If you are in the mortgage business, the very first thing you need before you can get anywhere, is an application.

I spent years working in the mortgage industry, and my goal was to close one loan per week.

Monday through Friday I would find myself a spot in the back of the office where I could pound out my phone calls from 5:30pm until 8pm every night. My daily goal was to take at least three applications per evening, resulting in fifteen applications per week.

This is how I obtained my applications.

1. Be Prepared

I was always prepared. Every thing that I could possibly need was at my desk. If a customer had a question about monthly payments, my mortgage calculator was right there. If a customer had a question about a particular loan program, I had my literature right there. When a customer commented on their needs and situation, my stationary was right there to take notes.

It is very important to have all of your resources at your finger tips, otherwise you will be fumbling around looking for things, or putting your customer on hold, while you find what it is you need.

2. Take the edge off

When you are speaking with a potential customer, the conversation doesn’t have to be 100% business all of the time. You can take the edge off by finding something in common with your customer. If you hear a dog barking or a baby crying, make a comment about it. People love to talk about their pets and baby’s. This will relax your customer, making it easier for you to get the appropriate information from them to complete your application.

3. Overcome objections

During the application process you will be hit with many objections. This is perfectly natural, most people don’t jump at the chance to fill out applications for mortgages and refi’s.

Here are some of the more common objections;

A) I have to speak with my spouse.

A good response to this would be; Is your spouse available to go over it with me right now? I would be more than happy to discuss it with him/her.

Another objection . . .

B) I have to think about it.

A good response to this would be;

Is there something that I didn’t explain clearly enough? Or, is there anything you would like me to go over with you again.

The above objections are probably the most common you will come across. If the responses I recommended don’t get your customer talking again, than politely thank them and ask their permission to send them some literature.

4. Purchasing Leads

I often found purchasing leads from a reliable lead source to be beneficial when it came to taking applications. The reason is obvious, these people are making it very clear that they want somebody to call them so they can apply for a mortgage, and most likely they are waiting by the phone. So its worth a shot.

These are only a few of the activities I practiced during my time as a loan officer, and it was rare that I didn’t meet my weekly goal of fifteen applications per week.

I’m sure if you practice these same activities you will experience the same success that I did! Good luck!