The #1 question on the minds of loan officers is will the principal loan limits be increased by HUD beginning the new fiscal year, October 2010.
Although we are still in June, time has a way of flying by.
What are your thoughts moving forward? Will you be able to survive if things change? Will our senior clients be forced into more foreclosures? Will the new burden of entitlements be stretched to the point of bankruptcies to our entire social system as we know it today? Will downward home prices continue to spiral? Will taxes, insurance and higher rates rear their ugly heads in 2011?
Our current times continue to be very interesting.
Did you know that when you post a comment on ReverseTalk, your post will also appear on your Twitter page. Yes, all you have to do is include your twitter account information on your account.
Here’s what you do? When you log on as yourself, just go to the settings tab. On the left side you will see your Twitter.com account. Just update your information here, and all your comments automatically go to your Twitter page.
Just kidding, I have many friends on ReverseTalk.com. How did I get so many? Simple, I asked them. You can do the same thing. Just go click on the RT member and send them a message asking them to be your friend. Each RT member can ask anyone to be their friend. Go ahead, check the RT members and add your members today!
Why worry or even concern yourself with social marketing sites?
You’ve probably heard quite a bit about “social networking” lately. But what is it? Through sites such as Facebook, Linkedin,Twitter you can network with others who are in your field, as well as business contacts, customers, and potential customers. Thus, the creation of ReverseTalk.com just for the reverse mortgage community.
Many times your clients will check to see if your business has a website or a blog. If you didn’t, your client may very well have go to a competitor who does have a website. These days, customers—current and potential—are looking to see if a business has a Facebook page, or a Twitter page. It’s free and easy to set up an account with these sites, and once you do, you’ll have the ability to connect with people in a whole new way. The neat part of about ReverseTalk.com is that any posts you make on it, automatically get posted to your Twitter account, plus you can link your web site or blog from your ReverseTalk.com account.
Through ReverseTalk.com you can easily give quick updates about company news, sales, and promotions. The best part is get to create synergies among people just like yourself. RM consultants who are interested in seniors and doing a better job to create a better for both their clients and themselves. Any posts you do on ReverseTalk.com will automatically be posted on your Twitter account. You can even give a link to a new blog post, or promotion, which in turn could mean increased sales. With Facebook, you can draw in customers and potential clients in a non-invasive, laid-back environment. Sure, you have a product to sell, but through Facebook and Twitter accounts, you can give that extra level of service without the “in your face” tactics that many businesses use.
You are probably thinking seniors don’t visit the web. Wrong! Seniors are becoming more and more savvy. Especially upcoming Boomers. Don’t get caught in a rut thinking senior homeowners are you only audience. What about advocates and children of seniors and professionals who want to make sure their seniors take advanatage of all financial means available? Wallah, you and reverse mortgages!
The opportunities are endless with ReverseTalk.com, Twitter and Facebook. You can keep your clients up-to-date through ReverseTalk.com, Twitter (or Facebook, for that matter), which will increase customer confidence, as they will be able to see that you’re quickly resolving the problem, and that you care enough about your clients to provide updates. One of my REMALO members recently told me his facebook account landed him 2 new referrals, of which one referrals loan closed and the other is pending.
While it’s understandable that some folks may be hesitant to embrace social networking, it’s clearly taking the Internet by storm, and those businesses who don’t embrace it may find themselves left in the dust, as your clients flock to savvy businesses who keep up with the times.
Don’t let your reverse mortgage busines be left in the dust. Let your business flourish, and gain even more clients by not only creating accounts with social networking sites, but actually taking full advantage of it by interacting with clients, advocates, and other professional services, and constantly keeping your content fresh and updated. Update your ReverseTalk.com daily (remember Reverse Talk, automatically updates your Twitter page), even if it’s only just once. Respond quickly to direct messages, and comments. Respond quickly, too, on Facebook, Linkedin , and any other social networking sites you may join. By doing this, you’ll impress your senior clients , and enjoy one added bonus: word of mouth, which is part of the wonders of networking. Continuing the quest of lead nurturing and appreciation marketing.
Want to learn more: Check out this great video, Social Marketing 101 Video, CLICK HERE
With ReverseTalk.com, members with a common interest are able to participate in a dedicated channel and interact together to share news and comments. The group addon can be used for any purpose including coverage for a special event (similar to Twitter US Election) to a general group for a specific interest group such as loan officers, title companies, etc.
