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His mission is to make the whole time-consuming, intimidating,distasteful process of applying for a mortgage a relic of the past.Traditionalists may scoff at 35-year-old Daniel Geduldig'shomebased business in tiny Dillsburg, Pennsylvania; his rapid-firequips; his offbeat advertising; and his practice of completingmortgage applications by phone in the evening, rather than meetingwith clients in person during the business day. But he's theone laughing all the way to the bank.
In just five years, using unconventional methods, Geduldig,owner of Dan the Mortgage Man Inc., has turned a $5,000 investmentinto a $17 million business, named one of the fastest-growingcompanies in central Pennsylvania by virtue of its skyrocketingsales. "Half the people who see my ads roll their eyes andwouldn't have anything to do with me," Geduldig says."But my clients would vote for me for president."
Despite his slightly loopy image, which is carefully cultivated,Dan the Mortgage Man knows exactly what he's doing. His wackymarketing techniques--like newspaper ads featuring his face on abottle of mouthwash accompanied by the slogan "Kills theincompetence that causes bad service"--attract younger clientswho might otherwise feel uncomfortable doing the whole uptightmortgage thing.
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