Time For A Little Inspiration

In the wake of a fantastic Superbowl, a massive rate cut and some of the worst job numbers in recent memory, I decided that it was time for a small pep talk. And before you comment, I know what some of you will say. No amount of pep talking is going to change much for the guy that just doesn't get it. This is not meant for those guys; this is meant for the salespeople that show up day after day and bring it.

Without getting into too many clichés, I would like you to think about this past Sunday's Superbowl. Even if you're not a Giants fan, you have to give some credit where credit is due. This was a true David and Goliath story. The Giants literally stole the championship away from the UNDEFEATED Patriots. Now, my question is: Do you think they just got lucky?

I don't know if they did or they didn't. The truth is that no one will ever really know; but I'd like to believe that it had a lot to do with them showing up prepared to do the job with a lot of momentum behind them. I do know this: When it comes to reverse mortgage sales, the same mindset WILL make you successful. Knowing that one extra phone call can make the difference between getting a commitment today and going home empty-handed is only part of the battle. ACTION. Actually picking up the phone and dialing it is EVERYTHING.

Some of you may have friends that still work the forward mortgage business. Some of them may be trying to convince you to concentrate more of your efforts on the forward mortgage business because rates are coming down. At the end of the day, you have to decide where you will spend your precious time. Just know this: You will never be successful in the reverse mortgage business if you are only willing to stick your toe in when the forward business is slow. You have to be willing to jump in with both feet and become an expert in the business.

I recently watched a short inspirational film entitled 212, The Extra Degree. It's only 3 mins long and it's worth the watch. Check it out here. The message is simple, but powerful. A little extra effort often means the difference between mediocrity and greatness. I think it sums it up nicely.

Whether you buy your own reverse mortgage leads or someone else buys them for you, my advice is: Show up ready to do what needs to be done or go home. EFFORT is the deciding factor and, like Hall of Fame Football Coach Vince Lombardi said, "Inches make the champion." So put on your game face and stay the course.

Are You Choosing The Right Type of Reverse Mortgage Lead?

I realize that I am in the reverse mortgage lead business, but I will still try to put on my loan officer hat and remain as unbiased as I can during this post. The reason that I am posting this information is because there are many loan offers and mortgage companies that are new to the reverse mortgage business that are trying to figure out how generate traffic. If this describes you, then you may have figured out by now that the reverse mortgage business is a lot different than the forward mortgage business. For one, the sales cycle is much longer. For many of you, the sales cycle (at least starting out) will begin with the purchasing of reverse mortgage leads. This post is not about how to treat each type of lead. This post is about identifying the most popular options. Please refer back to this blog often to get ideas about how to utilize each type of lead.

There are 5 major types of reverse mortgage leads available in the marketplace right now. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Internet generated leads
2. Telemarketed leads
3. Direct mail leads
4. Television commercial generated leads
5. Print Advertising leads

Now let's talk about what each one claims to be:

Internet generated leads - I think that most loan officers that have purchased leads in the past are familiar with Internet leads. All you have to do is look and you'll find a ton of Internet lead companies out there. Because there are so many companies out their generating these leads, there are also many different types, costs, and generation methods. To give you an idea of the options that you can find out there, there are ones that were generated through a long questionnaire, ones that were generated through "teaser" advertisements, ones that are exclusive to only you, ones that are not exclusive at all, ones that are delivered in "real time", and ones are that delivered by daily or weekly batch. So before you buy Internet leads, you may want to be sure that you at least know how they were generated, how they are delivered, and whether they are exclusive or not.

Telemarketed leads - These leads are generated through telemarketing methods. For those of you that have been hibernating for the past 10 years, telemarketing is process of using the telephone as a marketing medium for activities such as list building, lead generation or selling. Like Internet leads, there are many companies out there generating these telemarketed leads. There are many different types of methods as well. Some companies will call a list of prospects and then send you the prospects that responded favorably. Some companies will transfer the prospect call to you in real time. This is sometimes called a "live transfer." Be aware that if you select this option, you must be available to receive the call. Also, if you plan on purchasing telemarketed leads, make sure the company that you use follows all the rules and regulations governing telemarketers including adherence to the Do-Not-Call Registry and the use of auto-dialers and pre-recorded messages. Also, find out where the call center is located. You may decide that you do not want your calls originating in other countries.

