A broker’s job is multifaceted. It takes client handling, industry understanding and a passion for helping people achieve their dreams. However, at the core of all of those things is the requirement to sell mortgages. With that in mind, it’s never a bad time to brush up on your sales skills.
Thankfully, sales is an integral part of any business and is well-trodden territory when it comes to training. We’ve compiled some tested and proven techniques for developing your skills in the sales arena and ultimately boosting your brokerage business as a result.
Read more: Free tools to help you manage your sales pipeline
The basics of sales training
Sales training is fundamentally like most other forms of training; it benefits from proper research, consistent work and a bit of patience...
- Assess your strengths and weaknesses - If you don’t know where you’re starting from it’ll make it much harder for you to progress efficiently and measure that progress. Look at your previous experiences and be honest about the areas you perform well in and those places that could do with improvement. Bear in mind that some areas of improvement will reap larger rewards than others, and focus your training appropriately.
- Train regularly - There will always be new ways to sell, new customer objections to respond to and new competitors to stand out from. Commit to train daily, weekly or monthly, but make sure you make time for it. Your sales training will benefit from regular practice.
- Rome wasn’t built (or sold!) in a day - Improving your sales skills is a journey. As we have mentioned, it isn’t the only aspect of your job that you need to keep on top of, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect overnight. Keep improving gradually and you’ll soon see the benefits of marginal skill gains.
Read more: The perfect first meeting
Some questions to ask yourself
Identifying what knowledge to develop and where to focus your training can be a challenge in itself. The following questions are a good place to start. By answering them fully you will develop a solid foundation on which to build your sales communications, which can lead you to the areas which will benefit from training.
- What’s your value proposition? - Your value proposition, sometimes called your USP (Unique Selling Point) is what separates you from competitors. You’d be surprised at how many businesses and professionals are unable to explain to a customer why they should choose them over somebody else. What makes you the best choice?
- How do I demonstrate that value? - Once you know what makes you the right choice for your customer, you need to make sure that they know too. It might be as simple as having a conversation and discussing the benefits of using your services, but a more creative and customer-focussed delivery has the possibility to create even greater results.
- What problems are my customers facing? - Besides the obvious, that they need to get a mortgage, understand what challenges they are really up against. These might be challenges they haven’t even realised themselves yet. The more you understand your customer, the better.
- How can I solve those problems? - What can you do to ease this process for your customers? How can you help them overcome their challenges?
Read more: Sales skills every broker should master
Where to find more answers
- Blogs - There are more sales blogs full of insight out there than you can shake a sales pitch at. A few of the consistently top-rated ones, to get you started, are:
- Podcasts - Likewise, the airwaves have plenty of sales-focussed podcasts ready for listening. Why not try:
- Training Courses - If you’re interested in something more hands on, consider attending a workshop or training course. This can be done either in person in your local area or online through training through platforms such as Udemy. This will often allow you to receive direct advice from professionals with plenty of experience in the field.
The world of sales is an ever-evolving beast, and much like the world of mortgages, needs a watchful eye on the latest changes. Remember, with good research, consistent effort and a bit of patience, you can sell with the best of them.