Ep #37: How One Simple Video Ignited This Loan Officers Business

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Go check it out right now, visit LOKestudy.com and download your free copy today. Mortgage Marketing Radio brought to you by the Mortgage Marketing Institute, your number one source for truth in mortgage marketing. Hey listeners, it's Jeff Zimperger, host of this episode of Mortgage Marketing Radio. Welcome to another episode. Are you getting value from these episodes? I hope so. That's all about helping you along. Growing your success, your results with your mortgage business. I'd love your feedback. Got your topics you want me to cover, especially guests you'd like to have featured. You can email me anytime, info at mortgagemarketinginstitute.com. And you can also join our free private Facebook group by simply logging on to www.mmiprivategroup.com. It's a private Facebook group or invitation only and if you'd like the info you hear on the podcast and want access to other resources, make sure you check out www.mmiprivategroup.com. You'll be taken right to our Facebook private page for the invitation to join. So long as you are a current active producing mortgage loan officer. All right, so on to today's episode. We are talking about video marketing. Getting started with video marketing and how one simple video ignited this loan officer's business. My special guest is Jeff Chisholm. And Jeff is a branch manager with Gateway Mortgage Group and he is in Keller, Texas. And Jeff has a pretty interesting story for those of you that have been on the fence thinking about video. We're lucky to do it because of the usual excuses. I don't know. I don't like how I look on video. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do it. Shoot it. Record it, upload it. All that stuff is about to go by the way side today because Jeff is a doer. Jeff is somebody who took action and decided to on a whim, just shoot a quick video. He's done actually a couple of videos now but his first video is growing and his audience and engagement is continuing to grow. He took one simple concept. How many of you already know that most home buyers have misconceptions about what it takes to buy a home, meaning the credit it takes, the down payment percentages, most people think you need 20% down and go ahead and credit the problem is we're in the industry. So we forget that most people don't know the truth and a reason survey done by the NAR most potential home buyers still believe you need to put 20% down. And so what Jeff did is he took the usual FAQs frequently asked questions or topics that prevent most home buyers from even checking into getting a home run or not. He decided to record one video, which led to another, which is leading to an entire series of short videos. And his very first video that he did and posted up onto Facebook was a very simple topic, which was the three most common barriers that keep people from buying a home. Posted this video, it's a minute and 42 seconds long, thus far he's had 1,955. He's had multiple people share his video. He's had his video get reposted and shared onto real estate agents websites, broker websites, get exposed to new buyers, new referral partners, and really has ignited his business. And so obviously Jeff's not one to sit on with Laurel's, he took that and he's now doing a continued series of videos. The next video he went deeper on the credit aspect, in each one of these he's getting major engagement, major shares, major views, major branding, major exposure for him and his brand and presenting a message that you make and differ. And it's resonating with his local market and it's actually even going beyond his local market. So I grabbed Jeff, pulled him aside, I said, Jeff, tell us about why you shot the video, how you did it, how you go over the initial hurdles about not liking how you look on video and all that stuff and what it's meant to your business. So today we dive in and we unpack how this one video that Jeff shot ignited his business. So without further ado, let's get into today's show. Hey Jeff, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having me, Jeff. Hey, thanks for being here. I know you're busy as a matter of fact, I know you're driving while we do this. So I want to be respectful and not challenge you too much with these pressing questions. But obviously you and I've been talking for the past few weeks and you came on my radar. I forget exactly how I believe you're a member of Powerful Presentations Masterclass, right? Yeah, and I was introduced to you just looking for ideas on presentations because I wanted to implement that for this year and came across your podcast and just listening to a couple of those really led to some different ideas that have been fruitful just within the past couple of weeks. Yeah, and that's what we're here to talk about during the intro. I definitely basically talked about how you're a branch manager with Gateway out of Keller, Texas. But what got you on my radar, I guess most recently was the fact that you posted a video on Facebook which came into my feed. And what I loved about it, it was the fact that you didn't over complicate it, right? You just grabbed your phone, turned on the video and you shot a video of the three most common barriers that keep people from buying a home. And that thing blew up, huh? It did. And I'm glad the appearance made it seem to be that it was a pretty effortless because I went for a few takes before I got to that point, but you know, it's one of those things where there was definitely some hesitations and doing it and, you know, I'm not the selfie guy. I think every picture I take myself is weird and- You're a handsome devil man. Never been me. Yeah, but I'll tell you, the driver really has been. And then on a consistent basis, I just thought the people that, you know, they just don't have the right information or they've been misinformed. I don't know how they get to what we discuss when it comes to credit or down payment or just qualifying for a mortgage, but it's on a consistent basis that people just don't have the right information. So really, the