Direct Mail Leads - Direct marketing through mail has been around for a long time. It is also no secret that the mature marketplace is a big fan of paper and the printed word. There are a few things to consider when picking direct mail marketing leads. For instance, are you paying per mailing or per lead. If you are paying for the mailing and the mailing is unsuccessful you could be in big trouble. Also, of the companies that specialize in direct mail reverse mortgage leads, there are varying methods in obtaining the customers response. Some companies use a "Senior Survey" method that all sorts of questions about life insurance, long term care, social security issues, reverse mortgages, financial planning, etc, etc. Depending on how the person fills out the survey, the direct mail company can potentially sell the lead to multiple companies. So even though you may be the only mortgage company calling, you may not be the only financial company calling. Other direct mail marketing companies only send out information that is specific to reverse mortgages, so when the prospect gets your call there is usually less explaining required.

Generated By Television Commercials - There are more and more reverse mortgage marketing companies popping up all the time that use national or regional TV commercials to generate their leads. The important thing t know about these leads is that some companies require you to use them to process your reverse mortgages. Not only do you pay for the lead upfront, but once you spend the time converting the prospect into a sale, the lead generation company also gets a "piece of the action" by processing the loan. You may or may not be okay with this, so be sure you get al the facts first.

Print Advertising - Mature Americans do read newspapers and periodicals. However, if you have ever paid to post an ad or article in a major publication, then you might agree that this is could be an expensive endeavor with no guarantee on return. You may come across a few companies that generate the leads for you through this method and then charge you per lead. The customer responds to the ad by calling an 800 number or filling out a form online. The cost may still be high, but at least the return is guaranteed. Just be sure that you know the message that the customer is responding to. Make sure you know whether or not the advertising company is using a teaser to generate the lead.

While these 5 options are not your only optionsfor generating reverse mortgage leads, if you research this topic further, you will see that they tend to be the most popular options. I didn't mention seminars or networking in this post because those strategies are usually not used as a first step. As I mentioned earlier, please refer back to this blog (or better yet, please subscribe to it) to read more about each of these methods in future posts. As always, your feedback is welcome.

How to Throw a Successful Reverse Mortgage Seminar

I’ve written about seminars before and this probably won’t be the last time. The reason for this is because, for the right person, they work. What do I mean by the right person? Well, let’s put it this way, if you have a hard time speaking in public, then you should probably stay away from hosting a reverse mortgage seminar on your own. However, that doesn’t mean that can’t hire someone to host them for you.

If you aren’t afraid of public speaking, but have never given a seminar before, here is my first piece of advice: PRACTICE! Just because you have it all plotted out in your head, doesn’t mean it will flow smoothly when it pours out of your mouth. I recommend giving your seminar to friends and co-workers first. Ask them for their HONEST feedback. Remember, stay loose and try to be somewhat entertaining without going overboard. If you sound like a college professor giving a dissertation, it’s more likely that you’ll put people to sleep then sell them a reverse mortgage. Think of it as putting on a "show." The more interesting you are, the more likely it is that they will pay attention.

Let them eat cake... or chicken. You decide.

Next, consider where you should hold your seminar. When it comes to the topic of proper seminar location, there are many schools of thought. Some people recommend offering free information, dessert and refreshments at churches, libraries, and VFW halls. However, I like seeing an offer of a seminar and a FREE dinner at a restaurant (with a private room) or banquet hall. That’s a personal preference. I happen to think that it draws more attendees. My critics will say that you’ll get “more freeloaders as well,” but I say, “You’ve got to take the good with the bad!” You don’t have to offer a filet mignon, but it shouldn’t be hamburger helper either. Bottom line: If you treat it like an important Evening of Information, they will too.

