It’s time for a fresh start!

Many of us take time at the end of the year to reflect on the year past and feel hopeful about the incoming year. With a strange 2022 behind us, it’s time to remind our communities why their dreams of homeownership can become a reality. Through education, old-school and new-school marketing, and giving back to the communities that give so much to us, awareness of how to build wealth through real estate are all in the mortgage industry’s hands. In YOUR hands!

Lead your clients down the correct path for their needs, know your products and market, and educate them about the mortgage process – it’s what a Mortgage Loan Originator does. It’s what HOMESTAR does.

New Year’s resolutions may seem silly to some, or some quickly find that their goals may not be attainable, so they abandon ship. Below you can find a list of 5 simple ways to transform your year for growth! All are attainable, productive, and have proven success.

1. Update Your Headshot

Always remember how important first impressions are to clients.

So, how old is your headshot? Yeah, we thought so.

Take an hour in your schedule to invest in new headshots for the new year. If you are sick of your materials looking old or outdated, imagine what a new headshot can do for your business. It livens up the materials immediately and showcases your professionalism. It also offers the opportunity to create new avenues for your materials.

Oftentimes, your headshot is what people notice first. If it’s old, outdated, or from a cell phone, clients may get the wrong message about your experience, professionalism, and success. A professional headshot can be a quick fix and a significant update to your marketing items and business development.

Click here for some professional headshot tips.

2. Refresh Your Social Media Connections & Posts

Have you recently looked through whom you follow or who follows you? If not, you might be missing a connection!

Make it a point this year to connect with your followers authentically and educationally.

  • Create polls on your stories or posts about homebuying and reach out to those that engage with them! You never know who may need to refinance or help getting pre-qualified for a mortgage for an investment property. So many different roads you can take with polls!
  • Short-form videos are the most watched and engaged form of content on social media. How can you use these to educate your community?
  • Use your new headshot on your materials to make them brand new!
  • Look through your CRM’s posts and updated materials. Don’t let your branding get old!
  • Do you utilize LinkedIn to meet new industry connections and new clients? Check out how LinkedIn advises updating your business profile for 2023.

3. Set Your Business Goals

It’s likely you know what worked in the past few years, but as time goes on, top strategies should evolve to establish authenticity with your clients. Realistically, how can your strategies improve?

On the road heading to the next client? According to HousingWire, here are the top mortgage industry podcasts to stay in the know and keep you updated in the industry. One may spark a new marketing strategy or offer a new way to explain what we see in the market for your homebuyers.

Have you talked with close connections and business partners about their goals? How can you align? How can you give back and serve your communities together?

Goals are great to hit by the end of the year or if you do them quarterly. Obviously, everyone wants to hit every single goal, and we want you to as well! Build your lead arsenal, develop relationships, and create ways to advocate and educate your community on creating wealth in real estate.

4. Build Your Community Relationships

Based on this Marketing Chart and survey, word-of-mouth marketing from family, close friends, acquaintances, and someone that works for the company are the top purchase-based recommendations. It’s time to get involved!

Building community relationships may look different for everyone. Maybe it’s joining your local NAHREP chapter or volunteering at a local food bank. Many HOMESTAR branches and departments are involved in their communities in different ways. Some help clean up local parks where kids play, some are involved in their local Chamber of Commerce, and some make their time available for those fighting food insecurity. If you are not involved in a local organization, you are missing out on new opportunities.

Find the cause close to your heart and find the organization(s) where you are excited to build connections. When someone’s willing to help and offer their time, it is rarely disregarded. Authenticity and homebuying education are more important than ever before.

When you foster trust in your community, you invest in your future opportunities and business clients.

5. Know Your Market & Start Calling Leads

Every business professional knows what “leads” are and how they build your sales funnel. Who is interested in buying a home, saving money, building generational wealth, and interested in real estate investments? Your leads are those people with one conversation, email, social media post, or connection away.

Every Mortgage Loan Originator should know the market and how to find the best mortgage loan options for their homebuyers after listening to their goals and reading their financial resume. Following up with past clients is just as important as potential clients. Is that past client ready to refinance? Maybe they are buying their second home or want to help their grown children purchase their first home. Be the first on their mind and keep them updated on the industry and when the perfect opportunity may come along for them. You had them first, which means you could serve and help them a second, third, or fourth time. Stay connected on social media and through your CRM!

Finding new clients establishes lifetime customers. A single phone call can change your sales funnel and open a door that an email or social media post couldn’t. Real and honest conversations with people with proven industry knowledge can be the key to your next big client or a wave of homebuyers. Time is meaningful and time builds trust.

Use your knowledge of products and the industry to educate the next generation of homebuyers. Stay connected!

Bottom Line

Homebuyers and sellers usually need guidance in their real estate journeys. With a Mortgage Loan Originator’s trusted advice, a family or individual can be helped “home” where they may build a lifetime of memories with the help of HOMESTAR’s hands. Where will your journey take you? Who and how will you serve in and for your community? Be your best at home, the office, and anywhere in between. That’s the HOMESTAR way.