Mister VA's Mortgage News

Extraordinary Golf

A friend of mine, Jeff Gwynne, picked up the hobby of golf about the same time I did.  We have both discovered that golf is not a hobby.  If you have never played golf then you will not understand that about the game.  If you have, then you know exactly what I am talking about.  We have golfed together a couple of times at his 'office' course in southern New Hampshire.  We actually met for the first time there after striking up a friendship through participating in numerous ESPN fantasy games over the years.  He went to Bowdoin.  I went to UMaine.  We play in the Maineiacs leagues of most all of the fantasy games possible.  Even fishing and car racing which don't really take up much of our time in real life.

After one recent exchange of emails on our golf experiences, Jeff sent me this book.  Extraordinary Golf is the name of the book.  I wasn't sure what it contained.  What it contains is a different way of looking at things.  And golf is one of them.  The author, Fred Shoemaker, teaches golf and he had some pretty amazing stories about how people look at golf in a usual way.  We make up excuses for poor performance before we start, setting ourselves up for poor expectations from others and from ourselves.  Can you imagine speaking to a client saying, "I really have had trouble lately in trying to put together a good mortgage application, but I've been trying a couple of new things and I think this one may be better than recent ones."?  Do you see how ridiculous that sounds? 

Shoemaker writes, "a golfer's experience consists of a triangle of performance, learning and enjoyment.  If these elements are in balance, they all work well.  But if they are out of balance, each one suffers."  What a great description of our profession!  If we are stagnant by not learning, our performance suffers and our enjoyment suffers.  If we do not enjoy or profession, we will not learn new things and our performance will suffer.  If our performance is sub-standard, customers will go elsewhere and we will not enjoy our profession and will not want to learn.

He later writes, "You start out playing your usual round, but there comes a point--maybe as you're walking downe the fairway, maybe in the pre-shot routine--where if you are lucky, you can 'enter' the game of golf.  That is the time, I believe, when golf truly exists for people.  You become totally immersed in the game, time seems to disappear as creativity begins, and what emerges is extraordinary golf."  Again, a great illustration of what can happen in our profession, not just on the golf course.  We never know in golf how the game will turn out.  I had a tough time on the first hole yesterday.  I then remembered a passage in the book about the possibility of golfing your best after a poor hole if you didn't dwell on it.  I parred the next hole with a putt from the fringe.  And I went on the have the 2nd best score all year, but I played the best round ever as far as the triangle is concerned.  It was extraordinary golf.

212: The Extra Degree

When you think about it, there is not a lot of difference between 211 degrees and 212 degrees.  But it is the difference between water almost boiling and water boiling.  There are lots of applications at work here.  Having an opportunity and making use of that opportunity.  Having a lead and following up on that lead.  Closing a deal and following up after the deal is closed.  Thinking about a client retention program and using one. Thinking you should go out of the office to make sales calls and going out of the office to make sales calls.  There is almost anything that could be done a little better and have a little more effort.

212 degrees: The Extra Degree is a book that may take you an hour to read.  But even if you only come away with the concept of one extra degree to make water boil, you will have something to apply to every aspect of your life.  Mac Anderson and Sam Parker have put lots of great examples in this book. One of the early quotes pretty much sums it up.  "Why do you enter into any activity with anything but a COMMITMENT to achieve your objective of that activity--not a desire to achieve your objective, but a COMMITMENT? I would recommend that you get this book, read this book and apply its principles.  Even with the tremendous amount of difficulty the mortgage industry has faced in the past 18 months, there are still people with a need that you can help them fulfill--IF you give them the extra degree.

What's In YOUR Dash?

A little over a decade ago, Linda Ellis wrote a simple poem entitled "The Dash".  If you go to any cemetery, you will see gravestone after gravestone with two dates separated by a dash.  Some will have epitaphs.  Others will state relationships.  The poem's focus is on what has happened in between.  Were people touched by that individual in a special way.  Mike + The Mechanics recorded a song called "The Living Years" in the late 1980s which reflects some of the same sentiment.  It is too late to say "Thank you," or "I love you," or many other things once the other person has died, or if YOU die before saying something.

A book based on the poem has been published by Simple Truths and is well worth reading...and giving.  People will not remember the day you were born, and may not remember the day you die.  They will remember what you did when you were living the dash.  Take some time today to thank someone or write them a note as to how that person has impacted your life.  You may never know how much it could mean.  The quote on the back of the book is from Joseph Epstein who once said,"We do not choose to be born.  We do not choose our parents, or the country of our birth. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death.  But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live." This is what The Dash is all about.  What's in YOUR Dash?

