What is the most important thing you have in business? The answer has the power to build your business, and it has the power to tear it down. It can’t be held, and it can’t be seen. It has more value than money, and it’s free. The answer is reputation. The reputation of your business is arguably the single most important asset that your business has.
But you don’t own your business reputation — you manage it. You inspire your reputation, you feed it, you care for it, you rely on it and ultimately, you live with it, but you don’t own it. It’s given to you by the people who interact with you personally, professionally and online.
The tone from the top
Key in managing your reputation is setting the tone from the top. Your actions, your deeds, and your comments (both online and in person) set the tone of your reputation. The people who work with you and support your efforts should mirror that positive tone, and subscribe to your core values. The speed at which information disseminates across the social world and the volume at which this information is broadcast make reputation and its management crucial for business success.
For Loan Officers, reputation management is crucial. The people interested in your reputation are on track to make perhaps the single biggest purchase of their lives, so you you can bet that your reputation plays a big role in whether or not they will choose you over the next guy. So what are some practical points to consider when looking at ways to maintain and improve your reputation.
- Stick to your word — if you say you are going to do something, do it. Reliability is one of the main pillars of reputation. Being reliable communicates that the products you are offering are reliable as well.
- Help others — As a loan officer, you are the guide and partner in a tricky and confusing portion of the home buying experience. It can be said that shopping for a house is the part everyone knows how to do. (At least they think they do, after all, it’s shopping.) However, the actual purchase is quite a bit more intense. Being helpful and supportive to the client and the other principle players will go a long way in creating a positive reputation.
- Don’t speak poorly of others – Thumper said it best, “if you can’t say something nice then don’t say nothing at all.” Speaking poorly of others inevitably reflects back on you and your efforts. If you bad mouth the competition, you’ll get a reputation you may not want.
- Get involved — Attend community events, help people out, donate to charities with either funds or your time. People will see this and your reputation will benefit. Get involved on social-media sites, share valued information for your clients and your community.
- Be aware of what you broadcast — Politics may be fun to talk about with your friends or colleagues, but blasting your social media with your views might alienate potential clients. It’s okay to have opinions but when you are in the spotlight, you might consider pleading the fifth. (Sports on the other hand require no such tact, GO BLUE!).
- Act quickly on complaints — Identify and understand any negative information circulating about you. Whether online or by word of mouth, you need to identify it and ameliorate it as quickly as possible. Reach out to anyone complaining about your efforts and engage with them. If the conversation is online, move it out of the public arena into a controlled channel like email or phone. Communicate clearly and directly. Let the person know that he is being heard and that you intend to resolve any issue to a positive outcome. If and when you are successful in dealing with the issue, you should consider asking the formerly disgruntled party to retract or delete any damaging comments, or at least post a follow-up to inform future readers that the issue was successfully resolved (positive resolutions posted online are tremendous in building a positive reputation).
- Defend yourself — There are 2 parts here. You need to defend yourself from damaging attacks from others, of course, but you may also need to defend yourself from yourself too. Remember that video from the toga party at the delta house? Yeah, a lot of fun back then, but if you are working with a couple planning a loan strategy, you may not want your image associated with a beer bong and a bed sheet. Either delete that stuff or be very sure you fully understand and are using the privacy settings appropriately.On the other hand, you may have a former customer who goes above and beyond the level of ‘dissatisfied’ and wants to exact some ‘blood payment’ by damaging your reputation. In cases like this, you should first reach out, and publicly respond. One suggested approach is to offer to discuss the issue directly and then post your office phone. Sending a private message as well will reinforce your position.
Clearly responding to negative posts or reviews shows you are serious about helping, even in the face of dissatisfaction. Also, by replying, you challenge the identity of the poster. Anonymous posters will not often reply to offers of engagement and you will have a good case to have the content removed. If they engage, again, you need to quickly move the conversation out of the public eye and into a private, controlled channel.
Reputation management is fast becoming a hot button issue. In a recent Forbes article, Cheryl Conner proposed that in the very near future, a reputation ‘score’ will be more important than a credit score. Protecting and nurturing your reputation is key to keeping it healthy, and in the end, is a lot easier than repairing it. What are you doing to understand and maintain your reputation?
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