JUNE 2012
Psychology and Sales Go Hand in Hand By Casey Cunningham
JUNE 2012
SOUTH CAROLINA MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
16
Find someone, anyone who is not in the world of sales, and ask them to say that very word out loud. Next, invite them to conjure up a vision of exactly what a salesperson looks like. And finally, ask them to verbalize the vision created in their minds eye. In a tonguein-cheek, paradoxical sort of way, I shudder at the thought of what those visuals might embody or represent. How about the requisite plaid jacket with sewn-on elbow patches or the blinding ray of light that reflects off a lateral incisor while said salesperson smiles and shakes hands with a would-be client, uttering phrases like “What do I need to do to put you into (whatever product) today” or “Help me help you.” Let’s be honest, while you may not have been guilty of this visual representation, you probably know someone who is. It’s no wonder we don’t like selling very much. For most of us in the game of sales (without the plaid elbowed patched jacket, big toothy smile and catch phraseology)—whether your role is that of a loan officer, real estate agent, builder or any other title carrying with it the responsibility of ‘selling something’—the name of the game is connections, relationships and ultimately, referrals. And yet sometimes (or actually quite often) we develop an aversion to cold-calling probably due to our fear of rejection or self-promotion. It’s hard for some of us to get past our own limiting beliefs that others might really view us as the salesperson described above. There’s the added snag that, like many in our industry, we’re only as good as our previous month. We close out one month’s production and look to the next, while delicately balancing the creation of new connections while continuing to cultivate those we’ve already made. With this in mind, let’s put some assurance of future success in the capable hands of science and biology.
“Phone calls and e-mails are nice, and certainly part of the process in communicating with our clients and business partners, but there is something infinitely better— the handwritten thank you note.” There is a part of the brain known as the Reticular Activator. Without an in-depth analysis about frontal cortexes, brain stems and quotes by Freud and Nietzsche, I will simply contend the Reticular Activator can be one of the best sales tools you will ever discover. Imagine, for a moment, the last new car you bought—say, for example, a red Volkswagen Beetle. For the first several months after buying your new car, you seem to have developed an uncanny ability to spot every single red beetle on the road. With this newfound sixth sense, you are able to spot Volkswagens out of a sea of other vehicles … in parking lots, you sense them coming around the corner before they’re even there. It’s not that all of the sudden there are a bevy of red Volkswagen Beetles on the road; it’s just that you (more specifically the Reticular Activator part of your brain) was not focusing on them before. The same is true for someone’s heightened level of awareness as it relates to real estate signs planted in the front lawn or radio advertisements about mortgage rates. If this is the case, then what better time to extract referrals from your connections than while you’re working with them? If we do our jobs— and we do them well—we can expect referrals from our clients, past clients and others in our “sphere of influence” throughout the entire year. However, at no other time will continued on page 24
Stevens Steps Down as MBA President to Join SunTrust The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced that David H. Stevens, the association’s president and chief executive officer, will be leaving the organization on June 30 to join SunTrust Mortgage as the company’s new president. Stevens was hired last May after leaving his position as Assistant Secretary for Housing and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). “Dave has been an exceptional leader for MBA,” said MBA Chairman Michael Young. “Although we are sorry to see him leave so soon, he leaves us well-positioned for the future. Dave delivered on his pledge to enhance MBA’s position as the industry’s leading voice in advocacy, policy, education and research and has developed a dynamic infrastructure for addressing member needs. His insights and leadership have demonstrated the importance of having one large platform where the entire industry can come together in an effort to provide a common voice on the critical issues of the day. The MBA, its leadership and members remain steadfast in our focus to bring solutions that will benefit the entire housing market, borrowers and lenders alike.” Young has announced that MBA Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President Marcia M. Davies has been designated to be the interim head of the association pending the replacement of Stevens. A search for a permanent replacement is currently underway. “David Stevens has been a very good friend to NAMB and the entire mortgage business,” said Don Frommeyer, president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. “NAMB appreciated him attending the Legislative Conference in 2010 when he worked for HUD and he has always looked out for the originator and the mortgage industry. His work at the MBA helped them to strengthen their association and he will do the same for SunTrust. All of the members of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals wish him well at SunTrust Mortgage.” A graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, Stevens has a strong
background in housing, including experience in finance, construction, sales, mortgage acquisition and investment, and regulatory oversight. He began his journey to HUD at the dining room table, where he listened to stories about the creation of FHA and other efforts to stabilize the housing market from his father, who started as a runner on Wall Street during the depression. The dining room table soon became the board room as Stevens started his professional career with a 16-year tenure at the World Savings Bank. He later held positions as senior vice president of single-family business at Freddie Mac, and then executive vice president, national wholesale manager at Wells Fargo. Prior to being confirmed at HUD, Stevens had been president and chief operating officer of Long and Foster Companies, the nation’s largest, privately-held real estate firm. “David Stevens did a fabulous job at the MBA,” said Mike Anderson, CRMS of Essential Mortgage Company, a Latter & Blum Realtors Company. “He was a true champion of the mortgage and housing industry and defiantly left a mark that all trade groups should try and immolate. SunTrust is lucky to have someone of Dave’s caliber and will no doubt move them in stronger position going forward.”
Nearly 16 Million Homeowners Underwater in Q1 Nearly one-third (31.4 percent) of U.S. homeowners with mortgages, or 15.7 million, were underwater on their mortgage in Q1 of 2012, despite rising home values, according to the first quarter Zillow Negative Equity Report. Collectively, underwater homeowners owed $1.2 trillion more than their homes were worth. Negative equity rose slightly from 31.1 percent in the fourth quarter, and declined from 32.4 percent one year ago. Negative equity remained high despite increasing home values in the latter part of the first quarter. A slower pace of foreclosures after the robo-signing issues of 2010 contributed to slower progress in working down negative equity. continued on page 27