Learning the voice of your customer with Kristin Messerli

09/05/22 • 55 min

Over the past 12 years, Kristin Messerli has become a leading expert on borrower psyche. As the founder of Cultural Outreach, she and her team worked directly with underserved borrowers, brainstorming solutions to bridge the gap between unbanked na underbanked consumers and lenders looking to serve first-time home buyers.

After Cultural Outreach was acquired by NAMMBA in December of 2020, Kristin was invited to join the Experience.com team as a VP of Sales and Financial Services where she continues to spearhead efforts to understand today's borrowers and help lenders map the strongest (and weakest) points of their borrower journey.

In this Episode

Dale and Kristin discuss...

The lack of understanding most lenders and originators have about the typical borrower's needs, wants, and desires
The importance of building touch points into your borrower journey to allow customers to voice their honest opinions
The critical role originators still play as advisors to their borrowers and partners
Why creating personalized loan options is essential to gaining borrower trust and confidence
Presenting yourself as an expert and trusted advisor to borrowers in a post-pandemic world
Setting yourself apart by finding unique ways to celebrate your customers' throughout the lending process

Soundbites

"Safety, transparency, collaboration, choice, and empowerment are great things to keep in mind across the whole [lending] process, just to make sure that you provide the best customer experience." — Kristin Messerli

"If the customer just feels like they have a voice....it gives the customer a sense of empowerment and that they can participate in building a better customer experience for themselves." — Kristin Messerli

"We need to rely on technology a lot for efficiency and effectiveness and you know, all of that. But I think that there still always needs to be someone who is going to be that really trusted advisor to talk through the process." — Kristin Messerli

Connect with Kristin Messerli

Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn

Follow Kristin on Twitter

Visit Experience.com

Connect with Dale Vermillion

https://linktr.ee/dalevermillion

Find this conversation valuable?

Consider leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. Every review helps us reach more professionals like you.

In this Episode

Dale and Kristin discuss...

The lack of understanding most lenders and originators have about the typical borrower's needs, wants, and desires
The importance of building touch points into your borrower journey to allow customers to voice their honest opinions
The critical role originators still play as advisors to their borrowers and partners
Why creating personalized loan options is essential to gaining borrower trust and confidence
Presenting yourself as an expert and trusted advisor to borrowers in a post-pandemic world
Setting yourself apart by finding unique ways to celebrate your customers' throughout the lending process

Soundbites

Connect with Kristin Messerli

Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn

Follow Kristin on Twitter

Visit Experience.com

Connect with Dale Vermillion

https://linktr.ee/dalevermillion

Find this conversation valuable?

Consider leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. Every review helps us reach more professionals like you.

Previous Episode

Prioritizing your best sales opportunities with Scott Payne

Note: This episode is being re-released in it's full, un-edited format. The original version featured only a 20-minute preview—but you can now enjoy the complete conversation.

Leading off Season 1 of Batting 1,000 with Dale Vermillion is none other than long-time friend and industry insider, Scott Payne. Scott is the Founder & CEO of SDP Solutions, a lead management consulting company that helps lenders and loan officers optimize their lead conversion metrics and automated communications.

Prior to starting his own business Scott served as VP of Originations at NationStar for 10 years before joining the HomeCaptain team as a Vide President. Scott's background in the industry is extensive, making him one of the leading experts on CRM and an invaluable resource for anyone looking automate their tech stack.

In this Episode

In this episode, Dale & Scott discuss...

The importance of prioritizing opportunities on a daily basis for sales and service teams
Leveraging a CRM to automate prioritization and personalized borrower communications
Pairing white glove customer service with technology to deliver an unparalleled customer experience
Key considerations for optimizing conversion rates on internet-based leads and partner referrals
The importance of having trustworthy mentors to guide you toward greater personal and professional success

[00:01 - 02:38] Opening Segment

Introducing Batting 1,000
Introducing Scott Payne, CEO of SDP Solutions

[02:38 - 37:38] Main Segment

Best-in-class lead management
Hitting the reset button
Delivering a great customer experience
Prioritization, leads, and loans
Maximize every hour in the day
Why 'speed to lead' still matters
Calculating a 'Borrower Engagement Score'
Delivering a high-tech, high-touch experience
Avoiding the mistake most lenders make
The best time to contact prospects
Keys to converting internet leads
Keys to converting partner referrals
Why you can't afford to be a 'Link Pusher'
The art of scheduling calls with customers
Adopting and adapting technology
Scott's secret sauce for peak production
Why outbounding matters
The number one thing leaders need to keep in mind

[42:30 - 50:18] Closing Segment

The Key to Scott’s success
Finding trustworthy mentors
Scott's latest and greatest project
Scott's parting thoughts

Soundbites

"You can build good rapport really quickly with a customer, and build that trust so that they can....get through the application.” — Scott Payne

“Everyone has their own calendar, and they're really busy throughout the day, we want to make sure we block people's time.” — Scott Payne

“You have to have some sort of prioritization, even if you don't have that lead management system doing it for you. ” — Scott Payne

CONNECT WITH SCOTT PAYNE

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Get a FREE Consult from SDP Solutions

CONNECT WITH DALE VERMILLION

https://linktr.ee/dalevermillion

Find this conversation valuable?

Consider leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. Every review helps us reach more professionals like you.

Next Episode

Being where your audience is with Clayton Collins

One of the youngest and most-influential leaders in the space, Clayton Collins seized his opportunity to shape the mortgage, real estate, and fintech landscapes as the CEO of HousingWire Media just a few short years ago.

Since assuming his role in 2016, Clayton expanded a team of just 14 reporters in Houston to a 50+ person company spread across the United States that publishes four media brands (HousingWire, RealTrends, Reverse Mortgage Daily, and FinLedger), hosts some of the industry’s most up-and-coming events and conferences, and produces a suite of podcasts and other media.

Clayton is a veritable expert on modern communication, inclusive leadership, and the shifting landscapes of mortgage, real estate, and fintech.

In this Episode

Dale and Clayton discuss...

The importance, as a leader, of becoming a masterful communicator who is capable of cultivating your organization’s environment and managing upstream and downstream relationships
The modern-day water cooler and how leaders can find the right medium and message for every audience they serve
Real estate trends and the impact demographics are having and will continue to have on homebuyer demand
Disruptive forces entering the industry and new players competing for marketshare within mortgage and related spaces
Finding balance between the demands of a career and personal desires for growth, happiness, and purposeful living

Soundbites

“You don't want to stress people out about the things that they don't need to worry about, but understand the things that they need to know—the things they need to know to do their job well.” — Clayton Collins

“It gets difficult to juggle all the different places and styles that we communicate in nowadays, but it's extremely important to be where the audience is.” — Clayton Collins

“If we stay siloed, I'm really concerned about our industry's ability to continue forward with the leaders that are in place today....There are very few markets and very few segments of our economy where the profit potential is as large as housing. That puts a massive bullseye on our industry's back.” — Clayton Collins

“We're at historically low rates! Just because they're not 2.65, because they're three, three and a half, whatever the heck they are—I don't even care. I don't even watch them every day....Money has never been cheaper to buy homes, to buy businesses, whatever the heck you’re buying. Rates are low right now.” — Clayton Collins