Introducing the Newest Addition to our Sales Team
Ocean Capital is pleased to announce the newest addition to our sales team, Mr. David J. Canning. Prior to joining Ocean Capital, David spent the past 5 years as an investment sales broker with Massey Knakal Realty
Services and Marcus and Millichap Real Estate Investment Services in Manhattan, NY.
While working as an investment sales broker, David sold 20 buildings in the New York marketplace with an aggregate value of over $27 million. Prior to that, he worked as a Senior Associate in Capital Markets Intelligence with Thomson Reuters Corporate Group.
David graduated from Boston College in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. He has served as a volunteer with several organizations including Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay and the Ignacio Volunteers.
Quote of the Week
“We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”
~Charles Kingsley
Are Trade Shows a Waste of Time?
If you were like many lenders in 2007 and 2008, a large portion of your marketing dollars were spent attending and exhibiting at trade shows 
throughout the country. Ocean Capital was one of these lenders. In 2008 alone we exhibited at 20 trade shows from Maine to California. Here’s just a quick summary of the costs incurred to send 2 commercial loan officers to a trade show in Chicago:
Exhibit Fee: $3,000
Flight Fee: $965
Hotel Fee (Our CLO’s were kind enough to share a room): $580 for a 2-night stay
Material Shipment Fee: $500
Grand Total: $5,045
As you can imagine attending 20 shows puts quite a dent in the marketing budget. After analyzing our trade show expenses for 2008 and 2009, and the amount of leads we took away from the show, we knew there had to be a better way to attract customers. Of course there are benefits to the shows such as the opportunity to take some classes, see what your competitors are doing, face-to-face networking, and not to mention the added perks of free stuff and sponsored cocktail hours.
But when it comes down to it, are trade shows really worth it? I don’t know about your company, but we just don’t have the same budget as we did back then. That $5,045 has to be stretched a lot further now and drum up more leads. Not to mention the trade shows aren’t packing them in like they used to. Companies are finding faster, cheaper, more viral means to attract business.
With the explosion of social media, web technology and networking sites, there are many more cost effective approaches to finding customers, and more importantly being found by your customers.
In order to do this, you need to set up your website and networking pages to provide a plethora of information and establish yourselves as thought leaders in the mortgage industry to attract visitors naturally through search engines such as Google, through the blogosphere, and through social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.
Creating fresh content on your website, blog and facebook page will be a bit more time consuming than a 2-day trip to Chicago, but over time you will begin to set yourself apart from your competitors, and for a lot less money.
Quote of the Week
“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.”
~ John Quincy Adams
Recent Deal - Cash Out Refinance for Assisted Living Facility
Location: Hamburg, NY
Property Type: Assisted living facility
Loan Size: $1,575,000
Broker Commission: $15,750
Loan Purpose: Cash out refinance for working capital and to pay off balloon note
Introducing a New Addition to our Executive Team
We’d like to announce the new addition to the Bank’s executive Team, Ms. Katherine Marien, Senior Lending Officer. Ms. Marien brings over 25 years of credit and management experience in financial services, including credit risk management, implementing policies and procedures, staff training and development as well as underwriting. She will be a valued addition to our executive team.
Announcing Our Increased Broker Referral Fee to 1%
Ocean Capital has increased our broker compensation to 1% on all referred loans that close and fund. The 1% referral fee is effective immediately on all deals submitted to Ocean Capital.
We hope this payout increase demonstrates just how much we value your business!
*Check out our recent email blast
Quote of the Week
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
~Steve Jobs
Quote of the Week
“There is a time to let things happen and a time to make things happen.”
~Hugh Prather
