| Mortgage Minute Newsletter From Sam Thompson, Senior Mortgage Advisor. August 2007- Vol 1, Issue 13
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| In This Issue |
| Implementing 'High Touch' in your practice. |
| What is your M. O. ? Is it working? |
| Weekly Tip - Great Hotel/Motel Prospecting Idea. |
| Weekly Market Mortgage Rate Lock Commentary |
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Quick Links
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| Who we are. |
 Our Corporate Office in Mt. Laurel, NJ
PHH Mortgage is one of the top ten originators of retail residential mortgages in the United States. We offer you unsurpassed service, a full range of programs at competitive rates, and the smoothest mortgage experience in the industry. In 2006 alone, PHH Mortgage provided $41 billion in mortgage financing for American homes, and every day we help more people fulfill the dream of home ownership. PHH Mortgage operates out of two main facilities in Mount Laurel , NJ and Jacksonville, FL - employing a combined total of more than 5,200 team players.
We've received numerous awards, including Best 100 Places to Work in IT (Computerworld), Top 25 Companies that Care, Training Top 100, and more.
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| Dear Sam, |
"High Touch"
If you will give every
client that calls, drops by, or that you meet on the street, your
undivided attention then that's a good place to start.
Then, once they become a client, do
the unexpected things and keep them well-informed and try hard to get
to know them and you are going to be fine.
We understand "high touch" and will
complement your service so their transactions are always remembered in
a positive light which will turn into a long successful career for you
with many repeat clients and referrals!
One of my colleagues sent our manager a box of candy with his expense report with a note "it's always nice to receive a gift that was not expected". That's 'high touch'! And I'll bet that expense report was quickly processed for him too! Quote of the week... PHH Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Advisor 843-230-7929
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Implementing 'High-Touch'
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Treat your clients like royalty!
I did some research and brainstorming on ways you
can create a high-touch strategy with all of your clients and here's
what I can up with:
Above everything, get them to talk and listen to them! This is so important.
For sellers, take time to learn as much about the house and their
memories that they had in it. Get to their emotional attachment so
they feel really good about your working with them by explaining that
you are going to make sure the buyers know about how special their
house really is. Remember that a house is called "the most animate, inanimate object" and this is so true.
Finally, remember that by spending extra money and effort with
EXISTING customers, they are going to be PROMOTING YOU to their family
and friends. Since their sphere of influence knows they are buying or
selling a house, the topic of "How do you like your REALTOR?" will
often come up and the better your treat them, the better their reply to
their question will be!!!
Do some
brainstorming on your own and come up with a formula to create a
high-touch image and you are going to do EXTREMLY WELL in this business.
And, if you will include me in your strategy, I'll do the following for you:
I am very appreciative of your business and aim to always give you 'high-touch' treatment because YOU are royalty to me!
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What is your M. O.? Is it working for you?
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Earl Nightingale
The source of my inspiration for this article.
Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated forms MO, M.O. or
simply Method) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of
operation", what you do and how you do it.
The summer is almost over and now we are entering the 3 syllable "ber" months of the fall season. September, October, November and December.
Think of these as "bear" months meaning you are going after new
business like a bear instead of "burr" months, meaning you are going to
be freezing to death with lack of money to stay warm.
To make sure you have a good finish and a great Christmas this year, here's some ideas.
Then, if needed, change your modus
operandi. Focus on what is working and throw out the things you are
currently doing that cannot be tied to any successes. Chart out your
normal day and see how you can make improvements. And, try to
incorporate things into your MO that you really like doing, if they are
helping your business so you are more likely to do them. This will
ensure your success.
Great advice from my mentor Earl Nightingale
is to start out each day with a clean piece of paper and a pencil in a
quiet setting and write down as many things as you can think of that
you can do to increase your service and this practice will help you
improve how you go about your day and will help your career.
Finally, if you will put me into your new
mode of operation, I will promise you that you are not only going to
make more money than you would have, but you are going to have more fun
too! We are good and make your life easy so you can enjoy your chosen
profession more and so you can spend more quality time with your family
and friends.
SALES IS FUN! PASS IT ON!
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Weekly Tip - Great Hotel/Motel Prospecting Idea.
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Quick question. Where do people usually stay when moving to a new town at first, before buying a house or renting an apartment? A hotel right! So why not think of a way of getting YOUR NAME in front of these people that doesn't cost anything or very much AND would be a benefit to the hotel and them.  I would stay away from this one!!
If you took some time and energy, I'll bet you could develop some
interesting things that the hotel management would love to pass out to
their guests. But, in case you are brain dead today, here are a few
ideas that you could do together or separately.
Then, call the hotel manager and ask them if you can take them to
lunch to go over an idea you have to help their guest see what's going
on in town. Explain that if the guests see what's going on in the
community, they are more likely to stay longer!! This will help the
hotel manager see the benefit to their bottomline too so this becomes a
win/win/win!
