We have a very unique sales and client services structure here at NTC. Due to the fact that many of the services we offer are quite complex, we have not had much success in finding opportunity, closing a new project then moving onto the next opportunity.
Working within this structure, I have found that people in general value transparency and information. In the age where just about anything is at your fingertips with the touch of a few keystrokes, the need to maintain a client relationship throughout any project or overall service delivery is critical to their business and yours.
As a salesperson in this industry, I know we all have busy schedules – things can change at the drop of a hat, a new project can come up and take priority. Clients value people (and vendors) that support those sudden changes and can communicate and implement those changes for it be successful.
The skills for this may seem obvious to most, however, there are several key factors that I believe are most important – sharing your knowledge, being open-minded, learning your clients needs and then exceeding their expectations. Each client is important and maintaining contact and aiming to deliver the best service possible is part of going the extra mile.
To do all of this, you have to be supported by a great team that share these as well as their own specific skill set to get the job done. Whether you are having weekly calls with the project management team, going on-site (which we hope to start to hope doing again soon) or reviewing reports to analyze and roll up specific data points, it all goes back to being transparent and sharing information.
In the mortgage industry, when the market shifts, so do client needs. When you can share your knowledge with your peers, they can gauge what is to be expected down the road and keep an eye on any trending data for what is to come next. When on-boarding projects, you must be open-minded to how something may vary in different ways to what was done previously as well as be able to learn exactly what your client needs and how to successfully deliver.
If you have been able to do the above, exceeding their expectations should be the easy part. Keep them in the know about how things are progressing, any tweaks that you feel would be beneficial for a smoother and more efficient process and summarizing next steps to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Being able to achieve this as a sales executive and staying engaged as part of the team, gains confidence with my clients, which makes for an easier job down the road to win business as they already know we are the right company for the job.
About the Author
Lindsey Trebian, AVP Business Development
Lindsey Trebian is the AVP of Business Development at Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. Lindsey has identified risks for her clients within their specific processes that were not compliant with industry standards. She has also established business relationships with several of the top 10 lenders and servicers in the residential banking industry, which has led to over five million dollars of additional revenue for the company in the past year alone.
