mortgage industry

Do you find yourself getting sucked back into the files once you’ve submitted the file?   
 
See, the problem with that is it’s not something we can grow with.   
 
Having a team that closed around $105,878,352 last month, one thing I have learned is, we have to act like we are a real business, or better yet, like we are the CEO of a big business. 
 
We can’t allow ourselves to be sucked into the files.   
 
We have to surround ourselves with amazing people…  People who can solve problems instead of asking us/you what they should do about a situation.    
 
I have this policy that has worked for me very well.  Any time somebody on the team asks me to solve a problem, I ask them “well, what do you think we should do?”, and then just be quiet and see what they say. 
 
I find that about 95% of the time, the solution they came up with is the right one, and it empowers them to make decisions in the future. 
 
Now, 5% of the time, perhaps they do something that I may disagree with, and sometimes that does cost me a deal or even a referral source.. 
 
.. however, because I/you can now focus on bringing in the next 20 loans and the next 20 referral partners instead of worrying about that “1”, well, I think you get the idea. 
 
We have to focus on the big stuff that really moves the needle and not concern ourselves with who parks where in the parking lot. 
 
That’s what I think, what do you think?

OK, this is going to get a little weird… 
 
Google often knows if you answer your phone or if it goes to voicemail…  
Yepper, they often know way more about you than you may have thought. 
 
See, companies share info and such. 
 
but it gets worse… 
 
If your voicemail is what often picks up instead of you, google penalizes you on your Google search and rankings. 
 
“So is this really a problem Carl?” 
 
ummmm, yeah, it’s a huge problem, read on… 

You see, any time you are referred or somebody sees your social media post, or is interested in the services that you offer, many of the times they will go to Google for validation of who you are. 
 
And if you show up way down the list (or not at all), that’s a real problem. 
 
We actually get a fair amount of loans each month from people finding us on Google, and right now we aren’t getting those from paid ads, it’s from Google searches… 

… and part of that is because we actually answer our phones.  And when I’m busy, an assistant or an answering service (that doesn’t sound like an answering service) answers it for me. 
 
In my case, my business lines don’t even have voicemail set up.  We literally don’t have it because either somebody in the office or an answering service picks up on EVERY call. 
 
Just as an FYI, a study showed that 79% of the loans were closed with the loan officer they talked to. 
 
Wow!!  That’s a HUGE number.   79%!! 
 
Sooooo, what do we do with this info? 
 
Get a team, or work with somebody who has a team that can help with these kinds of things. 
 
The days of the “1 man band” or “1 woman band” have been over for about 3 years now.  
 
It’s these seemingly small things that can make all the difference. 
 
The good news is, answer your phone and you will likely have a 79% chance of closing those that end up financing a home or refinancing their current deal. 
 
Those are some good odds! 

I was talking to a loan officer this past week and she mentioned that she would never call her past database that closed from 2020 to around 2021.  I asked her why, and she said it was because they all had rates of 3% or less and it would be unethical to refinance them. 
 
Now you and I could talk about how doing debt consolidation may save that client hundreds of dollars a month and moving high-interest rate credit card debt to tax-deductible low interest rate mortgage financing may be something worth looking at… 
 
… but let’s ignore all that for just a few minutes… 
 
What she didn’t know is that for me, we call our database because MOST of the loans we get when we do call our database aren’t from “them”, it’s the referrals they give us to their friends, family members, and co-workers.   
 
Yep, most of our “past database loans” aren’t a redo of them, it’s purchase referrals of people that they know. 
 
Now, if (although unlikely) rates were to drop to the 3’s, of course most of the referrals would be refinances.  But almost always, the biggest opportunity is with the people they know. 
 
And the reason why they do refer their friends, family members, and co-workers is because that’s what we ask them in our phone scripts. 
 
You see, you get what you ask for… 
 
… and if you ask for nothing, well, that’s exactly what you’ll get most of the time. 
 
