That got your attention didn’t it?

It’s a metaphor for our customer interaction.

I’ve been doing some cold calling of leads, and also talking to various brokers about their experiences. Then I talked to some friends and family about their experiences with brokers and people from other industries calling them. So, I wanted to get on my soapbox and talk about how to make your phone calls to your customers more effective.

When calling a customer for the first time, whether the lead is hot or cold, you still need to woo the customer before going any further with the relationship. You need to build rapport, to make the customer feel comfortable and give them a reason to want to talk to you. Whenever I find that something I’m doing isn’t working, I turn it around and think about how I feel if I’m the customer.

So here's my customer experience.

I’m on my computer trying to work out my budget because I have this idea that I can use the first home owners grant to get into my first home, I’ll buy an old rundown place and I’ll renovate it. So, now I need to know how the finance works so I go to a few websites and have a look at how much I can borrow. One of them asks me to fill out a form and a mortgage broker will be in touch with me. Yep, that’s fine, so long as I get the info I’m after, I can then go and do my own thing anyway can’t I?

So, somehow, using the magic of the internet, my details get passed on to a mortgage broker. A couple of days later I’m sitting at home and some stranger rings me up, introduces themselves and starts to ask me about my finances. How am I feeling right now?

I’m wary.

The broker who calls me up and starts getting straight into my financial details is going to have a hard job. I don’t know you from a bar of soap and yet you’re asking me questions about how much I owe on my Festiva, and do I have much money saved up in the bank. Personally, I’d brush the guy off as quickly as possible and go back to watching the Simpsons. I’ll go to the bank tomorrow and ask them how much I can borrow.

As brokers, we’re taught to maximise our time efficiency, so that means pre-qualifying clients over the phone. How much do you earn? Have you ever missed a payment? Do you have any credit defaults? Yes, those questions save the broker time, but how do they make the potential client feel?

The really good broker spends time of the foreplay first. They break the ice and get me chatting. Everything goes gently, gently until I start to volunteer information. Then, once the rapport has been built, they arrange a time to meet me. I want to meet them because this person sounds like they care and I think that they can help me.

I’m thinking about running some workshops on calling customers. Let me know if you’re interested.

On another note, last night I made a mistake, I went out to see a new client and when I got there the client wasn't home.  I'd driven 20km and it was a no show.  I was mad, not with the client, but with myself.  I called the client and they were really apologetic.  They had just forgotten after a few dramas at work that day. But it was my fault. I know how busy people get and how their mortgage is just one of many things in their day.  As opposed to us, for whom it's our living.  So, mental note to self. Confirm with the client.

Today is looking like an exciting day. It’s pouring rain outside so the afternoon of yard work I’d promised my wife might have to take a rain check. I’m kicking off the day with a couple of broker visits, then I need to spend some time working out how to use my new VOIP phone for conference calls. I’ve promised that the conference calls will start shortly but I need to work out how to do it with my VOIP so that I don’t lose bandwidth and start sounding like C3PO. Wish me luck.