Well, I know it' s been a long time since I wrote anything on this blog, so I determined that I must make time to update my ramblings.
The mortgage and re-mortgage market continues to be difficult and I have now signed a total of seven deals in six months with a few more potential clients in the pipeline. I still find it difficult to second-guess people's intentions and related motives. Some clients give out all the right signals but decline to sign up for a new mortgage, using both believeable and unbelieveable reasons / excuses. On the other hand some clients that you feel are a lost cause end up signing.
I still remain disappointed at some people's approach to returning my messages and often promise to do something when in practice they don't. A common phrase used when a quotation is left with them for a decision is " I will get back to you either way". In most cases they don't and I have to resort in following things up at which point they normally apologise and cite being "far to busy" as the reason. It takes 60 seconds to phone me with their decision but most seem reluctant to tell you when they decline to sign. Isn't human nature strange.
Anyway, onwards and upwards and it is to be hoped that the financial climate, and mortgage market in particular, improves for everyone' s sake in the near future.
On a totally diferent subject, my wife has been complaining of breathlessness recently and following a subsequent hospital check has been diagnosed as having one artery 95% blocked and now needs to have a stent fitted in the next few weeks. She certainly did not enjoy the first experience and although she has yet to have the date of the second appointment cofirmed is very tense and concerned about the whole thing. The sooner her condition is rectified the better for all concerned.
Finally, my son and daughter-in-law purchased a wire haired dachshund that they have called Dylan. He is a loveable litle dog who endlessly wants me to throw toys for him to retrieve. Full of energy and no little mischief. He is a little charmer and looks set to be a family favourite for a long time to come yet.
Well, that's about it for now. I hope that anyone who spends a few minutes to read this is well and that you will visit this blog again. I promise to try to update it more frequently.
Sunday 19 October 2008
Monday 21 July 2008
Update and Cyberspace Manners
It has been a while since I updated my new blog venture, so thought it was time that I put finger to keyboard.
The mortgage business has not been going too badly and I have signed up one more customer since I last wrote with several more positive prospects in the pipeline. We have recently devised a revised method of presentation to our potential clients which seems to be having the desired effect as more seem interested in our products and don't reject us at the first appointment.
I still continue to be frustrated by clients who will not "come clean" if they do not wish to take up our services as outlined in my last entry. It is annoying when you have to make several attempts to contact them in only to be told that they don't want to proceed, having previously said that they would contact me either way, whatever their decision. To me this is simply impolite and bad manners.
On similar lines, another one of my hobbyhorses relating to peoples behaviour is their lack of response or acknowledgement of E Mails. I was raised to thank people for something that they had done for me, no matter how small that thing or their effort was. It follows therefore, and some may not think so, that it should work the other way round in that I might expect and welcome a note of thanks for something I have done for them.
It therefore surprises and annoys me that people vey rarely respond to an E Mail or a series of E Mails that I have sent them. For example, I was asked to provide some information to a person the other day which actually took me a few minutes to put together in both research and actually writing the E Mail. I duly sent it and have heard nothing back since. Now, I don't expect fullsome praised to be heaped on me by the person who requested this information, but I personally would have sent a return E Mail saying something like:
"thank you very much for your E Mail and the information which will prove most useful"
With the writing of this text and the extra clicking of the reply button, I estimate that this would have taken me about 20 seconds to respond. Not much time and effort I believe in relation to the time and effort I had put in from the other end.
I am not suggesting that every single E Mail sent is acknowledged in some way, "horses for courses" I would say. However, I do believe that when someone has made an effort on my behalf, the least they deserve is a "thank you". If nothing else, it confirms the safe receipt of my E Mail and that it has not just drifted off into cyberspace as they do from time to time.
Perhaps I am being a bit old fashioned in my outlook or just unrealistic in a age where everything is instant and people have no time. However, this is something I believe many of us could do much better with because as they say - "good manners cost nothing" - and in the example above only about 20 seconds of my time. I would be interested to hear other opinions on this subject. Am I just a lone voice crying in the wilderness or do I reflect what others think?