video was a way that I thought in our day and age that people could connect to. And yeah, and do it in a simple way so you're not over complicating it or confusing anyone. Okay. So let's unpack that a little bit because what you're talking about is for every loan officer listening, they go through the same thing. They hear, I'm sure, on a regular basis, the same frequently asked questions, reasons why people think they can't buy a home. We all know that and we've seen the studies. Most of the people still think they need 20% down out there, believe it or not. Where the problem is, as you know, we're in the business, so we don't necessarily believe that that's what the public thinks, but your experiences, they do think that, right? They do. Yeah. It's with how easy it is to connect with them in these days. It really does blow me away that people still don't have the right information or they don't have correct information. Right. What I love about what you did, though, was that you got inspired to just, you know, what, address this and you should grab your phone and yes, you went through some trial and error and stops and starts, we all do that when starting with video, but that the cool thing is you didn't let that get in your way. You still took action and this, this, I'm looking at your video right now. So far, you recorded the first video in January 26th of 2017. So far, you have almost 2,000 views on that video. And you also told me that you've gotten some actual business from this, meetings with realtors. Tell me about that. Yeah. So it's really kind of blown up and that post was just from the original post and then I've actually run some campaigns with it as well. And that campaign is pushing about 5,000 views. So explain what you mean for the listeners by campaigns, what do you mean ads? Yeah. We're running paid campaigns to drive the video to targeted markets that, you know, we really want some exposure and so, and for me, it was the codes. So I'm paying Facebook to push that video to these two zip codes that we've started out with and really between that and posting it on my personal page, we've probably created interactions where I would equate it to leads with, with probably 20, 20 people. So far. Okay, that's great. So 20 potential buyers right now, 20 leads. Correct. Yep. And just to be clear, you're paying Facebook to promote this in different zip codes. Are you boosting the post or are you running a Facebook ad? We're running an actual ad just because you can be more in control of your audience. So you can kind of fine tune that. Yep. So there's also different analytics that you can get from just boosting the post. So right. And I'm a student to that as well. That's a lot of that is new, but there's just so much information out there that you can educate yourself on these days that you do have to be a student to do it right. So was this the first video you ever did related to the mortgage industry? It is. I've done some things out there of informational pieces and they just action. So this is really kind of lonely way that we received this kind of feedback and this kind of engagement. What do you think it is about this video that has garnered such a big response? Well, I think a lot of people think that they know marketing and know how to do marketing, but I think there's definitely some strategies behind it. And that's really where listening to one of your podcasts, really a few different ones and combining and taking away things that I heard on those went into this. And one of them was is grabbing people's attention. So when I heard that and thought about what I would do here, it's really what I'm drawn to as well, whether I'm looking at Yahoo News or Facebook stuff where you'll see the article that says, do these three things or the top five things. So that seems to really grab people's attention because I think the psychology of it is especially with mortgages and when people are unsure, they're not educated properly, they just want the steps. They want somebody to tell them what the path is. So I think our title really was helpful in grabbing some attention, the top three barriers to why people don't move or purchasing a home. And so then what the video content, what we were able to address and that was, it was educational, but I think it was also encouraging people, people like to be encouraged that don't be afraid, don't be fearful, you just take the next step. Yeah, you're covering a lot of important areas there. One is the headline to your point, it's got to be ideally value driven, typically short and concise, people, as you say, love steps, right, five minute abs, how to lose 10 pounds and 30 days, you know, all that stuff, it's got to be very benefit driven and people love that. Let's chunk it down. The three steps to, you know, buying a home with low down and bad credit, whatever. So you're on track with that. By the way, I'm going to post a link if you're okay with it to your Facebook page in the show notes so people can check out the two videos we're talking about. So just for those listeners who want to access the video, you'll have it in the show notes. All right, so you did that first video, but almost 2,000 views, you're running ads with that to drive eyeballs to the zip codes you want, which is awesome. And just to be clear, so that video is sharing up in people's feeds, is that taking them then to a landing page or something? No, it isn't. So the message just is, if you're interested, leave a comment. So then we just send a private message asking them for the best time to reach them and the best number to reach them and then we reach out. So because one of the things that I've found is that people feel like they're going to be sold something or they're going to end up on a subscription list, I think you kind of reduce the opportunity that you have there and some people may argue that there's not more skin in the game for them. So they're not spilling out a certain amount of information that's not as deep of a lead, but really what we're looking for is the opportunity to have a conversation with someone. That was our objective. And very