How To Recruit Loan Officers: 3 Tips For Success! by Kimberly Schenk

For years I’ve trained branch and regional managers on how to recruit more effectively. When one does not know how to approach candidates professionally they generally get the brush off which is no fun. While it’s not possible to explain how to recruit in a single article, remember these 3 tips and you’ll be on your way to recruiting the team of your dreams.

       1. Let candidates earn an interview.

Keep your best cards close to your chest and don’t offer any great benefits of working for your company until a candidate both qualifies and has

sound reasons for changing employers.

How do you do this? Start your cold call to a potential candidate this way, “Hi John, my name is Jenna and this is a recruiting call. Can you talk privately? Your name has come to me on a confidential basis (if it did) as someone who has a strong reputation and is well liked in the industry. In order to make a move a feel like you’re moving your career forward what would have to be in place?”

The average loan officer gets one or two recruiting calls a month. Candidates can be testy if a recruiter was not savvy and wasted their time. You are in a position to be selective so watch for red flags and eliminate people who do not match your criteria.

Ask your qualifying questions and get a feel for a candidate’s expertise before offering a morsel of information about your company or opportunity.

 2. Control the process.

Here’s a secret: Candidates like being sought after and know it’s worthwhile to cooperate with a recruiter who makes them work for information and possibly an interview. When you open your conversation as stated above, your demeanor and phrasing tells them you mean business. As you encourage candidates to talk about themselves they quickly get engrossed in a good conversation. Not many people in a month ask them about themselves the way you will during a ten – 15 minute call.

Don’t let a candidate control of the process. Loan officers are sales people and used to asking questions. Don’t reveal your company name or the fact you’re a branch or regional manager until they qualify. Maintain control by guarding your information as if it were gold.

When asked a question, answer briefly and ask a new question from your qualifying list. Keep them thinking and answering so you can evaluate whether or not you wish to proceed to an interview.

3. Your initial conversation provides the information you need to close successfully.

When you take the time to ask about a candidate personally, including their career goals and personal aspirations, you establish rapport. When you understand what a candidate cares about you can talk directly to those issues and concerns. Listen carefully.

Don’t treat people like commodities. Over and over I hear branch managers tell me they are great at recruiting if they can get a candidate to sit down and are able to present their offer. The way to get ideal loan officers in front of you is to reject (kindly) ones who don’t meet your criteria and only interview those who’ve told you what you want to hear.

Close on the key motivators they’ve expressed. “John, you said you want a financially stable company, with stable management seeing as you’ve been through 2 mergers in five years. We offer that. Our history is….” Then,  "How do you feel about our stability?" 

Generally there are only a few factors that will make a candidate move and move now. Find out what motivates the candidate you’re after and keep asking the question, “In order to make a move and feel like you’re improving your situation, what would have to be in place?”

You must ask this question three or four times during the week you approach, meet and interview a candidate. The reason you ask multiple times is because more truthful and thoughtful answers surface as the possibility of a move becomes real. As candidates' let their guard down, answers become more genuine. Knowledge is power.

Follow these 3 tips and your recruiting conversations will be substantial and rewarding. Let recruiting be fun. After you use these 3 tips successfully, feel free to send me a tip! My tin cup could use a few extra coins. Ha!

Want more information on How To Recruit Loan Officers?

How To Cold Call with Confidence

Sales people who master how to cold call with confidence know they have the power to command the income they desire. Success tends to breed success. Peace of mind comes after experiencing the benefits of a consistent income stream. Whether you work on commission or receive a salary plus performance bonus, cold calling is a tool that produces positive results.

Two of the most important qualities needed to cold call with confidence are:

1. The ability to listen to customer needs 

2. The ability to ask qualifying questions

Sometimes sales training covers everything about product features and benefits and fails to address the salesperson’s state of mind. If you’ve never made cold calls there’s a fair probability you could experience some form of call resistance. The old way was to ignore this very real issue and pretend the solution was to ‘power through’. Old fashioned thinking is one reason why there’s a huge turnover in the sales profession.

If you balk at the idea of making 100 calls a day, perhaps there’s an underlying issue to deal with first. Two incredibly positive techniques that will eliminate any maddening self-sabotaging actions are EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques or tapping) and ‘The Healing Codes’.

