There is a misconception in the mortgage business that the most important function of your  marketing is to promote what you do, or in other words, tell people that you offer financing services.

But the fact is, the most important function of your marketing should be to establish that you are knowledgeable, capable and can be trusted. Most people don't do business with people they don't trust, especially when it comes to decisions that directly impact their financial life.

When they buy your financing services they are, in fact, buying the talents, skills, and personalities of YOU or your team of professionals.  Even if you have the lowest rates, if your prospect doesn't trust you, it will be difficult to get their loan application let alone funding their mortgage. This is the basis for Education-Based Marketing.
 
Education-Based Marketing is a powerful marketing strategy that establishes trust and credibility using educational messages. It is the direct opposite of traditional marketing, which uses selling-based messages. People are tired of hearing worn-out, old sales pitches about "best rates" and "best service". Barriers shoot up the moment you begin delivering a sales pitch. In contrast, people sit up and listen when you share important facts and expert information that help them make a good financial decision.

Determine Your Educational Message 

Imagine stepping into the mind of your prospect and listening to their mental conversation at the very moment they decide to begin shopping for a new home or mortgage financing. What questions are they asking themselves? The secret to attracting qualified prospects early in the sales cycle is to find out the answers to those questions and use them as the basis for your educational marketing message. For instance, suppose you specialize in working with self-employed business owners.  Perhaps your prospects are asking themselves, "How can I get financing with no income verification?" or "I have good credit, why can't I get approved for a loan?"

"Once you have developed and packaged your educational message, you should develop strategies and processes to give it away. Identify all of your marketing 'touch points,' such as your business phone, website and networking conversations and offer your message at each one of these touch points."

Now that you know what your prospect's questions are, now you can craft a marketing message that answers those questions.  In the process of answering those questions you'll be building a relationship of trust with your prospect. For example, if you were to offer your prospect the choice between two special reports, one titled "Why Using A Broker is Better Than Going To Your Bank" and the other titled, "7 Secrets To Getting Financing With No Income Verification," which do you think would be chosen? From my experience, the second report would be preferred 10:1. Relevant educational information that helps your target market solve their problems and make better financing decisions is the type of information that will get the phone to right with motivated mortgage leads.

How to Package Your Educational Marketing Message to Generate Qualified Mortgage Prospects

Once you have developed your educational message you need to package it and offer it for free in exchange for your prospect's contact information. This is critical. Effective marketing is not just a matter of getting the word out but more importantly, getting a response back.
 
You can package your educational message in a format your prospect will respond to such as a written financing guide, an audiocassette, an email newsletter, a CD-ROM, a free seminar, or even a toll-free phone message.

An important aspect to making your educational message enticing is to give it a great title. You'll notice in the second title I just mentioned I used the word "secrets."  People like numbered lists and knowing about things other people don't know (i.e. secrets). Put those two together and you have an almost irresistible title. Give your educational messages exciting titles and you will attract a flood of qualified prospects.

How to Deliver Your Educational Marketing Message

Now that you have developed and packaged your education message, you should develop strategies and processes to give it away. To do this you must first identify all the "touch points" in your business and offer your educational message at each one of those touch points. Common client touch points are your business phone, website, advertising, publicity, networking conversations, public speaking events, etc.

For instance, instead of ending your business phone conversations like this, "Well Mike, thanks so much for calling and if you ever need financing just let me know."

End your phone conversation with an offer like this…

"Well Mike, thanks so much for calling. By the way, I've just developed a great financing guide that talks about the top 10 common mistakes that people make when financing their home. If you'll give me your address I'll send it to you free of charge. Would that be okay?"

You've just accomplished three very important things with this telephone strategy.

1. You've generated goodwill by offering a valuable free gift and a helpful resource.

2. You got your prospect's contact information so that you can continue to market to him.

3. You now have a reason for a follow up phone call after he receives and has read the financing guide.

Resist the Urge to Give a Sales Pitch

It's easy to rise above your competition using Education-Based Marketing because most of your competitors are using selling-based marketing. The beauty of Education-Based Marketing is that you give prospective clients what they want, information and advice -- and remove what they don't want, a sales pitch.
 
By offering helpful advice, you establish yourself as an authority because prospects see you as a reliable source of information. Be careful not to give in to the urge to include a sales pitch with your educational message. This will only erode the trust you have established and make you the same as your competitors in the eyes of your prospect.
 
Instead, after you have provided some helpful information you should warmly invite your prospects to call you, visit your website, come to your office, or take advantage of your free consultation.

Conclusion

Education-Based Marketing captures prospects earlier in the decision process and establishes a relationship of trust, resulting in dramatically higher sales and closing ratios. Mortgage Professionals that seek to develop a relationship of trust by delivering a non-threatening educational message will position themselves as their prospect's first choice for financing their home.

About the Author:

Doren Aldana, the nation's leading Mortgage Marketing Coach, is dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort. Aldana is also the author of a Mortgage Marketing Audio Seminar, "21 Secrets of Superstar Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers!" To get your free copy click here.

To access the proven mortgage marketing resources and profit producing tools discussed in this article visit our webstore or join our mortgage marketing coaching program.

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