Your database is the foundation of your business.
It is your source of steady referrals when active and structured properly. In sales, it is common for people to fish, catch, close, and release the current client back to the pond for another realtor or loan officer to work with in the future. This will result in transnational business. Opportunities to build relationships with the people that are within a database are often missed because of this. One key component to generate multiple referrals is Qualifying and Categorizing your database.
A database can be overwhelming and hard to manage but if you take a step back and chunk it down, it can lead to an efficient and manageable database which will result in a steady stream of referrals. We all have a database filled with contacts, but with qualification and categorizing we can turn our database into a referral based business. We need to move the clients through the sales process. This will give you an opportunity to structure your lead generation activities on a daily basis. Here I define category stages that you can customize within your Customer Relationship Management system.To learn more about managing your database, check out my seminar "Turning Your Database Into Diamonds”.
Contacts - This is your general database. All people you come in contact with will be listed as a contact. The goal is to move them through the stages of qualification.
Leads & Referrals
-
This
is the first stage of qualification. A lead or referral
is someone
that you had a conversation with about real estate or financing. This is the initial process. They may be looking for a home or a mortgage but they need to gather more information to start the process. Also, a lead
or referral
can be someone that is a referral source only. They to need to be qualified and moved through the stages as well.
Opportunities - An opportunity is someone that has decided to move forward with the buying or financing process. In this stage, it is important that you coach them into referring you in the future. This is the stage where they get to know who you are, what you do, and the value you can bring to the transaction as well as the relationship. Opportunities can be defined based on your business. An opportunity could also be someone who has referred you to their family and friends.
Won Opportunities - A won opportunity is a client that you have closed and done business with. You won the transaction. More importantly, a won opportunity could be someone that has referred you multiple times without doing a transaction with you. For example, a realtor, loan officer, business to business etc. This is the Quality over Quantity Principal. These are advocates of your business and will refer you in the future.
Again, your database is the foundation of your business. Take some time this Fall to reorganize and energize your database. By doing so, you should be able to generate referrals for your business as well as have a functional and efficient database for 2018.
For more information about how to maximize your database, join us for our next “Turning Your Database Into Diamonds” Heat, Pressure & Time. Check out our events page for future dates and times.
Ancona Title & Escrow earns Stewart Title Circle of Excellence Award for 5th consecutive year.
Freddie Mac recently announced that a new single-close mortgage product will become available after November 2021. Dubbed the CHOICEReno eXPressSM , it is set to address certain types of renovations like interior/exterior painting, roof repairs, minor remodeling, window and door replacement and other like items. This will become part of the CHOICE suite of mortgage solutions and is an expansion of the CHOICERenovation® that is designed to provide flexible financing for lenders and borrowers. Per Freddie Mac, “this new mortgage solution enables Sellers to deliver CHOICEReno eXPress mortgages to Freddie Mac prior to completion of the renovations without recourse, provided certain requirements are met”. The eXPress option is designed to aid in addressing the growing supply of older homes, creating more affordable housing, and accommodate the heightening demand for aging-in-place housing options. For many people this loan option will be an improvement over the use of unsecured financing options or credit cards. At Ancona Title and Escrow we view this news as a welcomed opportunity for our important business partners. We support the home buying and selling market on all levels. Critical to that involvement is a keen understanding of the elements that influence the marketplace. At Ancona we’re more than just title and escrow providers… we’re industry experts. We know this news will be a welcomed option for our realtor connections, mortgage partners, lenders and consumers. It is an interesting time to be a homeowner. Home renovation and restoration is being done at all levels from DIY’ers to professional restoration experts. The CHOICERenovation and Reno eXPress options are incredible options. The requirements for these programs have also been improved to make it easier for all parties involved. We will continue to monitor influential areas in and around our industry. Should our friends and associates wish to find more details on these programs we welcome them to visit https://sf.freddiemac.com/faqs/choicereno-express-faq to learn more.
Today we are taking a look at 30 year fixed rates forecasting. The rates below are provided by the Financial Forecast Center's website. I have been watching this site since 2002 and they have been extremely accurate and helpful in the growth and direction of my business. Now, here is the disclaimer, I am only passing along this information because in my opinion I think it's valuable. This is not an endorsement of the product nor do I sell it. Again, this is something that I utilize to plan future business around. Use at your own risk.
Many people are unfamiliar with what title insurance is, what it does for them and the benefits of having a healthy title industry. So we’d like to offer a quick glimpse into what we do for our customers day in and day out at Ancona and the benefits all Americans receive from the work done by the title industry.