End of rant - thank you for reading this entry :-)
The mortgage business has not been going too badly and I have signed up one more customer since I last wrote with several more positive prospects in the pipeline. We have recently devised a revised method of presentation to our potential clients which seems to be having the desired effect as more seem interested in our products and don't reject us at the first appointment.
I still continue to be frustrated by clients who will not "come clean" if they do not wish to take up our services as outlined in my last entry. It is annoying when you have to make several attempts to contact them in only to be told that they don't want to proceed, having previously said that they would contact me either way, whatever their decision. To me this is simply impolite and bad manners.
On similar lines, another one of my hobbyhorses relating to peoples behaviour is their lack of response or acknowledgement of E Mails. I was raised to thank people for something that they had done for me, no matter how small that thing or their effort was. It follows therefore, and some may not think so, that it should work the other way round in that I might expect and welcome a note of thanks for something I have done for them.
It therefore surprises and annoys me that people vey rarely respond to an E Mail or a series of E Mails that I have sent them. For example, I was asked to provide some information to a person the other day which actually took me a few minutes to put together in both research and actually writing the E Mail. I duly sent it and have heard nothing back since. Now, I don't expect fullsome praised to be heaped on me by the person who requested this information, but I personally would have sent a return E Mail saying something like:
"thank you very much for your E Mail and the information which will prove most useful"
With the writing of this text and the extra clicking of the reply button, I estimate that this would have taken me about 20 seconds to respond. Not much time and effort I believe in relation to the time and effort I had put in from the other end.
I am not suggesting that every single E Mail sent is acknowledged in some way, "horses for courses" I would say. However, I do believe that when someone has made an effort on my behalf, the least they deserve is a "thank you". If nothing else, it confirms the safe receipt of my E Mail and that it has not just drifted off into cyberspace as they do from time to time.
Perhaps I am being a bit old fashioned in my outlook or just unrealistic in a age where everything is instant and people have no time. However, this is something I believe many of us could do much better with because as they say - "good manners cost nothing" - and in the example above only about 20 seconds of my time. I would be interested to hear other opinions on this subject. Am I just a lone voice crying in the wilderness or do I reflect what others think?
End of rant - thank you for reading this entry :-)
Friday 27 June 2008
Human Nature?
My new mortgage venture seems to have hit the buffers a little. As direct selling is not something I have been involved in before, I am somewhat surprised at the way in which some clients, or potential clients respond.
For example, it is quite common for me to do a presentation of the quotation at the second meeting and the clients often make the right noises about being impressed or at least interested in what our company has to offer. In this day and age, it is not suprising that they then require a little time to consider it, although some do sign up straight away. Many I am sure also already have another quotation or are going to seek one which is fair enough when you are talking about such big figures.
However, what disappoints and frustrates me is that it is often left that they will contact me either way in a few days. In most cases this simply never happens and I have to try to contact them again. They often seem to avoid this happening because they have decided not to go with our quotation and for some reason are reluctant, unwilling or just incapable of telling me of their decision. Why??
If I had said I would get back to them with a quotation on a certain day then I would not expect to do business with them as I had not complied with my promise. One rule for providers and another for customers?
So why do several clients feel that they need not give you their decision and are therefore happy to keep me hanging on waiting for their verdict.
I have always gone through life trying to deal with other people in the way I would like them to deal with me. Therefore, if I undertake to do something then I try to make sure I do it on time and to a good standard. Is it therefore unreasonable for me to expect clients to come back to me within a reasonable space of time to give me their decision, be that positive or negative?
Or is this just setting too much store in human nature, whatever that is?
Answers on a postcard please to......
For example, it is quite common for me to do a presentation of the quotation at the second meeting and the clients often make the right noises about being impressed or at least interested in what our company has to offer. In this day and age, it is not suprising that they then require a little time to consider it, although some do sign up straight away. Many I am sure also already have another quotation or are going to seek one which is fair enough when you are talking about such big figures.
