Strategy is how to get desired results with the least amount of resistance in making them happen. Strategy also ensures you use your resources most effectively. And strategy is what positions you with your customers but distinct from your competitors.

On the one hand, competition is so ‘last year’ because, when you’re marketing properly, you have no competition. On the other hand, anything your customer sees that diverts their attention from your services is competition. Competition includes everything from other online solutions to their work day, from their grocery store run to their dog needs a walk. Strategy is the key to unlocking their attention so it’s on you as a resource.

Now strategy is NOT a marketing plan! The marketing plan is what executes on the strategy. The common challenge in determining strategy is avoiding the trap of what’s urgent today vs. taking the time to stop and think strategically.

For example, how does what you do differ from online mortgage services? You know who they are… I don’t need to spell that out. They are getting the attention of your customers – and they’re starting to advertise everywhere – tv, radio and online ads. So what do you do about that strategically?

How do you get attention from your customers who are searching online anyway? Is it still possible to be seen by your customers in a sea of online noise? What’s the strategy for online visibility without stalking somebody?

How can you reach out and ‘touch’ every one of your current and past customers every three months without spending hours doing it? What is the strategy behind making that kind of contact personal and relevant?

The good news is that I have answers to all those questions, and you’ll be seeing that soon in much greater detail than I can share here.

The point is that you need to think strategically, then apply that strategy, to grow your business with the least amount of effort.

How I Started Thinking Strategically

Strategy results from considering several factors, like analyzing your market audience, knowing your unique differentiators, seeing opportunities, having the right infrastructure and business model in place, and envisioning the future. Once you get the right strategy in place, it looks effortless because it’s so natural and obvious. But when you’re working through it, it takes original thinking which doesn’t feel so effortless.

Way back when, before I knew mortgage had a ‘t’ in it, I first began my venture into the mortgage business as a loan officer. As I learned the business, I streamlined the traditional methods everyone was using – including me – into what I call a ‘paint by numbers’ approach. As a result, I became the top-producing branch out of approximately 336 branches nationwide. My technique helped loan officers retain more closings while working less hours each week. And I still use it today, along with a lot of other things I’ve learned along the way, to help loan officers be more successful in less time.

How did I do it? I looked for the hidden value in leveraging my abilities. What was I really good at? And what was I NOT so good at? I have always recognized the value of hanging with people who are smarter than me – and my team today proves that. I figured out that I needed to be building relationships vs. handling the paperwork. And that meant figuring out how to build the best team infrastructure, which went against the grain of every good traditional loan officer in the business back then.

I also realized that I wasn’t in the mortgage loan business – I was in the ‘helping people achieve their dreams’ business. It’s about relationships. How could I build relationships if I was stuck in paperwork? Now, I have the greatest respect for people who are good at that kind of detail – especially because that’s not me. But I also realized that there are people who only want to do that kind of work and don’t want to go beat the streets and connect with people. The marriage of those two kinds of people makes it rain only good things for everybody in business. Today, I would call that ‘lateral thinking’ – where a problem in one environment creates a solution for someone else.

How You Can Start Thinking Strategically

Good strategy makes business frictionless; great strategy adds more value to your customers’ experience in solving their problems. So start by thinking about what your customers are dealing with daily because their problems are your opportunities. What are the conversations they’re having? What do they think the trends are in buying a home? What do they think is a problem when thinking about buying a home?

For example, one woman wanted to buy her first home but thought she had to be completely debt-free, with a large down payment, to do it. Her credit score was 760, she had verifiable six-figure income, a small down payment, and was living on a month-to-month lease. But she thought she could never qualify – until a creative realtor put her in touch ‘just to see’. Within four hours, she had a pre-approval in hand; within six hours, she had an offer on a house.

There are many lessons in that story. First, your realtor partner referrals are a big key to success, and your relationships are the key to those spontaneous referrals. Second, that customer was working off the information her parents gave her from their experience from decades ago. Third, what she thought was a problem – less than $20k in debt and ‘only’ a 760 score – was a signal of her fiscal responsibility. But she didn’t know those things… so she didn’t even try to qualify. And she’s not alone. How many customers are working off old, bad, incorrect information or beliefs that are preventing them from even trying to get a loan? THAT is your opportunity.

Here are five things – beyond knowing your audience – you need to consider in putting together a cohesive business growth strategy.

