Mortgage Sales Training?

Q: As a numbers person I see where you are going. This is a great concept for car dealers and sellers of other high ticket items that are trained to think in terms of "low monthly payment." This is usually a part of what most folks call "sales training." Real estate agents are not considered sales people by most of the selling community, and for good reason, they lack sales skills and sales training. Besides that they lack the people skills to get that intimate with a customer regarding their finances. Last year at this time I had a mobil home for sale listed at 65K. Another agent brought an offer of 60K, buyer was to put down 15K and finance 45K at 8% over 15 years. The sellers needed to buy another home and needed full price. The other agent was with the local board since the year of the flood and had all sorts of letters behind her name - GRI (Graduate realty institute), CRS (Certified Residential Specialist), etc. I also conferred on her an honorary DAS designation (Dumb as Sand). I told her that the sellers had a 15 year assumable mortgage for about 49K with 10 years remaining at a rate of 4.25% - a rare bird in these times, and if her buyers could come up with an extra $1,000, and be willing to pay about $20 per month over the mortgage they had applied for, they could own the home outright in about 10 years instead of 15 - a savings of about 15,000 over the life of the mortgage which would more than make up for the additional $1,000 they would pay up front. The other agent said "I don't want to discuss terms, just give me a bottom line price your buyers will take." I told her 65K. She got her buyers to pay it. Go figure. The bottom line is for most agents they don't want to get involved in finaning, because they don't want to crunch mumbers, unless it is a commercial deal, and even then most agents don't know how. You would not believe how many contracts I have received from other agents that have sales price, dowm payment, financing, and come up to the wrong due at close amount. Or even worse yet indicate application for 80% financing in the contingency section, calculate the wrong amount under amount financed. If the average agent is that lame, how can they possibly explain a mortgage buy down? Here is a question - if the average agent lacks sales skills, people skills, and numbers skills, what can they do? I guess the average agent working for a full service company is offering limited service anyway.

A:-I guess I was being influenced by the subject of your post. Sounds to me like this might be something that could be offered right from the start if handled properly. The idea is to make it beneficial to the one who's doing the showings too or the buyer is never going to know about the incentives. The fact that it's beneficial to their client isn't enough. Even though I only do listings IMO the showing agents are the one's who are in the trenches. Also they are hopefully the one who has the buyer's trust. Also keep in mind the stats show that it's highly unlikely that the listing agent is going to be the buyer's agent so I try to see things through the eye's of the buyer's agent. Is there a was to make it directly financially beneficial (cash in pocket) to the one showing the house? -This is great concept for real estate as well; it has been successfully deployed in the custom home, FSBO and now, the MLS markets. I am not going to comment on the qualifications and abilities of my audience (RE agents), and I understand that my approach will only appeal to the enlightened few. Your aptitude for finance is apparent; just the type of partner I am seeking to assist me in this marketing endeavor. I think most would agree that it is not only what you say, but how you say it. To someone like you, the choice in your example is obvious, but to someone that doesn't know (they can be taught) or doesn't care (they can be persuaded), your "pich" is different. What are the possible unique selling propositions/hot buttons to the buyer's agent with an assumable mortgage? 1) Do you want to get paid next week or in 30-45 days? Assumable mortgages allow for immediate closings; no need to wait for processing, underwriting, funding, etc. 2) Does you client want a true no closing cost loan? Assumable mortgages don't come with the expense of lending fees, per diem, escrow, settlement costs, etc.; that is an average savings of 5,000. But it is not enough to tell "them", "they" must be "showed" and it proved in your example, that the extra effort was not appreciated or required. I address the "don't want too's" and the "don't know how too's" by doing the work for them (both listing and buyer's agents). The marketing campaign includes communications and interventions (read sales assistance) specifically crafted to explain the benefits to the buyer and to the seller. My partners would act in the capacity of messenger and I would act in the roles of educator and facilitator. The short answer is sell for them, build rapport for them and crunch the numbers for them by delivering a marketing system coupled with skilled intervention. A listing agreement and/or a buyer's agreement does ensure this; a willing audience whom is receptive to anything that allows them to achieve their motives.

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