Okay, picture this:
You are at the mall with your family or friends, doing a little window shopping.
One of the stores has a sign of the company owner skydiving in Dubai.
The window dressing has selfies of him and his Labradoodle.
And the store slogan is: I love Yoga, Yorkies and Mortgages.
Being amused (and confused), you walk into this store and find the inventory filled with:
This is exactly how a majority of Loan Officers have their “virtual storefronts” set up.
And they have no clue on how much it hurts their personal brand.
Attracting referral partners (Realtors, Financial Planners, etc.), Loan Officers, and/or current clients has never been easier than in our digital age.
Our Social Media (ahem, Business Media) helps our cold-outreach way easier AND way more efficiently.
It’s the new CRM.
In today’s LO Launch Letter, I will share with you the exact fundamentals to build and develop your online business card.
The Modern Loan Officer understands that being seen before being known, liked, and trusted is working smart.
There are “offline” sales and “online” sales, and in the world of Real Estate, the two are now officially merged and intertwined.
The most effective Real Estate salespeople (Realtors, Lenders, Attorneys, etc.) positioned to dominate in the next few years will invest their time and resources immediately and continuously in these two sandboxes.
Most will be consumers, few will be creators.
Gone are the days of hearing: “I’m not really a Social Media type of person”.
…well, it doesn’t matter what you want, it’s what the market dictates, and you must adapt.
Americans now spend, on average, more than an hour a day on Facebook and Facebook-connected platforms.
And the future homebuyer is on places like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Offline (traditional) sales, such as phone and in-person prospecting will indeed always rule supreme. It’s highly effective when done with the right people and in the right way, it’s just not always the most efficient.
Online (modern) sales will help make your traditional selling easier.
Many Real Estate “professionals” are either too lazy or too incompetent or too inconsistent or too impatient or too worried about what others might think to start and dominate on social.
Well, I’m here to help you overcome some of those limitations with some of the basic groundwork.
Here’s my 5-step process to make your “virtual storefront” attractive to your visitors:
Step #1: Banner
Your banner is prime real estate.
The very first image any visitor sees when visiting any of your social media profiles is your banner, it’s the most important part of your virtual real estate (aka prime real estate).
This image should invite people “in” and to quickly illustrate who you are professionally.
Canva has some awesome templates available. Check out mine on Facebook for a little inspo.
Step #2: Headshot
Your headshot is your first impression.
Everybody judges people’s appearances, consciously or subconsciously, it’s proven through years of research.
Your headshot will induce a feeling of some sort and it’s important your headshot is neutral, inviting, and aligned with your brand.
Hire a professional photographer and take your personal image seriously.
Step #3: Tagline
Your tagline is NOT about you.
Now that your visitors understand who you are (banner) and if you’re approachable (headshot), your tagline is critical for them to understand how you can be of value to them.
The objective of the tagline is to explain to your visitor clearly and concisely what you do and how you can help them.
Hint: It’s not your actual title, nobody cares about that. The minute you realize that everything you communicate is about others is the minute your career will change.
Bad: “Branch Manager for XYZ Mortgage, NMLS #555555
Good: “Demystifying the mortgage process through easy-to-understand education”
That is compelling and attractive. It will intrigue people to follow you.
I help [your target prospect] achieve/do [positive verb] without [fear/concern] so they can [outcome].
Step #4: Position yourself as the trusted expert through content
Once you have successfully attracted and engaged your visitor through your:
it’s time to bring them in to see your products (content).
This will illustrate your commitment and seriousness to your craft, so the first step is to delete a majority of your posts not relating to your profession.
I like a 4:1 professional-to-personal content ratio.
In other words, for every four professional posts, one of them should be about you personally (something fun, entertaining, humorous, etc.).
But, if you have a bunch of posts about your beloved Chicago Bears or your Wordle results and wonder why your sales suck, now you have an idea of why.
Content curation should educate, entertain, and encourage.
Educating will showcase your expertise.
Entertaining will make you approachable.
Encouragement will empower others (“if they bought a home with [insert your name], we can too!”)
Content curation is a lot easier than you might think.
I personally subscribe to and read various industry publications, attend masterminds and workshops, along with studying trends that I share in layman’s terms daily with my community.
It shows my subject matter expertise. More and more people know me, like me, and trust me.
Step #5: Engagement
Now that your visitors are in your “digital store” and intrigued by your products (content), it’s time to interact with them.
Imagine owning an awesome Women’s shoe store and your salesperson does not greet or approach your new visitor...you would not be happy.
There is nothing different in the “digital” or “virtual” storefront world.
Fortunately, such engagement doesn’t need to be immediate in the digital world but having a set time (preferably in the mornings) to like, heart, comment, and direct message your visitors will cause your “cash register” to ding all day.
Simply liking will not cut it.
But engaging through thoughtful comments and direct messaging will attract people to you.
Don’t post and ghost.
I promise you when a couple is at home deciding which Loan Officer or Realtor to procure, your virtual presence, credibility, and likability on social will help you win more than you can imagine.
And I promise you that any Realtor you are prospecting can first be added onto your PERSONAL (not business) FB page and will have already felt confident in trusting you before you even make cold contact, just by the quality of your online presence.
GO! Get ‘em.
Amir
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