Now, where do you get your attendees? In my opinion, your best resource is your database of prospects. Call them. Mail them. (Nice invitations maybe?) Email them. (Evite.com?) If you don’t have a database of prospects, you need to get one. In the mean time, here are a few more ways to start building your database and get attendees:

• Hire a direct mail company to send invitations for you. The list they mail to should be homeowners, in driving distance, that are 67 years old or more.


• Purchase reverse mortgage leads through a reliable source. The ones that do not have an immediate need should be invited to your free seminar.


• Call your local newspapers and ask them to post an announcement. You may be charged for this service.


• Ask your church or community centers to post an announcement on their billboard. In your message, be sure you include an easy way for people to contact you with questions or to RSVP.


• Tell your prospects to invite their children if possible.


• Don’t forget to invite past happy customers with their guests!

One more note about your invitations, whether they are in print or over the phone: Make sure you are offering a no obligation, educational evening to learn more about reverse mortgages. Lay off the sales pitch for now. The best sales pitch for this customer is NO SALES PITCH. They need to trust you first. If it costs you a chicken dinner or two, so be it.

When it comes to the actual event outline, you may want to consider inviting guest speakers and offering complimentary topics. For example, you could team up with a financial advisor that could speak about estate planning. You could invite a physician (or therapist) that could talk about long term care and senior health care issues. Maybe you audience would respond to an insurance agent that could talk about Medicare or life insurance, or an accountant that could talk about how a reverse mortgage could effect Social Security. This cross-promotion is also a good way to split the costs of the event.

And lastly, remember that you are a trusted advisor. DON’T SELL. EDUCTATE. Offer your guests unbiased straight talk. Trust me, half of them have already heard bad things about what you are selling; even though they may have heard it all wrong. Dispel the myths. Tell your audience about the pros and cons of reverse mortgages. Here are some other speaking points to discuss: federally insured programs, fixed vs. adjustable, payment options, closing costs, ownership retention, property considerations, loan repayment, and Powers of Attorney. Good luck!

Are We There Yet?

Whoever told you that reverse mortgage sales was a way to make a fast buck LIED to you. For those of you that are seasoned veterans in the Reverse Mortgage Industry, you know exactly what I'm talking about. A prospect that you meet today may not make a decision to purchase a reverse mortgage for up to a year from now, unless they are in a situation that is causing them to move quickly. I am referring to someone who has missed mortgage payments or has an immediate need to tap the equity in their home. This is generally a small population of prospects. The rest of them are homeowners that are just becoming aware that a reverse mortgage might a real financial option for them and their families.

This larger group of candidates is in no hurry to rush into something that they do not understand. They are beginning the EDUCATION and RESEARCH phase of their decision making process. The EDUCATION phase is where they learn about what a reverse mortgage can do for them. The RESEARCH phase has more to do with whether or not YOU are the right person to buy it from.

The Education and Research phase can take up to a YEAR for some people. Now, the 25 Thousand Dollar Question is: where will you be in the HEAD of your prospect when he or she makes their decision to buy? I can guarantee you that if you haven't spoken to them in 7 months, you will probably not be getting their business (unless you gave them something of value to remember you by, like a newsletter).

Think about it, if you are like most successful lenders, you probably buy your reverse mortgage leads, call them, set your appointments, and hope that 10 to 20% of them close in the next 60 days. If this sounds like you, you are leaving potential customers behind! What about the 80 to 90% that didn't close? Does that mean that they are not interested? NO! They are just not ready.

Many Reverse Mortgage companies are investing thousands of dollars into their CRM systems because they know that the reverse mortgage sales cycle is a long one. (CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management.) These are usually software or online based systems that act as an interface to a central database of their customers and prospects and allow the user to schedule follow ups, send automated emails, create mailing lists and more. For some people, their CRM system is nothing more than a box of 3X5 cards that they move through monthly separators as they make their follow up calls. No matter what level of sophistication that you subscribe to, if you utilize a good CRM system properly, you will close more reverse mortgages. (Please note however, that if you do not come up with an effect system for using your CRM software and you are not CONSISTENT with your implementation, all you have really done is purchased an extremely expensive Rolodex.)

