Chinese often equate money as water. Thus the analogy of waves flowing to you is an allegory of money entering into your life. How will money flow to you?
They will do so if you are on their minds.
Thus mindshare is crucial to your success as a mortgage broker. Those who want to take a housing loan must remember you to come to you.
(1.0) The Two Techniques of Market Development
People often talk about hunting and farming as techniques of gaining customers.
Hunting means that you are on the prowl, looking constantly for people who will want housing loans. Hunting, if done tastefully, can be effective.
Farming means that you are cultivating, growing a beautiful farm. People will hear about your farm, near and far. They come in and view your farm. They respect you for your competence. When they need a housing loan, they remember you. This is a more effective method.
(2.0) The Two Domains of Market Development
Since mindshare is so important, it cuts across all areas, all sectors. What matters is that you reach out to people, so that they will remember you and think of you when they want a housing loan.
The internet world is important as both a farming and hunting ground.
The traditional brick-and-mortar world is equally important.
What unites both is mindshare.
(3.0) Farming and Hunting in the Internet World
(3.1) Forums are places where you can build a reputation. You must give your credentials and these credentials must be conservatively acceptable by different strata and classes of people. These become indicators of your trustworthiness and competence.
When people raise questions, you give your inputs. You know you succeeded when the people in the forum viewed you as an informal leader, someone to whom they will go to when they have questions.
Farm in prestigious forums. This is because postings in such forums are often at the top results of search engines. Moreover it enhances your creditability.
Farm in specific forums. Your customers can come from all walks of life – citizens of your target country, permanent residents, foreign investors, expatriates, overseas citizens. Your intention is to reach all categories of people such as those who intend to buy a property within the next 6 months, those who already have property or those who function as landlords and wanted refinancing.
The ultimate is to create your own forum. Here people in your forum would have already accept your competence and authority.
Set up podcasts and youtube videos giving educational talks on housing loans
Blogs, websites and achievement of internet awards are other farming methods.
(3.2) Hunting in the Internet World is best done by the property buyer. Your job is to make it easier for the property buyer to reach you.
When you use deliberate keywords in your forum postings and blogs, it make it more probable that your post will turn up in the top few results when the property buyer searches for information.
Having a sponsored link in the search engine will help the property buyer to reach you.
Buying advertising space in national housing websites, major realtors, websites catering for overseas citizens, investors and foreigners coming to your country, will give them ease in contacting you for information.
(4.0) Farming and Hunting in the Traditional Brick-and-Mortar World
(4.1) In terms of Farming:
Consider giving seminars and lunch-time talks is an effective way of publicizing your role as a mortgage broker. Should your talk be entertaining, effective, informative and meaningful, the audience will remember you. On your part, collect their emails and supplement it with newsletters and informative snippets to continue getting your attention to them.
Consider joining charitable organizations, business networks, interest groups will also enhance your visibility.
Consider volunteering your services for nation-wide events
Consider sponsoring charities
Consider media appearances, at talk shows in radio and television
Locate your office at an easily accessible area.
(4.2) In terms of allowing people to hunt you, consider placing strategic advertisements along busy walkways for example poster advertisements along walkways to Mass Rapid Transits trains, in mobile televisions where bus commuters can see, on gaudily painted taxis which ply the road hour after hour, day after day.
(5.0) The Key to Everything
There are two keys: gain mindshare and grant easy access of people to you. By operating in two levels – the virtual and the real world, you maximize the chances of sales.
It is best to have only one identity as it allows you to operate effectively and straddle coherently across the two worlds.
Such a strategy is better suited, in my view, when it is applied in an industry already cornered by established players. It avoids destructive head-to-head competition and instead seeks to established your own grounds on the basis of your competence, trust-worthiness and willingness to serve.
Success is then just around the corner, this corner.
All the best to you.