Turning Prospects into Clients

I wrote about some ways to increase your closing ratio a couple weeks back (here), but I had some additional ideas I wanted to share this week. One of the top priorities for LOs is finding ways to attract new prospects. Once you have a good list of prospects, your job then is to nurture them into leads, and later, into new clients. Sometimes the job of converting this long list of prospects into clients can feel overwhelming — maybe you seem to have interested prospects, but they just keep falling through the cracks. Some of this can be circumstantial, but there are plenty of things that loan officers can do to improve their conversion rate. Read on for some of the best strategies to help you improve your pipeline and convert more prospects into clients:

Content Marketing

One of the best strategies for LOs to gain new clients is through content marketing. Content marketing is providing valuable or interesting content (articles, videos, etc.) that attracts prospects your way and converts them into clients without using a traditional sales approach. Before you begin creating and distributing content, you want to do some research on who your prospects are. Learn about them through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter where you can find information on their demographic. By meeting them on their turf, you can better add value to their inbox through content that’s actually geared towards them, rather than sending just another sales email. Your content can answer questions, shed light on the loan process, and motivate them to contact you.

Social Selling through ‘Social Helping’

Social selling is very effective in converting prospects into clients, but only when done in a strategic way. You should approach social selling as ‘social helping’. You’re here to offer solutions to your prospects’ problems. In this way, you can create a genuine connection with that person, so they don’t see you as simply selling to them. How exactly can you do this? One place to start is by joining online groups and chats where you can help answer questions and offer insights and solutions. You can even share other people’s content so that you’re not solely pushing your own brand. You can also engage with them on social media and post helpful comments on their posts. The point is to show interest in the subject, and not just use it as a sales opportunity.

Create a Deadline

Giving prospects a sense of urgency encourages them to contact you. Sometimes you can do this by giving an incentive to respond within a certain time frame. You could also email them giving them a deadline of when you’ll stop reaching out. By letting them know that their lack of response may sever the connection, you can remove invaluable prospects from your funnel and encourage those prospects who are on the fence to get started with the loan process. This needs to be handled with grace and professionalism, otherwise you can alienate those prospects for life. Be gentle, and you’ll often get the response you were hoping for.

By researching your prospects, you learn how to reach them. Then, you can market to them more effectively. When you can make a connection with them, it’s much easier to turn prospects into clients.

Good luck and let me know how any of these tips may have helped you!

Don

If you’re a loan officer, sales manager, or branch manager considering new opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out to hear about some terrific opportunities.

Don Riggs

P: 303-249-8274