Is There a Worm in Your Apple?

Just a head's up: This post is about Ethical Reverse Mortgage Sales Practices.

For those of you that are thinking about getting into Reverse Mortgage Sales because it sounds like a way to make a fast, easy buck, please think again. The best reverse mortgage advisors in the country will probably tell you that this job is for tolerant sales professionals that are dedicated to treating their customers with respect and dignity. As a group, they are committed to ethically bettering the financial positions of homeowners that are over 60 years of age. The top professionals in our industry are EDUCATION SPECIALISTS and they practice the art of PATIENT PERSISTENCE. They diligently counsel and educate and never strong arm or scare their clients into quick decisions.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I think that we, as industry leaders, owe it to ourselves and our businesses to do some self policing. There are men and women among us that are giving reverse mortgages a bad name. I keep hearing negative stories about reverse mortgage advisors that are selling reverse mortgages with long term investments and life insurance products. In some cases, I'm sure that this perfectly fine, but there has been so much negative press lately, that I'm concerned that there is a level of GREED out there that we should all be uncomfortable with.

Recently NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams did a story about a woman that feels that she was taken advantage of by an advisor that sold her a reverse mortgage to tap her equity so that they could then invest her cash out in a long term investment annuity. NBC reporter Tom Costello tells a story about Mary Munoz, a 78 year old woman that believes that she was duped into investing her money in a long term investment vehicle that has a maturity date in 2033. She will apparently incur steep penalties if she tries to access her money earlier. Mrs. Munoz is now a part of a class action lawsuit against the people that sold her these products and that accuses the sales agent, broker and lender of financial abuse of the elderly. (I have added a link to NBC's video.) That's horrible.


Back-stabbed by reverse mortgages?

Some of you may read this and think, "I don't abuse my clients, so I have nothing to worry about." Do you really think that these stories don't have an effect on your business? I wish that were true, but my guess is that these types of lawsuits currently have a negative effect on ALL of us. That's why it is so important for all of us to adopt an ethical code of conduct when it comes to selling reverse mortgage products AND their vertical counterparts. (I think NRMLA has a pretty good one.)

The truth is that there WILL be incredible growth in the reverse mortgage industry in the coming years, but this growth we be rife with obstacles and set backs if we don't address the ethics of our industry now. I know that this is common sense to most of us, but I think it bears repeating. If you are a business owner, pay close attention to what goes on in your shop. Be mindful of HOW your sales people are generating their reverse mortgage leads. Make sure it is accordance with what you want your company's identity to be. In the case of reverse mortgage lending, one bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. (So that's how he is going to tie in his cryptic post title!)

Let's make sure that we get rid of the bad apples while we still have the chance.

Punch Two Thru Twelve... Or BUST.

This post contains one of the most powerful secrets in reverse mortgage marketing. Picture 10 additional qualified homeowners a month calling YOU to start the process of their reverse mortgage application. Think it would cost you a lot of money to start seeing this additional traffic? Think it would take up a lot of your time? Think it can't be done? Well, if you were right, this would make for an extremely short post, wouldn't it?

You may be thinking, "Sure, it might be possible, but it would probably mean that someone had to have developed some cutting-edge, break-through marketing concept?"

Well, they did... in the 1960s! And even though it has changed it's looks a little, lost the baby fat, and traded in the bell-bottoms, direct marketing is still one the most effective ways to generate and CLOSE complex sales in America. It's also a personal passion of mine; so if you subscribe to this feed (which I sincerely hope you do), you will find me writing about it often. Now before I need a trail of bread crumbs to get you back to how this whole thing ties back to generating great reverse mortgage leads, let me please introduce you to a little concept that I call The One-Two Punch.

