Mortgage Marketing to Realtors ? Creating a Memorable Positioning Statement

Mortgage marketing to Realtors involves having a crystal clear position that establishes credibility, so that you can develop a consistent dialogue with prospects and guide them at every stage of the relationship building process.

Declaring your position begins with creating a Positioning Statement. It is a no nonsense statement of how you want to be perceived. It provides direction and focuses around your claim of expertise. It answers the questions:

- What do you do, and for whom?
- What is your niche?
- What makes you different from the competition?
- What is the customer benefit of that difference?

Writing one is a very useful exercise. It requires you to identify, and then articulate in a concise and brief statement your distinct value to your prospect in relation to your competitors.

What Business You're In

The first part of your statement describes your ideal client. Lets say you're focused on servicing agents in a geographic area. The beginning could say, "John Smith, a member of ABC Mortgage, services agents in Beverly Hills."

On the other hand, maybe your ideal client isn't determined geographically, instead it's determined by experience. If so, your statement may start with, "John Smith, a mortgage professional with ABC Mortgage, helps million dollar producing agents."

What Problem You Solve

The first part sets the tone so the second part can heat up the interest. If you research your competitors Positioning Statements, you'll find that they all say the same thing. It's full of hyperbole and doesn't stimulate interest.

To get someone's attention, you have to accurately describe his or her problem. Agents will read anything that addresses a difficult problem that needs solving.

What if you can help agents who struggle producing client referrals consistently? Your statement would read, "John Smith, a mortgage professional with ABC Mortgage, helps million dollar producing agents who struggle capturing client referrals consistently."

How You're Different

Third, take a long look at your competition. Who directly competes with you for the same agents? What are they offering, and to whom? How are their offerings similar to yours, and how are they unique? Only by understanding your competition can you recognize and capitalize on the unique value of your own expertise. And then you can position it where it is most appealing to agents.

When you know your competition's weakness, you can position them to the side, so you become front and center. For example, if you're losing agents to agencies with in-house lenders, your statement might say, "John Smith, a consultant with ABC Mortgage, helps million dollar producing agents who struggle capturing client referrals consistently. Unlike in-house lenders who are limited in the customer care they render, John Smith specializes in client loyalty strategies..."

Your Positioning Statement places the competition on the shelf so you can tell how you're different. While you're helping the prospect become aware of your competition's weakness, without it being derogatory, you can differentiate your expertise in the prospect's mind.

What Unique Benefit Clients Derive

Finally, make a list of the benefits of your expertise to your targeted audience- from their perspective. And be careful not to confuse features with benefits. Features are the defining elements of your services. Benefits are the tangible or intangible ways that Agents gain from experiencing those features. The benefit you describe should be a result of the problem solved.

If you solve the problem of client referrals, your Positioning Statement might sound like, "John Smith, a consultant with ABC Mortgage, helps million dollar producing agents who struggle capturing client referrals consistently. Unlike in-house lenders who are limited in the customer care they render, John Smith specializes in client loyalty strategies so his agents enjoy a steady stream of referrals."

Explaining the unique benefit Agents derive from your service is the same as describing your Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA). Like when you're in an elevator and only have moments to tell someone what you do, you use your UCA to generate interest. You can use an UCA by itself, like with business cards, a tagline on your website, or it can be the final component of your positioning statement.

The Core of Your Strategy

The Positioning Statement is where you need to begin when planning the messages in any marketing communications campaign. Think about how it can help you improve your marketing materials, your sales presentations, and your website home page.

It's used as a lens through which all of your marketing materials will filter to make sure that they're communicating a consistent message about you. This is the key in establishing your brand identity, an identity that develops familiarity with Agents that they come to trust.

Jeff Nelson helps mortgage companies and individual loan officers increase loan originations by developing customized relationship-building strategies that secure quality relationships with real estate agents. Click here to get a free copy of the Marketing Planning Guide, a 20-page workbook designed to help you outline a strategy to becoming an Agent Magnet.

Visit us at http://www.loan-officer-marketing.com