It’s no secret that America is swimming in debt. With the average household carrying about $10,000 in credit card debt alone there is no shortage of people to help. However, from your seat you may be wondering why it is so hard to find people asking for debt workout solutions.

Maybe you’re looking (marketing) in the wrong places.

If you are looking for a new source of debt settlement leads here are a few things you should know about Aged Debt Leads as a marketing option.

1. Aged debt leads are cheap

At first, this seems to be the most important thing to most of my new prospects. However, as they become clients and use aged leads consistently in their business it just becomes an added bonus.

2. Aged debt leads are a steady flow of prospects

One of the nice things about aged leads being affordable is that you can order a steady stream of new prospects. Unlike real-time Internet leads or other more expensive marketing you can afford a steady supply of new leads, which will even out the ebbing and flowing of your revenue.

3. Aged debt leads are qualified leads

Unlike more traditional marketing sources, i.e., Yellow page ads, newspaper listings, or local display ads, you are buying qualified prospects–not broadcasting to the masses. Aged debt leads are ideal because you are getting people that not only want to be called, but have already told you that they need help solving their debt problems.

4. Aged debt leads can be filtered for your region

Another advantage of the marketing methods used to generate aged debt leads is that you can filter these leads. That means you not only get people that want your help with debt, but you can also get people in your local area.

5. Aged debt leads are motivated debt consumers

Finally, and probably most importantly, aged debt leads give you the opportunity to talk to motivated prospects.

You’re not cold calling households and prying into their debt–often a personal and embarrassing topic to discuss. No, you are getting people that are holding up their hands and saying, “Please help me figure out how to get rid of this mountain of debt.”

Debt Help- Mint.com

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Debt can creep up on you and take a stranglehold on your life. It leaves you hopeless, anxious, and distrusting. If you want to help these customers these are your challenges.

Debt leads (customers) are full of reasons not to commit. Your goal is to systematically remove each of those barriers.

1. Fear is the Hidden Objection

Nothing grips a debt customer like fear. They are afraid of the debt, the creditor, the collectors, and the future. You know that is going to be there on every call. Prepare your pitch to face these objections. 

Unlike the typical objections customers give you these will be less obvious. They will be hidden.  Therefore, work them into the normal flow of your conversations.

2. Provide Simple and Complete Debt Counseling

Nothing removes fear faster than education. 

Listen you your prospects. Then break your debt solution down into small, simple, and understandable steps. Walk them through exactly what got them to this point and how you can lead them out of the woods.

Educating, not selling is the key to success. Make sure that your customer really understands everything you are explaining to them. Get them involved and participating in the process–they should end each conversation feeling more confident.

You’re job is to build trust, confidence, and hope. This is the only sales process that works.

3. Apply Pressure Only at Appropriate Times

The time will come to apply pressure. At the end of the day, most people in debt trouble don’t want to change their behavior. They don’t want to tighten spending, they don’t want to go on a payment plan, and they aren’t inclined to trust you. This is going to take some tough love–at just the right time.

I recommend applying pressure to the process, not the solution. Make your debt customers feel the sense of urgency to get you information, complete the process, and make decisions. Apply the pressure to get them on the way to recovery.

What is your number one job as a mortgage broker or debt settlement counselor?

Build confidence in the customer.

Sales is Creating Confident Buyers

Does that sound weird to you? It shouldn’t because it is the most critical skill a sales person must possess.

You are not there to sell them something. You are not there to spill out a bunch of numbers and options. Your only job is to give customers the information and education they need to be confident buyers.

Confidence Start with You

Creating confidence in your prospective clients has to start with you. You need to have confidence in your opening, your knowledge of the product options, and your recommendations.

That confidence needs to show up in your voice and your face-to-face meetings. You need to be professional and even in your delivery. You need to be attentive to questions. You need to be direct and authoritative in you answers.

Ask Questions to Build Confidence

Most importantly ask questions of your prospects to make sure you are communicating. This process is much like a teacher in a classroom. You need to occasionally pause from the pitch to get feedback. This feedback can come from asking if there are any questions or giving a little quiz.

The purpose is to see if they are still paying attention, they are grasping what you are telling them, and most importantly proving to themselves that they understand. This understanding will give them the confidence to make the decision to move forward or discuss it with their spouse.

In either case moving the discussion to a closing.

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The current recession is making debt settlement leads look more like a common phone book. It seems that nearly everyone is in need of some credit or debt management assistance. That means those debt leads you are buying are increasingly valuable if you have a good marketing plan.

Turning Debt Leads Into Clients

A marketing plan? You thought you outsourced marketing when you bought those aged debt settlement leads. Wrong. You bought customers with intent and need, but they responded to someone else’s marketing.

The smart debt settlement company embraces that customer interest as an opportunity. However, they know that it won’t stick without a little work. You need to make a personal effort to make that client really yours.

Introduce them to your debt settlement company, give them confidence that you will be responsive, and build a trusting relationship that assures them you are here to help.

Marketing Debt Solutions

One of the quickest ways to convert aged debt leads into viable prospects is to turn the marketing back on. Chances are these clients were either dropped or have been ignored for some extended period of time. That means you need to re-engage them.

I think the best approach is to start a value-based education email campaign. This means you need to start by introducing yourself and the company. And offering them educational content with no strings attached.

Here are a few examples:

• Free tips on credit repair, maybe even attach a short e-book
• A getting started guide on negotiating with creditors
• Brief outline on organizing your total debt picture

These no-obligation educational content pieces are powerful marketing tools. They will help your prospective debt clients gain confidence in getting help and will drive them to you with questions.

