leadership training

“I know you are tired and scared to move forward.  But what does it cost to stay?”

That was my response to a LO that I was talking with this week.

You see, she was asking about how to bring in more leads, and she was hesitant to make phone calls because of the ol’ call reluctance thingy.

Now let’s say she was following the Daily Success Plan…

I’m sure we can agree that when she is calling on agents that are closing at least a buyer deal each month, that when she is calling those agents with a proven script, I would imagine if she did that for 2 hours a week, for sure she is likely to bring in another deal each week.

That’s 4 more closings each month right there.

And let’s say she’s calling the listing agents of those 4 deals, using a proven script, and she does it each week, can we agree that at least 1 of them would send her a deal..
That’s a total of 5 more closings each month so far.

Let’s say she calls her past database and let’s say it’s a smaller one, say 300 past clients (or friends and family in the area she is licensed) with a proven script that has shown to give about 1 closing per month per 100 people in her database.

That alone with being another 3 loans.. each month.

Now we are talking about a total of 8 more closings each month.

And finally, let’s say she calls all the borrowers that she has previously pre-approved, and she checks in with them every Thursday morning to see how the house hunting is going and to make sure she reminds them that she is their lender.

Can we agree that at least 1 of those would close with her that may have been led astray to another LO if she hadn’t been in weekly contact?

So now we have a running total of an extra 9 closings each month.

And I’m of the belief, based on my own experience, these are actually very, very conservative numbers and not a stretch at all.

Now let’s say she makes $3,000 per closing. I get it, some of you more, some of you less, but just as a national average.

9 extra closings would be an EXTRA $27,000 per month.

That adds up to an EXTRA $324,000 per year.

Where I come from, we have a saying, “Every $324,000 helps….

Hmmmmm

So as you are reading this today. I know you may be tired.  And I know you may be hesitant to move forward.

But what is it costing you to stay at your current level?

If it’s the ol’ call reluctance, which is usually just a simple “I’m not sure what to say to who”, I can help you with that.

Hit me up here and either myself or one of my team, who I have personally trained, will solve that problem for you forever… and for no charge.

You are worthy, it’s your turn now.

A friend of mine, Carrie, was telling me a story about how she had a co-worker that would come to the lunchroom every day and open up a brown paper bag that had his lunch.

He would sit at her table, then slowly open the brown bag he had brought for lunch, to see what was inside side.  He would then pull out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, look at it, roll his eyes, and commence eating his sandwich. 

Every day the same routine.  Open the bag, hoping there would be a change, but nope, he would pull out yet another peanut butter and jelly sandwich, roll his eyes and put out a groan of misery, and commence eating the same thing, work day after work day, week after week, month after month.

After this went on for about 4 months, my friend, Carrie, tired of hiring the whimpering, asked him one day “Why don’t you ask your wife to make you something different for a change?”

“Oh”, he replied, “my wife doesn’t make my lunch, she has a job too.  I make my own lunch every day…”

You see, his actions, or lack thereof, were responsible for his own “misery”.

He kept doing the same thing, day after day, week after week, month after month expecting different results, but of course experienced nothing but frustration.

And even though we may find this story amusing, asking ourselves “why is he making the same sandwich for himself over and over when obviously he “wants” something else”, how many of us have been (or are being) guilty of the same thing in our mortgage business.
Many LO’s keep staring at the phone, wondering why it’s not ringing off the hook, or wondering why our social media “likes” aren’t actually turning into real leads, applications, or closings…

Or how so many LOs keep buying “magic beans”… over and over and over.. resulting in little or no closings.

You know what I mean, the ol’ “If you do this, people will be begging to work with you without you having to ever do outbound calling..” or “do this on social media and you too will be rolling in the loans…”  kind of stuff.

But you and I know that it’s the salesmanship that actually produces the sales.

Trust me, I have to remind myself of these things pretty darn often.

We have to actually take action and make actual contact with people who can refer us business (all for free), and then actually contact those people that were referred to us.

Anything else and, well, we’ll get the same results as our peanut butter friend.  The same lack of results, over and over and over and over.

You deserve so much more!

There are no “magic beans”.

Soooo…. If you are tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hit me up, and let’s make something else..

You are worthy.

Never make another goal!!

Never make or pledge another goal… like ever ever again.

Here’s the thing, when we make “goals”, we are putting ourselves in a very small box because we are thinking “realistic”.

You see, we make “realistic” goals.  And that’s a major problem. 

Realistic goals require us to think about how we have gotten results in the past, doing things the way we have done things in the past.

Like the person who has set a goal to go to Florida from New Mexico in record time….
…4 months… because he’s only ridden a horse to get there in the past.