1. Unique Differentiators

What you do uniquely is based on your core competencies. What do you do well AND are really good at doing? Your answer will determine the best use of your time, money and resources. It will also play into your positioning through marketing messages that show your distinction from any other solution.

2. Opportunities

When the market is ‘zigging’, you need to zag. If your market is talking about how easy it is to get pre-quals online, you make sure you’re dialed in on that – and then amp up the personal touch that an online system can’t replicate. When your referral partners mention they are buying leads instead of working the ones they already have, let them know you can help. Find a way to be of more service and add greater value to your relationships to create or leverage new business opportunities.

3. Business Infrastructure

Your business infrastructure is what allows you to do more with less effort. Your infrastructure means the right people, in the right roles, with the right tools and technology, with the right processes and the right authority to get things done. Get your infrastructure right for greater agility in implementing your strategies.

4. Envisioning the Future

See where your business, your market and the industry are going to determine how you will position to take advantage of emerging trends and opportunities. This also ensures you will remain relevant with your customers, despite changing market conditions.

By taking the time to identify your business strategy(s), combined with knowing your business capabilities inside and out, you create big potential for growing your business faster, easier, with less effort and resources. You don’t waste time doing what won’t, ultimately, serve your business. And your business will no longer be ‘vanilla’; instead, you will get the attention of the people you want to serve.

After all, that’s what this is all about anyway, right?

Strategy can be learned from many places, including history and other industries. What strategies have you learned about or admire? For example, Netflix revolutionized the personal entertainment industry, AirBnB up-ended the accommodations industry, and Duluth Trading Company is defining a new level of comfort for men’s clothing.

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

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#LoanOfficer #MortgageMarketing #MortgageExpert #LoanOfficers #LoanOriginators #Lenders #MortgagePro #MortgageBroker #FreedomSeeker #Branding #Mortgage #LoanOfficerCoach #LoanOfficerMarketing #MortgageLoanOfficer #MortgageAdvisor #MortgageBanker #TheMortgageMarketingAnimals #CarlWhite #FreedomClub #LoanOfficerFreedom #MortgageLife #MortgageLifestyle #HomeLoans #LoanOfficerLife #LoanOfficerLifestyle #MortgageBoss #Entrepreneur #BusinessOwner #Success

Where attention goes, energy flows. That’s a fact. If you’re not paying attention to something, it is irrelevant or less significant than whatever it is that has your attention. But have you considered what that really means?

I talk to loan officers every day who share what’s not working in their businesses. Then when I ask what they’re doing, I hear things like, “I’m waiting for my referral partners to help me,” “My laptop has been on the fritz so I can’t follow my leads”, “I don’t know how to set up an online app,” etc. Where is the investment in those scenarios – in the referral partners or in waiting? The leads or the laptop? The online app or lack of personal technical expertise?

Now I’m not saying that these aren’t real-world concerns. It’s just that when we dig a little deeper, we can see that what the loan officer is focusing on is showing what they value – and, in these cases, it isn’t the things that will move their business forward.

In our business, we work with investments all the time. But do you stop to think about where you are investing your energy, time, focus and resources? It’s like the homeowner who spent tons of money to update their kitchen but their curb appeal is a disaster – are they really looking to sell their house? Or like the client who has a great credit score and wants a house but goes gambling every weekend to ‘hit it big’ and loses their down payment money to the (casino) house.

Of course, we are holistic beings, meaning that every part of our lives affects every other part. You can’t say you are abundant when you are counting your change for gas money. The same thing is true for your business. You can’t say your business is successful when you aren’t investing in it. The cool thing is that you can understand why you aren’t investing in your growth by looking at what you’re currently investing in… make sense?

So, are you investing in relationships or just reaching a number for weekly conversations? Are you investing in processing systems or in technology that you’ll put to work when everything else is perfect? Are you investing in the right people to help you or are you willing to wait until you have the money to do it?

I’m not saying to over-extend yourself without a plan. I’m also not saying that what you’re doing is wrong. All I’m looking to do here is to raise the question: what are you invested in – really?

Here is a quick exercise that might help you see your values more clearly. Grab a piece of paper and write out your top values. Write these fast, in five minutes, because those will be what’s top of mind for you. What do you value? Write it down. Once your five minutes is done, if you’re like most people, you’ll have somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to fifteen values. Now, on the left side, rank them in the order of priority – one is the most important to you and the lowest number is the least important. Once you’ve done that, on the right side, rank them again but, this time, rank them as to how they’re actually showing up in your everyday world. This is where the magic happens because you may find some surprising gaps.

