Sales and Marketing in Tough times!

“Fish where the fish are.” - so follow the money even when looking for a loan.

For most of us in the sales and marketing side, prospecting is the most challenging activity we do. 

We hate the thought of picking up the phone to make a living. No matter what product or service we sell, success in sales is built through effective planning and prospecting.

Here are five ideas that will help:

1. Establish a routine. You must schedule time for prospecting every day at preferably the same time. Do not allow anything to interfere with your prospecting time. The salesperson who has a set daily routine of making prospecting calls at a specific time and adheres to this schedule without distraction has a massive advantage over others

.

2. When is the best time to prospect? The best time to make prospecting calls is when you have the most energy. I always prospect early in the morning because that’s when I have the most energy. It also gets me off to a winning start, which sets up my day for success.

3. It gets easier after the first call. The first call is always the most difficult. Getting yourself to make the first call of the day is normally the biggest hurdle. After you make the first call, you realize it was not as difficult as you had imagined. Prospecting is fun after a few positive calls. You will often find receptive people on the other end of the line who are open  to your call. Just do it, break through the barrier, your confidence will soar when you realise that prospecting is the trigger to all successful selling.

4. Set prospecting goals. Set a specific goal of what you want to happen on each call. Know what you want that prospect to do. It is difficult to achieve prospecting success without clearly defined objectives.

5. Prospecting is a numbers game. I guarantee you that the more prospecting you do, the more deals you will secure. Prospecting allows you to plan your income and results. If you track your prospecting efforts, you will find that you have clear ratios in your sales efforts. Once you know how many prospecting calls you need to make in order to get a client presentation and therefore a closing opportunity, then you have a good measure of how to achieve any sales target.  

Prospecting is truly the starting point of success in any sales profession. I teach a simple sales model – the more you effectively prospect, the more presentation opportunities you will get, and therefore the more sales you will close.

ABSA comes to the party - great news for home loans!

So a full pack of cards with the new announcement recently by ABSA about your favorite mortgage originator  and your application - all bond
applications, effective January 2012, whether submitted by an internal ABSA source or by an originator will be treated the same. 


This means that there will be no differentiation in LTV’s, whether a client applies directly to Absa or via an originator.


We welcome this announcement and believe that this is very good news for all Absa bank customers, real estate agents and originators. You will therefore now be able to submit applications, on behalf of your clients, to Absa within the following lending criteria:


Existing Absa Customers: Ordinary Loan Up to 100%
Existing Absa Customers: Further Advance Up to 85%
New Customers to Absa : Ordinary Loan Up to 90%
Vacant Land ( New and Existing Customers) Up to 60% - still low
Existing Absa Customers: Building Loan Up to 80%
New Customers to Absa: Building Loan Up to 65%


Existing Absa Customers: Affordable Housing -
Ordinary Loan Up to 100%
New Customers to Absa: Affordable Housing -
Ordinary Loan Up to 90%
Affordable Housing - Building Loan ( New & Existing
Customers) Up to 80%


Existing Absa Customers: Loans above R2.7m Up to 85%
New Customers to Absa : Loans above R2.7m Up to 70%


Absa’s decision will ensure that no Absa customer will be prejudiced in the way that their application is treated and it also enhances the value proposition that your bond originator brings to you. 


Real estate agents and lead providers can now, once again, look forward to using the one-stop service that originators offer and stay abreast of their client’s bond applications. 


Well done ABSA, this is in line with Standard Bank and FNB.

So how to I get a bond and get an interest rate?

The but bottom line for the banks granting a bond to you

you need to provide

1. all the required and correct documentation – if any deviation unless there is an awesome reason they will not proceed.

2. Your credit record needs to be clean else they will

a. Either decline

b. Offer you less

c. Load your interest rate

3. You need to meet each individual banks criteria – which they change regularly or as the market forces move along and we are briefed on these as these changes happen

4. The same criteria is in place whether you go direct to the bank, have a private banker, use an originator, have been with the bank for 20 years or 1 month.



Interest rates



1. There is presently no rate war between the banks as the rates are at their lowest in 30 years

2. Even if there was no one would admit it – but we pick up the trends as we service all banks

3. Rates are affected by:

a. Amount of deposit – the more the better

b. Clients credit rating, externally at the bureaus and internally at the bank – clean = better

c. How long you been employed

d. Type of employment

e. Self employed versus employed

f. Type of loan – vacant land versus home (vacant land carries a penalty at present), holiday home, commercial etc

g. Age and marital status

h. Bank client who deposits salary at the bank or non-client

i. Paying by debit order versus salary deduction

j. Offering surety such as cash based policy

k. Insurance on your life on the bond

l. Whether you pay more than your bond monthly repayment requirement or not – early payer

m. And other factors which the banks have built in their scoring systems

4. All rates are determined by the banks scoring mechanisms and systems which they have spent R millions on to give them an accurate assessment and hence a score

Absa Affordable Housing Enhancements

Absa Affordable Housing Enhancements

In light of changing market conditions, particularly at the lower end of the housing
Market, Absa Home Loans have taken a strategic decision to increase the income levels
Of the MyHome product and Affordable Housing segment.

