Latest / Mortgage Marketing Radio / Creating A Personal Brand Around Finance, Fashion, and Fun

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Creating A Personal Brand Around Finance, Fashion, and Fun · Mortgage Marketing Radio

0:00
In today's highly competitive mortgage industry, building profitable relationships with
0:04
the real estate agents is essential for success.
0:06
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Our new case study featuring loan officer Chris Cogill is a must-read.
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Chris has closed a remarkable 36 million in funded loans from agent referrals.
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And in this case study, he shares his proven strategies for building strong relationships
0:34
with real estate agents and leveraging those relationships to drive more business.
0:39
To get your hands on this resource, head over to LOKestudy.com and download your free copy
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of the case study today.
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You'll find actionable insights and practical tips that Chris used to close 36 million
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Don't miss out.
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Go check it out right now, visit LOKestudy.com and download your free copy today.
1:03
Hey, hey, hey, listeners.
1:12
You know this is by now.
1:13
It's your humble host, Jeff Zimper.
1:15
Welcome to this episode of the Mortgage Marketing Radio podcast.
1:18
I am so thrilled.
1:19
You've tuned in.
1:20
You deserve a round of applause.
1:22
Yes.
1:23
Yes.
1:24
Yes.
1:25
Yes.
1:26
Yes.
1:27
So I'm not sure when you're listening to this, but this is, gosh, when I'm recording this,
1:32
it is right around, we're rolling into the Thanksgiving time frame.
1:37
And I wanted to pause and number one, say, thank you.
1:41
Thanksgiving is all about taking time to reflect on what you're grateful for.
1:46
And if I haven't said it enough, have I told you lately that I love you?
1:49
Right?
1:50
Have I told you that I appreciate you?
1:51
I'm grateful for you.
1:52
I am.
1:54
This is really awesome that you get to connect you and I here and just come together and
2:03
have share ideas, share ideas that I hope are impactful for you in helping you navigate
2:09
this career.
2:12
So thanks again for tuning in and appreciate you.
2:14
And by the way, if you want to take the conversation to the next level, if you haven't
2:18
heard by now, we've got a private Facebook group called mortgage marketing radio.
2:23
Just go to Facebook, type in mortgage marketing radio.
2:25
You will be asked three qualifying questions.
2:28
Please don't skip over those.
2:29
Don't accidentally miss it.
2:30
And then you know what I mean?
2:31
Because I don't have enough time to double check and verify.
2:34
Are you legitimately a practicing mortgage loan professional?
2:38
I know we have some real estate agents listening to this podcast, but the private Facebook
2:41
group is exclusively for mortgage professionals, but you can reach out to me directly on the
2:51
socials right on Instagram mortgage marketing radio as well.
2:54
You can follow me there.
2:55
So this episode, we are talking to Erica Davis out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
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She's with Guild Mortgage.
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And I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Erica.
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Thank you for making time from your busy schedule.
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Erica's a wonderful, amazing lady who's doing some incredible things.
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And when it comes to personal branding, when it comes to obviously creating a business,
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you're going to hear the numbers from Erica herself, right?
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She's on the Scotsman's guide of top producers.
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She's been in the business almost 20 years.
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She's rocking the units, rocking the volume.
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And we dig into this is like sometimes listeners will share with me that they thought a podcast
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they heard in where I'm featuring, let's say a top producing originator, like we are here,
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you know, felt that it was very instructional.
3:44
I like to kind of open up and dissect, right?
3:46
The various aspects of somebody's business, right?
3:49
The sources, you know, do they know their numbers, you know, and to really hopefully illustrate
3:54
to you what it looks like to run a right high performance, high profitability in a high
4:04
happiness level mortgage business because you can have high performance, high profit,
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and be happy, shocking, but true.
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Yes, it's all in how it's designed and set up and it's a process of course to getting
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there.
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It doesn't happen overnight.
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And I think the conversation with Erica today strongly represents that.
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So we're going to unpack her main sources of business, break it down between past clients,
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agents.
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And then the cool thing about Erica is that, you know, we talk about personal brand and
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a lot of people struggle with, well, how do I do that?
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I don't want to be personal for those of you out there that have private Instagram accounts
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and, you know, what not?
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And you're still questioning, how do I not just talk about mortgage or real estate all
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day long?
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Well, you're going to hear Erica talk about the intersection between what she's passionate
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about fashion, right?
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Where she lives, local area, myrtle beach, all the local fun, cool things to do there.
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And how she's leveraging media, right, to level up her awareness and her brand to create
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conversations at scale and to build trust and like ability at scale, right?
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And you're going to hear how she's doing it and having a fun doing it and having fun
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because she's also teamed up with her husband, right, in the business together.
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And that's a great, wonderful thing if that's the right thing for you, right, for her it
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is.
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So I think and hope that you'll enjoy this conversation and make sure you take from it
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what's useful for you and if things are not useful or relevant, that's cool too.
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But have an open mind because guess what?
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Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it's open.
