Mortgage Loan Officer Blog | Loan Officer Freedom

Where Is The Invisible Gorilla In Your Business?

November 29, 2021January 30, 2019 by Carl White, Mortgage Marketing Animals

The invisible gorilla concept is a real thing. It’s named after a study where two teams of kids were videotaped passing basketballs back and forth while bobbing and weaving and dodging each other on the court. The experiment was that viewers were told to keep count of the throws of the basketball. About a minute into this, a large man in a gorilla suit walks directly into the middle of the kids, stops, beats his chest, then strolls away while the kids keep playing. After the video ends, the researchers asked the viewers if they saw the gorilla. About half the audience completely missed the gorilla!

Because the viewers were so focused on the complex task of counting basketball throws, they narrowed their attention and blocked out everything other than those throws – they literally could not see the big, hairy gorilla right in front of them! (You can look for the gorilla yourself here: https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo).

That effect – of the ‘invisible gorilla’ – is caused by ‘inattentional blindness’, or perceptual blindness. It’s a psychological lack of attention vs. a physical issue with vision. Basically, it means the person fails to see an unexpected stimulus in plain sight.

What does that mean to you and me as businesspeople? It means we might get so focused on what we think our challenges and opportunities are that we miss the obvious because we don’t expect something other than what we are focusing on at the moment.

Let’s say you are focused on working Thor’s Hammer – you’re making your calls, setting up your appointments, going to your face-to-face meetings and working hard when your spouse casually mentions that her friend, Susie, said that her friend was looking to buy a new house or your buddy tells you that he heard about a developer getting ready to build a new community. You might hear ‘noise’ or social chit chat and completely miss that somebody is going to need at least one loan in either of those situations.

Maybe you’re so focused on hitting your numbers that you forget to call your clients with a quick status on your loans. Maybe you’re working too hard by doing it all yourself and you completely miss the fact that you could be doing twice as much (and making more money) by hiring a loan processor. Or maybe you’re so focused on doing things the way you’ve always done that you don’t even think that there might be a better, more efficient way to run your business.

The point is that you might have an invisible gorilla in your business right now. You can’t see it because you’re too busy counting your throws. And that’s not a bad thing! But it does mean you could be missing something really important and you need help to see it. I was working with someone just last week who told me that they just couldn’t take a day off because weekends were catch-up from the week before – until I crossed out not just one but TWO days on their calendar for planned time off. There is nobody who can sustain the level of energy we need in business without at least a day off every week. But I digress…

If you can’t see your gorilla, we got your back! Let us help you improve your vision (and your business!). Sign up for one of our strategy sessions – there isn’t a catch to it (no obligatory gorillas there!). We simply want to pay it forward and help you see what you might be missing in your business right now. Here’s how you can schedule your session: www.LoanOfficerStrategyCall.com.

Meanwhile, if you have a way that you use to reset your attention in business – a day off, coffee with a friend, a walk around the block – share it. We all win by helping each other and I’m always looking for good ‘hacks’ to get more out of my day too. Thanks in advance.

Carl White, Chief Officer of Coolness

Article Originally Posted on LinkedIn

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Put the Compound Effect to Work In Your Business

January 6, 2022January 23, 2019 by Carl White, Mortgage Marketing Animals

Whether you know it or not, the compound effect has been quietly chugging away in your life and business since the beginning. What does that mean? Well, it’s like compound interest… a little bit adds up to a lot over time.

When you get conscious about applying that strategically, it means that seemingly insignificant decisions and actions can create some really huge rewards. For example, if you’re a fancy latte drinker at about $6 a pop daily, when you skip that latte, you save yourself more than $1,500 in a year. If a plane is headed just one percent off-course when it leaves Los Angeles for New York (and does not course-correct), it will end up in Delaware. If you walk the stairs for 30 minutes for three days a week (assuming you weigh around 185 pounds), you could lose a pound a month; increase that to 60 minutes four days a week, you could burn a pound every ten days. If you cut 200 calories out of your daily intake on top of that (which is about a donut a day), you could lose a pound a week.

The point is that, by following through on the small things, you get big results. By accelerating the small things, you get even bigger results faster.

You can already see that one of the factors for making the compound effect work for you is that you have to measure what you’re doing. You just can’t know success unless you know what you’re aiming for and what you’re doing to get it.

You also have to be 100% accountable and responsible for what’s happening in your business. Did a deal slip through the cracks? That’s on you. Did a team member get lost in the process and miss a deadline? Yep, that’s on you too. Why? Because you need to set up fail-proof systems, provide training and then make sure each team member has support in their follow-through.

