Shoot for great, not “perfect”.

80% gets you close enough.  This will keep you from “Analysis Paralysis”.

The cool part is you can get to “80%” in just 20% of the time.  It’s that final “20%” that takes all the time and may not even be necessary.

For example, I trained an assistant to call prospective referral partners on my behalf to set up coffee appointments for me.  (I get it, doesn’t sound sexy but has made me millions of $$).

After his first 2 weeks of training, he was able to schedule about 80% as many appointments as I could do if I made the calls myself. 

That’s close enough!!!
It took another 6 months or so, (relying on my memory here) for him to get about the same results as me.

But truth be known, the extra time I spent training him, from week 2 to 6 months, may have not been worth the effort of going from 80% to 100%.

I see so many LOs worry about “getting it perfect”.

Which inevitably leads to the analysis paralysis which results in no action being actually taken, which results in zero results vs 80% results.

Just know that your “80%” far exceeds most people who are striving for 100% but never actually take action.

It’s really sad to see the wonderful things passed by that life can give them if they would simply take “imperfect” action.

I believe in YOU!

Let’s face it, the loan officers that focus on lead generation instead of “chasing bank statements” are the ones that make all the money.

A member of our Mortgage Marketing Animals (and a super cool and smart guy) asked a great question the other day, and I thought I would share his question and my response.  I think you may find this helpful.

His great question:

“In the past I used an online service to help drive consumer direct business, and it ended up being more of a headache than what it was worth….

The idea of being able to provide my realtor partners more leads, and drum up extra business could be worth it. But I was wondering if some fellow animals had any experiences or tactics they want to share.

I like to come at my business from every angle, if it gives me a few deals and keeps a few realtors happy, why not?”

My response:

“Here’s the thing, I work with already successful agents.  They don’t need me to give them leads because they already have listings that do that.  People looking to buy houses generally call agents first, not LO’s.”

“The top 3 complaints of Realtors about LOs are:
1. Don’t close on time
2. The LO doesn’t inform me what’s going on with the loan
3. The LO doesn’t follow up on the leads I give them.”

“The top agents don’t complain that the LO isn’t giving them leads.  Only the struggle bunny agents complain about that.”

“Solve those top 3 complaints, and you will have a very robust business with an army of agents giving you the leads that they already have.”

“#SwimDownstreamNotUpstream”

So do we give Realtors leads?  Of course we do.

When we market to our past database, we refer them back to the agent that referred them to us in the first place.

When our past database refers us to a friend, family member, or a co-working that is looking to buy or sell a home, of course we refer them back to the agent that introduced that person in the first place.

But understand, it’s been my experience (in helping to build a multi Billion $$ lending “empire”) that simply sticking with the main 3 things has been the thing that has really moved the needle for me and the LOs and branch managers on our team.

Most everything else is a distraction and perhaps a feeble attempt to sell us something that we may not even need.

Do those 3 things first THEN we can look to add to those things.

Just sharing my thoughts in hopes of relieving you of what may be unnecessary stress ☺

A buddy of mine, Frank, kind of threw a glass of cold water in my face some time back, to help bring me to my senses, and it really helped me out, so I thought I would share with you.

“You don’t have to remove all of your flaws and insecurities in order to succeed. You just have to accept them and move forward anyway.”

See, when I became a loan officer, I had major doubts of whether it was going to work out. I knew very little about “loans”. Just enough to pass the test.

I also had never done any real sales work, I’m a major introvert (there’s a surprise), easily distracted, and somewhat “technology challenged”. Sound like a recipe for success? Hardly!!

But here’s what I did have (and have always had)…

Take Action Now. Or more accurately, “Take Imperfect Action Now!”

Find what successful people are doing and do what they tell me to do…

Even if I’m afraid, even if I’m unsure, even if

See, most people live in a world of “IF-THEN”…

IF I knew what to say, THEN I would call that Realtor.

IF I had the lowest rate, THEN I would get more loans.

IF I had more loans, THEN I could get some help.

So, if there’s somewhere in your life where you’re doubting yourself, I hope today’s story helps you remember…

That’s totally normal. Even to be expected. And you may never feel 100% ready or certain.

Whatever the “next step” is for you right now, you’re probably far more ready for it than you realize.

So Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway.

Also, when you need any help with structuring what to do next, or even what to first, or what the next step is, or “what to say to who”, feel free to reach out and I’ll totally hook you up.

We are coming into the holiday season already. 

The question that always comes up is, “Should we take time off, or should we “grind” while everybody else is taking time off?”

Here’s what has helped me the best…

First of all, do good focused work on a 32 hour work week for 11 months out of the year, and, as long as we have focused on building up our referral network, and not focused on chasing page 3 of the bank statement, we will build up our business so much that you will have earned the right to take off the entire month of December.

But here’s the thing, most LOs are so busy putting out fires and chasing conditions, that they don’t take the time to work on building up their referral network.  

We are coming into the holiday season! What is the one thing that most loan officers and real estate agents start doing as the holidays approach? That’s right! They stop selling!  Have you ever heard this from one of your real estate agents? Let’s wait till after the first of the year. Or, Let’s talk later.  Or, Hey I want to take some time off! Have you perhaps I said those words yourself?

Let’s chat about that for just a second.  As you know, I am a huge NASCAR fan! Did you know that on the superspeedways like the Daytona 500 that they virtually never put their foot on the brake the entire race, other than when they come in for gas or tires.  They have their foot on the gas pedal the entire time.  When they need to slow down they just take their foot off the gas for a second and then back to full throttle.

This holiday season, take a lesson from NASCAR and consider not slamming on the brakes!

Continue to make your phone calls.

Just consider different topics.  For example, invite them for a coffee just to catch up! Ask about their families.  Ask about what kind of presents they are going to get for their spouse or their kids. Ask what they’re going to do for the holidays. Do they get a real tree or an artificial tree? Do they open their presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day? Meet them at the mall and have coffee with them while they’re shopping!

The key is, when January comes, instead of trying to restart your cold engine, simply change your conversations back to “sales mode” and start asking for the business again.

You can encourage your real estate partners to do the exact same thing. It’s much easier to go from 50 to 200 miles per hour than it is to go from 0 to 200. There’s a lot less wear and tear on the car and the engine!

This holiday, do what other loan officers are not willing to do! Keep making your calls! Come January, you’ll be thanking me