When you are ready for some free scripting help (I’ll give you the exact script we use) and even do some phone roll-playing, just hit me up here and I’ll hook you up. 
 
Or maybe you are closing all the loans, helping all the families, and making all the money you ever dreamed of already.  If so, keep doing what you’re doing.  If not, let’s hook up here <no charge> 
 
Get the results you are worthy of!  It’s your turn now.

Ok, this may be the weirdest message I’ve ever sent to somebody, but it’s a message that really needs to be shared. 
 
I went to this gas station the other day while driving to Daytona Beach.  The name of the place is Buc-ee’s.  This was not your normal gas station, as it was about 80,000 square feet of a 7-11 type of place and has 104 gas pumps (yes, I counted).  
 
Picture a gas station the size of a Walmart.  It was incredible. 
 
And the place was PACKED!!  There were literally hundreds of people walking around this mammoth 7-11 store.  I had never seen anything like it. 
 
Being the marketer that I am, I started asking random people inside, why they stopped here for gas and refreshments instead of the Chevron station right across the street.  (it certainly would have been a lot easier going to the smaller place, less congestion, shorter lines, and quicker to get in and out). 
 
Out of the 6 random people I asked, most said the same thing… 
 
“This place is known for having super clean bathrooms.” 
 
Come to find out there is an entire chain of Buc-ee’s (primarily in Texas and Florida for now), and come to find out, clean bathrooms is what they are famous for… 
 
… and apparently, because they are known for something (bathrooms in this case), they are absolutely crushing their competition and making money hand over fist. 
 
So it got me thinking, “What am I known for?” that can create raving fans. 
 
For me personally, I’m known for “helping loan officers and branch managers work toward a 7-figure income and beyond, while taking evenings and weekends off.”  
 
And then in my mortgage branch, for our Realtor partners, we are known for referring deals back to them using my patented “Follow Up and Refer Back” program for our real estate agents. 
 
The more people know that, the better I am and the better “they” are too. 
 
So I’m writing this today to remind you, that you HAVE TO have a process or result that YOU ARE KNOWN FOR. 
 
It’s a big deal to identify what it is, and then think of cool ways to get the RIGHT people to know that. 
 
It’s a very big deal to do that. 
 
Ok, well I took a leap of faith that we are good enough friends that I could send you a message about bathrooms and Buc-ee’s ☺ 
 
Cheers! 
 
Carl White 
 
PS.  If you want help with picking out “What you are known for…”  
 
..or when you are ready to see what mine is and how we attract referral partners with our Follow Up and Refer Back program (that costs $0 to do), just hit me up here and I’ll get you hooked up to walk through it <no catch> 
 
Just put in the comment on that page “Tell me about Follow Up / Refer Back” in the comment section.  That will be a very very good use of your time.

I hear that a couple times a day… 
 
“but Carl, you don’t understand, there’s no inventory in my area…” 
 
or “but Carl, you don’t understand, rates are high…” 
 
or “but Carl, you don’t understand, the agents are already referring to somebody else…” 
 
Yada yada yada yada 
 
So how then do we explain how my longtime friend Wes Oliver in Massachusetts, who is averaging 10 closings a month for the last several months? 
 
Or how do we explain Sarah Cox in Texas, with around 19 or so locked in for right now? 
 
Or Kenneth Brantley in Oklahoma, who just funded 7 loans last month and expects to close 8 this month? 
 
Or Tammy Saul who closes well north of 50, sometimes 80 or so, month after month after month… 
 
I’ll tell you how you explain it…  
 
Winners find a way to win!  And they hang with the winners. 
 
It’s just that simple.  Hang with the winners, learn from them, and then do what they do. 
 
AND… 
 
Avoid the “That won’t work” crowd like your business depends on it (because it does). 
 
I have learned to guard my “who we hang with” like I would guard a 10-year-old child. 
 
By the way, thanks for letting me hang out with you on this wonderful day.  I don’t take that honor lightly. Let’s chat here.