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Yes, there's the old classic joke, thought I'd bring that back, but it's true, gotta keep
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it open mind.
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So I'm glad that you're here and keeping an open mind.
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And if you want to follow Erica on the socials, you can do that.
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The links are in the show notes, Instagram, she is known as the stylish lender, 39,000
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followers there.
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And I appreciate you listening tune in and hope we see you in the private Facebook group
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at Morgan's Marketing Radio soon.
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So without further ado, let's get into this week's show.
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Erica Davis, welcome to the show.
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Well thank you, glad to be here.
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Glad that you are here as well and a long line of guild alumni as part of this podcast.
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I know, got some honored.
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Yeah, for sure.
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So for the listeners, give us the quick backgrounder on you.
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How long in the biz, like year-to-date units in volume?
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Mm-hmm.
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I'll tell my age.
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I've been in this business almost 20 years now.
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So and honestly, it was kind of like a family thing.
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My dad has been in lending forever and ever.
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And I was going to get into the financial side of everything.
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Went on an interview, long story short, went up to see my husband who was also in lending.
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And his boss at the time was still our boss at the time is Matt McGill, and he said,
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Erica, what are you doing?
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You know, this is in your bloodline.
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You need to come get into lending and a week later I did.
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Mm-hmm.
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The rest is history.
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And I know you've blazed quite a trail.
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I was doing a little bit of research, but do you happen to know where you're at year-to-date
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so far?
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I have to be honest.
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I had to look it up before we got on this call.
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Yeah, I'm right at 60 million and close to 260 units.
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Wow, congratulations.
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That's fantastic.
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Thank you.
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All right, so the next question, let me make a note here, 260 units, 60 mill.
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What is the number one source of your business?
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I have a wide range and I think that's one of the cool things about this business.
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You know, everybody's different.
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Every lender is different on how they get business and how they growth themselves.
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One is predominantly past clients.
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I've got my realtor source, believe it or not, it's probably right at 20%, so it's
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not big.
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And then other than that, it's really a blanket, if you will, of social media, just word
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of mouth, that sort of thing.
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Okay.
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So whenever anybody says past clients, I get really curious about how you farm that, so
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to speak, right?
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Like what are the activities you do to drive, to build such a fence and get retention
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and repeat out of that?
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Sure.
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Yeah, it's, I'm a big fan of, and I teach my team this, it's, you know, these are clients
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for life.
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We always want to give the best customer service possible.
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And you know, once they're in our system, it's just being top of mind doing, I'm a big
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fan of doing monthly videos to blast out to the clients.
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And it can be on anything, you know, it doesn't have to be mortgage related.
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In the summer, I'm a big tequila drinker, so I had to share my best tequila cocktail with
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them.
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Really?
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And I got a lottery spot for that.
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Really?
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That's awesome.
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You get to drink tequila, send videos.
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You get loans.
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That's right.
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I filmed to be in my husband making it.
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So just having that personal touch, I think, goes a long way.
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100% agree.
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And we're going to talk more about that.
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And naturally, when we talk about the video, I know my audience by now, they get curious.
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How, what are you using using, bomb bomb, what are you sending these videos out?
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Bomb bomb is definitely what I use constantly.
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And we are so blessed.
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We have Cam Martin as part of our team, and he specializes in videos.
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He's our videographer for anybody that's in our office, our spear.
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So even if I do a quick one on my own, I can shoot it to Cam.
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He does the editing and gets it ready to go.
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Nice.
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And do you try and keep a consistent schedule?
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Are you planning in advance?
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Like, okay, is it once a month?
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Is that the average cadence?
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It is.
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Sometimes it's even more than that, but it kind of just depends when I'm in that video zone.
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I try to knock out as many as I can, especially when it is about lending in the process.
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I don't know, it flows so much better, and it's easier to do.
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And then as far as the personal stuff, it just depends really on what's going on.
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If it's found a great spot at the beach, and I want to make everyone aware of it,
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especially, we live in Murdle Beach, South Carolina, so we have a lot of new beasts.
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They're retiring or moving here from up north.
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So I really do like to share my hotspots, my favorite places.
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That's interesting when we talk about what are we sending our past client database?
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Because there's a lot of debate about sharing mortgage-related info or real estate market-related info.
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But if I'm following you, it sounds like there's a fair amount of your content that is focused on that.
10:49
Yeah.
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Yeah, it's a good mix.
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I think if it's, you know, let's be honest, if it's all about lending,
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I think our clients are going to get a little bored, especially if they're in their forever home
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and they're not looking to make any moves, that sort of thing.
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So again, that's why I really like to just do a mix.
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Okay. All right.
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So we're doing at least a once a month video, and it's either in summertime,
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you have a good excuse to kill us, to kill us recipes.
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And then, of course, there's other cool things to feature throughout where you live,
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lots of places to take advantage of the beach and all the outdoor activities and stuff.
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What else do you do to stay top of mind with the database besides video?
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What do you do?
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What's it called?
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Homebot or anything like that?
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We do.
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Yeah.
