How To Use Video to Become a Better Loan Officer
Every loan officer knows they need to be doing video. It gives people the opportunity to see you and get to know you. It puts you in front of people you don’t even know. It can only mean great things when it comes to growing and scaling your mortgage business.
And yet so many people are so hesitant to use it. Why is that? I recently invited a special friend to chat about that very thing with me.
Meet the Video Queen
Ginger Bell is a dear friend of mine and an advisor here at the Mortgage Marketing Animals and Freedom Club. Ginger is known in the mortgage industry as the Video Queen, because she helps loan officers come up with content and produce quality videos.
Her more professional job description is Education Specialist. For the past 20 years, she has helped organizations and professionals develop and implement training programs that position them as experts in their field. Over the course of her career, she has built everything she does around the concept of “edgy marketing.” She’s a phenomenon really.
Ginger called me up a few months ago and said she had an idea for a book collaboration with me. She’s written some awesome books, and of course I said yes. The book we co-wrote is called Leadership Video Planner and it’s available now. We sat down recently to talk about some of the concepts in the book—how we can use video in the mortgage space to become better loan officers.
Why Do I Need to Use Video?
Like I said already, every loan officer knows they need to be doing video. But some people take a bit of convincing. Ginger says people are always asking her, “Does it really work?” Yes, it really works.
I was an early adopter on this video thing. Making videos and picking up the phone to make calls are the two most powerful business tools I’ve ever used in my entire career. They’re my top two loan officer tips (along with hiring help). Videos are what put me on the map, not just in the loan officer community but in my local community as a lender as well.
I’m just an average guy. I’m no Brad Pitt. But that doesn’t matter. I’ve found that it’s not what you look like on the video; it’s how you make people feel. When people hear my name and my voice, or see my email or get my pre approval letter, I want them to think rainbows, unicorns, and puppy dogs. I learned very early on that, as long as I give people a positive feeling about me, my video is going to be a winner.
The sole purpose of the video is to let people know who I am and to exponentially accelerate that. Video helps people know, like, and trust me. No matter how I look, how I talk, even if I stutter or search for words, that’s just who I am. I don’t edit that stuff out. It’s been an absolute 100% homerun for me. Being able to authentically share with people is what prompted Ginger to write Leadership Video Planner.
You can post videos on Facebook and Instagram obviously, but Ginger says putting it out there on a platform like YouTube is what will get you noticed and recognized outside of your current sphere of influence. People will see you, hear you, view you as an expert, and this will increase your audience and get you more loans.
The Three Audiences for Our Videos
Who are we making these videos for? Who’s our target audience? Simply put:
- consumers
- partners
- your team
The first audience we all think about is consumers because that’s what we typically market to. People who need to take out a loan.
The second audience is your realtors, your partners, your attorneys, helping them to be experts. Bring them along on your videos, and they’ll share it with their people. This is how you’ll get more realtor referral partners.
The third audience is your team. If you’re looking to recruit, you want videos focused on leadership, culture, and values. Your internal team from operations to marketing need videos as well. I haven’t done so great at making videos for my team, something I didn’t realize until I talked to Ginger.
What Do I Talk About In My Videos?
Ginger loves using quotes. Often, when she writes, she’ll start with a quote as a base, a foundation for getting her thoughts together. She knows from working with clients that coming up with content is often the hardest thing for people. “What do I say?” they always ask her.
She tells people that, if they want to make a video, think about a short little conversation you might have with someone over coffee. “Carl, what did it feel like to start a business?” You can start off with a simple question, a simple quote, as a jumping off place for creating a leadership video to motivate your team or whatever.
A couple years ago we did a study to find out the number one thing people clicked on when they came to my website. I thought it would be today’s rate. It wasn’t. The number one thing was “About Me.” People wanted to know about me. What better way to show them me, and help them know, like, and trust me than to post a video?
Four Basic Parts of a Video
In the book, we talk about the four basic parts of a video:
- topic
- opening hook
- 3 points
- call to action
The first part is the topic idea. How do we pick a title? Ginger has a book of quotes, and she’ll pick one to start the video. For example: “You never know what motivates you” by Cicely Tyson. Let’s do a video about what motivates you.
The Leadership Video Planner gives you 52 different inspirational topic ideas. And when you buy the book, we’ll email you example videos done by me and Ginger and some other people in the industry. We’re excited to be creating a movement of inspiration. You don’t have to be super clever. You can just swipe other people’s clever ideas.
The second part is the opening hook. You want to start your video in an attention-grabbing way. The first three seconds of a video are most crucial. Don’t start with a big, long introduction of yourself or people will stop watching. It can be a shock-and-awe statement or a simple question: “Do you ever struggle with being motivated?”
The third part is having three points. There’s something magical about the number three. People think in terms of three. Say something like: “In this video, I’m going to share three quick tips to help you get more motivated daily.” Not all of your videos have to be short. If you have an incredible amount to share, go ahead and share. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes to cover everything you have to say.
Part four is the part where everybody screws up, because they just don’t do it. At the end of the video, you have to tell people what you want them to do. You have to give them a call to action. People say they don’t want to be weird or salesy. Listen, if you’re helping people, it’s okay to tell people how you can help them.
Easy Ways to Do a Call to Action
At the end of a video, I say something like this: “Well, hopefully, you found this helpful. Hey, look, any time you or a friend, family member, or coworker is looking to buy, sell, or refinance, I’d love to help you. That’s what I do. I’m in the mortgage industry, and I’m at your service. Thanks again, everybody! See you in the next video!” I call it my 3×3: friends/family/coworkers and buy/sell/refinance.
Another way to do it: “Thanks, everybody. I’m Carl White here at ABC Mortgage Company. Three things you can count on from me: I’ll close you on time. I’ll give you great communication during the loan process. And I’ll follow up on your leads like green on a pickle. So you get even more referrals from other people going forward. I’ll talk to you when you call in!”
Ginger kindly says my calls to actions are her absolute favorite, a secret sauce. She likes how I say my name (a lot of people don’t think to do this). She likes how I tell them to share with their friends. People will do what we tell them to do. She calls it a direct indirect. Instead of saying “Hey, I want you to forward this to your friends,” say, “Hey, thanks so much for forwarding this to your friends.” See the difference?
My simple formula for a call to action is:
- Here’s what I got.
- Here’s how it benefits you.
- Here’s what I want you to do next.
And that’s it. You can buy the book on Amazon, then head over to the website to see weekly example videos of industry leaders and people just like you sharing what they did with the quote.
Buy the book and just get started. All you need is a smartphone. I have a big fancy video room with cameras and computers and all that, and I never use it. 99% of my videos are shot with my little iPhone. It’s powerful; it’s easy; and it takes nothing to get them done. Just start doing it. You’re perfectly imperfect, just like me. You’ve got this.
