Happy Sunday Everyone:
Our top producing loan officer for the company (Andrew) has become a friend over the past few years. I asked him if he’d jump on one of our division’s bi-weekly sales calls to talk about his business and anything our LO’s might glean from his success and why he’s able to do what he does. For perspective, he’s closed $303,320,999 YTD, that’s a lot of business coming in the door.
I wouldn’t call Andrew sheepish, but he was concerned he didn’t have anything new to offer and everything we’d be discussing would be “stuff” everyone already knew, he couldn’t have been more wrong! Sometimes it takes the right timing and the right messenger to get us to act on something we’ve overlooked in the past. When you have the chance to hear from someone who has mastered their craft, you have to take notice.
I’ve thought about what I’m about to tell you at least 100 times before writing this today, so although I’m hopeful it has some impact on you, I’m not sure I can do it justice for what’s in my own head. When I asked Andrew how he has developed the relationships he has with his business partners, he made the comment “we have to think about what’s in it for them”. It sounds so simple, some might say “duh”…. but how many of us do anything with that thought process, asking the question “what’s in it for them?” Most of us think “what’s in it for me?” Two things come out of the question “what’s in it for them?”; for one, you must be crystal clear on your overall value, but you also have to ask enough questions to understand where your perceived value will come to fruition in helping them be more successful. A few weeks ago, I was randomly listening to a Jack Welch interview (legendary CEO of GE), the interviewer asked him about developing his people, his response was “you always need to be explaining to your team what’s in it for them”.
When you digest “what’s in it for them”, it’s way bigger than sales. If I broke it down professionally:
- What’s in it for someone to be a part of our company?
- What’s in it for someone to be a part of our division?
- What’s in it for someone to be a part of our branch?
- What’s in it for someone to be a part of our loan team?
- What’s in it for a business partner to work with us vs. a different lender?
- What’s in it for a client to work with us vs. a different loan officer?
More importantly — take that question personally:
- What’s in it for someone to be my friend?
- What’s in it for Kim to be my wife?
- What’s in it for Jack/Thomas to be my sons?
- What’s in it for someone to be my neighbor?
You might think “taking this a little far aren’t you”… No, I don’t think I am. The clarity that comes from asking the question “what’s in for them” in any situation immediately comes back to you being an asset or a liability to the world. What’s in it for them isn’t always good. Plenty of people have lost betting on the wrong horse, in business, in marriage, you name it. I just know keeping this question out in front of all my activities, personally and professionally, creates a desired level of accountability to want to be on the right side of someone saying, “this is what’s in it for me dealing with Hunter”, and having their final answer be they’re better off with me than without me.
You might consider what’s in it for anyone to be in a relationship with you.