Why Independent Finance Brokers Need An Email List

And...

When they need to remortgage or raise finance for their business, they will call you.

Isn't that a lot of work?

Yes. Absolutely.

And... isn't it a lot of work to go to 3 to 5 networking meetings a week!

How much time does it cost to network? You've got to get there. It takes 2 or 3 hours in the evening or morning. That could be 5 hours a day. Every single day!

That's a lot of time.

Plus... there's the monetary cost. Do you see the same people every week? Or are you meeting new people?

If you're seeing the same people every week then you are earning their trust and staying top of mind because you see them often. But what about the people that don't attend a networking meeting every week?

BNI force you to attend every week. Property networking meetings don't. Sure there are people that attend every month. Equally, there are people that are there 3 times a year. Or some that happen to be at an event that's far from their house and they won't attend again. You've got their business card. You've had a conversation. A conversation that could turn into cash in the future. If you stay in touch!

At this point, I imagine your list of objections is running long. Something along the lines of...

1. I'm not technical and don't know how to set up a CRM system
2. I don't know which is the best CRM system to use
3. I don't have time to write a weekly blog
4. I don't know what to write in a weekly blog
5. I don't have a website, don't know how to set one up and don't want to pay a designer

All of these are good and valid objections. So let's start with the biggest...

What Can You Write About?

The most important thing to remember is your blog is your voice. This is your opportunity to build trust with your market and stand out from the crowd.

So, here's a question for you?

What do you know about the finance industry that everyone outside of your finance buddies doesn't? There should be a lot!

All you need to do is start telling your audience what you can do and how that helps them. Remember selfish is not a bad word in marketing. So always ask yourself what's in it for the customer?

Let's say that you have access to every mortgage on the market. That's a dry fact. How do you turn that into a blog post that your prospects will want to read? You tell them how that dry fact benefits them.

You have access to every mortgage on the market so you can get them the lowest interest rate with the lowest arrangement fee. And you can streamline the process so they can do everything online at a time that's best for them.

That's okay but what else could you do?

Why don't you let the mortgage companies do the heavy lifting for you! You could simply write about the best deal on the market right now. If you know about a buy to let mortgage with a 1.4% interest rate you're going to grab people's attention... even if they can't remortgage for several months or several years. They are going to want that deal.

The deal is not available for everyone. So tell the reader who this is for. It could be only for investors that have 40% equity in their property. Which is perfect for investors looking to remortgage when capital growth has given them 40% equity. They haven't had to put a penny from their pocket over the 25% deposit they used several years ago. Now they can double their profits by cutting their mortgage interest in half.

This is how you can...

Become Unique Without Being Unique

Every single independent finance broker can do what I outlined. And if they all have access to the same deals, they will all say the same thing.

So... why do it?

Because no one else is doing this!

You become unique by telling your prospects. They don't know that every other finance broker can do the same thing. They will want to work with you because you are the one telling them what you can do for them.

You are the one that stays top of mind with valuable information.

Claude Hopkins made Schlitz beer the highest selling US beer company with this strategy. All he did was tell the reader how they make their beer. The water brought from rock 1400 feet underground. The filtered air. Even why they use brown bottles and why that gives the customer a better beer.

Is that any different to any other beer company?

No!

But Schlitz was the first to tell their customers.

So be the first to tell your prospects how you can help them! Do this on a weekly basis so you stay top of mind. And you will bring in more business.

Become Unique By Telling Stories

How can you become unique?

You tell interesting or shocking stories. This is also the fastest and most powerful way to earn the trust of your ideal customer.

So, tell the reader about the new mortgage with the 1.4% interest rate. Tell the reader about a customer that you helped get this mortgage. Tell the reader how capital appreciation gave them the 40% equity that they needed. Tell the reader how they got this without any hassles thanks to your help.

If you can throw in a few words from the customer then you are making your story even more powerful.

You are bringing dry facts to life through the stories you tell. You demonstrate your expertise by telling the stories of the people you have helped.

What Else Makes You Stand Out?

Let's face it. Mortgages are boring.

I'm sure mortgages are your bread and butter income because it's so easy to find property investors.

But...

Do you want to write about that every week? Is that the ONLY thing you want to be known for?

Remember, your blog is your voice in the market. So if you want prospects to know that you can help them with many different types of finance then you've got to tell them!