However, what disappoints and frustrates me is that it is often left that they will contact me either way in a few days. In most cases this simply never happens and I have to try to contact them again. They often seem to avoid this happening because they have decided not to go with our quotation and for some reason are reluctant, unwilling or just incapable of telling me of their decision. Why??
If I had said I would get back to them with a quotation on a certain day then I would not expect to do business with them as I had not complied with my promise. One rule for providers and another for customers?
So why do several clients feel that they need not give you their decision and are therefore happy to keep me hanging on waiting for their verdict.
I have always gone through life trying to deal with other people in the way I would like them to deal with me. Therefore, if I undertake to do something then I try to make sure I do it on time and to a good standard. Is it therefore unreasonable for me to expect clients to come back to me within a reasonable space of time to give me their decision, be that positive or negative?
Or is this just setting too much store in human nature, whatever that is?
Answers on a postcard please to......
Wednesday 18 June 2008
Chance Remarks
I got to thinking the other day how often chance remarks can impact of your life and the related opportunities and activities that present themselves.
As an example, and what really got me thinking about this topic, many years ago I was asked if I could score a cricket match that may son was playing in. I used to play for the same club but through injury could no longer do so. Instead, I used to go and watch his efforts as most parents would you would hope. I agreed to have a go at scoring although I had never seen a scorebook in my life and had only a basic understanding of the method and symbols used along with the Laws of Cricket and how they relate to scoring a match.
Anyway, I scored the game and everyone seemed happy with my efforts (perhaps that was mainly because no-one else wanted to score) and I carried on doing so for the next few months, really quite enjoying the task as I found it to be both relaxing and an excellent way of being involved with the Club and my son's cricketing career.
Then one day, and this is the main point of this tale, someone said to me - "Did you know that you can do exams in cricket scoring and get a qualification?"
Well, two reactions: 1) No I did not and 2) I thought he was joking.
But it turns out that you can do a course in Cricket Scoring which if you then successfully pass a written exam and prove that you have scored competently at so many matches, entitles you to score at fairly high levels within the game of Cricket. So I thought "why not", gave it a go, passed the exam and qualified as a scorer.
Well, since then I have scored at international level for teams such as Sri Lanka and New Zealand and last Sunday was given the opportunity to score a match at JP Getty's estate which has it's own lovely cricket ground. All because I became a qualified cricket scorer.
So, all because of a chance remark about 15 years ago, I undertook training in something I didn't realise you could be trained in and since then have been offered and taken opportunities to score at a very high level in cricket. This has led me to meet some interesting and famous people along with visiting some lovely cricket grounds.
Thanks therefore go to Mr B for his chance remark - funny old world isn't it.
As an example, and what really got me thinking about this topic, many years ago I was asked if I could score a cricket match that may son was playing in. I used to play for the same club but through injury could no longer do so. Instead, I used to go and watch his efforts as most parents would you would hope. I agreed to have a go at scoring although I had never seen a scorebook in my life and had only a basic understanding of the method and symbols used along with the Laws of Cricket and how they relate to scoring a match.
Anyway, I scored the game and everyone seemed happy with my efforts (perhaps that was mainly because no-one else wanted to score) and I carried on doing so for the next few months, really quite enjoying the task as I found it to be both relaxing and an excellent way of being involved with the Club and my son's cricketing career.
Then one day, and this is the main point of this tale, someone said to me - "Did you know that you can do exams in cricket scoring and get a qualification?"
Well, two reactions: 1) No I did not and 2) I thought he was joking.
But it turns out that you can do a course in Cricket Scoring which if you then successfully pass a written exam and prove that you have scored competently at so many matches, entitles you to score at fairly high levels within the game of Cricket. So I thought "why not", gave it a go, passed the exam and qualified as a scorer.
Well, since then I have scored at international level for teams such as Sri Lanka and New Zealand and last Sunday was given the opportunity to score a match at JP Getty's estate which has it's own lovely cricket ground. All because I became a qualified cricket scorer.