smart play, by the way, to further get more mileage out of this video by targeting zip codes that you want to do business in and getting some exposure there. And I do like the strategy of just leave a comment because that obviously drives interaction and engagement on Facebook. You're going to get better rankings in somebody's feed when you've got that type of activity going on with that content. So good for you, man. Real quickly, you also mentioned that a couple of agents contacted you or that put you back in front of agents. Do you want to share what happened there? Yeah, that's, yeah, that's, I met, that may be the biggest one ultimately because, you know, agents are, you know, the same as loan officers, we're looking for, you know, what is that thing that's going to break through that objection that people have on why they're not returning the phone call or, you know, why they said they were going to do something and didn't. And it's usually, you know, because there's an obstacle there, there's a fear there, there's something that needs to be addressed. And so that's, that's the feedback that I got from quite a few agents that they really appreciated the content because it was something that they could use as a tool to share with their audience on their Facebook pages. So we were able to make, you know, some connections with clients that they've been able, they have been attempting to reach but just haven't had much left. So I think that's another big opportunity. So if I hear this get this straight, you created this video, shared it on your own Facebook page. You have agents now sharing your video on their page. That's exactly right. Yeah, so that's another one, that's another key number I think is, you know, if you look at that post, I think there was almost 30 shares. So you've got people that are finding that information relative and, you know, part of the encouragement in the video was, you know, if you've got someone that you think this would connect with, please share it. We want to try to help as many people as possible. Yeah. And I want to make a point too. I know from you, from talking to you and you've obviously already posted another video which we'll get to. But it's the long game, playing the long game. And so the thing that you get about this that I want the listeners to get is the way to really leverage this is not make it one time. I mean, the results you got from this one time have been really strong, really phenomenal. But you're smart enough to know that that's not where it ends. That's just the beginning and the consistency of this kind of social sharing and engagement and providing value is where it's really going to pay off for you as you build this thing over the coming months and then obviously years. Is that a fair statement? Yeah. And it's, I think it's all about, you know, you don't need a plumber until, you know, your pipes are leaking and so, you know, be there when people need you. And yeah, that's exactly right is that's not just a one time event. It's got to be consistent to where you catch that person at the right time, at the right stage and maybe they've even seen you a few times. So there's some familiarity there and then yeah, you catch them when they need you. Well, and the way this kind of marketing works is in many law officers, loan officers want that, you know, flip a switch, take a pill, get a referral loan kind of thing and it doesn't always work that way. You know, as you know, in the marketplace, there's a certain amount of buyers who are kind of quote in the market, like ready to buy in the next 30 or 60 day, but the bulk of them are not, right? So you're speaking, you're actually speaking to both markets, interestingly enough with this. You're able to get some low hanging fruit. But more importantly, you know, where are the loans coming from that you're going to be closing in the next three, six, 12 months, they're coming from what you're doing right now. That's where that business is going to come from. Yeah. And with the subject matter, and really you do have to have a desire to help people give them a plan and a path and that's all about big vision. That's all about your wife having a pipeline that's one, two, three years down the road. And that's being built over time because yeah, some of these and a lot of them aren't ready today. Right. But if you'll set up, set them up with a plan, they'll be there for you, you know, six, nine, 12 months down the road. Well, I mean, you're doing, you're building that no like interest, that old cliche, but it's true, right? In order for people to do business with you again, no, you like you and trust you. And so obviously in today's world, what's the, what's a very fast, scalable way to do that? On social and so you've done that, which is great. Okay. So let's quickly talk about the second installment of the video. You decided to go a little bit deeper on one of the common barriers that keep people from buying a home, which is credit. What was behind that? Well, I think it is because, and I refer to credit as the big mystery is, you know, no, no one really knows the exact science, you know, there's some basic tenants. When it comes to building credit or rebuilding credit, there's, there's so many people that I caught too that they just, they don't know the right things to do and avoid the wrong things. So that's, that, that comes from conversations of people telling me the things that they're due to, they're doing to rebuild their credit or build their credit and it's, there's a reason why it's not improving and it's just because they're doing the wrong thing. So again, another opportunity where I can come in be the, be the professional, be the expert, be the guy that, you know, they're not going to get with rocket mortgage and, and come up with the solution. So that's, that's where that comes from. And, and when you work with people who need some credit repaired, you provide a solution for that? So there's, there's some limitations there and if I was going to go into, you know, make that video longer, it would go into, you know, habitually bad credit versus situational. So habitual