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Thankfully, you know, with Guild, there's so many easy opportunities to stay in touch with
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the clients.
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So definitely homebot.
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You can sign up for these drip campaigns, and I love them because it doesn't, it looks
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more unique instead of a typical, you know, canned email is shortened to the point.
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And so it looks like you personally did it.
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You all those right now, my husband and I are part of financing the American dream.
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So any time, you know, we film one of those, obviously, we share it with past clients
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as well and our realtor partners.
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Well, that's doing a lot to build your brand, obviously with your existing.
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But is that also creating a lot of awareness for you outside of your normal?
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Yeah.
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Yes.
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I mean, I don't know that they watch it at the time.
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It's aired on Saturdays, but of course, social media is just a click of a button.
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It's very easy for people to watch, you know, when it's convenient for them.
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But we've had a lot of response from realtor partners, thanking us, you know, for showcasing
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Mortal Beach and past clients.
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And again, it's a great way to highlight the local spots here.
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We do some of those episodes with, we don't really do it with individual realtors because
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we live in a small town and I think it would just do more harm than good.
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So we've highlighted particular developments and then always try to do a local, you know,
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a local spot, a local, it could be anything restaurant, brunch spot, things to do with
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your kids.
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You name it.
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So that has been a great way, you know, for all sources to be able to, you know, keep
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us top of mind and to get that business, keep on, keep growing.
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Were you apprehensive about that or reluctant early on to be like, you know, putting yourself
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out there, so to speak?
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Of course.
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The first episode I was so nervous and thankfully our videographer, he is so down to earth,
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not pushy.
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I mean, he's the best.
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So he, the second I met him, I'm like, okay, I can do this.
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And then just trying to, thankfully, it's me and my husband.
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So it's not as nerve wracking.
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We know each other so well, obviously, we can tell when one person starts to, you know,
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stutter a little bit or lose their lines, we can, we can pop back in and help each other.
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Yeah, by now, you know how to feed off each other and pick up where one might be dropping
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the ball.
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Some speak right?
14:12
Exactly.
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Or just push each other out of the way.
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Like, okay, you can't do the intro.
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I'm going to do it.
14:16
Yeah, I love it, I love it.
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So you guys are essentially, you're on the same team, right?
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We are, we are and we aren't, I guess, we both have, for years, we've had our production
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has been separate, but and it's kind of all hands on deck.
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We have several offices for guild.
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We have the coastal area, basically, so I think it's about five offices and we're growing.
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So we kind of divide and conquer me.
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I help, you know, I help with marketing, kind of the marketing leader that works with
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our marketing team.
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I help the individuals, Ella, we've, Ella's, we do a coaching program, that sort of thing
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and, you know, Chris is there for all the, the nitty gritty, the HR and making sure that
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business is profitable, that sort of thing and obviously helping with recruiting.
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Right.
15:11
Okay.
15:12
All right, so that's some stuff or anything else like, with past database, do you do like
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annual reviews or a client events when it's not COVID, you know, all that?
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We, yes, we do.
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So I have a member of my team, her name's Gail Bakker and she's semi-retired now and I'm
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so glad she didn't fully retire.
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She works on the weekends and she is really like our ambassador, if you will.
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So she focuses on taking care of them, she'll make the birthday calls, the loan university
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calls, just does an excellent job of, you know, keeping those clients taking care of.
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And prior to COVID, we, we were, we did have several events, obviously we haven't been
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able to do that, but this year we're bringing it back.
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We're going to partner with the local charity here and help give back.
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But we've also done, since COVID's loosened up just a little bit, you know, kind of fun
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things.
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We'll have a food truck in our, in our parking lot and it's always a way to give back.
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This one in particular was for our veterans.
16:22
Oh, I see.
16:23
So you have a food truck in your parking lot and then you'll just, you'll invite veterans,
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you'll post on social, hey, come on down if you're a veteran, right, free tacos or whatever
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on us.
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You got it.
16:34
Hmm.
16:35
I bet that gets a good showing.
16:36
It does.
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Yes.
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I think everybody's ready to physically be out and, you know, just enjoy that socialization.
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So regards to the, your ambassador making calls and birthday calls, for example, some, you,
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you guide me on this.
16:54
Some L.O.s may feel like they need to be making those calls calls.
16:59
How do you feel about that or how would you answer that?
17:03
Well, I used to be Miss Control Freak and thought it all had to go through me and there's
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only so much that you can accomplish on your own.
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So, you know, I think with your branding, it's more of your team and just not you as
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an individual.
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And as long as the client, you know, they should experience that firsthand as they go through
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the process.
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So it's not a surprise when they hear from one of the teammates.
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And I do have, especially with the birthdays, we did a team video to send out to the clients
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then.
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And then she personally makes the call, but absolutely not.
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I think it's, you know, your database is your baby, basically, and it definitely needs.
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You've got to work at the best way possible.
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And I think that's, it's a whole team effort, depending on how many people are in that
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database.
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What is your, then in terms of your team, while we're listening out here for a second,
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what is your process when it comes to getting referral or the loan application process?
