A leading broker has teamed up with CMHC to offer marketing lessons – and it’s word of mouth that he believes should be every industry player’s primary focus.
A leading broker has teamed up with CMHC to offer marketing lessons – and it’s word of mouth that he believes should be every industry player’s primary focus.
“The No. 1 marketing form, by far, is word of mouth. Before brokers couldn’t win this battle – we can’t win on TV, radio, storefront because it’s too costly for a small firm,” Michael Mullis, president and principal broker of Mortgage Teacher told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Now the word of mouth is on steroids via social media; there is a huge opportunity for brokers to put the “I” back in your brand.”
The partnership has worked well, allowing Mullis to share his expertise with hundreds of brokers across Ontario.
“CMHC does all their survey stats and points out that you have to be online and I come out and give them examples on how to create an online footprint and I give examples on what I’ve done in the past to make my brand stand out,” Mullis said. “What I teach in this talk: You have to find ways to stand out.”
And he gives plenty of examples of finding ways to stand out. Like that one time he coincidentally had his logo Tweeted out to all of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Nazem Kadri’s followers. That’s an audience of more than 100,000 people.
“I sponsored a friend for $200 at a golf tournament and got my logo on the 16th hole; I asked if I could work on (the) hole and I took a cooler and every foursome that came through, we spoke with them and took a photo of every single foursome,” Mullis explained. “I took all their photos and put them online and emailed them (and) Nazem Kadri was in one of the foursome and he Tweeted the photo for all his followers to see.”
Another lesson he teaches those who attend his seminar is that brokers should find ways to relate to customers, while also distinguishing themselves from the brokerage they work for.
“For example – a broker and his family battled cancer and now is a big fan of the CIBC Run for a Cure and uses the pink ribbon in his branding. Now when he goes and meets potential clients, they will relate to him easier,” he said. “Create a personal brand set apart from the brokerage you work for. People are going to refer people, not brands.”
And at the end of the day better marketing will create more awareness in the marketplace about what a broker actually does.
“I’m sick and tired of answering what a mortgage broker does,” he said. “With the right branding, mortgage brokers won’t need to -- that’s the point of Mortgage Teacher.”