It's not new. It's not original. But it is an extremely successful and proven method for generating sales traffic that is "ready to buy" (especially in long or complex cycle sales - achem... sound familiar?).

So here it is:

PUNCH ONE - Find your audience by getting them interested in your product. In this case, it's a reverse mortgage.

How do you that? Easy. (WARNING: You are quickly approaching a shameless plug.) Popular ways are newspaper ads, magazine ads, flyers, church meetings, networking clubs, senior events, local cable TV commercials, golf outings, social events, seminars, pot luck dinners, internet resources... or my personal favorite for this particular demographic, (wait for it) direct mail marketing. (That wasn't the plug.) You could either do it yourself, which is usually time consuming, expensive and distracting from your core business or (Here it comes.) you could purchase leads already generated by this method from a reputable (dare I say lovable) reverse mortgage marketing firm, like my company, The Closer's Key. (Sorry, but I have mouths to feed too!)

No matter how you decide to generate the initial contacts with your reverse mortgage prospects, the important part is: DO IT NOW. Your marketing efforts WILL cost you time and/or money, but if you were smart about how you went about generating them, you should be rewarded with at least 5 to 15% of your prospects turning into closed loans within the first 45 days of generation. That's great, but don't stop there! A truly successful reverse mortgage advisor goes on to...

PUNCH TWO - Use direct marketing to convert a significant portion of the remaining 85 to 95% of the prospects that you DID NOT CLOSE with PUNCH ONE. There are many different ways to do this as well. Telemarketing, sales letters, seminar invitations, post cards, or reverse mortgage newsletters are a few of my favorites. This is not a "kiss on the cheek and run away" technique. This is a long term, committed relationship that much be executed with some care and consistency. You need to develop a LOW COST nurturing program for the 85 to 95% that are interested in a reverse mortgage, but not ready to buy. These potential reverse mortgage customers are just entering the education and research phase of their sales cycle. (More about this in future posts.) Once they are in the program, they should be hearing from you once a month until they either close or until the cost of your program outweighs the potential profit. So you see, like this posting's title suggests, PUNCH TWO should really be called PUNCH TWO THRU TWELVE... Or BUST.

This "lead nurturing" process will take much longer to yield sales, but if you start it today, just imagine the cumulative effect it will have 6 or 9 months from now. IMPORTANT: Repetition is the key to this strategy. A "catch-as-catch-can" effort to call your old leads probably will not work. I suggest that you consciously and deliberately DEVELOP a system for lead nurturing or hire someone to do it for you. REMEMBER: Just because it takes time, that doesn't mean that it has to take up YOUR TIME. If a potential reverse mortgage customer sees your company's name, or hears from one of your advisors, or better yet, receives their educational information from your company month after month, who do you think they will most likely buy from once they make their decision to move forward?

Now go knock 'em dead, Rock-o. (you know..? as in Rocky... Balboa..? One-Two Punch, get it? That's referred to as a "call back." Whatever... forget it.)

Mrs. Smith Hates It When You Call Her During Jeopardy

I spoke to a reverse mortgage originator today (one that shall remain nameless) that was so excited to tell me that they found a great company BASED IN INDIA that will provide them with TELEMARKETED reverse mortgage leads. HEELLLLO!

Effective reverse mortgage marketing starts with knowing who your audience is. NEWS FLASH: The average American does not want an unsolicited call from ME. So I'm pretty sure that Americans over the age of sixty do not want unsolicited calls from me or anyone else and that includes all of India, Australia, and Bora Bora. (No offense to those places. They are all great. I mean it. I'm not a racist.)

The fact is, telemarketing to this demographic is probably not your best bet. I'm pretty sure that you don't need me to tell you that Americans over sixty don't like unannounced callers - especially telemarketers. Why? Because they DON'T TRUST THEM.