So, all because of a chance remark about 15 years ago, I undertook training in something I didn't realise you could be trained in and since then have been offered and taken opportunities to score at a very high level in cricket. This has led me to meet some interesting and famous people along with visiting some lovely cricket grounds.
Thanks therefore go to Mr B for his chance remark - funny old world isn't it.
Monday 9 June 2008
Progress Report
As it has been some time since I have last updated readers on my latest venture, I thought I should make an attempt to give you at least a flavor of what has been happening over the past few weeks.
This new business involves me selling mortgages on behalf of a local mortgage broker. We deal mainly with re-mortgages and also offer a scheme whereby most clients can realise significant savings in interest or length of mortgage or indeed both. It might be thought that it would be a difficult financial climate at present for such activities and that is true to a great extent. However, as we deal with re-mortgages and people are now often looking to stay where they are because of the issues and financial implications of moving house, and in addition seeking to consolidate debts, it is potentially a good time to offer such a service. Indeed, the Broker in question has recently taken on five other people to do what I am doing so things are not all that bad.
The main issue is getting what is known as the 1st appointment. These leads are normally obtained via the internet and although the people involved are obviously ?? looking to re-mortgage, when you get to speak to them they often give a variety of reasons why they don't want to do so just yet and therefore don't want/ need to see anyone. In addition, it is not unusual for appointments to be made and cancelled nearer the time. I believe that the reason for such indecision and cancellations is that some people are often burying their heads in the sand and hoping that their financial circumstances will either improve or indeed go away. The frustrating thing is that normally when you get to see such people, they can be helped and their finances improved significantly.
I have now seen serveral clients and closed my first deal about two weeks ago so this re-mortgage is currently going through the due processes. The agent such as myself, along with the Broker, does not of course get paid until everything has been completed so it can be about 4 weeks since I last saw the client that I see the reward for my efforts but that is not too bad. I had another positive meeting on Friday night and am hopeful that they will sign and have a new 1st appointment tonight and a 2nd apointment this Thursday which I am also hopeful about. In addition, I have several leads pending decisions from the clients or further actions from myself.
If, after a few months this business really takes off and I am enjoying this new challenge, I will undertake formal training with a view to becoming a fully qualified mortgage adviser. But it is early days yet and I am currently learing about how to deal with some of the frustrations and rejections that such a job brings and overall I am very much enjoying the new challenge.
I hope to bring you further positive new over the coming days and weeks, but in the meantime if you know anyone who is looking to re-mortgage, you know where to come.....
Have a good week and I look forward to receiving your comments and observations.
This new business involves me selling mortgages on behalf of a local mortgage broker. We deal mainly with re-mortgages and also offer a scheme whereby most clients can realise significant savings in interest or length of mortgage or indeed both. It might be thought that it would be a difficult financial climate at present for such activities and that is true to a great extent. However, as we deal with re-mortgages and people are now often looking to stay where they are because of the issues and financial implications of moving house, and in addition seeking to consolidate debts, it is potentially a good time to offer such a service. Indeed, the Broker in question has recently taken on five other people to do what I am doing so things are not all that bad.
The main issue is getting what is known as the 1st appointment. These leads are normally obtained via the internet and although the people involved are obviously ?? looking to re-mortgage, when you get to speak to them they often give a variety of reasons why they don't want to do so just yet and therefore don't want/ need to see anyone. In addition, it is not unusual for appointments to be made and cancelled nearer the time. I believe that the reason for such indecision and cancellations is that some people are often burying their heads in the sand and hoping that their financial circumstances will either improve or indeed go away. The frustrating thing is that normally when you get to see such people, they can be helped and their finances improved significantly.
I have now seen serveral clients and closed my first deal about two weeks ago so this re-mortgage is currently going through the due processes. The agent such as myself, along with the Broker, does not of course get paid until everything has been completed so it can be about 4 weeks since I last saw the client that I see the reward for my efforts but that is not too bad. I had another positive meeting on Friday night and am hopeful that they will sign and have a new 1st appointment tonight and a 2nd apointment this Thursday which I am also hopeful about. In addition, I have several leads pending decisions from the clients or further actions from myself.