The truth is when one sits down to dial most of the people you try to reach will not answer the phone. In terms of production numbers I can tell you in recruiting, talking with 4 – 5 people an hour is a healthy target. If you call for 3 – 4 hours a day, odds are you’ll find a solid candidate. In the recruiting world, sending 4 – 5 candidates to interviews a week will equal 6 – 12 placements a month. Some industries are easier to recruit in than others however; top producers who cold call see the best results.

I’ve never met a recruiter who suggests they make cold calls eight hours a day. There’s no need. The activity generated from consistently calling three or four days a week for a few hours each time is massive. Consistency builds confidence and results create peace of mind. Early in a sales career it’s important for sales folks to understand sales calls are a necessary task.

We all have tasks. Mine include grocery shopping, picking up the dry cleaning, and a host of other not so glamorous jobs. Tasks become part of the routine and we do them without much fuss.

Calling with confidence may not come easy. If you’ve experienced call resistance then you know it’s both uncomfortable and can trigger anxious feelings that make no sense at all. Honor those feelings because they are authentic. The best solutions to call resistance I’ve come across in over twenty years of sales and having call resistance myself is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) &. ‘The Healing Codes’.

Both EFT & ‘The Healing Codes’ help the body and mind/heart release images and emotions from the past that may have wounded us in some way. They are both energy therapies. Tapping specific acupoints on the body sends vibrations throughout our system and blockages disappear creating a healthier free flow of energy. Old traumas impact our behavior today. As these dissolve through DIY energy therapies, we can re-pattern our brains and hearts for conditions we face today.

Consider this: If our parents advised us not to talk to strangers to keep us safe when we were small, we have that message within us 30 years later. If we internalized a message, “Talking to strangers is dangerous” that message remains within us. While it does not apply to our sales position the feeling lives on. Try a few solutions to dissolve inhibiting feelings. Emotional freedom is liberating.

One does not need to connect a cause to the feeling in order for it to dissolve. Both processes can be tailored to your needs.

If it’s important to your career to know how to cold call with confidence here are two solutions. As consistency increases, peace of mind follows. My personal transformation was subtle but my confidence (and sales) soared. Those receiving your calls will feel the power of conviction in your voice. When call reluctance dissolves you will truly be in command of your sales future.

by Kimberly Schenk, Executive Recruiter, Trainer, Author

Dissolve Call Reluctance

For a successful career in sales expect cold calling to be part of your life. At some point it’s common to encounter ‘call reluctance’. No one likes to think they’re afraid to pick up the phone. The mental and emotional pain one experiences can be miserable when call resistance strikes. The feelings related to this malady can be complex; the underlying source, mysterious.

It’s disturbing to discover one has a common weakness. Furthermore, a fear of calling is not a typical conversation that’s discussed with friends, family, or business associates. If one experienced perceived rejection in childhood those feelings may still be present in adulthood. Heal old feelings and perceptions and change your life forever.

Choosing to to buckle down and through determination make cold calls anyway is not a positive solution. Even if the rewards prove to be so great the misery of cold calling is forgotten, progress will be temporarily.

While the problem is obvious, logic won’t eliminate deep-seated emotional and mental issues. Anyone who has avoided cold calling can recite a dozen motivating reasons to make their calls. Anxiety can be unreasonable. We know it does not make sense, yet this ‘cold calling weakness’ follows us around like a plague of despair.

A simple treatment to banish call reluctance is ‘tapping’. Tapping is also known as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). It’s like emotional acupuncture. Tapping produces results by re-patterning our thoughts while dissolving negative past emotions.

Here’s a mini-summary of how EFT works. There are specific points on our body that when tapped with two fingers, coupled with focused thoughts about a troubling issue, send signals throughout the body to release long standing negative emotions. Those negative images block the free flow of supportive self-talk and actions. As the tapping process unfolds, layer after layer of blockages fall away, never to return.

EFT is an energy therapy. The tapping sends energy throughout a system of meridians, and alters messages in your brain. There is plenty of study and science behind EFT. I’m a successful person in business who, along with millions of others, can testify to astounding personal results.

Erase outdated messages holding you back from achieving your sales goals. More importantly, EFT can address countless other issues in our life and truly, transform any situation for a desirable outcome. EFT will change your life.

