Tips for Defining Your Loan Officer Value Prop

As a loan officer, you’ve got a ton to do every day – help potential customers find the right loan, create ads to market your services, go to networking events, etc.

But if you’re doing all these activities without a clearly defined loan officer value prop, your efforts won’t be nearly as effective as they could be.

Let us be clear – saying “I have excellent customer service and the lowest rates” is not a solid value prop. Too many LOs try to differentiate themselves that way. It takes a truly unique value prop to break through the noise and to get a lead to pay attention to what you have to say.

That’s why we’re here with several tips to help you create the best value prop for YOU.

Answer This Question with Your Loan Officer Value Prop

To start, have this question at the forefront of your mind as you develop your loan officer value prop:

What about you and your product offerings truly make you stand out, and how will that benefit potential borrowers?

To find the answer, you’ll have to do some research and a bit of self-discovery. Here are some steps you can take to arrive at your value proposition.

Make a List and Get Specific

To start, list all the potential differentiators you have as a loan officer. Some items you might list include:

• Your great successes
• Network connections you can leverage
• Personal traits (Are you über personable? A straight shooter?)
• You offer products few others offer
• Your knowledge on a particular topic that you regularly maintain

Make these differentiators specific. Don’t say something vague like you have amazing customer service and low rates. Great customer service and good rates are in your borrowers’ baseline expectations. You have to go above and beyond.

Having specific differentiators will help you break through the monotony of “great customer service and rates”.

Do an Exercise in Self-Discovery

One of the best things you can do for your value prop is to run a SWOT analysis on yourself as a loan officer. Go through the steps of writing down your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

You shouldn’t do this in a vacuum either. Ask trusted customers, colleagues, and managers to help you identify the strengths and opportunities that can make your loan officer value prop shine.

As you go through this exercise, think from a different point of view. Imagine how a potential borrower would react to hearing your value prop – is it personable? Different from what others say?

Again, ask colleagues and trusted customers for feedback as you test out your value prop as you formulate it.

Think Solutions, Not Sales

Consumers – borrowers included – have reached a point where they mentally switch off when they hear a sales pitch. Many find it completely off-putting. To really stand out from your competition, add solutions-based thinking to your value prop.

Instead of thinking what you can sell a borrower – a mortgage – think about the solutions you can offer them. These can include physical or digital resources to help educate borrowers on the mortgage process or thorough advice and guidance during an initial consultation with a lead.

When you focus on solving problems for borrowers beyond what the mortgage terms are, you’ll find that you can expand your customer base and help them remain loyal to you.

Be Confident in Your Value Prop

By using the tips above, you’ll be able to create a loan officer value prop that you’re confident in and will want to share with everyone.

Once you’ve got your value prop the way you want it, memorize it in a few different versions. You’ll want something short for your online presence and a longer pitch for face to face interactions.

Finally, don’t forget that your value prop shouldn’t be static. It should evolve as the market and customer preferences change.

Want more tips on establishing your value prop and developing a stronger borrower pipeline? Check out our new eBook – 5 Steps to Creating a Successful Borrower Pipeline.