For example, if Family is your #1 ideal value but you work late hours and weekends, or you’re single and want that to change but you’re not socializing, or it’s been a few years since you’ve visited your folks, Family might show up as #8 in your real-world values. That’s a big gap, and it shows that you are not investing in what you believe really matters to you OR what you think is really important is not what’s really important for you. Look for gaps of 3 points or more as clues to where you might want to check yourself.

In this business, people and relationships are the backbone of what we do, and that includes the relationship you have with yourself. You need to understand your values to know who you are and how you want to grow your business; where you spend your attention is how you know what you really value.

The same holds true for your clients, by the way. If you have a client who says they’re ready but isn’t working to clean up their FICO, or a referral partner who isn’t referring, you can see that there is a misalignment between what they’re saying and what they’re doing. Their “investments” (time, relationships, resources, results, etc.) are showing what they value. Now these might be temporary setbacks! But they are also a good way to open a conversation to find out what’s really going on… that kind of conversation, based on values and honesty, is what builds (or lets go of) relationships.

And if it means letting go of a relationship, that’s ok. You want to be surrounded by people who are a fit for you and your business (unless you’re ok with superficial relationships).

That’s the slippery thing about values – there is no right or wrong. There is only clarity and whether something is working for you (or not).

So pay attention to where you are putting your focus to learn about what you really value. If it isn’t what you think it is or what you want, you can choose differently going forward.

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

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#LoanOfficer #MortgageMarketing #MortgageExpert #LoanOfficers #LoanOriginators #Lenders #MortgagePro #MortgageBroker #FreedomSeeker #Branding #Mortgage #LoanOfficerCoach #LoanOfficerMarketing #MortgageLoanOfficer #MortgageAdvisor #MortgageBanker #TheMortgageMarketingAnimals #CarlWhite #FreedomClub #LoanOfficerFreedom #MortgageLife #MortgageLifestyle #HomeLoans #LoanOfficerLife #LoanOfficerLifestyle #MortgageBoss #Entrepreneur #BusinessOwner #Success

Before you can make decisions, establish workflows, develop processes, nurture your ideal customer relationships and generally build your business, you need to know your core values as the ‘rudder’ that steers your business ship.

Your values are the filter through which you see and relate with the world around you. They help you be congruent in what you say, think and do – both internally and externally. Your values set the undertone of your corporate culture. And your values have a direct affect on your marketing messaging and campaigns. They’re kind of a big deal.

For example, if your #1 value is relationships, then you will make time to develop relationships and do what is needed to grow them – like, communicate regularly, get to know your people (customers, team members, colleagues, vendors) and make sure your business processes and protocols support relationships.

If your #1 value is freedom, then you need to set your business up in such a way as to afford maximum freedom. There is another decision in that, by the way… is freedom only about you or about you, your business and/or your team members? In any case, you will likely want to make the most of technology, schedule your days so you are at peak performance, have cash reserves in the bank so you can make decisions on the fly and hire self-motivated team members.

In just those two examples, you can see how understanding your leading value(s) can completely change your business paradigms and approach to being successful in business on your own terms.

Some of My Values

To give you more examples from my world, here are some of my top values (in random order).

Gratitude. I am one lucky son of a gun and I know it. Now I do my part by being as prepared as I know how to be for what happens and what I think is going to happen. But I definitely have somebody watching over me to have the life I’m living now.

Smart people. I like being surrounded by people smarter than me, including my team, my mentors, my colleagues, thought leaders… I’m not too slow on the uptake but I appreciate learning from and being supported by folks who just have their A-game on point and challenge me to bring mine. I make sure I am in the company of really smart people as much as possible. (Have you met my cracker jack team yet???)

Freedom. Yeah, freedom means a whole lot – there’s nothing like the open road on my Harley or in my Slingshot. Being able to make big decisions spontaneously – like sending someone to law school or taking my family to Europe for a month – means more than words can say. And I want everybody to enjoy it too so I teach everything I know about business in our industry – I don’t hold back. (If I held back, I wouldn’t be feeling free now, would I…?)

Money. Now it’s not about the money – it’s about what the money can buy. We’re all adults here so let’s just put it right out there – business is about making money. If your business isn’t making money, it’s a hobby. Money on its own is meaningless, but money gets you stuff that makes life fun and enjoyable. It’s a lifestyle thing. Now my business might have an ‘off’ month now and then – seasons happen – but if I start noticing any negative trends, I am all over that like white on rice because I need to do some course correction.