Little Red Book of Sales Answers

I just finished reading yet another book by Jeffrey Gitomer.  This one, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, has loads of good information in it.  Just like all of his other books.  One section has answer number 30.  "What are the three dumbest questions in sales?"  I am really conscious of these questions now. Gitomer actually ranks them.  Dumb: "Have you ever heard of us?"  Dumber: "Can you tell me a little bit about your company?" Dumbest: "What will it take to get your business?"  The answers are pretty much what you'd expect and it goes against the old adage "There is no such thing as a dumb question."  Maybe from a potential client, but WE can still ask dumb questions!

Then there is answer number 58.  "How can I prevent the prospect from going with the lowest price?"  We have all lamented about rates being too high, haven't we?  One thing to remember is to develop friendships because that is the great un-equalizer.  Gitomer lists a number of ideas to take price right out of the equation.

Question number 71 is an eye-opener--"How am I helping my customers build their business?"  If you can help your client or potential client by sending referrals, won't that turn on the spigot in the other direction?  If you can help their business become more successful, can't that show that you are different from others in your field?  I often tell area Realtors about FSBO signs I have seen.  They may have already seen them, but they know I thought enough to tell them.  I tell appraisers about private sale closings so they can add to their comp base.  They all appreciate knowing.

Part Five is a great summary of the book. Building the Friendship.  Building the Relationship.  Earning the Referral.  Earning the Testimonial.  Earning the Re-order.  Each of the five is important.  The sum of the five together is greater than the sum of the five parts.  You owe yourself the purchase of The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.

Getting Your Way

A few months ago, I wrote about a book being on back order.  That book was Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Green Book of Getting Your Way.  I am sure that you are thinking of a little kid pitching a fit or throwing a tantrum in a department store in order to convince the parent to give in and allow the kid to get his way.  That is used as an example, but it is not really a focal point.  It is far better to convince the other party that it is a good idea to do business with you and essentially have that person believe it is his decision.

A whole section of the book is devoted to presentations ala Power Point.  What you should do and what you should not do in a presentation.  And why you should practice your presentations ahead of time.  Becoming known as an expert is a big part of becoming successful because if people are seeking you out as an expert then you have a much easier job in letting them choose what to buy. Another section of the book is devoted to hot air.  Once the sale is made, stop talking and start writing the order or taking the application or the lising agreement.  Don't 'un-sell' by being a windbag.

As with other Gitomer books, this one bears re-reading, highlighting and studying.  There is a lot to learn and re-learn.  I plan to use it in the development of Power Point presentations. And I will find it a lot easier when it comes to getting my way.

Deals On the Green

I have previously mentioned that I recently took up golf.  I enjoy it and wonder why I waited until I was late into my 40s before I picked up the game.  I have often heard about business done on the golf course, but never figured I could put in the time.  As a member of the Newport Country Club, I see a lot of people who I did not realize played golf.  Including a fellow for whom I closed a loan last month.  He was referred to me by another member of the Country Club.  Now whether the connection is because I am the only mortgage banker who is a member there or because I do business with the referring member, I do not know.  But, business is not always overtly done there.

David Rynecki, who grew up near Walpole, New Hampshire, has at least that in common with our new golf pro at Newport.  And as the author of this 18 chapter book, he reveals many ways that golf reates to business.   No coincidence in the number of chapters corresponding to the number of holes on the course.  The author has played with many famous and not-so-famous CEOs, and has learned important lessons from all.  The way people play golf is the way they approach business.  And a lot can be learned here.

Some of the lessons include not taking yourself too seriously and looking for opportunities that others cannot see.  Some executives insist on new hires taking up the game.  Seeing if people have a bad temper, take wild chances, cheat and exercise proper etiquette can reveal a lot about a person's character.  And sometimes that can lead to NOT doing business with someone, NOT recommending someone and NOT hiring someone.  It also is not a place to be a phony.  If you are overtly trying to get business done because you paid for someone's greens fee, it could backfire.  Golf is a simple game.  A subtle game.  And that is the way it is in business sometimes.  Sometimes deals off the green happen and they are not really deals on the green.  Even if you are not a golfer, I think there is plenty to gain by reading this book.  And perhaps even more to be gained by becoming a golfer.

YES! Attitude

I was given permission to write this review.  As I began to read Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude , one item jumped off the pages. The author had trademarked the phrase "YES! Attitude" and indicated that permission must be granted by him to use the phrase in any writing or training.  But, Mr. Gitomer always provides answers and I wrote him at the email address for the permission and continued to read.  Guess why you are reading this?

Shortly after beginning the book, I golfed for the first time this season at my home course.  As I sank a birdie putt on one of the holes that has been a score booster for me, I exclaimed "YES!". And that is what Gitomer is talking about.  Transferring the emotion of something you feel at a moment like that into your attitude on life in general.  And the way you feel about yourself will transfer to every other facet of life, including sales.  Actions to be positive at home and at work are suggested.  NOTE: Action is a verb.  Reading is different from doing.

