THE LETTER X

TLX Issue #4

This week was about as close to normal for me as it has been in a long time. Here in Utah they have been easing restrictions since May 1st which allowed me to eat in a restaurant for the first time since March and I will be taking the family to our local Zoo today (with some restrictions). You have to appreciate the little things in times like these.

Speaking of NOT little things, when the economy first started to go into the crapper a lot of those in the industry started copying charts from financial experts explaining how we will be getting into a "V Recovery". Even though I hoped to get that V, I truly never thought it would be that way. At the time I was told I was wrong by all those chart and article readers, BUT as it turns out we may be getting the Nike Swoosh, as opposed to the V.

Now it is not because I have been religiously watching The Last Dance that I think this way, it is because it is going to take a bit of time to recover because:

1) Most businesses will come back slow and some not at all and...

2) Due to forced modernization some of the unemployed will not have jobs to come back to.

There are a lot of other variables I grant you, but recovery is based on economic strength and production, which will not hit their stride for some time.

Speaking of hitting their stride, iBuyers are now back in the mix after their brief hiatus and have not wasted any time with playing into the economic uncertainty to create the narrative of "swiftly selling a home without in-person interactions" will be more attractive to consumers.

Forgetting the fact that they disappeared during the height of the pandemic, pulled the rug out from underneath consumers by canceling contracts, and had the audacity to say it was for consumer safety along with saying anyone who was still doing business were putting people in danger. Nice spin Tyler Hixson of Opendoor (See message from Tyler below).

The point is that the iBuyer model was shown to not be able to weather a market shift or disruption and consumers paid the price. Don't let them slide back into the consumer DMs with a narrative that they are the future, because they aren't. You are.

X Marks The Spot

You can find some good content treasure following the links below!

Jobs, Rates, and Calabria! Do yourself a favor and check out this 10 minute video of Barry Habib courtesy of our friends at National Mortgage Professional & MNN.

CFPB has been getting an earful from consumers about the actions of some mortgage servicers due to conversion about the forbearance. If you can only see my "shocked face".

Anthony Casa of AIME and Rene Rodriguez put together another rock solid Weekly Sales Meeting this week.

Zapier went in-depth on 6 Google Rankings Factors that you can actually do something about. It is a little in the weeds but it is a really good read for those that want to know more about Google and SEO.

My dear friend and Mortgage X co-host Christine Beckwith launched her Women With Vision Magazine this week and it was AMAZING. Even better was that industry leader and friend Laura Brandao graced the cover of Issue No. 1.

Facebook released the ability to create Avatars to be used in posts, comments, and messenger. Needless to say, it was the trending action on Facebook yesterday.

What We're Listening To

Great podcast episodes brought to you by: REAL Disrupt

Social Agent Secrets: Messenger Marketing For Real Estate Agents With Chris Hardin From BookMeSolid

Positively Charged Biz: Evan Knox, Founder of Caffeine Marketing

Laugh, Lend, & Eat: Clayton Colins of HousingWire

The Charlotte Real Estate Buzz: Achieving Real Estate Success as Only You Can with Dane Warren

Treasure Coast Podcast: Katrina Resch - Fresch Perspective Events

Next Level Loan Officers Podcast: Putting the Relationship Back into the CRM w/Kevin Ducey

The Marketing Trench: Setting Yourself Up To Win In Today’s Market With Video Featuring Jeb Smith

Blondes Have More Funds: 8 Ways to Show Up For and Empower Women

Culture Matters Podcast: Brad Lea: The Reason People Fail is because They Do Not Have the Right Information

Mortgage X Podcast: SocialSurvey's 2019 Top Performers w/Scott Harris

Marketing Interrupt: The End of Marketing - Humans Over Brand w/Carlos Gil

We are excited at REAL Disrupt to also be bringing on two new podcast members that will be announced next week. If you are thinking of starting a podcast or currently have a podcast, we would love for you to be part of our podcasting family.

This week I had the pleasure of speaking and attending at the Next Level Loan Officers Virtual Mastermind event. With speakers like Setema Gali, Barry Habib, Ernie Graham, Dave Savage, and Megan Anderson there was a TON of great information. One person who will be getting a more in-depth look at the NLLO process is David Monge who won last week's contest. Congrats David!

For this week's contest you can get a free copy of The End of Marketing by Carlos Gil

How do you get it? Simply text LETTERX (one word) to 66866 and follow the instructions!

Want a great YouTube Marketing Tip?

Of course you do. This one comes from my good friend and ROCKSTAR YouTube Agent, Karin Carr. Check out her YouTube live where she discusses how you can Get your first 100 subs FAST. And yes MLOs, this will work for you too!

Brand...huh? What is it good for? Absolutely EVERYTHING.

Brand is one of those things that A LOT of those in the industry struggle with but it's not your fault.

There are sooo many "brand experts" out there and has become a cottage industry focused on making you think it is harder than it is. This is why I wrote this article for the CF Wholesale blog that helps you start easy with 6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Creating a Brand Identity.

Have you joined the Mortgage X Mastermind yet? It is a group that is 100% focused on helping MODERN industry professionals be found, relevant, and make an impact with the consumer of today. Check it out!