On somebody's side? You bet! Some say – "It's us against them" when it comes to big bucks. Ever hear the phrase Business is Business? What did you think that meant? Does your favorite wholesale AE tell you he/she closes $5+ Million a month? Ever think about that, maybe do the math yourself?

Before loan production volumes started going through the ceiling these last half dozen years or so, giving the wholesale AE's the opportunity to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars personally annually, in the more ‘normal' times the AE was a sentinel for his or her employer. They solicited business and helped residential real estate mortgage loan bankers and brokers understand their employer's various funding programs, took them to lunch, coffee, drinks, etc. - but were vigilant to protect their company from getting stung with losses from questionable loans. Mostly it was a pure public relations type job. In those days, 'somebody' was responsible if transactions went sour (not so much anymore); you sold into the secondary to people you knew, and/or serviced what you produced – so wholesalers were always looking to protect their own company future. Small and large wholesalers alike were ultra careful not to 'burn' their investor base … and terminally harm their reputation in the Secondary Market. If you were lacking in the ethics department it quickly became widely known ... this is a small industry - very small, believe me.

But times changed as interest rates fell hundreds of basis points – today Production is King and at many wholesale shops it's production for production's sake! Make enough loans and you can outrun any default problems, is the present day mindset. Wholesalers are easily booking BILLIONS annually, when just a few short years ago, that lofty milestone used to take many years to reach. I remember in the late 80's Directors Mortgage in Riverside California had hit the One Billion Dollar (in servicing) landmark. They were one of the largest servicers in the Country then (before their founder passed away and they were subsequently sold to Norwest); took them years to get their aggregate production numbers up to that level. Back then, my own company was looking to purchase a servicing software package (sold at that time to our industry by our pals over at FNMA!), so we went out to see a demo of the one they had. These days, firms like Countrywide originate that many loans in a matter of just days or and weeks!

Consider this: With so many non-conforming wholesalers paying 60+ basis points in commissions to their outside field reps - do you think the AE continues to protect their employer from transactions and loan originators who may be less than totally honest with submissions? Like maybe they look the other way, give a wink and a nod, and spend their time & efforts helping originators ‘structure' the transactions, so they end up becoming a kind of agent for the loan originator to help stuff a round peg into a square hole? Do you think that's maybe why those dangerous ‘Stated' loans have become so common?

Out in California where loans often average $300,000 and where some wholesale AE's are ‘required' to bring in up to 5 deals a day (that's $1,800 x 5 = $9,000 in potential personal individual income daily) – can't you see them twisting the transactions to fit what they know 'internally' their employer will swallow? Or, on the other hand, do you feel they always stay above the temptation as they should? What do you really think?

Hopefully as rates continue to rise and production numbers slow, wholesalers will take a closer look at their own house, and help us all improve the image our badly embattled industry so dearly needs.
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Hopefully you had a wonderful year in 2004, and this month you're a little cranky about paying all those taxes. Isn't it better to (a) have made all that money and have that big tax bill vs. (b) poor income and a low tax bill?

All in favor of plan (b) this year ... quick raise your hand! We can help you get more plan (a) in 2005 -- that's much better !

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If you build it, they may NOT come. Nine or ten years ago, all you had to do was create a website to gain a competitive advantage. Nowadays, your website competes with hundreds by other mortgage professionals. It takes a consistent effort to make sure your website gets the attention of your target market.

Before you begin.
Before you promote, ask yourself -- does your website effectively promote your mortgage business? Is it transmitting on the stations WIIFM (What's in it for me) and WMUD (What makes you different)? Are you using it to generate qualified leads? There's little point in attracting traffic to a site that doesn't promote your business.

This article does not cover Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Instead, it discusses low-tech ways to promote your mortgage website. What is SEO? SEO is the art of ensuring your website is listed when someone types in key terms in a search engine (yahoo.com, google.com, etc.). Although I teach SEO workshops, figuring out SEO is like trying to figure out FICO, so I will save that discussion for another time.

Here are a few low-cost, effective ways to promote your website.

1. Publish articles
If I had to choose one tactic for promoting your website, this would be it. Writing and distributing articles on the Internet is an excellent website promotion strategy, helping you to attract website visitors and boost your search engine rankings. The benefits, however, do not stop there.

o Articles help establish you as an expert.
o Writing (or hiring someone to write) an article is a one-time activity with long-term benefits. Once you publish an article, it takes on a life of its own, traveling throughout the Internet. It is not unusual for clients to get calls from articles published years ago.
o You can leverage articles and use them in multiple ways.
o And the best part - articles are low-cost and easy. Hate writing? You don't have to. You can outsource it all -- research, writing, and distribution.

2. Use a sig-file.
A sig-file is simply a marketing blurb you add to the end of your email messages. This is such a successful tactic, I rarely send an email without mine.

http://www.close-more-loans.com
Handling the administrative tasks so mortgage professionals
can close more loans and have a life!
770.469.7385

3. Add your URL to your voice mail greeting.
If someone calls your office after hours and is ready to take action, providing your website address can help you capture that client.

4. Put your URL on your office sign.
One of my clients is fortunate enough to have an office in a high traffic area. Potential clients stuck in traffic on their way to work cannot help but notice the sign. Guess what they do when they get to work? If you said visit the website, you are right.

5. Host an event.
Run a contest or host a workshop. Promote it in as many places as possible. Invite people to visit your website to sign up for your event. For every person who signs up, 7-10 more will visit your website.

At http://www.close-more-loans.com, we provide a variety of business services to help our clients close more loans. Visit http://www.close-more-loans.com or call 770.469.7385 for additional information. Article by Jackie Kiadii, www.close-more-loans.com
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