The product offered within this segment

A: Income less than and equal to R11000 (Gross Joint Household Monthly
Income): Absa MyHome product

- Loans up to 110% Loan To Value LTV and Maximum 80% Risk to Value (RTV)
- Borrower Education for all customers with loans in excess of 80% of the purchase price.
- Repayment term up to 30 years (default if not specified; i.e. 20 years)
- Credit Life Policy – Home Loans Protector Plan
- 30% Collateral Replacement Indemnity Scheme (CRIS)

B: Income between R11 000 and R15 000 (Gross Joint Household Monthly Income):
Absa Affordable Housing
- The business as usual home loan rules will apply


The Collateral Replacement Indemnity Scheme (CRIS)

In order to mitigate the risk between 80% to 110% customers must either provide a cash deposit, Employer guarantee, government guarantee, Pension Supported Home Loan or other acceptable Guarantees.

If the customers cannot provide collateral, Absa will provide a CRIS ( Collateral Replacement Indemnity Scheme) guarantee from the Home Loan Guarantee Company (HLGC). CRIS is effectively a bad debt insurance product. HLGC will cover the guarantee amount Agreed upon, to reduce the potential shortfall amount recovered after sale in execution of The property.

a. CRIS Rules and Requirements:
- The insurance cover period is 5 years from the date of registration and this may be renewed.
- All customers with CRIS must attend Borrower Education
- HLGC will provide a CRIS guarantee of up to 30% (80% RTV to 110% LTV)
- New CRIS loan will be administered by the Home Loan Administration Centre (HLAC)
- Any accounts in arrears will be administered by Secured Collections.

Please Note: Absa home loans systems will allow a maximum of 110% to Purchase Price and Loan to Valuation without you having to capture an employer or personal guarantee for all
Applications where the Total Household Gross Monthly income is between R1500 and R11 000
And the customer does not have a deposit or other types of collateral security.

Absa home loans

Absa Group Limited is one of South Africa's largest financial services organisations, serving personal, commercial and corporate customers in South Africa.

The ABSA Group interacts with its customers through a combination of physical and electronic channels, offering a comprehensive range of banking services, (from ABSA's basic products and services for the low-income personal market to customised solutions for the commercial and corporate markets), bank assurance and wealth management products and services.

We at SA Property and Wizard have daily contact and dealings with ABSA home loans and ABSA bank and hence we feel the need to put across our opinions and news pertaining to this massive banking GIANT.

Welcome to the ABSA home loans section of our site.

SA Property Articles & Posts

2008
Absa Bank - SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absa Home Loans - MyHome, affordable housing
Absa Home Loans - No more 100% bonds
Absa Home Loans - Affordable home loan solutions
Absa Home Loans - Latest lending policies
Absa Home Loans - Flexi Reserve policy changes
Absa Home Loans - New Credit Lending Policies
Absa Home Loans - Fixed Rate Policy
Absa Home Loans - New international mortgage offerings

2007
Absa Home Loans - Charging too much
Absa Home Loans - Flexi Bond Access Bond
Absa Home Loans - WAKE UP!!!!
Absa Home Loans - Winter Special...
Absa Home Loans - Win a R1, 000, 000.00 with ABSA

Affordable Housing - SUBSIDY HOMES AND MyHome!

ABSA's MyHome product aiming to target the lower income bracket of South Africans and looking to dominate the market.

Secondary Market

The secondary market is multi layered as follows:

Un-bonded properties-these are properties that were built without any financial assistance from banks and also includes old “ 99 year lease hold. Subsidy homes/breaking new ground(BNG) Homes-formerly were known as RDP, were given to people by government for “free” to address housing backlog in South Africa

Criteria

• Lending will be limited to 60% or loan to value or R100 000 of the valuation whichever is the lesser.
• Customers must produce the original title deed.
• Customers must attend Borrower Education sessions to be arranged by Absa.
• Ensure that pre-emptive clauses on the top structure has lapsed on Subsidy Homes/BNG homes and /or there are no restrictive conditions of title of any sort.

Target Market

• Income between R1500 to R13000( Gross Joint Household Monthly Income)
• Minimum Loan size from R20 000 to a maximum of R400 000.
• Customers who have the original Title Deeds of the property being bonded

MyHome

• The MyHome product – Joint Gross Monthly Household Income less than R7500
• Purchase price plus costs (Maximum risk to value of 80% and maximum loan to value 110%)
• Collateral Replacement Indemnity Scheme (CRIS) up to a maximum of 30%
• ABSA Home Loan Protector Plan
• Borrower Education-every client who takes up CRIS

Loan Inclusive Costs

• Where customers do not have their own costs i.e Initiation Fee and/or Bond registration these costs can be built into the loan granted amount limited to the customer’s affordability, however the maximum loan to value /Risk must not be breached and this only applies to MyHome.

Borrower Education

• Borrower Education empowers customers with knowledge to enable them to make more informed decisions about a home loan, their finances and lifestyles
• Knowledge leads to greater financial independence which leads to the adoption of better,more informed financial practices.
• Limits or reduces the incidence of default.

Compulsory Borrower Education

• All customers who have Collateral Replacement Indemnity Scheme (CRIS)
• All customers who are buying a home for the first time
• All customers who are applying for home loan finance for the first time.
• Affordable Housing MyHOME customers will also receive the following additional propositions:
  -FlexiReserve Advance ( prepaid) option
  -Homeowners Comprehensive Insurance
  -Fast Forward

Home Improvements

• Home improvements include: alterations and extension made to the property i.e adding a room or building garage or various other home improvement options or Cosmetic improvement i.e tiling the home, painting ,plastering. All this will increase the value of the property.

From what I've heard, the lending policies on the ABSA MyHome product are alot more lenient than on your normal home loan, so credit policies will most likely not be as forced as well.

Nice product.

TO APPLY FOR MYHOME CLICK HERE