18:04
I'm a curious, because there's all, you said a hundred different ways to do this.
18:08
But how do you do it?
18:09
Let's say it's today, you get a referral from a realtor or somebody who reaches out
18:13
and wants information about buying a home, let's say.
18:17
Sure.
18:18
So right now and the team structure, it all, personally, I've, that's something else
18:24
that I've done several different ways.
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I think it depends on, on your teammates, you know, what their strengths are, how, how
18:33
seasoned they are.
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So right now, I have a team that's, most of them have not been in this business for a long
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time.
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So what, what I've done there is I've divided the process up.
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I have one guy's name's Mike Silvernault.
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He handles the front end.
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So when that lead comes in, I'll go ahead and I'll put that lead in, I use chatter and
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sales forces, basically like a text that goes into sales force that everybody can see.
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So I put the details down there, he'll make the intro call, you know, follow up with
19:06
the client until we get the application.
19:09
And for the most part, I always like to do pre-approvals versus a pre-qual.
19:14
So until he gets the majority of the documents, he holds it.
19:18
And he'll verbally say if the client is good, he'll let the realtor know, hey, they're,
19:23
they're pre-qualified, you can go ahead and take them shopping.
19:27
And then once they get the documents, it's assigned to another member of my team that
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really specializes in reviewing the documents, making sure there's no red flags.
19:37
And then they take the client to closing.
19:40
And where do you pop in?
19:42
It depends.
19:43
Sometimes I don't at all.
19:45
I really don't.
19:47
If they call my cell phone and I'm available, absolutely, I'm going to pick up the phone
19:51
and introduce the team and just make them feel good about the decision.
19:57
But oftentimes, I'm not involved.
20:01
So you, when did you pivot to having a team, because I know there was probably a retraining
20:07
that had to happen for your referral partners and stuff, right, about whether they get
20:11
you or not.
20:12
And maybe I'm wrong because you do the marketing side and I don't know, but did you have
20:15
to go through that process?
20:17
I did.
20:18
And, you know, I did lose some referral partners because of it.
20:23
I would never forget this one lady I loved working with and all of a sudden it was crickets.
20:28
And I had a call and asked, you know, did I do something wrong?
20:31
Because, you know, I don't know what I don't know.
20:33
So if you can help me, I would really appreciate it.
20:36
And it was simply, she said, you've grown too much for me.
20:39
You know, it's, I like to have that individual one-on-one relationship with the lender,
20:46
you know, in our clients and it was nothing I had done.
20:49
It was just, it wasn't a good fit anymore.
20:52
So it does each time I talk to a rilter partner, I let them know, you know, how the team
20:59
flow works and a big thing for, you know, most people know they're textures instead of
21:04
a physical phone call.
21:06
So, you know, I said, just, just text the team number.
21:09
You can call us.
21:10
It's all hands on deck to make sure, you know, the client is taking care of as quickly
21:14
as possible.
21:16
And that gives them a little bit of relief that, no, I'm not passing them off, it's just
21:20
truly a team that's there to, you know, get them started as quickly as can and keep them
21:27
updated.
21:28
That sort of thing.
21:29
Tell me about this text, the team number.
21:32
What is that?
21:33
Rilter will text you the basic info, first last name, phone number, email or something?
21:38
Yeah.
21:39
I have a separate like team line, a team line that comes in and we've got, with that
21:46
line, you can, you can call or we can send text out from it.
21:50
So and again, it's something we all have access to.
21:54
So whoever is up, they can quickly take care of that client or Rilter.
21:58
And sometimes obviously, you know, I still get a lot on my cell phone and I'll certainly
22:03
take care of those things and then keep the team updated and chatter or if more needs
22:08
to be done, all that's put there.
22:11
Mm hmm.
22:12
Mm hmm.
22:13
Okay.
22:14
And so you've basically trained your agents to send referrals that way?
22:17
I'm trying.
22:18
Yes.
22:19
It's getting that way.
22:20
Absolutely.
22:21
And now that, you know, it is a team, I feel very comfortable with that.
22:26
I've changed how or who, I'm sorry, who I'm getting business from or who I'm actively
22:31
getting business from.
22:33
I'm focusing more on developments or larger teams because they, they work the same way.
22:39
Right.
22:40
Right.
22:41
So they get it.
22:42
Yeah.
22:43
You know, back to that agent who went crickets on you and stopped sending you referrals
22:46
because she, or he preferred the one on one attention, was, was that a significant
22:50
amount of business for you?
22:53
One of the grand scheme of things, no, but, you know, obviously at, at heart, nobody
22:58
likes to feel rejected, but I think over time too, you know, back a couple years ago,
23:06
I was so into making the calls on the realtors.
23:10
It was, you know, just I spent a ton, a ton of time each and every day making those calls
23:15
and then it was just an aha moment.
23:18
I want to say it was three years ago, I, I looked at where my business was coming from.
