Turning Video Into Your Competitive Advantage with Sean Herrero

Most loan officers go their entire career and never hit $10 million in production in a single month, let alone $12 million, and Sean Herrero, of Guaranteed Rate, did the latter in just his third year as a full-time loan offer. He finished out 2019 with $75 million in production. And every one of his clients has received a Total Cost Analysis (TCA) and some type of video.

“I tell every client we're going to use this tool from start to finish. I'm going to build out a live personal website for you that you can share with anybody you trust to make a decision. We're going to use that as a funnel of information to look at every aspect of your home buying process and then use it as a financial planning tool afterward.” he says 

Here is one of Sean’s opening borrower questions and scripts to position Mortgage Coach:

“A lot of people either have a lot of questions or they don't know what to ask. Which end of that spectrum are you on? I'm going to make sure you’re well educated and that you have complete transparency throughout this transaction. I'm a visual learner, so I'd rather show you than tell you how all of this works. I'm going to build out a live personal website for you that you can share with anybody you trust to make a decision. We're going to use that as a funnel of information to look at every aspect of your home-buying process and then use it as a financial planning tool afterward.”

SCRIPT OPPORTUNITY: How you position the TCA with every client will set the tone not just of the meeting but of the entire relationship.  

Thanks to the TCA, Sean says, “I feel like I really found my groove and my stride with who I serve best, because I know I will not serve everyone.”

Video helps Sean set that tone

While video is just one of the many tools Sean uses, Sean is a Mortgage Coach pioneer when it comes to the way he uses video. In fact, he was recently recognized by BombBomb as one of their top video influencers for using video in all social categories.

“I use video in all aspects of my business,” Sean says. “Most of my clients are first-time buyers, and they have to know what they're doing. I want you to know exactly how it works. That's my value proposition. I've lost plenty of people as a result of my value proposition, but I’m not willing to deviate from what I believe is right. I'm not going to bend my process. The people that work with me absolutely love it. I think I add a lot of value to their transaction and even onward.”

“If I'm not the right fit, I'm completely comfortable with that.”

Video is very versatile and fits any platform. You can use it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Mortgage Coach, and BombBomb, for example. When deciding when to use video, Sean says, “it has to be the right time. It has to be the right moment to reach someone to get their attention.” Here are some of the ways Sean uses video.

Newsletters. He uses video the most in weekly newsletters to his Realtor's sphere-of-influence leads. “I'll do rate updates and things like that. I use BombBomb for that because I love the feedback I get from the program. I know when people open the video and when they play it. It's a great way to gauge interaction and whether the content I'm putting out is worthwhile in this audience.”

YouTube. “Some people,” he says, “do want to work with us, but they just don't know how it works. They're ignorant to this process.” His YouTube channel came as a way to educate people. They can watch videos and learn. “The questions I get a lot are the ones I create videos on so they don't have to talk to me if that’s what they want, but they get to see the confidence, and it’s a great resource library. It also leads to face-to-face interaction.”

KEY POINT: Videos are driving new business for Sean.

When it comes to having a video strategy, Sean says, “One thing I've realized is that all of us can make time. That content is really important. Now I'm calendaring time to make sure I get at least one video up a week so they’ll get better and better as we go.” 

Instagram IGTV. For videos longer than a minute, Sean likes Instagram IGTV. “I like using IGTV for stories where something wonderful just happened and you have that sense of emotion in that moment. You can record it and share it really quickly. Stories are getting far more attention nowadays then actual posts.”

Mortgage Coach. I use MC to power the personal websites (aka Total Cost Analyses) I create for every client, and the TCA, in turn, powers the advice experience. This is a high-level value add: TCA helps shift the conversation from rates and fees to advice and solutions, and makes the conversation visual with graphs and charts. It’s also easy and fast to update using the LIVE feature or even adding a video or voice memo so every interaction is personalized.”

Facebook. “On, Facebook, I'll take those same videos I'm uploading to YouTube and will post those natively in Facebook. They get more attention than linking out. It takes a few minutes, but it's there forever and it just gives you credibility.” 

“A video I did last week that did really well on Instagram and Facebook was Thursday when rates got worse because Trump tweeted that we were making Crocs for China. It took me 10 minutes to make a video, I posted onto Facebook, IGTV, and YouTube, and then used BombBomb to send it out to everyone in my database. The same video went to three places and it made me look really smart. It's just helping people understand how the market is impacted by comments and little things.” 

KEY POINT: When you’re quoting rates and fees, always use Mortgage Coach and put a video on it. It can be shared with family members and the Realtor. Video sharing ensures that all your positioning and key points are said exactly the same way to everyone, every time.

Embrace, don’t run from your tech fear, Sean says

“I think, inherently, everyone is scared of what they look and sound like. That was me. Now, this is just completely second nature, but I think vanity is a key blocking point. We're scared of what we look like, what we sound like. People that already kill it think they don't need to. I'm already killing it, so why should I change what I'm doing? Or it just takes up too much time. I think those are the biggest excuses for why people delay or avoid video. 

Getting started

Sean suggests starting with the text media. They’re easy because everyone is already doing them. “You're doing it with your kids, you're spouse… you're already using your cell phone quickly.”

When it comes to TCAs, it's just as easy, Sean says. “It's faster to record a video and click send through Mortgage Coach than it is to type out, ‘Hey, I made this presentation for you. Click here.’ It'll take forever to type the whole message out and it's far more authentic when you do it by video. And with video, you get a face-to-face meeting right away. They get to see your confidence level, they get an idea of your personality. I just think you'll win more often if you use video. I really do. Last year I did $40 million, this year I did $75 million so I think these things work really well and people appreciate them. I love it.”

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