What is a Tweet? Many term tweets as talking on the web in short blasts to a wide variety of tweeters.
So. what is different about Reverse Talk? Reverse Talk tweets are sent to a specific community, specifically senior professionals who are interested in connecting with like mindedness professionals and service providers, and not to a wide spectrum audience. like twitter. The advantage is simple; you are able to communicate, sound off, ask questions, get resources, and make friends all across the country.
The question is, do I want to friend my competitor down the street? The answer is yes and no. You see, your neighbor down the street is trying to make a living in this business just like you. Getting to know your neighbor puts you in a position to know both some of the good and not so good things. That old saying, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” is very wise advice.
ABOUT ME: I noticed that many RT members sign up, but never go back to complete their profiles. This is your option and is not a requirement, however, if I am going to ‘friend you’ on RT, then I want to know something about you, ie. where you do business, your interests in the reverse mortgage business, etc. So, if you haven’t completed your profile, then take about 2 minutes to do it.
Here is where you go to complete the “About Me”:
1. Login to your member account
2. Click on “Settings” on the top tab
3. Click on “About Me” under the My Account menu
4. Next just fill in the About Me information (you can add as little or no info here)
5. Next on the blue tab “save changes”
6. You can go back and change your “About Me” at any time
Tweet: Did you know every time you do a public post in RT, it can get posted to your twitter account?
Make sure your Twitter account is updated in your Settings.: Did you know google threads through your tweets and it can increase your SEO?
While you at it why not “invite friends”? Do you have a colleague or other professional who would like to be part of our community. If so, simply go to your “invite friends” tab and send them an email. We have it all done for you.
Did you know you can use your sticker to keep your reverse mortgage fans in touch with you?
Here is how simple it is:
1. Login in to your Reverse Talk account
2. Open your “Settings” tab
3. At the very bottom you will see “My Layout” and directly under that is
“My Sticker” -> click on my sticker
4. Next you will see your “sticker” with your latest post.
5. Under that you will see a box that says: Paste this code into your website/Blog:
6. Copy and paste the code below into your web site or your blog, just like I have done
with my Sam Collins Marketing web site and REMALO Association site.
7. Here is a sample of what it will look like…
Go ahead get your sticker onto to your web site or blog site.
I was curious to find out how long Twitter had been around, how it got started, and the reason for its success. I was surprised to find out that Twitter was started 3 years ago. The concept was a phenomenon and the idea has flourished to become a huge success.
Success did not come until the idea was public and folks began to invite their friends and associates to join in this unique form of communication. The introduction of API pushed the concept over the top. Now there are millions using Twitter and connecting with friends and assoicates around the world. The whole story about Twitter can be foundhere!
Would you like to hear the story about how Reverse Talk was born? To be honest, it actually came from the concepts adapted by Twitter. From my own experiences, I knew that most of us have little time to do what we want, plus dozens of places to go to for answers, but I felt the common known sites such as Twitter,Facebook, and LinkedIn, just did not relate to the issues, challenges, and things going on in my senior world and that of reverse mortgages. I knew there had a be a way to get everyone togethter and in a way that was affordable and not majorly time consuming. I guess free was good enough!
Thus was born ReverseTalk.com Here in 140 characters (micro blogging) or less you can connect with like minded folks. For you to get the most from your RT experience, consider inviting a friend. There are really no trade secrets, only opportunities and guess what, you might meet a friend or learn how you can push yourself to a higher degree of success. Short and direct messages are the future and the way to absorb a lot of information in a short time. Also, did you know your Reverse Talk public posts automatically goes to your Twitter account, saving you time and connecting you with more folks.
Go ahead invite a friend. Just click this link to INVITE FRIENDS
Have you ever made a purchase, for example a car, and wish it had that little extra something? Well, when I put together Reverse Talk, I tried to keep it simple, but useful. However, sometimes the most obvious just gets overlooked.
Today Christine Herman from PRClosings and Gary Packman brought to my attention the very obvious. The “Register” button for new members joining was too obscure. Once I checked it out, I agreed, so we are working on changing it to be more pronounced.
Also, William Bach brought to my attention a ”direct message” issue. We are working on fixing. Seems like the issue is resolved, but early members have been affected the most.
Now the good news. The feedback for Reverse Talk has been really positive and I hope to see more folks take advantage of this great means to communicate among each other, within your company, and with other service providers.
The #1 question on the minds of loan officers is will the principal loan limits be increased by HUD beginning the new fiscal year, October 2010.