23:24
And you know, I, I was shocked, I was like, okay, when less than 20% of my business is
23:30
coming from these agents in my top five, maybe give me $2 million a year, that's when
23:37
I really, you know, changed.
23:40
It went into the clients and then I was really focusing, focusing on marketing and just
23:45
having a broader reach.
23:47
I love that exercise for those listening.
23:49
It's, it's something that I suggest L, L's do every year is doing audit on your source
23:53
of business.
23:54
To your point, we can think somebody's like, oh, no, I'm getting so much business, but
23:57
then you look at it and you're like, whoa, no, no, all right, 15 hours and hours and,
24:03
you know, sometimes money.
24:05
It's not that we want to kick them to the curb, it's how much time are you investing in,
24:09
and all that, that whole conversation.
24:11
Tell me what then, then did you then refocus your attention on the upper tier, the top 20%,
24:18
let's say, of your partners?
24:20
Yes, most, most definitely, and a goal for mine in 22 as well is I've really picked out
24:30
like five things that I want to focus on.
24:33
Again, it's bigger teams, developments or, you know, a real estate office as a whole.
24:39
And I think I focus on that, bringing the business in, and then the team, you know,
24:45
they're going to handle the individual real estate agents and it happens kind of naturally
24:50
too.
24:51
It's one person likes to be, you know, with this particular rilter, and then you can
24:56
assign them.
24:57
So they work together all the time, and I've found that works really well.
25:00
Well, how many people are on your team handling loans, you know, are our licensed loan officers,
25:06
let's say?
25:07
There is four.
25:08
I don't know, they're originating to or they just working your incoming.
25:12
They're working my incoming, however, they're licensed, so absolutely if one of their
25:17
friends or family, you know, is referred over because of them, that's, that's their
25:23
business.
25:24
It goes into under my team umbrella, if you will, but they'll get, you know, commission
25:29
on it.
25:30
All right.
25:31
Let me ask you a question.
25:32
And of course, none of this has been prepared.
25:33
So if you don't know the entity, that's fine.
25:36
If there's somebody else who's a, who's a close friend, when I ask her, she knows,
25:41
she knows if she doesn't generate 80 leads per month, then let's just say lead is a
25:45
referral or an incoming inquiry.
25:47
If she doesn't generate that, she's not going to hit her income goals.
25:50
Yeah.
25:51
Do you have a similar type of model that you know what the numbers are?
25:54
Absolutely.
25:55
I can definitely relate to that.
25:57
I, that's my main focus.
25:59
If I don't hit 100 leads a month, we've got a problem.
26:03
So again, that's, that's, that's on me as a team leader.
26:08
I have to have that business.
26:09
I have to have the leads coming in.
26:12
And I think having a team, it almost gives you an extra push because their careers are
26:19
on your line.
26:20
So if you're not doing the work to bring in the business, you're affecting them.
26:25
And just to clarify, so a lead for you could be from multiple sources.
26:29
It could be past client, could be referral, could be something on internet, social, whatever,
26:32
right?
26:33
All right.
26:34
Interesting.
26:35
And, and to that point, of the 100, are you able to track or source might be a redundant
26:42
question, if so, I apologize.
26:43
But are you able to track or source where the bulk of those hundred that comes from?
26:47
Yes.
26:48
That's really, I learned that several years ago.
26:52
And I mean, now again, it's like clockwork.
26:55
That's all I focus is on is just to make sure the business is coming in the leads.
27:01
How many of those leads, you know, can we get pre-approved and then obviously closings?
27:07
So that's every single day I look at that in my dashboard and sales force.
27:12
So I know if, you know, if there's something that can be changed.
27:17
For instance, in the summer, I noticed our conversion ratio was down quite a bit.
27:22
So I really needed to look into that, see what was going on.
27:25
If it was, you know, we were just getting bad leads or was it our follow up and making
27:31
that a priority.
27:32
So absolutely, it is a hundred percent.
27:35
You've got to monitor those leads because at the end of the day, you know, if you're
27:39
monitoring closings, it's too late, right?
27:42
You have to, I have to monitor the incoming business.
27:45
How do you track that conversions, for example, right?
27:48
Have stick conversions to whatever your systems, sales force or something?
27:54
We do, but that's new, you know, I used to have an Excel spreadsheet and whenever that
28:01
each and every day with the team to make sure, you know, nobody is being left out, you know,
28:07
we haven't missed a call or an opportunity.
28:10
And once the lead comes in, all priority, you know, all hands on deck to get it pre-qualified,
28:16
pre-approved.
28:17
So now that we don't have the Excel spreadsheet to do that in the system, you know, we're
28:21
able to track it through sales force.
28:24
What's the frequency of meetings with your team to review numbers and other metrics?
28:29
I used to do it daily, but because of the help we've gotten within sales force and it's
28:35
so visible, we do it three times a week and honestly, that's probably not even necessary.
28:41
But it's, it's good because people, you know, with COVID, not everyone is physically
28:44
in the office every, you know, every time.
28:47
So just the camaraderie is nice.
28:49
That's awesome.