Another ‘law’ of the compound effect is consistency. You cannot activate the compound effect when you have a one-shot or spotty execution on an activity. (One day without a donut won’t make a difference. Believe me – I know many who have tried that one!)

The compound effect is not about your big vision, or your major pivot points, or any life-changing decision; instead, it’s about the small decisions you in the everyday choice points that you probably don’t even think about in the moment. Should you push through and make those extra five calls today? Is it time to hire a personal assistant? Should you walk the stairs an extra 30 minutes? Should you attend that networking event, send that text, follow-up with the person you met last week? These are the choices that can change everything. And we are often sleepwalking our way through them, or procrastinating on them, or something – anything – gets in our way or takes our attention elsewhere.

There are only a handful of things that should get precedence over what you know is the right thing to do for your business – your higher power, your health, your family and anything concerning blood or bodily injury. That’s about it. No other excuse will do when it comes to doing the right thing for your potential and current clients and referral partners. Your success depends on, and is the result of, that perspective.

What small things have you been putting off doing in your business? What choices are you making unconsciously that are limiting your business growth? What little things could you be doing different every day that could get you a little more momentum (and gain speed) toward your business goals? I want to know so I can see you being successful with them from this point forward – Let me know here.

Carl White, Chief Officer of Coolness

Article Originally Posted on LinkedIn

What Are You Wasting?

November 29, 2021January 16, 2019 by Carl White, Mortgage Marketing Animals

People look at me now and think ‘wow, that Carl has an amazing life’ – sometimes they even tell me that when they see where I live and how I work. And, to put it right out there, they’re right! But it wasn’t always like this for me. I grew up without a lot of money and I had to work hard. Someday, I’ll tell you about my first few jobs and how they didn’t go the way I (or anybody else) wanted.

The point is that I grew up knowing not to waste things. “Clean your plate – kids are starving in Ethiopia.” “Close the door – you’re letting the air out!” “Turn off the lights when you leave the room!” “What’s wrong with wearing hand-me-downs?” You probably heard those things too. Back in the day, society wasn’t quite so disposable as it is now. We had to fight and scrimp to get resources together. Some people still have to… there’s nothing wrong with that.

But now we have different problems… back then, you could touch the things you risked wasting. Now we waste intangible things – time, energy, knowledge, passion, youth, health, discipline… to name a few. In some weird way, it’s easier to waste things you don’t actually touch. Except that now the things we waste last more than a meal or a pair of jeans – the things people waste now can change the rest of their lives.

What does that mean? Well, I would say that knowledge un-invested is wasted. When you know something and you choose to not use it to create benefit for you, your business and the people in your world, that is what business people would call an ‘opportunity cost’. You might not be able to say exactly what applying that knowledge would generate – but the loss in potential gain could be exponential.

For example, let’s say a young family comes to you with newly-established credit and wants to buy a house. Or a vet wants to buy her first home, has a down payment but has a low credit score from being deployed. Or a son wants to help his parents out financially by buying their house but doesn’t have his professional act together for verifiable income. Now I’m stretching these scenarios to pull at your heartstrings, for sure, because these are not ideal clients. But with what you know, you could help each of them get a game plan together – and that would change the rest of their lives.

Let’s say you’re making your calls, picking up the phone and mowing through your past database. That’s great! That’s a killer strategy, calling your database, but you could also get somebody else for around minimum wage to do that activity for you, and using a system like PhoneBurnerFreedom.com, getting the same results as if you did it yourself. That could save literally hours of your time every week. What could you do with an extra 5 – 10 hours / week?

What if your passion is to work with top agents who swing big in their business and win, but your client base is primarily lower-level “vanilla loans” types? Of course, you have a good business there… but what’s happening to your passion? It’s wasting away while you’re focusing on the money vs. your passionate quality of life. Money is a nice outcome but it’s just a by-product of being smart with passion. Be passionate about your life and business, and they will pay you back beyond anything you can dream of today. Believe me.

Like I said at the beginning, I have a pretty awesome lifestyle. And I have worked hard to get it. I still work hard for the 20 or so hours I work each week. (And yes, there are a lot of ‘guru-types’ who work less than that – some of them are my best friends so I know that’s true.)

But for me, working hard is the same as playing hard. I love what I do to point where it’s hard to know when I’m working or playing. I invest what I’ve got to make a bigger difference for people. I believe that, at a certain point in success, the reason you have it all is to give it away. The very most valuable thing I can give anybody is the mindset, the perspective and the strategies that I have earned my way to using well. I do not waste what I have come to know, have or be along the way.