is is, you know, it's going to take a while and a long time for you to just pay things on time and get out of the habit of not paying your bills. And so I don't think I'm really reaching to that person versus the person that, maybe they had a situation where they were late a couple of times or, you know, they just have really thin credit. So we're, we're not looking to come up with solutions for everyone, but there's, there's tons of people out there that have that thin or they're, they're building that credit that we can help. So we're not credit repair, we're, we're definitely credit coaching. Okay. Okay. And take away here is this is that there's, there's an endless list of topics you could be doing short videos on. Your videos looks like they're about a minute or so each. And that's ideal. And so, you know, I always suggest take a frequently asked questions. You opened it up with this is that the stuff you often hear about when it comes to how to, you know, people buying a home, but there are FAQs through the whole loan process. Yeah. Everything from, hey, don't buy a car when you're in the middle of loan process to all the other users. I mean, the, the content for videos that you could easily create on your own is, is, is, you know, virtually endless, especially as the market continues to change. Um, what, what, what are you planning? It's kind of in the future moving forward for you in video now that it looks like you got the video bug. Well, and, you know, we're at a market where, you know, we, we have the opportunity to share that information with a lot of people. So, um, you know, that original video, we can carry it to different areas. Um, the follow-up videos as well. So, you know, we still have two more points that we can expand on with, uh, the down payment piece and, um, you know, just having a plan. So, uh, we'll be able to carry this one a little bit further. I mean, we'll, we still have endless opportunity with just this little video that we've started with. Right. Right. Um, any other ideas for video outside of just this, the three common barriers that you are considering doing? Well, I really think that, that I can use this with agents to, to really help them break through with maybe some of their fears or, um, the lack of ideas, um, on how to use videos. So, um, yeah, that, that's kind of the plan, another plan for 2017 is how I can share, you know, what we've done and, and, and, uh, show agents how they can use it as a cool as well. So, meaning you're going to be teaching some classes, perhaps, on that? Yeah, exactly. Yep. I know a place you can get a good, uh, done for you PowerPoint on video marketing for agents. I, I know an expert in this field and I, I am a big believer in not trying to recreate the wheels. So, uh, there's people like yourself that have done a lot of hard work to figure those things out. So, you, you bet. Yeah. Well, good news is, is we can, uh, bring you back on the podcast after you do your video marketing class for your agents and talk about how that went, um, but I, I need to update the PowerPoint slides and put your video in there, man, as an example, it'll make you famous. You bet. You bet. Awesome. Well, what's a good way for people who, obviously I said, I'll put in the show notes, you know, your Facebook page, I believe it's facebook.com, forge slash Jeff dot chism. And that's Jeff dot ch i s u m. But um, if anybody wants to reach out to you, uh, what would you suggest, how should they contact you? Yeah. Reach out through, uh, Facebook, uh, Facebook messenger friend me, uh, that's, that's a great way to connect. Awesome. Awesome. Well, man, I can't tell you how much, um, I applaud you and your, your brave effort. I guess, uh, let's close out with this. Any advice you would have for loan officers who are stuck in doing video because they've got these, you know, preconceived challenges, either about, hey, I don't like how I look on video or I'm not sure how to do it. What, I mean, what would you advise to someone? Uh, it's, I think if, if you're, you're not growing forward, you're falling back. So I think this was a way for me to challenge myself and, and just look for opportunities to, to be a resource to people and, and, you know, those, those went hand in hand in this case. And so sometimes you just have to go for it, um, it, it doesn't always work, but, um, you know, I think there's, you know, you're with your resources and the podcast and the people that you have on, it really just is, is fuel for the fire to, to move you in a direction to, to come up with some really great ideas and then just, just go for it. That's, that's what it came down to me for. It really was, you know, what, what do I have to lose? Maybe embarrass myself a little bit, but it, uh, in fact, if, if I got any, any feedback that, that was less than positive, it was from my teenage daughter that said, Hey, dad, let me, let me video that for you next time. I'll, I'll help you out, so we're, uh, we'll, we'll be the father and daughter team on this. But, uh, yeah, just go for it. That's great. You got a videographer now in your daughter. You bet, you bet. That's awesome. Well, once again, Mr. Jeff Chism, thank you so much for being part of today's podcast. Listeners, hey, take what you learned today. Get out there. Take action. The results that Jeff got just by, right, taking that one small step forward and it's turning into an incredible avenue of business for him. So, um, if you, if you like today's podcast, please let us know, leave a review on iTunes, Stitcher. If you haven't subscribed, do so. Check the show notes, check out Jeff's videos on his Facebook page. Um, you can just search them on Facebook, Jeff Chism, C-H-I-S-U-M, and you'll come across it there. But I do appreciate you being a loyal listener and I hope you enjoyed this week's episode and I look forward to seeing you on the next one. Bye for now. Thanks for listening to Mortgage Marketing Radio, one more truth in Mortgage Marketing, get more free training and resources at MortgageMarketingInstitute.com. Hey, guys, what's up real quick? 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