28:50
Very good.
28:51
Thank you for taking us through that.
28:52
Very telling lessons for people who, you know, are at a stage in their career where
28:57
they're trying to go to the next level.
28:59
I often find that some of the feedback on like digging in deep into, you know, a top
29:02
producer right, like you who knows their numbers, like that's, that's one of the key things
29:07
you need to know.
29:08
Know your numbers running a business, right?
29:10
And where they're coming from.
29:11
So you're making your maximizing your time.
29:15
Absolutely.
29:16
All right, let's switch into something a little bit more fun.
29:18
And that is, tell me about the stylish, who is this person?
29:24
I know.
29:25
Well, a couple different things.
29:29
So I've always been like, I love, I love fashion, I always have.
29:35
It's been fun.
29:36
And I did have some severe help that she's last year, thankfully, I'm okay now.
29:42
But I really got into blogging and fashion and taking it to the next level after that
29:48
because honestly, it was stress relief.
29:50
And it has just organically grown and grown and I absolutely love it.
29:56
It's just a way, again, to keep, to keep in contact with anybody and everybody because
30:03
social, Pinterest, YouTube, all that is just such a broad reach.
30:09
And I've enjoyed it.
30:10
People get to see my personal side, of course, lending is in there as well.
30:15
And another plus, again, it's about giving back to the community.
30:20
There's several boutiques that, you know, we partner up together to do things in restaurants.
30:26
So yeah, it's just, it's a lot of fun.
30:29
Well, you've, you know, so we talk a lot about branding, right?
30:33
On this podcast and in the industry, we know it's kind of like a hot topic.
30:38
But you have a website called The StylishLender.com, and I'm looking at this and we'll share
30:42
all the links for people that hold this thing.
30:45
But it's like this interesting blend that I've not seen yet of the fashion, it's like one
30:50
identity for you.
30:51
You love fashion clearly and then, but also you're a mortgage professional and you're intersecting
30:57
the two.
30:58
Like did you think about that before you did it or just just kind of evolved, you know what
31:03
I mean?
31:04
It did evolve as kind of funny, a good friend of mine, Hannah Young, and she's also now,
31:10
because of the relationship she's now working with Guild in our marketing department.
31:15
But before them, we were just, she's a social media expert and we were bouncing ideas
31:20
off of each other and she's like, oh, the StylishLender.
31:23
I'm like, yes, that's perfect because I am in lending and yes, this is a passion for
31:28
me.
31:29
And so we just, we went with it.
31:31
That's really cool because I'm on your back on your Instagram now, which is The Stylish
31:34
Lender.
31:35
You've got 39,000 followers.
31:37
All right.
31:38
Let me ask the obvious question that people with their sales had on ask, have you gotten
31:43
any inquiries about mortgages from Instagram?
31:46
Um, yes, some, but it's almost, it's the best thing from it is realtor partners and if
31:56
you're a manager recruiting, really, it's strong.
32:00
Yes, because on the recruiting side, um, you know, like they feel like they personally
32:07
know you.
32:08
So it's not as awkward.
32:10
They know your personality.
32:11
They know what you're about.
32:14
So it's been wonderful having those first Zoom meetings with, you know, somebody you want
32:19
to bring on because immediately it's, the friendship is there and it goes a long way.
32:25
And the same with the realtor partners as well.
32:28
Same exact thing.
32:29
They feel like they know you.
32:31
Let's talk about that for a moment then.
32:32
The realtor partners, um, are they, do you find realtor partners are DMing you?
32:36
Like, hey, love the video, love the dress, whatever, um, versus you going after them.
32:41
Is that more, more so hard as?
32:43
Yes, there's several realtors, um, especially this year that I've gained from social media.
32:48
Um, and it's kind of odd.
32:50
We've messaged each other back and forth, back and forth.
32:52
And I've probably only met them in person one time.
32:55
Um, so yeah, it definitely goes a long way.
32:58
And I have got enough you, uh, you know, clients from it, but, but again, it's more, um,
33:04
the bigger picture.
33:05
Well, no, no, it's just very interesting because clearly that's not your, it's not your
33:08
focus.
33:09
Like, I'm scrolling here.
33:10
Maybe I can't find it, but, um, I'm wondering if you actually have any mortgage related
33:16
videos or content on this, or is it more on the fashion side?
33:18
It's more on the fashion side.
33:20
I do a lot of videos, you know, obviously for lending, but that goes on to typically,
33:26
um, our guild page or on YouTube, um, and then just blasted out through emails.
33:32
Well, you got some on here.
33:34
I can see you're on the whole phone with a client tells you they have a 700 credits.
33:37
Really fun.
33:38
60 like that never happens, right?
33:42
Yeah.
33:43
And if I do, um, a mortgage video that's going to be, you know, again, distributed
33:49
in another way, I always put it on my story, but oftentimes it doesn't go into the actual
33:53
feed.
33:54
Hmm.
33:55
Very interesting.
33:56
Of course, it's very high quality as well, right?
33:58
You.
