The concept of using your sphere of influence in marketing isn’t a new one. You should look to your connections when you want to build or grow. Your particular sphere of influence could include current and previous business connections, family, friends, and college contacts. It could also include your softball team, your barber, and your mailman. The idea is to build a database of people that you have a relationship with.
Because mortgages aren’t something easily displayed in a store-front, understanding how mortgage sphere of influence marketing works is vital. It requires a more personal approach. You want your name to become familiar, not just get your name out there. When someone in your sphere, or someone they know, needs a mortgage, you want them to think of you.
How do you make that happen? By understanding how to nurture your sphere.
In mortgage sphere of influence marketing, direct marketing is far more successful than digital marketing. Why? Because with direct marketing you create connections. That’s not to say that potential clients aren’t out there searching online for mortgage lenders, but even those are drawn towards a familiar name when they start making calls.
Having a database of people is the first step. Build the relationship through direct mail or email that puts your name and your flag as a mortgage specialist out there. As cliché as it seems, the Holiday card list is a great method. By reaching out with a personal greeting, you plant your name in each contact’s mind and make yourself more familiar to them.
It would be impossible to make a phone call once a month to everyone in your database, but you can use creative direct mail and email programs to do something similar. The right mix of contact methods and frequency can keep you familiar without being annoying.
The real secret to benefiting from your mortgage sphere of influence marketing is to build and maintain real relationships. That’s what gets people coming back, or referring you when someone in THEIR sphere needs a mortgage.