And TRUST is the key word here. Reverse mortgage customers need to to TRUST the companies that they choose to work with. 9 times out of 10 a reverse mortgage candidate's first contact with a reverse mortgage company will be for education and research purposes only. They are weary of phone calls from strangers from foreign countries representing companies that they don't know. Don't believe me? Try a Google Search on the phrase "telemarketing to seniors" and see what comes up. Our nation's residents over the age of 70 are some of the biggest targets for telemarketing fraud. Think they don't know it? AARP is sure to warn them.

Keep telemarketing to the reverse mortgage candidates in your area and you absolutely WILL develop a name for yourself, although I don't it's the name that you'll want to be called.

Before you send your comments, let me clarify. I am not saying that you shouldn't call your prospects. However you may want to reconsider having a completely unsolicited phone call be your very first introduction to them. (Maybe a follow up on a FREE information package instead.) And if you have to introduce to your company for the first time via the telephone, remember this: Main Street USA usually responds better to the guy up the street or around the corner, than the guy from two towns away.

And the line about Mrs. Smith and how she hates to be called during Jeopardy; that's not a joke. She really does hate it.

Offer FREE Seminars to Your Audience

I know plenty of originators that dedicate a small chunk of their reverse mortgage marketing dollars to holding FREE seminars for the prospects who have not committed to closing yet. Why? How about because they work? If you subscribe to this blog (and I hope that you do), you will hear me say time and again that the Reverse Mortgage sales cycle is a LONG one. Only a small percentage of the reverse mortgage leads that you purchase today will turn into a closed loan in the next 30 days. The rest of them will be starting their education and research phase.

Just so we're clear:

The Education phase - "What's all this Reverse Mortgage hubbub about?"

The Research phase - "I think I like this Reverse Mortgage hubbub. I wonder who's got the best hubbub?"

You just spent a small fortune getting qualify prospects to speak to you about a Reverse Mortgage, 75% of them are not going to be ready to buy anytime soon. 35% of those have a strong chance of buying in the future. Hmmm. A captive audience? Who better to educate them on the benefits and features of a Reverse Mortgage than YOU?

Our studies indicate that a FREE educational seminar that is really light on the sales pitch is the perfect way to gain the trust of this 35%. When they are ready to move forward, who they gonna call? BINGO! (You're on to me.)

A FREE seminar is ideal for spreading the word about reverse mortgage solutions. Do some research on How To Give an Effective Seminar and then DO IT!

Here are some great topics that you can add to your presentation:

• Dispel the Myths: "You retain ownership of your home!"


• How to use a reverse mortgage to pay for long-term care


• A reverse mortgage is repaid with interest only when the borrower sells the house, permanently moves, or dies - otherwise no payment is necessary!


• Explain how reverse mortgages can reduce Estate Taxes


• Increase home value with cash out from a reverse mortgage


• Most people do not realize that Reverse Mortgages are insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) or backed by Fannie Mae


• Reverse Mortgages provide you with a source of income that can be used to improve your standard of living and maintain your independence

Make sure that you focus on educating your audience, not selling them! Offer your more inquisitive guests a FREE in-home (or in-office) consultation. You might also consider asking other presenters to participate in your FREE seminar. Estate planning professionals, financial advisors and life insurance specialists are generally good candidates to add another level of expertise to the discussion. Your combined backgrounds and experience will be more valuable than what you can offer alone. (Or at least that is what the perception will be.)

Create some nice hand outs so people do not have to write everything down and they can spend their time listening and participating. (And PLEASE don't forget to put your contact information all over it.) Call all of your attendees the next day and thank them for coming. If you do this with some panache, you will be well on your way to building the necessary foundation of trust to build your future sales on.

And you may have noticed that I capitalized the word FREE many times in this post. That was on purpose. Too much? Sorry.

Are You Saying "No" To Your Customers?

I was not going to write anything today, but sometimes "life happens" and you just have to take advantage of the moment. So this is the situation that sparked tonight's entry: (Has this ever happened to you?) My wife and I took out 75 lb. Yellow Lab to the dog park this morning and on the way we stopped at a deli for a cup of coffee. I had never darkened the doors of this establishment before (and I will probably never darken them again), but it was your standard small deli serving sandwiches, bagels, coffee, sodas, etc. You know the type.