33:59
The video production is definitely there.
34:01
It's your point.
34:02
You've got somebody on your team that can.
34:04
Yeah.
34:05
Pam's awesome.
34:06
What is your then, um, so your, your Instagram presence isn't going to be like most, you
34:11
know what I mean?
34:12
Because you're intersecting to, to, uh, to us, to agendas basically.
34:16
Um, but what is your, your schedule look like, your content schedule when it comes to
34:23
producing video?
34:24
Do you batch film?
34:25
Do you have?
34:26
Does it multiple times a week?
34:27
What does that look like?
34:28
I, um, definitely do the batch filming.
34:31
And then when we filmed the American dream, Pam comes with us just to get some fun like
34:36
B roll.
34:37
And if we need to do a quick video, he can shoot it there.
34:40
So again, just kind of maximizing time whenever I can.
34:46
And it's kind of nice to with them both in the office.
34:49
You know, if you're just in a good head space and you're like, Hey, let's, let's do something
34:52
fun.
34:53
They're right there.
34:54
And they're able to do it.
34:55
That is true.
34:56
That makes it.
34:57
Yeah.
34:58
But the scheduled, um, again, because me and my husband worked together, if there's videos of the
35:02
two of us, we do it once a month.
35:04
Yeah.
35:05
And you've got some good videos there together.
35:06
They're fun.
35:07
Um, you guys obviously have a good connection naturally.
35:11
19 years of marriage will do that.
35:14
There you go.
35:15
That'll do.
35:16
I'm, I'm 21 myself.
35:17
So there you go.
35:18
Nice.
35:19
Um, I'm just really like blown away and part and impressed because I get them on the website.
35:26
It's on the slender.
35:27
And it's like me, Erica, fashion, business, apply for alone.
35:32
I think too.
35:33
I know this sounds crazy.
35:34
But in the southeast, you know, in Murdle Beach, South Carolina, it's hard to believe, but a lot
35:41
of women still are not working.
35:43
You know, it's, I feel like finally, it's a new wave of people that are, but for the most
35:51
part, we've been raised that you have to be a stay at home mom and you have to be the
35:55
good wife and cook and not that I'm not those things don't get me wrong.
35:59
But stay at home mom is not for everyone.
36:02
So it's nice to see, you know, that that finally women are doing what they want to do,
36:08
that they're, you know, driven to do and have passion for.
36:12
So I think when the fashion aspect comes in a little bit is I'm proud to wear business clothes
36:17
as cheesy as that sounds, but you know, it's just, it's cool.
36:22
That's great.
36:23
Yeah, absolutely.
36:24
How long have you been doing the American dream?
36:26
Um, we've only been doing it.
36:28
It's less than a year.
36:30
We just renewed for another six episodes.
36:33
Okay.
36:34
All right.
36:35
That I would assume has helped create awareness and connection for you locally.
36:40
It has.
36:41
Yep.
36:42
It's, it's been, um, it's, it's just good brand branding and name recognition.
36:48
I think, um, you know, we put it on our signature line on our emails.
36:52
So it's just, I think you get a little bit more respect by having that on there.
36:57
Sure.
36:58
It's social proof.
36:59
Sure.
37:00
Yeah.
37:01
Um, wait a second.
37:02
What is this here?
37:03
I'm just watching your video about how much of a down payment do you really need?
37:07
Wow.
37:08
That's cool.
37:09
So that's you kind of with a backdrop there, a video backdrop, which is nice.
37:14
There you go.
37:15
Another thing too.
37:16
I want to mention, um, YouTube.
37:19
Now that's something direct to consumer for sure.
37:22
I've gotten, um, gosh, at least five closed loans from YouTube videos.
37:29
So if, if you're, you know, taking the time to do the video, I certainly recommend putting
37:36
those on YouTube.
37:37
Is your YouTube channel the stylish lender?
37:39
Yes.
37:40
Right.
37:41
Here we go.
37:43
Um, I was looking at that earlier.
37:46
So, but are you actually consistently posting this, your content to YouTube as well?
37:53
I, I do for the videos.
37:55
Obviously it's not like, I'm not doing it on a daily basis like Instagram.
38:01
But one instance in particular, I have a good, um, he's my number one realtor partner,
38:07
but he has a, he's on YouTube all the time and he's, he's done that for years.
38:12
So I've been a guest twice, you know, just to talk about the lending side, um,
38:18
and him talking about, um, our area, retirement opportunities, that sort of thing.
38:24
And it's always, always gone so well.
38:26
You know, a lot of people show up and ask questions and then we can reuse that video.
38:31
Anytime I do it immediately, I'll get emails or calls from someone listening.
38:36
All right.
38:37
I want to make sure I'm understanding correctly.
38:38
So your YouTube channel is Erica Davis, the stylish lender, right?
38:42
And if I'm looking at the correct channel, is you have 12 subscribers?
38:46
Yes.
38:47
Now, the, the videos that I'm talking about, um, it was with a realtor partner.
38:52
His name's Jeremy Blanton.