Taking the Long View on Sales

As you all know debt settlement solutions are typically long processes. People in debt trouble have been beaten down, are often in denial, and rarely believe there is hope. That is why it is critical to take the long view on each of these leads, which means working in volume and automating your marketing.

This is certain to bring a steady flow of conversions into you pipeline and maximize the people you can help free from suffocating debt burdens.

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Whether you are in the mortgage or the debt settlement business–loan modification leads are a good bet for prospects. If you think about it loan modification implies a crushing debt problem. Assuming that a homeowner is holding one of the largest debt burdens an average customer will encounter, a loan modification lead is someone in real debt relief need.

Why Loan Modification Leads?

If you are in the debt settlement business you may be wondering why I would recommend loan modification leads. The answer has a lot to do with detecting the intent of the person inquiring and how close they may be to taking action.

As you know most debt leads are people very early in knowing (or admitting) they have a debt problem. That means you are spending much of your time convincing them that they need to take care of their debt problems now.

To the contrary, someone who has inquired about a loan modification knows they have a crisis on their hands. They also are probably a bit more sophisticated, in that (believe it or not) most consumers still don’t know what about loan modifications.

Opportunity to Set-up Mortgage Referrals

It is also a fair bet that if someone is having problems paying their mortgage they are there because of credit problems, credit card debt, installment loans and the like. Sounds like the perfect person for you, in the debt settlement business, to help.

Ultimately, getting them into a stronger financial situation to support that mortgage payment.

However, you might not have the expertise or licensing in your debt settlement practice to solve the mortgage issue. Never fear, this is a perfect opportunity to set up a referral relationship with a mortgage broker or loan modification specialist.

Ideally, these loan modification leads will not only get you some more debt settlement deals, but they may also get you some referrals flowing from mortgage partners.
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Sales people talk too much. And it may be impacting our sales conversion. When we are talking to a customer they are likely to be full of questions. After all if they knew everything about our products and services they probably would have already purchased.

In no industries is this premise more important than mortgage and debt settlement. Your customers are full of questions. Your transactions are complex. And no one likes to talk about finances our understand scary numbers.

If you have finally gotten you customer on the line start listening. Any good sale begins and ends with good conversation.

Think of every call as more of a dinner party conversation than a sales pitch. It will be a lot more fun doing sales, your customer will enjoy talking with you more, and you will close more deals.

Let’s outline some dinner party best practices:

1. Introduce yourself in a warm and inviting way. Avoid the show. Don’t drop names or fancy titles.

2. Lead with a question about them. And then ask a lot more throughout the discussion.

3. Use their first name often. It seems more personal, people like to hear their name, and it will help you remember it.

4. Did I mention to ask questions. People would rather you be interested in them than have to endure your rambling sales pitch.

5. Make sure, especially if you don’t land the deal, that they know how to contact you in the future. Really work hard to convince them that you really want that to happen.

What are some of you secrets to forcing yourself to listen more and pitch less?

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There are few things harder to do than service people that are in trouble with their debt. They are confused, scared, and stressed. They have been harassed, badgered, and intimidated. They are suspicious, timid, and unresponsive.

Building trust and educating these consumer are key to your success as a debt settlement counselor. Here are some helpful resources for scripting your debt settlement sales calls:

1. My own Aged Lead Strategy Debt Relief Sales Scripts advocate using empathy, listening, and executing on promises as key ingredients to building good debt settlement sales scripts.

2. Lead Closer gives some basic elements in his debt sales scripts emphasizing Caller ID, pleasantness, and speed to pitch.

3. I really like the scripts from Debt Skinny. They are voicemail scripts, which are the lion share of what you will be doing in debt settlement calling.

4. Finally, MSTARS might be a solution if you want to hire someone to write custom scripts for your debt settlement organization.

I suggest that as you approach your debt settlement sales training you emphasize slowing down the sales process. This seems counter-intuitive, but unlike most other sales environments these consumers are already fatigued. They are likely to abruptly enter into a defensive mode with any pressure.

Empathy, listening, and less selling is going to get you to the solution faster than pounding home all of the help and relief you can provide. Trust first.

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Have you ever tried to get someone to talk to you by pelting them with endless statements about you–how great you are, how much you are better than others, or how successful you are going to make them? No, of course not.

Ironically, that is precisely the technique we use to sell people on developing a business relationship with us. Instead we should be asking questions and gathering data. Let the customer tell us what it takes to sell them on our product or service.

That is the power of the open-ended question.

People love to talk about themselves–their successes and their challenges. And that is precisely the information you would love to have to guide your sales pitch. So, let it happen.

Let’s take a look at some good open-ended questions:

• When did you feel like your debt was first getting out of control?
• What is the most stressful part about your current debt?
• What led you to consider refinancing your mortgage?
• What made you select this house (neighborhood, city, state)?
• Is this your first mortgage?
• Are you working now?
• What is most important to you in a mortgage or debt solution?
• Have you talked to others about a mortgage or debt solution?
• What is your biggest concern?

Do you have some good open-ended questions you use in the sales process? Add them to the comments below.

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Although a full and complete transcript is not available the FTC has posted some portions of the proceedings on debt settlement reform.

Here are some important pointers:

• FTC TSR/Debt Relief Forum full agenda [PDF] and panelist
• Press Release announcing the FTC public forum on debt settlement
• Proposed rules from the FTC regarding debt settlement and TSR reform [PDF]
• Complete list and attachments of all TSR/Debt Relief public comments received by the FTC
• Limited release of some webcast coverage of the TSR/Debt Relief forum

I haven’t quite consumed all of this information, but it certainly gives you the impression that the FTC is resolved to do something aggressive in this area. Likewise, the debt settlement industry is mounting an equally aggressive campaign to defend the industry as essential to helping consumers and the economy recover.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

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