A guide to smarter marketing

Highly effective brokers build a solid foundation with multiple marketing pillars

One of the most common marketing mistakes I see mortgage professionals make is that they only depend on one, two or three sources for business.
 
When working with consulting clients, I always ask, “What specific strategies are you currently using to generate business?” Invariably, unless they are a top producer, they’ll respond by saying,
 
“Oh, I get most of my business through referrals.” Now what’s the problem with this picture? Imagine for a moment a table with just one leg. That’s right, one leg holding up the entire table. It looks pretty unstable doesn’t it? Now add another leg to the table. How stable is it now? Now add another. How stable is it now? How about adding five more legs evenly dispersed under that table? What just happened to the stability of the table?
 
My point is simple. The tabletop represents your revenue, sales and profits. The legs represent the lead streams flowing into your business. The more streams or sources of revenue that support your business, the more stable your sales and profits will be. In other words, many streams merged together become a raging revenue river!
 
How do you think the Parthenon has stood the test of time for over 3,000 years? It has endured through the ages because it is supported by multiple pillars. That’s what I want for you and your mortgage business. I want you to build a Power Parthenon of Perpetual Profits. Say that 10 times fast!
 
I don’t care how significant your primary source of business might be; if that is the only source of business you are relying on, you are still a tipsy table with one leg and you’re setting yourself up to fall! That’s why the worst number in business is one.
 
Relying on one lead source, one referral partner, one marketing media, one marketing system, one target market, etc., leads to instability. If you don’t believe me, let me ask you this: what would happen to your income if that one lead source dried up? Chances are you’d be out of business.
 
On the other hand, what would happen to the stability and profitability of your business if you were to systematically add one new marketing leg or pillar to your business each month for the next year? For example: Just imagine the possibilities once you’ve set up all 12 of those lead generation pillars. Imagine how much more stable and profitable your business would be. That’s the power of building a solid foundation with multiple marketing pillars.
 
Diversification builds stability.
 
At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Doren, I’m already crazy busy. I don’t have time to do all this stuff!” To which I would respond, “Stop lying to yourself.”
 
You have the same amount of time as everyone else on planet earth: 8,765 hours a year. The difference between superstar mortgage pros and all the rest is how they use their time; top producers invest it, low producers waste it. It’s not how many hours you put in, but what you do with your hours that counts. So stop telling yourself the lie that you don’t have enough time. Instead, tell yourself the truth: you always have enough time for what matters most.


 
This is a slightly amended version of an article written by Doren Aldana, leading Mortgage
Marketing Coach. It has been shortened to make it suitable for web publishing.