Right before I placed my order I decided that I wanted an iced coffee. (Okay get used to my convention of using parenthesises to highlight my inner thoughts: I'm writing this next part in an emotional state that is akin to Chevy Chase's at the end of Vacation when he starts to completely lose it.) So get this: I'm at a deli. I ask for an iced coffee. And the little man working behind the counter looks me right in the eye and clearly explains "We don't have that."

My response was New York sarcastic at it's best. I asked "Do you have coffee?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Good. Do you have ice?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Great. I'll have a large cup of coffee; and while you're at it, you may as well bring me a large cup of ice."

He actually brought me both and when he did, I dumped my cup of coffee into my cup of ice and paid my bill. And even though the little man looked at me like I had three heads, I know deep down he got it. Or did he?

See I believe that this a very common issue. I think that we as salespeople sometimes say "No" to our customers simply because we have been pre-programmed to do so. Even if "no" is the correct answer, it's still a major turn off; but I think we say "No" to early without trying to find out more. If you're a Reverse Mortgage Originator and you have multiple salespeople working for you, I promise you that this is happening in your shop. You just have to listen in on some phone calls and you'll hear it going on. It's your job to re-program your salespeople to stop saying "no" to your customers before they fully understand what is being asked of them.

The little man that sold me the iced coffee probably looked at me strange because he was embarrassed when he realized that he could have helped me if he wasn't so stuck in the idea that they didn't serve iced coffee. (Okay, maybe not, but... ) In the reverse mortgage industry, sales people do it all the time. Think about it. They buy their reverse mortgage leads, they spend all day getting a prospect on the phone, and when their prospect asks them if they can skip the counselling session for example, they say "no." Click. All that time and money wasted.

I'm not saying that a reverse mortgage advisor should ever withhold information or give false information. I'm saying that it benefits no one to say "no" so early in the conversation. A better answer would be "Mrs. Jones, I would really like to help make this an easy and painless process for you. Can you tell me why is it so important to skip the counselling session?"

"Yeah, because I don't feel like going anywhere. I'm a home body."

"I totally understand Mrs. Jones. Many of my customers feel the same way that you do. That's why at ABC Financial we make it possible to complete your counselling session over the phone."

Now, call me crazy, but these are hard earned reverse mortgage prospects. Doesn't that sound like a better answer to you than "No?"

77 million Americans. Now that's no joke.

You may have read the articles in every trade paper and all over the Internet that explain, in no uncertain terms, that there is a great sea of baby boomers coming of age starting RIGHT NOW! The fact is, if you are planning on building a business around the Reverse Mortgage Industry, now is the time to build your company.

Why? The fact is that nearly 77 million Americans that were born between 1946 and 1964 are starting to turn 62 this year. Most of them have not taken the appropriate steps to make they have enough money to retire. However, many of them did buy a home for their families and they still own those homes today. Many of these homeowners have paid a mortgage payment for over 30 years. Isn't it time that they got a break?

Lately, we have heard a lot of commercials and seen a lot of advertisement explaining the benefits of a reverse mortgage. This is just the beginning. Starting today, every day that you wake up, there will be over 6000 new potential reverse mortgage customers that you could sell to. The reverse mortgage will become a household term (if it hasn't already) and if you are an originator, generating reverse mortgage leads will be at the top of your To Do List every single day of the week for the next decade.

Are you prepared?

Well, I won't tell you not to sweat it, but at least I'll be here to help if I can. This Blog will be dedicated to Reverse Mortgage Industry News, Reverse Mortgage Lead Generation, Ethical (and Effective) Sales Practices and Advertising & Marketing insight. If finding viable sources for Reverse Mortgage leads and developing effective reverse mortgage sales processes are going to be your bread and butter, then you had better buckle up. The next ten years are going to be one hell of a ride.

See you tomorrow.