Gitomer asks some questions and issues some challenges. Where are you living? Where are you working? Who are you associating with that is helping your attitude and your success?  [Sort of like the 3 questions the gatekeeper at the Bridge of Great Peril asks of the knights of the round table in Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail--the first 2 are quite simple & the last one makes you think.] He goes on to state that "if they're not the best environments or best associations: How can you change them? How can you convert them? How can you restructure them? How can you influence them?"  He states that you should avoid "pukers" who rain on your parade.  And further that they do it because they have no parade of their own!

One of the suggestions he has is to read a couple of positive pages each morning first thing and to avoid filling your head with negative things that can be brought to you courtesy of the local news.  Reading at night--especially motivational books--is far better than watching reruns.  I still have 2 of his books that I have not read.  And to keep accountable, I plan on finishing at least one of them this month.  And I will be excited about doing it, too.  Because I would like some of that YES! Attitude.

Little Red Book of Selling

I have finished reading the book I was telling you about a few days ago...the post on unfinished projects.  But I am not really finished with the book and you will not be finished with it either if you take Jeffrey Gitomer seriously. In his own words at the end of the book. Gitomer says, "This is not a book to be read, this is a book to be studied.  This is a book to be implemented.  This is a book to be talked about. This is a book to be put into your sales life.  There's too much content in here for you to read it once and put it away and say 'good read'." And, you know what?  He is exactly right.

The 12.5 principles are gone through in a more or less methodical manner. Some of the quotes are worthy of every whiteboard in every sales office in America.  For instance, "When you say it about yourself, it's bragging.  When someone else says it about you, it's proof." Isn't that true about every referral that comes your way?  And don't you wish there were more of them?  By treating every referral with the respect and belief that that referral believes about you from start to finish, then you are on your way to getting more proof.

Just examine some of the 12.5 Red principles of sales greatness that the author promotes. "Prepare to win, or lose to someone who is." "It's NOT work, it's NETwork." "If you can make them laugh, then you can make them buy!" "Reduce their risk and you'll convert selling to buying." "Antennas up!"  And my personal favorite..."Resign your position as general manager of the universe."  I think if you will invest in yourself and decide that reading a good sales book once a month [at least] will help your career, that a good place to start is to get Gitomer's The Little RED Book of Selling.

Who Moved My Cheese?

What a great time to pick up this little book!  And re-read it if you have read it before.  The subprime mess is a textbook example for the basic illustration in this book.  We are all comfortable in the way things are.  We do not want things to change.  We do not want to learn new things.  We are not at all interested in new cheese.

What Johnson illustrates in his book "Who Moved My Cheese?" is characterized by mice in a maze who every day travel the same path, to the same cheese, eat their fill and go back home.  The next day is the same as the last. UNTIL....the cheese is no longer in its customary spot.  Some complain that the cheese is not there but are confident that if they wait in the customary spot, the cheese will return, and life will go on as it always has.  But day after day, there is no cheese in the customary spot.  One decides to stay because it would be foolish to leave when the cheese will return at any moment.  One decides to venture out to see if maybe the cheese got moved.

Eventually, the adventurer finds new cheese in a new location that was just as good, no...even better than the old cheese.  The adventure returns to tell the one who remained at the old station about the great news, but is met with disbelief.  No amount of convincing will cause that individual to seek out new cheese.  Sound familiar?  If all of your previous experience is with subprime, then you need to try some new cheese.  Waiting around for the old cheese to re-appear is not prudent, and many will starve by doing so.  Does this mean there will be no subprime?  Not at all--just not as much of it or in the same form.  Don't sit around wondering "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Networking the Right Way

How many times have we heard in sales, that the pivotal point surrounds the question, "What's in it for me?"  Benefits are what make the sale.  Or rather, the purchase.  In Jeffrey Gitomer's "Little Black Book of Connections", the author essentially is making that point all the way through.  It is a principle that is too often forgotten. Gitomer carries this into networking events.  It is not about ME-ME-ME at these gatherings.  It is about THEM-THEM-THEM.

Giving value and expecting nothing in return will rarely be disappointed.  A couple of months ago, I sent a book called 'Time Traps' to a Realtor 100 miles away.  I had forgotten about sending it--until today, when I returned from vacation and saw a nice thank you letter from him.  I hope that I will receive a referral at some point from him.  But he will remember me.  And the author gives example after example of how he is remembered.

Finding out about someone's interests and focusing on that to make a connection or a common bond is a way to do just that.  Imagine returning from an event to a letter or email with that [the interest] as the subject matter.  No sales pressure there.  But will you be remembered?  You constantly need to work at being remembereed--even with those you do a lot of business with--or you will not be remembered.  Another good point made.

My plane trip to and from Florida for my annual vacation was made better by reading this book.  And it should help me to be networking in the right way.