Community. It’s not enough for me to have this great life if I can’t share it. I like having a good time and it’s just a lot better to do that with other people. Even more, to get to show others how to have it is like teaching someone how to fish so they can feed themselves for the rest of their lives too. Frankly, without you, my life would not feel as fulfilling as it does – whether or not we’ve had a conversation, we’re connected simply because you’re reading this, and that matters. Who knows where this can go?

Possibility. That was a good lead into valuing the potential that is just waiting out there to become opportunities. We don’t need to create possibilities – we just need to figure out which opportunities to pursue. Being open to possibility means not missing the good stuff that ‘know-it’all’ types never even see. It takes humility, a beginner’s mind and it’s not necessarily easy to keep a possibility mindset after so many years in our industry – but, even when I get ‘unexpected outcomes’, it’s always rewarding.

Identify Your Values

So let’s talk about your values, the guiding principles that dictate your behavior and actions in your business. Your values will help your team and your customers know how you see right from wrong, and how to make decisions to progress your business growth. Your values will act as a magnet, drawing in the right people and opportunities that will enrich and support your business. Your values are your business ‘soul’, and need to be part of every aspect of your business.

Pull out a sheet of paper right now and write out the first 10 values that pop into your mind in just five minutes. If a value doesn’t come to you in the first few minutes, it’s probably not a core value. Now, you might need to refine the values that come up but our goal here is that you identify your top values that are most immediately accessible in your mind. (If you want to get a starter list of potential values as inspiration from my office, let me know in the comments below or in a private message and we’ll get them to you.)

Once you have those top ten values, consider whether you want to refine any of them or, possibly, if anything is missing. If you need to make changes, make them. Then – and this is the important part, because this is what will inform your business growth going forward – cull that list down to just five values.

Sit with those overnight and see how they feel in the light of day the next morning. If they feel right, use them as the compass for how you’re making decisions in your business. Everything should align with those values going forward. (If not, it’s time to make some changes.) In fact, your values are so important you might want to print them on your business cards or on your website.

Maybe you’ve done an exercise around this in the past or maybe you already know what makes you tick. In that case, share them below! The more you state those publicly, the more you make them real for yourself and your business. So let’s hear them – thanks in advance for sharing!

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

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#LoanOfficer #MortgageMarketing #MortgageExpert #LoanOfficers #LoanOriginators #Lenders #MortgagePro #MortgageBroker #FreedomSeeker #Branding #Mortgage #LoanOfficerCoach #LoanOfficerMarketing #MortgageLoanOfficer #MortgageAdvisor #MortgageBanker #TheMortgageMarketingAnimals #CarlWhite #FreedomClub #LoanOfficerFreedom #MortgageLife #MortgageLifestyle #HomeLoans #LoanOfficerLife #LoanOfficerLifestyle #MortgageBoss #Entrepreneur #BusinessOwner #Success

When I talk with loan officers, there are times they don’t know what they want for their future business growth. Is it about increasing the number of apps or pre-quals – or both? Is it about building a team infrastructure or about being more efficient with existing team members? Is it about being an elite producer in a branch or about becoming a branch manager some day? Is it about increasing public visibility in the community or about increasing targeted ideal leads for new business? Is it about using online ads, a media blitz or a video campaign?

In other words, there are a lot of strategies and tactics that can give you what you want in business, but you have to start with the end in mind. Even the best pilots need to course-correct to reach their final destination; the same is true for every loan officer who wants ‘more’. ‘More’ is not specific enough to generate real results. That’s like shouting ‘hey – you!’ in a crowded marketplace and expecting your ideal customer to turn around and hug you – it just isn’t a solid strategy. (By the way, I could start talking about how important it is for you to know your ideal customer profile here but I will restrain myself and stay focused – for now.)

So what do you do when you don’t know exactly what you want? This is a typical problem for newer loan officers especially but it’s also relevant for more experienced LOs. Why? Because more ‘seasoned’ officers don’t have as much time in their career to screw around in getting the results they want. (Oh come on… you know that’s true. I’m right there with you!)

If you haven’t yet reached ‘success’, it’s highly likely you haven’t yet defined it. But living in this amazing country means we have unlimited options – and there lies the problem. You absolutely need to define your own version of success to have it. If the outcome doesn’t pull you immediately, it’s either not the right element that makes you feel successful OR, like when you push off the bottom of a swimming pool to get out of it, you need to push away from what you don’t want.