  

Self-healing on a more profound level is available through ‘The Healing Codes’ method. Energy healing is a DYI (Do It Yourself), which heals outdated beliefs inhibiting optimal performance and enjoyment of life today.

The human body is designed to heal itself from within. If we learned this technique as kids we could avoid mental, emotional, physical distress, illness and pain. Scientists believe stress to be at the core of all disease. When stress is not released, but reinforced continually by long standing negative images and belief patterns, the healing mechanism in our cells become overloaded and shut down.

‘The Healing Code’ is a transformative self-treatment with measurable results.

I personally have used the codes and highly recommend it to everyone. If you hate cold calling, try EFT or ‘The Healing Code’ today. You’ll be glad you did.

by Kimberly Schenk, Executive Recruiter, Trainer, Author

PS: The Healing Code book is about $27 for a hard copy. There are various packages on the Healing Code website, but not the book. The book is great and explains additional resources if needed.

Sales Call Scripts: Craft A Dynamite Phone Script

A great sales script increases sales. When people want to talk with you cold calling becomes fun. Working with a high quality script saves time. It’s worth taking time to develop a powerful script. You’ll spend more time in conversation with decision makers (& candidates if you recruit) and ultimately close more sales by working smarter.

An increase in sales depends on perceived value. Strike a chord by framing your offer in a way that solves problems. Sell to the right market. Use words that appeal to what matters to your customer. Talk about benefits. Differentiate between teaching and informing. Offer complimentary services where possible.

You have less than 40 seconds for your prospect to decide if he wants to have a conversation with you and whether he likes you. To improve your success rate follow this format:

Your prospect must understand: (see video below)

·         1. Who you are

·         2. Why you’re calling

·         3. 'What’s in it for me?' Address WIIFM for the prospect in a very few words.

When I recruit I use one of two openings consistently. The vast majority of people are willing to talk with me and my job becomes rejecting unqualified candidates respectfully.

One cold call opening I use is: “Hi. My name is Kimberly and I’m an Executive Recruiter, or Headhunter if you will. Your name has come to me on a confidential basis (if it did) as someone who is very good at what you do. I do have a position to discuss with you, can you talk privately?” They’re engaged or we set a time to talk later. This is only the beginning. 

Some candidates get a lot of recruiter calls and try to dominate the conversation because they’re busy people. They push for my client’s name or the salary range. I give them tiny morsels. My job requires I interview and qualify before I reveal anything about my client. I tell candidates all their questions will be answered if they are a good fit for the position. I’m selective.

The next step is critical because it sets the tone of the relationship. “In order to make a move and feel like you’re taking a step up in your career what would need to be in place?”

That question immediately gets the candidate to think. They understand no one’s pushing them to do anything they don’t want to do. Candidates like talking about themselves. They recognize a pro (you) and feel validated when someone asks what matters to them. There's no need to push. Manage the recruiting process with questions. This first question demands they disclose what they need and want in their career to advance. More often than not I hear, “No one has ever asked me that’ or ‘Let me think”. Or, “Hm. I’ve not thought about it but I guess…” And off we go.

By focusing on what the other person needs and wants you establish rapport quickly. Your sales script questions demonstrate your expertise. You are a consultant. Speak slowly and clearly. Speak with authority. Expect people to sit up, take notice and pay attention. Pretend you’re the CEO of some giant corporation. CEOs do not call someone and chatter like a squirrel or talk so fast no one could understand them. Slowing down is a subtle way to demonstrate your power.

People buy from people they like and who make them feel comfortable. We’re impulsive. The “Do you want fries with that” upsell close has made McDonald’s billions of dollars.

Know the difference between a feature and a benefit. Here’s a video on script writing I found on YouTube that demonstrates my point in a tutorial. I agree with everything said on the video.

“Cold Calling, Nail the First 20 Seconds’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlVBwasfc78&feature=related

Watch this video. Take the time to craft your own killer script. Tailor it to your target prospects and your closing ratio will soar. You’ll cold call less because your conversations will last longer. You’ll make more sales in less time. As a business owner, recruiter training will help grow your business.

by Kimberly Schenk, Recruiter, Trainer, and Author