38:53
And he has a bigger following.
38:55
So that's where you got the business off of YouTube.
38:58
Yeah.
38:59
Okay, got it.
39:00
But, you know, something for lenders to, you know, just to look at it, they've got, um,
39:06
either to do like a live event like that, just to talk about lending in real estate or see if any of their real estate agents are big on YouTube.
39:14
Yeah, absolutely.
39:15
There's multiple ways to leverage these different platforms we're talking about.
39:19
Yeah, I just pulled up Jeremy there.
39:21
That's cool.
39:22
He's got 3,000 subscribers.
39:23
Yeah, that's a good way to expand your awareness is offering to bring information to a realtor's platform.
39:29
That is if it's in Scram Facebook or YouTube, right?
39:32
Yeah.
39:33
For example, um, plus you're doing all the stuff there in highlighting local businesses.
39:37
Like you said, you're at the fire and smoke gastropub a few weeks ago.
39:41
I mean, what a great life.
39:43
You get to go out, wear cool clothes, see beautiful places, eat at amazing restaurants.
39:50
Sounds too good, right?
39:52
Sounds too good.
39:53
Too good.
39:54
What, um, what's coming up next for you?
39:57
What do you, what do you plan on doing differently in the coming year 2022?
40:01
We got a big year planned.
40:03
My husband and I, we are going to combine our production, combine our teams.
40:08
Um, so we can, I feel like at this point in our careers, that's the best way to go.
40:14
Because not only are we focused on production, we're also focused on growth.
40:19
And that's given us so much joy, just bringing people into this business, helping them, you know, grow and meet their goals.
40:27
So, um, yes, we're making that change come, uh, 2022.
40:32
We've already let our teams know.
40:34
So we're just game planning on the best way to do that.
40:38
And we're excited.
40:40
Yeah, that's awesome.
40:41
Are you, um, licensed in any other states?
40:44
Yes, I'm licensed in Florida, obviously South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.
40:50
And getting some business out of those as well.
40:52
Uh-huh.
40:53
Florida is great because it's one of those areas.
40:56
If somebody doesn't find something to Myrtle Beach for whatever reason they're headed to Florida.
41:00
So it's helped keep a lot of business.
41:03
That's interesting.
41:04
That's important.
41:05
My, my longer term plan is to in the winter time, I believe, or it could be, see, I live in Vegas.
41:11
So in the summer.
41:12
Oh.
41:13
Yeah. So I'm trying to think, how do I balance that, right?
41:15
Because, because Myrtle Beach and Florida, beautiful in the winter, right?
41:19
Yes.
41:20
And all that kind of jazz.
41:21
Uh-huh.
41:22
So I don't know.
41:23
I'll talk to you later about that.
41:24
Which is the better place to buy.
41:25
But, uh, this has been awesome.
41:27
Very educational and inspirational at the same time.
41:29
Thank you.
41:30
Sure.
41:31
Congrats to all your success and future success to come as well.
41:34
For those who want to connect with you.
41:36
What's the best place to just follow you?
41:38
Was it Instagram or where do you want to send them?
41:40
Yeah.
41:41
Absolutely.
41:42
You can follow me on Instagram.
41:43
The stylish lender.
41:44
And I check my messages constantly.
41:46
So feel free to reach out there.
41:48
Or, um, I'm sure my phone number email beyond this as well.
41:52
So get me a ring.
41:54
I would love to help.
41:55
Yeah.
41:56
I would definitely encourage you guys to follow her because it's a perfect blend of, you know,
42:00
when we talk about with personal branding, you know, this is well real estate agents.
42:03
So we're loan officers.
42:04
You know, they feel like, uh, it's difficult for them to be personal.
42:07
So to speak.
42:08
Uh-huh.
42:09
Air quotes.
42:10
And, and I've got this from somebody else years ago.
42:12
But, uh, it was a personal brand can be the intersection of.
42:17
Personal like what you're into, what you're passionate about, what hobbies and fun.
42:20
And your business as well.
42:21
And you've done a great job, obviously intersecting the two, blending the two, right?
42:25
Which is fashion and all that kind of stuff.
42:27
And all the wonderful things and where you live and blending that in together as one.
42:31
That's.
42:32
This is it.
42:33
This is a model right here.
42:34
Now, for you guys out there, maybe the fashion thing isn't for you.
42:37
I don't know.
42:38
It could be, right?
42:39
Absolutely.
42:40
It could be.
42:41
It looks pretty sharp in a robe.
42:44
Yes.
42:45
All right.
42:47
Well, listen, I appreciate you making the time.
42:49
Listeners, uh, as always, thank you for tuning in.
42:51
Please go follow.
42:53
Erica on Instagram.
42:54
The status lender.
42:55
And we'll put the links in the show notes.
42:56
Erica, once again, thanks for being here.
42:58
Absolutely.
42:59
It was a pleasure.
43:00
All right, everybody.
43:01
Thanks for listening.
43:02
And we'll see you on the next one.
43:03
Bye for now.
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