she points and grunts. This may be a result of being home with me all the time and not in daycare or around other toddlers much. I try to set up play dates, but it doesn’t happen as often as I would like. I’m not necessarily worried or concerned, I know her hearing is perfect, it would just be nice to hear “Mommy”. Is that selfish?

I remember speaking with a friend a while back about her daughter who was a few months old at the time and asked if they were considering using sign and she said no. Her reason being that a member of her family used sign language with their child, who was over 2, and she wasn’t speaking much at all. The funny thing is, all advocates of baby sign language argue that babies are prone to talking sooner when exposed to sign language, which was one of my main reasons for teaching Evalee to sign.

On the flip side, both my brother-in-law and cousin-in-law have used sign with their children and both kids are speaking really well for their age. Sarah will be 2 in March and speaks very well and Carson is 2 & a half and you can have a full conversation with him. Who knows, right?

Overall, I’m glad I have some signs as a means of communicating with Evalee and I have to say she is developing by leaps and bounds in other areas, her physicality is amazing. I would love to hear from other parents about their experience with this…

http://greenmomhappymom.com