Archives: Weekly Blogs

Most people would be shocked if they knew what it really costs to own a McDonald’s.

Here are the averages:

• Buy-in: $2.15 million
• Average annual profit: $150,000
• Break-even time: over 14 years

That’s right. Invest over two million dollars… and you’re capped at about $150K a year, no matter how many hours you spend making French fries or mopping the lobby.

Now compare that to us lucky few who are in the mortgage business…

A loan officer closing just 4 loans a month is making about the same $150,000 a year… without putting up $2.15 million and without hiring 50+ employees to serve burgers.

And if we simply spent the same amount of time prospecting as a French fry guy / gal spends frying French fries, we’d close far more than 4 loans. In fact, doubling from 4 to 8 loans isn’t a far-off dream. It’s very doable — when you know how.

That’s the beauty of this business. Whatever level you’re at, you can move up quickly. And unlike a McDonald’s, where you’re locked into that $150,000 ceiling, in mortgages the opportunity grows with you.

Truth is, many of us may be squandering what is an incredible career opportunity. We’ve got it way better than we sometimes realize. The only question is whether we have a clear map of how to tap into it.

That’s what we do at GetMoreLoans.com. We’ll show you how to double your production without doubling your stress.

Why fry French fries when you can close more loans?

I’m sitting outside on the front porch, outside in the open air, enjoying the quiet, it hit me:

“Unfollow your instincts.”

I read that somewhere recently, and I’ve been chewing on it ever since.

See, our instincts are designed to play it safe.
And that’s good when it comes to not jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.

But those same instincts can keep us from trying new adventures… or saying yes to an opportunity… or taking that leap of faith that could change everything.

That’s when instincts stop protecting us, and start confining us.
Like living life as “the bubble boy.”

Too safe. Too protected. Missing out on the good stuff.

Truth is, even when it doesn’t pan out, I’ve learned more from the things that didn’t work out than from the ones that did. And those missteps? They’ve turned into some of my very best stories.

But you only get those stories, and those breakthroughs, if you’re willing to skin your knees a little. To crash and burn once in a while.

Otherwise, you don’t move forward.
And you might just miss out on your best stories.

For us in this business, it’s the same.
If we only follow our instincts, we’ll stick to the “safe” path, avoiding calls, avoiding new systems, avoiding putting ourselves out there.

The problem with that is, growth lives outside the bubble.

And the good news? You don’t have to jump alone.

At GetMoreLoans.com, we’ll map out a plan with you, so you can push past your instincts safely, and step into the kind of opportunities that create your best stories.

The other day I bought some peaches. When I took them out of the package, they were rock hard, nowhere near ripe.

That’s when the lovely Mrs. White told me a little trick: “Put a banana in the bowl with them.”

So I did. And sure as the world, the very next day those peaches were noticeably softer, sweeter, and ready to eat.

Apparently bananas release something that speeds up the ripening of other fruit.

Now here’s why I’m telling you this.

When you market to your past database, don’t just send dry mortgage info. It’s too boring. People will tune it out.

Instead, add in little life hacks, simple insights, or small secrets, just like the banana with the peaches. It makes people perk up. It keeps you top of mind. And then, at the end, drop in a simple call to action.

We’ve seen over and over that this is one of the most effective ways to email and market to your past database.

Here’s why it matters:

• If you’ve got 300 people in your past database…
• You should be closing 3 loans a month as a minimum just from that.
• At $3,000 a loan, that’s $9,000 a month — or $108,000 a year.

And if you’re not seeing that right now, you’re leaving money on the table.

So here’s what we’ll do:

We’ll help you map out your entire past database marketing plan.
We’ll show you what to send, how often, and what to include so you get results.

After all, every $108,000 helps…

And yes, we’ll make sure you’re weaving in little “banana & peach” moments that grab attention.

Go to GetMoreLoans.com and we’ll walk you through it.

Because closing more loans doesn’t always mean working harder, sometimes it’s just about adding the right banana to the bowl.

Help You Win Even More,
Carl White

PS. Small touches matter more than you think. One quick story, one simple hack, one unexpected insight can ripen a relationship faster than a hundred generic “mortgage updates.” 

Let’s build your plan together: GetMoreLoans.com.

When I was growing up in a small Florida town, I had a grandmother we called “Grandma with the Oranges.”

Some call their grandmother Grandma, Nana, or Meemaw.  But this one, my grandmother, we called her Grandma with the Oranges. That was her actual name to us, Grandma with the Oranges.

Here’s why.

Her house wasn’t far from mine, so I’d walk down the old dirt road and she would be waiting for me outside.  

Every time, she’d meet me, or any of her grandkids, in the front yard, and then she’d take me / us to one of the many orange trees on the side of her house. She’d pick a ripe orange, and we’d sit on her porch together.

And here’s the thing: she didn’t just hand me the orange and tell me to run off and play.

She peeled it slowly. Carefully. It took her a good while. And then she’d hand me one segment at a time.

Over the next 20 minutes, while we sat there on the porch, she would peel and hand me off one piece of that orange at a time, and she’d tell me stories. She’d share bits of wisdom. Share encouragement with me.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back 60 years later, I can see what she was doing. She was being intentional. She was carving out porch time for the important stuff.

And that porch time stuck with me.

Now here’s the point for us as loan officers.

We can fill every hour of our week with busy work, or we can build a schedule that closes even more loans and leaves us even more time for the people who matter.

That’s why I want to help you map out your Perfect Week.

We’ll show you:

• Which activities drive the most closings.
• When to do them for maximum impact.
• How to win back hours for porch time with family and friends.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about making a living — it’s about making a life.

Book a quick call at GetMoreLoans.com, and we’ll map out your Perfect Week together.

Talk soon,
Carl

PS. Porch time may look different for you — it could be walks with your spouse, playing catch with your kids, or coffee with a friend. But it doesn’t happen by accident.

That’s why having a Perfect Week is so powerful: it protects time for what matters most and keeps your pipeline full.

Some loan officers I talk with hesitate when it comes to scheduling meetings with agents, even though we know that 78% of top producing loan officers get most of their loans with real estate agents.

They think of it as something that “might” pay off later, but not guaranteed.

Here’s how I see it…

When we meet with agents and walk them through the Follow-Up / Refer Back system, about 16% of them, roughly 1 out of 7, end up working with us.

Now here’s what that looks like in plain dollars and cents:

• When an agent does this system with us, they typically send us 1 deal a month. (remember, we only meet with and present to top producers.)
  
• At an average of $3,000 per closing, that’s $36,000 a year.

So if one meeting out of seven turns into $36,000…

That means that meeting with seven agents = $36,000.

Which means that every single meeting is worth $5,142 on average.

So the way I look at it is simple: every time you sit down with an agent, you just got paid $5,142 for that meeting.

Now, of course, this isn’t a guarantee or an income claim, but these are the kinds of results I expect loan officers to get.

And the best part?

This strategy costs literally $0 to implement.

So if you’ve been hesitant to book meetings, maybe looking at the math this way changes things a bit.

We’ll walk you through exactly how the Follow-Up / Refer Back system works, step by step, including the scripting, the positioning, and the follow-up plan.

Book a quick call at GetMoreLoans.com and we’ll show you how to put it into action.