What to say when public speaking
by Dave Hershman
Dave, you mentioned previously that public speaking is a great way to add value. I agree. But you also say that talking about myself is not a way to add value. What topics do you consider of value? —Mona from West Virginia
You are right; I said the following example is not of value:
“I am a great loan officer. I work for a great company. I deliver great service. I will return your calls night and day.”
Think about this—the real estate agents you speak to have heard this time and time again. No loan officer approaches them and says, ‘Give me a referral. I don't really re-turn phone calls and my service is not so great.’ No, they all hear what a great loan of-ficer they will be, and many times in the past they have been disappointed.
Thus, the next question is, what could be of value? Education is of value. Updates on what is happening in the markets and industry is of value. For example, I have always taught loan officers the Economic Benefits of Homeownership, with the idea that our students could now go out and teach these concepts to real estate agents. Agents un-derstand most of the concepts generally, but they are not in a position to teach them to their clients. As a matter of fact, once you convince the agent that you are an expert in this material, they will send the prospects to you because you can educate their pro-spects better than they can. This puts you in a position of mentorship, rather than a sales person. That is value.
Want to go one step further with regard to delivering value? We will discuss that next week. —Dave
Dave Hershman has been the leading author and a top speaker for the industry for decades with six books authored and hundreds of articles published. His website is www.originationpro.com. If you have a reaction to this commentary or another question you would like answered in this column? Email Dave directly at [email protected].
