Written by Jeffrey R. Armstrong – President/Owner of Armstrong Capital
Your favorite Master Note Buyer – Straightforward, Honest, Fair…
“I’m afraid I’m just not a self starter,” the note broker told me in the process of deciding whether she wanted to abandon her floundering business. We’ve all heard that being a self-starter and being able to differentiate yourself from the competition is an important prerequisite for success in your note brokering business, and I agree. As your own boss, there’s no one else to get you started, set you apart or keep you going. It’s all up to you.
But this need not be a problem, because we are all self-starters and creative by nature. It’s part of who we are as human beings. When we want a drink of water, we go and get one. When we’re hungry, we find something to eat. No one has to get us started to do something we really want to do.
Problems with self-starting occur when for some reason we don’t want to do something. Then we need outside pressure from someone or something to get us going.
For this particular note broker, the problem wasn’t with the nature of her business. She never had any trouble getting started on a deal and following it through. In fact, she enjoyed it.
Her problem was that she didn’t have enough deals to do because she couldn’t get herself started when it came to marketing. She thought marketing had to involve things she found unappealing.
So if you’re having trouble getting started in the note business, don’t write yourself off as not being a self-starter. Revisit the assumptions you’ve made. Ask yourself instead: Are you doing what you really want to do? Do you like the work of your business? Are you doing marketing activities you enjoy?
Can you imagine what you could do differently, how you can change what you do, what you can do to differentiate your note business from others so that you not only want to do it, but will eagerly get started and keep going, just as you do with the hundreds of other things you do day after day?
When you can answer these things with a resounding yes, you won’t have any problems with being a self-starter! Maybe you still need a few suggestions to get yourself going or how exactly to differentiate yourself, One by One, from the competition… keep reading.
One is a tiny number. However, it can have a tremendous impact on your revenues. Here are some ideas to consider:
– Make one more call every day. One extra call per work day equals 260 calls in a year. How many follow up conversations could you have with note holders with this number of calls, and how many of those could you turn into closed deals? Consider your current conversion ratio and think of the impact on your note business.
– Suggest one additional option to every note holder. This is particularly important since the majority of note brokers only offer to buy the entire note. Too many note brokers are just focused on getting the initial deal. However, almost everyone can offer partial options that could be of more benefit to the note holder. That in turn will set you up for at least one additional deal with that note holder when they call you back to sell more or the rest of their note.
– Invest one day per month developing your skills. Many successful note brokers invest in themselves. They read new industry books, attend workshops and conventions, and participate in Web seminars and tele-seminars on a regular basis. Considering that the majority of note brokers do not invest in developing their skills, you can quickly outpace your competition.
– Get into the office one hour early. Remember the expression “The early bird gets the worm.” That one extra hour first thing in the morning can be the most productive of the day. You have a better chance of reaching the note holders, there are fewer distractions and you can often achieve more in that 60 minutes than in several hours. What about even just one hour early one day a week, or one Saturday per month?
– Suggest one more idea to help a note holder improve his or her note/situation. Schedule a call or meeting with your note holder but instead of trying to negotiate and buy their note, focus on learning more about their particular challenges. Offer solutions that do not include selling their note (modifying the note, getting a loan, etc.) and the note holders will begin to see you more as a partner than a note buyer.
– Send one more thank-you card or note. You can stand out from the crowd by sending handwritten notes to thank note holders for their recent inquiry, selling you their note or to investors for their recent assistance. You can also send a note when you see an investor mentioned favorably in the news.
Although it is a tiny number, one can make a powerful impact to help you differentiate yourself from others, on your numbers of deals and your bottom line profits. Remember, success demands action! Keep on marketing, it’s going to work! TWITA! (That’s What I’m Talking About!) J