The way we communicate with clients is directly tied to our business’ success. Whether we’re working with prospects, new clients, or existing clients, the way that we communicate with them matters (I’ve written about how to improve communication before, here). Most loan officers know how important client relationships are, but what’s often underestimated is the importance of following up. Following up can be the difference between converting a promising prospect into a client, and it shows that you care and are invested in your current clients, during every step of the process. It even applies to past clients — checking in on their level of satisfaction and maintaining the relationship. Having a strategy in place to follow-up effectively will ensure you stay on track, and here are a few things to keep in mind:
Make Your Prospects a Priority
It’s a statistical fact that only a small fraction of salespeople follow-up multiple times with prospects, even though it’s regularly after the fifth time reaching out before a sale is made. This means that most salespeople are missing out on business. It also reaffirms that the key to sales success is in being attentive and persistent. It can seem overwhelming when you think about following up with every prospect you’ve reached out to, and they’re not all going to be worth your time and effort, so focus your follow-up efforts on the worthwhile leads and qualified prospects. Once you’ve compiled a list of worthy candidates, reach out to them via social media or email. If you make following up a part of your daily routine, it’s much easier to stay on track. Designing some templates that are easy to personalize will make following up with prospects quick and easy.
Check In on Your Clients
Once you’ve converted a prospect to a client, you’re not home free. It’s necessary to follow up throughout the borrowing process to keep your clients engaged and to ultimately close the deal. This gives you an opportunity to check in on your clients to see what concerns you can address or questions you can answer. You may feel you’ve provided them with enough information, but you never know if they’re confused or stressed about something and are just failing to ask. A phone call or a quick email is usually enough to show them that they’re a priority. And because nothing beats face-to-face meetings when it comes to building relationships, having in-person meetings over coffee or lunch is a terrific strategy to connect with clients. Just like with prospects, block off some time during your day to look into each client you’re working with and get in contact with them in some way. Keeping communication open and current will demonstrate your level of dedication and quality service.
Don’t Forget About Your Past Clients
We can easily put all of our focus on leads, prospects, and current clients. And while these are the people who can potentially give us business in the near future, it’s equally important to maintain relationships with our past clients. We can’t allow those relationships to fall through the cracks after a closing is complete. This also remains true for clients that do not close with us. Whether you turned them down or they found financing elsewhere, staying in touch with these clients opens a relationship for future business with them and potential referrals. I personally still talk to many of my clients years after closings. A short check-in email is an easy way to stay on their minds, but it’s even more effective to create opportunities to intentionally reach out. Use the information you have about past clients in your database to share personalized and relevant content with them. For instance, maybe you noted that a past client was interested in interior design. Sending them a current buzz-worthy article related to design (with a personal note attached) may be the perfect way to follow up and stay in touch in a meaningful way. Past clients help build your brand, spread your name, send you referrals, and some even give you repeat business. Don’t forget to make sure they’re included in your follow-up strategy.
When it comes to client communication, we need to follow-up regularly. Frequent communication shows that we’re dedicated, and it helps to strengthen our relationships. The key is to stay consistent. If you manage your follow-ups every day, prospects will be more motivated to become clients, clients will move through the process faster, and past clients will send you more business.
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