When I think about it, the only thing people might or could accuse me of wasting now, is time… because I like people. I like good food. I like hanging out and sharing jokes and being with all my rowdy friends. It makes me happy. So do I take a little longer over a good meal or enjoying an occasional cigar or taking a country ride on my Harley with my son on his? You bet I do, because I’m not watching the clock. If I’m too rushed to create a memory with somebody, then that’s the real waste of those opportunities. I’m clear on my values. My focus over the years, making the most of every resource, has afforded me the life I have today. And it happened because I didn’t waste anything as I went. I took it all in and made it work for me.

So now I ask you – what are you wasting? Where do you look at your life and think ‘hmm… that doesn’t bring me joy?’ Who could you be helping if you went just a little further in sharing what you know? How could your team benefit by following through on something you’ve learned to help your business? How could you improve the quality of your life by leveraging what you know?

These are serious questions – I really want to know. When you share, I also want to know your intention to change that starting when you post it. Awareness is the first step toward living a fuller life.

So, let me hear it from you… and know that, when you share it, there will be a shift. Just like a car speeding up and changing gears, you will feel the shift that comes from being willing to harness more of your potential to help, have, do and/or be more… I’m proud of you, friend. Just do it.

Carl White, Chief Officer of Coolness

Article Originally Posted on LinkedIn

Use Repetition for Renewal

November 29, 2021January 9, 2019 by Carl White, Mortgage Marketing Animals

When you’re looking to create new results, you have to do something different. That only makes sense. What many people forget they can use as a tool is all the stuff they’ve already been doing to get where they are now as a guide for creating those results. Let me explain.

When you want to create a fresh outcome, you first need to believe it’s possible. From that possibility, the vision you hold in your mind, you will naturally create optimism and, when you think about it enough, a new belief about that outcome becoming reality. As you believe it’s possible, you will start taking actions to make it happen. Then you will start recognizing signs that the outcome is happening.

For example, a favorite scenario is the desire to lose weight. To lose weight, you have to want to do it, believe it’s possible, take actions that you believe will get you that result and then monitor your success. You might use a scale, measurements with a tape measure, how your clothes fit or how many compliments you get from people around you to measure that success. The point is that the process needs to play through all four stages to create a new outcome.

Now, think about something that you want to change or achieve as a new result in your business. Chances are it’s something you have already tried to go for and it’s still on your to-do list. Maybe you want to double the number of deals you do a month, or you want to triple the number of clients you help in the next 12 months, or maybe you want to expand your referral network by 25% in the next 60 days… this is where looking at what you’ve tried already can hold the key to new success.

Whatever you have already tried and hasn’t worked has also created, through repetition, a pattern which has likely affected what you believe is possible about that outcome. Repetition can become a rut – OR it can be a source of renewal when you examine it with a fresh perspective. When you look at what you’ve done in the past with a new commitment to learn from it, and you’re honest with yourself, you can see where you can make new choices going forward. New choices create new actions and renewal on achieving a new result. (That’s a whole lot of ‘new’ in there…!)

Here’s what can trip you up in all this – your willingness to be brutally honest with yourself. You have to be willing to see and admit where you can do it different or revisiting where you’ve been will not be helpful. In fact, it could even turn into a reason to beat yourself up about not getting a good result. Many of the good people I know will take on ‘failure’ as a personal flaw rather than use it as an opportunity to learn. And, obviously, I am recommending that you use the repetition of the past that didn’t work out the way you wanted to generate clarity, options and a renewal of fresh results.

Want to double your closings every month? Use Thor’s Hammer religiously. Want to triple the number of clients you help? Get more involved in your circles and community. Want to expand your referral network? See how many more people you can help get what they want so they return the favor when one of their contacts is ready to buy. Want ideas from people who have been where you are and won? Join the Mortgage Marketing Animals or come to a 3-Day Mastermind Event.

Oh – and look for where you have half-built bridges (that’s my latest article in the Scotsman Guide; you’ll be hearing more from me on this concept in the coming months).

To bring this point home, if you DON’T do this, you run the risk of unconsciously retreading where you’ve already been and that’s not going to get you different results. Some would go farther and say that’s the very definition of insanity. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.”

The bottom line here is to learn from and use what you’ve done in the past to create new beliefs, ideas and actions to get new results. Believe that what you want is possible. Use your past repetition(s) to direct you away from the ruts and into renewal. Be prepared to monitor your progress. And celebrate the little victories to keep your energy high and stoke the fire to get continuing results.

Let me hear what you’re doing different to create new results in your business. We’ve got a great community of folks here who are waiting to learn and give you their suggestions too. What’s the one thing you know from your past that needs an upgrade to get a different result? Shout it out so we can celebrate your awesomeness!

