Completing a sale is one of the most essential skills and actions entrepreneurs need in order to truly be successful. Loan officers, entrepreneurial or not, will have responsibilities and career aims, so good sales experience will set them up for a bright future.

Some people shy away from sales, but loan officers need to remain confident in their sales ability to prosper. Below, we have some entrepreneur-inspired sales tips every loan officer should take note of.

Listen to Your Customer

In order to be successful and generate more sales, it’s important to build lasting relationships with your clients. Actively go out of your way to get to know them – for loan officers, this piece of advice is very important due to the nature of why your customer has come to you.

Try being proactive by taking notes when talking to your client. Prospects will open up when they see that you’re taking the time to listen. Building a solid relationship early will give you a better chance of gaining your client’s trust. When we’re talking about prospects with big loan ideas, trust is an important factor.

Give Something Back

Solid advice, some recommended reading material, or an informative YouTube video – these are all simple things you can offer your client before the sales pitch begins. Unless it’s totally necessary, try to avoid making that pitch too early – secure a meeting first. Prospects might be turned off if you come across too strong, too early.

Give something back early on as well, something of worth as it’ll show that you value them and want to build a relationship. Loan officers might meet a client that plans on using your services again, so it’s important to impress them as they might also be able to direct others towards you in the future.

Seek Referrals

Hopefully you have lots of happy, satisfied clients and by building positive relationships, you’ll have a much better chance of remaining on their radar for longer. A recent client of yours, happy with how you dealt with their loan inquiry, could very well go on to tell their friends or family about you.

After identifying a prospect, consider asking your happy client to refer you to them – there’s a high chance that they’ll follow up with you and you can set up a meeting.

Get Yourself Out There

Networking is an essential tool for any entrepreneur, and loan officers need to remain up-to-date with all the goings-on in the industry. Attending events and speaking to the right people could either lead to new potential clients or at least contribute to your sales pitch as you’ll know all the relevant things to say.

Consider writing guest blogs on websites so you can share your knowledge and give advice to any customers reading your write-up – you can share this with your clients in the early stages of your relationship.

Sales tips are important for any loan officer. What entrepreneur-inspired sales tips would you give loan officers looking to improve the way they interact with potential customers?