Biz dev during COVID-19

When John Vo was brought on as a business development specialist at what has been known since February 14 as Spicer Vo Mortgage Inc., he did so as the Halifax market was shaping up for another wild year of competitive sales. Population growth and intensifying investor demand on both sides of the Narrows was sure to put pressure on the city’s dwindling housing stock.

So much for that.

While the Halifax market, supported as it is by a wealth of healthy fundamentals, is sure to bounce back, finding new revenue streams over the next month or two, while the city continues clamping down on public interactions, will make for difficult divining.

Whereas seasoned mortgage agents, such as Vo’s partner Craig Spicer, have been able to carry over their existing relationships to the online world, establishing that same level of trust and comfort in new clients is another matter.

“It’s trickier,” Vo says, “but it can be done.”

Zoom to the rescue

Vo, who was formerly a mortgage specialist for TD and RBC, has been leveraging a steady stream of video conferencing as a means of drumming up new business. Video meetings have helped Vo to avoid the annoyance and impersonality of cold calls, while their interactive nature not only boosts the information value but also the level of comfort and familiarity that exists between caller and callee.

“You can make that [first] experience that much better,” he says. “I can show you our portal. I can show you our rate sheets. I can show you all the features.”

Interfaces like Zoom, FaceTime and Skype, convenient as they are, require work on the part of mortgage professionals if the conversations are to be both informative and secure. No shortage of ink has been spilled in the last week about the hackability of some Zoom calls, so agents must ensure they only use platforms that offer unique IDs and passwords to protect the privacy of prospective clients.

Vo feels that while technology like Zoom is a game-changer, agents shouldn’t take for granted that everyone is up for a video call at any time of the day.

“I don’t want to assume you’re okay with it,” he says. “People can be in their pyjamas or not be presentable, so they might prefer not to. If you’re in your bed sick and don’t mind having a call, that’s different versus my assuming that you want to do a video call.”

Few mortgage brokers will walk away from an initial meeting without presenting a potential new client an information package. Vo says that’s a strategy that doesn’t have to fall victim to COVID-19.

“When I meet someone in person, I’ll typically print off calculations, payment options – whatever I can – and give it to them with a nice folder with my business card. Now that we don’t have that option when we’re meeting clients through the telephone or video conferencing, there’s a bit more work.”

Vo has been taking 10 to 15 minutes after each virtual meeting to summarize and share its contents in a follow-up email that also includes any documents he’d normally share in person, allowing his clients to walk away from an information session with as many practical takeaways as possible.

“My strategy hasn’t changed, but the method has changed,” he says. “It does take a little bit more time, but I’m not getting fully suited up and travelling to the office.”

What’s in store for biz dev post-COVID-19

While Vo is largely concerned with generating new business, he says tending to his established relationships still makes up a large portion of his day. He is reaching out to past clients, referral sources and influential industry partners like appraisers, lawyers and realtors, and is still trying to reschedule some of his more disappointing cancellations. The chances of those meetings taking place in person get smaller every day.

But the shift to a more virtual way of driving business suits Vo. He sees the move toward less paper and fewer in-person meetings as necessary improvements if the industry wishes to become more sustainable. He thinks clients, who have been exposed by the coronavirus to a paperless, fleshless way of doing business in the past few weeks, will come to appreciate and expect it. These arguably superior methods, rather than simply being helpful alternatives for brokers and their clients during desperate times, may just become industry standards.