Carl White, Chief Officer of Coolness

Article Originally Posted on LinkedIn

Your Business Has Needs Too

November 29, 2021January 2, 2019 by Carl White, Mortgage Marketing Animals

We have talked a lot about who you need to be in order to be successful in your business. But your business has needs too. By understanding the dynamics of your business through a needs-based perspective can be powerful and help you make decisions on what to prioritize to grow your business next. So let’s consider what business has needs have to get satisfied o provide you and your team with increasing financial stability and prosperity.

First, Maslow’s theory states that there is a hierarchy of lower needs that have to be satisfied before individuals can address higher needs. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Your business can benefit when you understand how this applies to your work.

The lower four levels are what’s called deficiency needs because they are based on deprivation. That means people are more motivated to get them handled when those needs are unmet. And the longer those needs are denied – say, hunger – the greater the motivation to fulfill them (as the person only gets hungrier over time). Maslow says that a person can only rise according to their most satisfied level. So if your survival is threatened, you aren’t worried about your community – you’re focused on food, shelter and water first. Only once you are out of that basic survival mode can you think about what need needs to be met next.

The top level is a ‘being’ need where motivation grows as needs are met; that means the more actualized the person becomes, the more they want to give, contribute, live their potential and be a better person.

This image shows you the five layers from Maslow’s hierarchy on the left.

Here it is again, with the main focus of that level listed on the right, and the needs of your business listed in the middle.

You can see that the bottom level, or the base, is where you set your operational foundation in place with the basics of doing business. Essentially, your business needs its’ survival needs addressed – cash flow, something to sell, customers, having the right team members to deliver what you promise, equipment (like computers and a desk), and a place to work from daily.

Once the basics are handled, it’s about getting efficient and creating a sense of stability. This means adding structure to your business, gaining confidence from your market, putting processes and policies and protocols in place. You want your team members to feel secure in what they’re doing with you to grow the business.

Now you’ve got some momentum so it’s time to build your business through more sales and working with partners and strategic alliances. Your business needs engagement from team members, partners, your community and, of course, your customers. It’s about nurturing the ‘family’ of your business.

Next your business needs to position strategically as unique, which builds esteem and recognizes achievement. Internally, you might expand benefits for employees or make title changes. You might offer (or receive) awards. You might put a PR plan in place. The ideas is that your business gets seen and acknowledged for the expertise and efficiency you bring your customers, employees and partners.

The highest, or fifth level, is about self-actualization, meaning that your business is doing pretty well. You know when a business is at this stage because they start taking out TV ads – they’re not worried about keeping the lights on anymore. This is when you and your business become a known authority in making the right things happen in right timing for your customers. You can afford to get more involved in your community, and might make the investment in becoming a thought leader in your area because you can invest in long-term strategies that don’t have an immediate pay-off.

Why Does This Matter?

Well, first, this matters to your business because you can’t be a healthy 7-figure business if you don’t have the right team in place, if you’re stuck in survival, if you haven’t built a healthy community, etc. to have stability and prosperity. Your income will be limited by the outstanding needs of your business that need to be met first.

Sometimes I’ve seen entrepreneurs who want to create big change fast – and I’m a fan of that when it makes sense! But if you create that pace of change in a way that out-paces your business’ ability to adapt and you lose your team in the process, that obviously works against you. By understanding what aspects of business needs are tied to psychology, you can minimize the negative effects for your team. And that minimizes resistance and people feeling lost or confused. Plus, when your business isn’t tight with getting these needs handled, you leave room for competitors to have conversations with your customers.

On the other hand, when your business is doing well and is ready to take on the highest level and you don’t make that happen, your business can lose traction. It’s just unnatural to NOT step up at that point. (You know what I mean when I say that… and if that one stings a little bit, it’s definitely your time to do that. We can help you in the Freedom Club, if you want that.)

Basically, the more your business progresses up that ladder of success by meeting its’ needs, the more financial stability you and your business will enjoy.

So now what?

Well, depending on what level you think your business has needs that haven’t been met yet, you’ve got some work to do. The good news is that me and my team are ready to help.

If you want a personalized strategy session about the state of your business, sign up here. It’s no-obligation – it’s simply our way to pay it forward because we are at that top level. And I gotta say it’s a pretty nice view. I want you to have an awesome view too so let us help you climb a little faster and a little easier. We know the way and want to share it with you.

Let me know what level you think your business is on right now. There is no right or wrong, by the way… this is about seeing how to climb the mountain by knowing where you’re starting from – let me know.

Carl White, Chief Officer of Coolness
Article Originally Posted on LinkedIn