So what DON’T you want for your business? If you don’t want:

• Inefficiency
• Wasted time
• Unhappy customers
• To work all the time
• Unproductive team members
• Missed opportunities…

You get the idea. Whatever you DON’T want points you to what you DO want!

If you don’t want inefficiency, that automatically means you want efficiency. So how do you get efficiency in your business? Do you hire more team members? Do you get new technology? Do you upgrade your processes? Do you take fewer breaks? Do you reduce your phone time in side conversations? It depends on what you see as inefficient and then on how you think you can best achieve what you determine is efficiency.

The bottom line is that you can clarify what success means to you – and the best way for you to get it – by determining what you don’t want first. Try it and let me know what comes up for you. My top three DON’Ts are: unhappy customers, unhappy team members, unhappy wife (and not necessarily in that order!).

Fill me in on your top three DON’Ts on Linkedin so we can brainstorm on what you really want going forward for your business. I’m looking forward to learning about what’s important to you for your business.

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

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#LoanOfficer #MortgageMarketing #MortgageExpert #LoanOfficers #LoanOriginators #Lenders #MortgagePro #MortgageBroker #FreedomSeeker #Branding #Mortgage #LoanOfficerCoach #LoanOfficerMarketing #MortgageLoanOfficer #MortgageAdvisor #MortgageBanker #TheMortgageMarketingAnimals #CarlWhite #FreedomClub #LoanOfficerFreedom #MortgageLife #MortgageLifestyle #HomeLoans #LoanOfficerLife #LoanOfficerLifestyle #MortgageBoss #Entrepreneur #BusinessOwner #Success

When you got into this business, you formulated a way to go about doing it successfully. For example, whether your marketing plan was about networking or speaking or asking for referrals or relying on community members or going to church more often to meet people, you had a plan. And you got some success with that plan. Why? Because even a blind hog gets an acorn every now and again.

Now, there are a lot of things you could do to make your business more successful. And my team and I are happy to share everything we know about that with you.

But here’s the thing – if you think you already know what’s going to make your business successful, you won’t hear a thing we say. In fact, it means your conditioning is running your business.

What’s conditioning? In psychological terms, it’s also called the Law of Effect, which was coined in 1905 to describe what happens when someone experiences either a positive or negative effect from something they did. So, if you did something that worked, you will do it again. If something didn’t work, you will be averse to trying it again.

B.F. Skinner came along and upgraded the concept to something he called “operant conditioning”. For a good time, check out The Big Bang Theory’s approach to operant conditioning.

The point is that, if you haven’t upgraded your systems, your marketing, your approach, your conversation, your marketplace positioning, your online presence, your advertising strategy, etc. in a long time, you might be a victim to your past conditioning. You think you already know what you need to know so you’re not open to new ideas. Maybe you don’t want to rock your own boat but you could be missing efficiencies, customers, revenues and new team members to help you be even more successful.

I can hear it already… yes, “victim” is a strong word here. BUT, if you don’t even know it’s happening, you’re not volunteering to be stuck, right? The good news is you can take the proverbial handlebars of your business back by being willing to explore new ideas. (Who uses reins in business anymore, right?) (Just proved my point there, didn’t I?)

Even good conditioning can run it’s course. It’s important to recognize if you are stuck in your business, if it’s running you, if you could be doing something different to make things easier for you, your team and your customers. Because you’ve been doing what you do for a while, you may not be able to see that on your own. That’s why my team and I offer personal strategy calls and everything else we do. Your eyeball can’t see itself without a mirror and you might not be able to objectively see what’s happening in your business without a sounding board.

If you’re getting a ping, a sting or a ‘charge’ when reading this, that’s a sign something in you knows it’s time for something new. You don’t need to do it alone – just schedule your 1:1 session here today.

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

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#LoanOfficer #MortgageMarketing #MortgageExpert #LoanOfficers #LoanOriginators #Lenders #MortgagePro #MortgageBroker #FreedomSeeker #Branding #Mortgage #LoanOfficerCoach #LoanOfficerMarketing #MortgageLoanOfficer #MortgageAdvisor #MortgageBanker #TheMortgageMarketingAnimals #CarlWhite #FreedomClub #LoanOfficerFreedom #MortgageLife #MortgageLifestyle #HomeLoans #LoanOfficerLife #LoanOfficerLifestyle #MortgageBoss #Entrepreneur #Mentality