The thought of jumping on an airplane had never occurred to him simply because he did things the same way he had always done it in the past.

So instead of setting “goals”, I have found it best to actually map out a plan, a proven plan, that I have seen somebody else put in place and execute, then they got the results that I’m wanting to get on that project/plan.

Often times they do a small little twist to the “normal” method, that drastically increases the results.

For example, Clint Hooper, the dude has only been a loan officer for about 12 months and he closed 9 loans in June and looks like he did another 9 in July (waiting for final numbers).

How did he do it? He copied a proven plan and then executed it… with no past experience!

Really simple formula for success there. It comes with my highest recommendation. 

It’s how my own mortgage team closes hundreds of loans each month.  Just that simple.

The key is to find out who really is having the results so that we copy the right people to get the “right” results.

Sometimes the biggest lessons come from the most surprising sources.

Dan Marino was the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins back in the 1980s & 90s.  He is regarded as one of the greatest of all time. 

He was famous for his “golden arm” of being able to throw the ball so accurately. 

But you see, he had an unfair advantage…

…His protective linemen (the guys that separated him from the other team members trying to get to him and tackle him), absolutely LOVED him and protected him like their lives depended on it.

You see, Dan was famous for thanking his protected lineman before and after every game.

Some of you may remember TV ads where Dan would tell the story that every year he bought his linemen very nice dress winter gloves.

His tagline on the ad:  Take care of the hands that take care of you.

Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!

So where’s the specific lesson for us today, almost 40 years later?

Your processor, your loan partner, your underwriter, perhaps your branch manager, these are all people that can make you or absolutely break you.

How you treat them, how you talk to them, and how often you thank them, both in the good times and challenging times matters more than most people likely realize.

Anytime I need a “rush job”, a favor, or some extra consideration on a file, I assure you I get special attention.  Why?  Because I give them special attention on a daily basis.

I send thank you cards, I call them up with no agenda other than to simply tell them how much I appreciate them.

I call the owners of the mortgage company that I work for and tell them how about I appreciate them.  I thank them for giving me a very stable place to work when so many companies are being sold or shut down.

I tell my assistant how much I appreciate her.  The Lovely Mrs. White and I send her tickets to concerts and shows.
I take care of the hands that take care of me!  And I do it in the good times and the challenging times.

Now, of course, if I have somebody on my team that is substandard and causing late closings or unhappy borrowers or referral partners, or if a processor is “stirring the pot” with my other team members, I don’t thank those people, I replace them.

So those that are left are very very worthy of my thanks, which is foremost the right thing to do, and as a bonus, positions me to be in their favor.

So go make some deposits by thanking those that surround you.  And not just when you need something, but on an ongoing basis even when things aren’t going your way.

Make it part of your daily routine.

Take care of the hands that take care of you.

Oh, and thank you so much for allowing me into your life and being a part of your day today.  I’m forever grateful.   Really.

I got your back because I know you have mine. Let me know how we can help you – click here to talk to my team.

I just saw a report that 48% of online mortgage loan applications don’t get completed.

Holy “Losing a bunch of deals” Batman…

I’m often asked, “is it better to send the lead to a website or just take the mortgage loan application over the phone?”

And I get it, we’re in the digital age – online seems like the way to go. But knowing that about 48% of all those online applications, well, they don’t cross the finish line.

Now, I’ve been in the game long enough to know that we can’t ignore numbers like that. So, you gotta ask yourself, why are folks dropping out of the race halfway through?

A lot of it comes down to that good ol’ human connection.

Some folks appreciate a voice on the other end of the line, someone who can answer their questions right then and there, someone who can nudge them towards the ‘submit’ button.

The trust, the rapport, all of that jazz – that’s crucial in this mortgage rodeo.

And look, I’m not blind to the fact that online’s got its perks.

It’s often more efficient when it comes to data entry, but with nearly half of them not getting completed, you gotta ask yourself, is it really more efficient overall?

One big thing I can tell you, from all my years in the business, is that relationships are king.

That phone call, that personal touch, it lets you really dig into what the client needs and give them advice that hits the bullseye.
And listen, I’m not saying to slam the door on online applications. Heck no! There are plenty of tech-savvy cats out there who would rather go online at 2 a.m. than pick up a phone. But given the abandonment rate, maybe it’s time to consider a phone-first approach.

My own personal approach is to get them on the phone, using the phone number the referring agent or past database client gives me, and tell them “…I can take the application one of two ways, I can give you a website to go to so you can fill it out on-line, or what most people do, I can take the application right here over the phone in just a few minutes.  Which is best for you?”