If, after a few months this business really takes off and I am enjoying this new challenge, I will undertake formal training with a view to becoming a fully qualified mortgage adviser. But it is early days yet and I am currently learing about how to deal with some of the frustrations and rejections that such a job brings and overall I am very much enjoying the new challenge.
I hope to bring you further positive new over the coming days and weeks, but in the meantime if you know anyone who is looking to re-mortgage, you know where to come.....
Have a good week and I look forward to receiving your comments and observations.
Sunday 25 May 2008
A change of direction?
It has been a short while since my last entry but I have been doing a lot of thinking and soul-searching during this time.
For the past few weeks, my Courier business has not been all it could be and in addition I am having difficulty getting paid by one or two of my customers. If the current situation continues, I am not sure that I either want to or can afford to carry on with the Courier business.
The other week, I had a chance conversation with someone I have known for a little while and was offered a potential new business opportunity. It means becoming involved in an area of finance that I am not very familiar with but feel that I have the confidence and ability to potentially make a go of things.
I have attended an initial training day and feel that I should try out this new found business opportunity. On the face of things, this new direction could be quite lucrative. I am both looking forward to and feeling apprehensive about getting involved in an area that I am currently unfamiliar with.
Will it be what I expect, will I be suited to the new roll, will it eventually replace the need for me to operate a Courier business?
So may questions, so many decisions, so many things to consider, not least the impact my work and earning activities will have on my family. If anyone out there has any advice having been in similar circumstances, I would be delighted to hear from you. I will of course let you know how the "dipping my toe in the pool of uncertainty" goes.
For the past few weeks, my Courier business has not been all it could be and in addition I am having difficulty getting paid by one or two of my customers. If the current situation continues, I am not sure that I either want to or can afford to carry on with the Courier business.
The other week, I had a chance conversation with someone I have known for a little while and was offered a potential new business opportunity. It means becoming involved in an area of finance that I am not very familiar with but feel that I have the confidence and ability to potentially make a go of things.
I have attended an initial training day and feel that I should try out this new found business opportunity. On the face of things, this new direction could be quite lucrative. I am both looking forward to and feeling apprehensive about getting involved in an area that I am currently unfamiliar with.
Will it be what I expect, will I be suited to the new roll, will it eventually replace the need for me to operate a Courier business?
So may questions, so many decisions, so many things to consider, not least the impact my work and earning activities will have on my family. If anyone out there has any advice having been in similar circumstances, I would be delighted to hear from you. I will of course let you know how the "dipping my toe in the pool of uncertainty" goes.
Friday 23 May 2008
Opening Up
Hello, and welcome to my new Blog venture.
I have undertaken to do this for several reasons:
1) To prove to myself that I can create and sustain a diary that others find interesting enough to visit and comment on from time to time.
2) To inform and entertain you by describing the successes and failures, high and lows in my relatively newly acquired semi-retired, self-employed life.
3) I also intend to give frequent comments on people and things in the news. These may or may not prove to be controversial and I also hope that they will meet with a degree of agreement.
Whatever my reasons for creating this Blog and whatever your reasons for spending a few moments of your time reading my efforts, I hope that you enjoy my jottings over the coming months and look forward to receiving comments.
I have undertaken to do this for several reasons:
1) To prove to myself that I can create and sustain a diary that others find interesting enough to visit and comment on from time to time.
2) To inform and entertain you by describing the successes and failures, high and lows in my relatively newly acquired semi-retired, self-employed life.
3) I also intend to give frequent comments on people and things in the news. These may or may not prove to be controversial and I also hope that they will meet with a degree of agreement.
Whatever my reasons for creating this Blog and whatever your reasons for spending a few moments of your time reading my efforts, I hope that you enjoy my jottings over the coming months and look forward to receiving comments.
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