A marketing plan for a loan modification business is remarkably similar to the marketing plan for a mortgage brokerage or a real estate brokerage. You’ll be finding similar clients through similar means for similar purposes. The biggest differences are 1. that loan modification clients are generally embarrassed about their situation, and 2. many don’t have extra money laying around with which to pay you, otherwise they wouldn’t be behind on their mortgage.
With regard to the former, a little discretion and tact can go a long way. Listen to your client’s story from start to finish, and this will often be the best sales technique in your toolbox. The latter point, however, will always be an issue you’ll have to deal with. Sometimes you’ll have to turn people down, reduce your fees, set up payment plans, or otherwise get creative with their payments. That said, many clients do have the money to pay you, and will be very happy for your services. Don’t become a charity. You’re providing a valuable service at a reasonable cost. The trick is to find people in need who are willing and able to pay for your help.
If you’re like most loan modification consultants, you’ll find your clients through a wide variety of means. Your marketing plan needs to reflect the types of clients you plan to target as well as the specific methods for finding them. Unless you’re made of money, you’ll likely need to pick a couple methods to start with, track their effectiveness, and evolve your marketing as you go.
A good marketing plan is more than just finding clients, however. It also must include a sales “dating plan,” finding and rewarding active referral sources, branding, a website and other marketing materials, a follow-up marketing system for closed files, and a specific plan of action and timeline for all the steps involved. Create and implement a plan like this, and you’ll have all the business you need. Many businesses fail because they don’t have any kind of specific, targeted, and written marketing plan, or if they do have one, they don’t follow it. Don’t fall into that trap. Take the time to research and write a comprehensive marketing plan, and once you’ve written it, begin following through on it every day.