The goal is to get your guide with some information about you and your real estate business with your photo and contact information in the hands of EVERY GUEST or in EVERY ROOM. So, put on your thinking cap on how you can do this or work with the hotel manager and I am sure they will help you think of some creative ways too. By working with them on this, they are going to have more 'buy-in' too which will ensure the success of your program. Be sure to include Internet links to your websites and think about putting all of this information onto your website so they can go there for more information!! This will help you drive traffic to your site while holding down the printing cost. WOW!! Finally, if you will make this really nice with notes that they can take them with them for free, they are likely to keep them and might pass them out to their family and friends. Just make sure that you have a good program in place to ensure that your supply is replenished. Good Luck with this tip!
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| Weekly Mortgage Market Commentary | ||||||||
| Don't let the financial markets squash your clients and your transactions! Stay informed by reading my new daily "Daily Rate Lock Commentary" or just call me to find out what is going on! If you want to be included in this distribution, just call or email me. Remember, knowledge is power and the more educated you are in your industry, the higher quality buyers you are going to attract and that means easier closings, bigger houses and more money in your "hip national bank!" And since rates are still climbing, call us to get your clients in our 90 day rate protection as soon as possible!  Rate Lock Advisory - Monday Aug. 27th
This week brings us the release of several important economic releases for the bond market to watch. This will also be a shortened week in the bond market as a result of the Labor Day holiday next Monday. There are six reports along with the minutes from the last FOMC meeting between Monday and Friday. This makes it quite likely that we will see a fair amount of volatility in the financial markets this week. Monday brings us the first piece of data for the markets to digest with July's Existing Home Sales. The National Association of Realtors will release this report, giving us a measurement of housing sector strength. It covers approximately 85% of home sales in the U.S., but usually does not have a major influence on bond trading and mortgage rates unless it varies greatly from analysts forecasts. It is expected to show a small decline from June's sales. The Conference Board will post this month's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) at 10:00 AM Tuesday. This index measures consumer willingness to spend, which is important because consumer spending makes up two thirds of the U.S. economy. A decline would indicate that consumers may not be making large purchases in the immediate future. That sign of economic weakness should drive bond prices higher, leading to lower mortgage rates Tuesday. It is expected to show a reading of 105.0, which would be a sizable drop from July's 112.6. Also worth noting about Tuesday is the release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. There is a pretty good possibility of the markets reacting to them following their 2:00 PM ET release, especially if they show some divisiveness by its members. It will be interesting to see some of the Fed member's views on the economy and inflation and if they will hint what the Fed's next move may be. Thursday's only data is the first revision to the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Last month's preliminary reading revealed a 3.4 % pace, which was slightly above analysts' forecasts. However, a key inflation reading came in below expectations, meaning inflationary pressures were not as strong as expected. A downward revision should help lower mortgage rates Thursday, especially if the inflation portion of the releases does not get revised higher. However, an upward revision above the current forecast of 4.0% could lead to higher mortgage rates Thursday. There will be a final revision issued next month, but it probably will have little impact on mortgage rates. Friday is a multi-release day with the release of July's Personal Income and Outlays, Factory Orders and the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment posting. The income and spending data measures consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. It is expected to show an increase of 0.3% in income and a 0.4% increase in spending. Weaker than expected numbers would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. The second report of the day is July's Factory Orders data. This report measures manufacturing sector strength and is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders, but includes orders for both durable and non-durable goods. This data is expected to show a 0.9% increase in new orders. A smaller than expected rise should lead to lower mortgage rates Friday, especially if the income and spending report reveals weaker than expected readings. August's revision to the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment is also due Friday morning. It gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show a slight downward revision from August's preliminary reading of 83.3. If it revises lower, consumers were less confident about their personal financial situations than previously thought. This would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. Overall, it is a shortened week but probably will be a very busy week. The bond market is expected to close at 2:00 PM ET Friday ahead of the Monday holiday. We will likely see the most activity in rates Friday morning, but Tuesday and Thursday are also important. If we manage to get weaker than expected results in the CCI and GDP figures and the Fed minutes don't show any surprises, we should see mortgage rates close the week lower than Monday's opening levels. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Lock if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers. |
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Let me know if I can take an application for you anytime! And,
please let me know if you like the format of this email service. I
hope you are reading these so you can stay up on your profession and so
you can make more money too!
Also, I am available to do a "Hit the Ground Running Workshop" with
any agents interested in learning tons of things they can do to help
them succeed in Real Estate. I need at least 5 agents, brand new or experienced,
looking for some motivation to put this on for you that will take 2-3
hours, depending on your involvement! These are designed to be
interactive so you can learn more about yourself and so you will walk
away with a stronger sense of self-confidence too.
If you don't get at least 10 great ideas that can really help your business, I'll take you to lunch and give you a few more!
What are you waiting for? Gather support with 4 of your collegues and call me today!
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I hope you have a great week this week in real estate. Call me if I can help you with that!!
Sam Thompson - "The Jumbo Guy" 843-230-7929
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