If you've raised £1 million in 4 hours! Then tell that story. That is a thrilling tale that entrepreneurs will want to read. Many property investors have another business so they will want to hear about this story.

Even if they don't need to raise finance for their business. Even if they don't have another business. They will want to read that story because of the jaw-dropping figures.

That may be an 'every day' story to you. You've done it 100 times before so why shout about it now? Because your customers don't know this! To them this is something new and exciting. To them this is something they can tell their friends about! Isn't that what you want... word of mouth recommendations. What better recommendation than a thrilling story. A memorable story that makes you stand out. Your prospects cannot tell that story unless they have lived it... or you tell them about it.

Answer Questions

What questions do your customers ask you repeatedly?

You should answer these questions in your weekly blog.

Why?

Because for every customer that asks you, there are ten that don't. If you are speaking to a prospect at a networking meeting it's easy for them to ask you these questions.

But...

Are they doing to email you if they've forgotten something? Or are they doing to let that doubt stop them moving forward?

Similarly, how much easier will your life be when prospects have these answers before they call you?

Show The Process

For every type of finance you can raise, you need to write about the process. Tell your prospects what they need to get the ball rolling. Tell them about the qualification process. And most importantly, tell them how fast they can get the money.

When prospects know the process they have to go through it removes the fear of raising money. They know there is a step-by-step process and they know the steps that they have to take. They know how to take the first step and they know how long it will take to get the money.

What Makes You Different?

How do you add value?

How can you save your reader money? Or how can you get the reader a better deal?

This could be that you spend 3 hours a day researching the best finance deals on the market. This could be that you have a personal relationship with banks and hedge funds.

This could be that you've streamlined the process to make it quicker and easier for your customers to get the money they need.

Maybe you haven't even thought about what makes you different.

If not that's okay. Let's face it, if you're selling money no one cares about you. All they care about is the interest rate and the arrangement fee.

But they will care about who you are, and what makes you different before they have a desperate need for the money.

We all want to work with people we know, like and trust. You can build a relationship with your email database through the stories you tell.

You will stand above your competition with the stories you tell.

So...

What About The Technical Issues?

You can get a Mail Chimp email broadcast system for free. You can get low-cost CRM systems with Kartra and Drip. I would recommend these over Mail Chimp.

Don't let not knowing which is the best CRM system stop you from building an email list and publishing a weekly blog. Speak to someone you know (like me) or ask Google. The writing is what will make you stand out. Not the email delivery system. So don't worry about the things that are now important.

How will you set it up?

You can hire people for pennies on People Per Hour. I spent a week trying to make Google Tag Manager work. Eventually, I went on People Per Hour and hired a developer for £40 for 2 hours. It took him 30 minutes to fix the problem and then 90 minutes to explain to me what he did so I could do it in the future.

He also fixed some other technical problems that I had in that 2 hour period.

So, trying to figure things out myself cost me a LOT more than paying an expert. Why did it cost me more? Because my time is not free.

Better Relationships Will Grow Your Business

By writing a weekly blog you will do 3 things

1. Stay top of mind
2. Earn your customer's trust
3. Make yourself unique

When you stay top of mind you set up future sales. Because when your customer needs money, they will call you.

Yes there is effort to put this together. But no more effort than going to networking meetings every day.

And... you already know that networking only generates results with follow up. If you only collect business cards, nothing happens. If you collect business cards and have a meeting a week later then you may do some business together.

If they don't need your help right now, then you must stay top of mind or they will forget about you.

You see, the only people that remember you are your family. For everyone else you need regular marketing for them to know what you do and how you can help them.

If you send them a useful email that shows how you help people through the stories you tell. Then your prospects will welcome your email and read it with excitement.

Now It's Your Turn

Now that you know the importance of building an email database and writing a weekly blog. The first thing you need is an email database.

So, sign up for Drip. And then take all the business cards that you've collected this year and put them into your CRM system. That may give you a list of 100 or 500 or 1,000 contacts.

You can then publish your blog to Blogger immediately. This is a free blogging platform. No cost. No coding. No problems. No excuses.

This will start building trust with your prospects and bring you future business.

If you've found this useful then please leave a comment below.

If this can help someone you know then please share this with them.

Until next time...

Carpe diem

Roland Eva

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