Everywhere you look there is news about the hard times facing the mortgage industry. Some weeks it’s rising interest rates, other weeks all you hear about is dropping house values. No matter how you slice it, you can no longer just “ride the waves.” (Yes, I realize this is not news to you…)
Does this mean you have to sit back and just take it? Of course not. There are plenty of strategies that can help you assure a steady flow of closings each and every month. All you have to do is take that first step and commit yourself to moving forward.
There are dozens of possible niche and vertical markets you can choose to target. First you must decide to take action. Many loan officers have such a fear of failure that they are operating in what I like to call “safety mode.”
The irony of this situation is that success and growth rarely if ever come from a person who is just playing it safe. Imagine your career as a football game. If 1 team simply focuses all their efforts on not letting the other side score, what are their chances of winning?
At some point you need to score some points right? Often, this will require you to put yourself out there, or to take a leap of faith. You will most likely need to spend some money, (When money is in short supply, this may take some self convincing on your part) and also spend plenty of time planning.
But what if it doesn’t work? “What will I do if I don’t make any money? How do I know what marketing system to buy? Where should I get my leads?” These are all common questions, but not the first questions you should be asking yourself.
The first question should be: “What will happen if I don’t take action right now? While there is always a chance your marketing plan will fail to produce the results you want, there is a 100% chance of failure if you sit around and worry, and ultimately do nothing.
Action is the key to success, even if it’s not the best possible action. As you move forward, you will have the opportunity to learn, tweak, and grow. Experience is a great teacher, but unfortunately, most loan officers are not showing up for class.
My own personal business did not grow until I decided to step outside my comfort zone. This meant spending money even though I was very low on funds at the time, and participating in marketing and sales activities that made me feel a bit uncomfortable in the beginning.
See, up until this point I played a lot of the “what if” game as well. What if this happens, or what if that happens? I felt I was saving my income by avoiding potential failure and doing anything that made me feel uncomfortable.
However, as I look back on my career now, I see that all I did was delay my success. Lack of action or lack of a proactive approach to sales and marketing will almost guarantee a mediocre career.
There are too many talented loan officers who are unhappy with their results. Invest in yourself and step outside that comfort zone. This doesn’t mean throwing caution to the wind; but it does mean being proactive in all areas. (Not just the areas that are easy and low risk) Phone calls, personal sales, face to face networking… These activities all contain the potential for failure or rejection. However, each of these activities also holds the potential to revitalize your career, and help you to grow. You will be a better loan officer because of it!
Chad Weber - www.loanofficermarketinglab.com
Mortgage Industry Professionals. Like what you see?
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Chad, excellent post! It’s a time in the market where many people (Realtors, mortgage brokers, homeowners, etc.) are hurting. The good news is that the mortgage broker’s referral partners and potential clients are open to teamwork and are ready for solutions. Now is the opportune time for the mortgage broker to gain market share.
I’ve personally began relationships with 32 new real estate agents in the past 3 weeks. Many of them have an in-house lender and still want to work together. So, It can be done. Like you said, you need to “step outside that comfort zone”.
I was at a fellow mortgage broker’s office recently. They have 8 or so loan guys, including the two partners. They had a white board with the names of each originator with how many loans each had done the previous month. Everyone had one loan except one guy had 4. This operation gets all their leads from farmed out telemarketing operations, so it’s pretty much hand to mouth business. They aren’t getting referrals or business from advertising, for example. Still, one guy had 4 loans whereas everyone else had 1. That guy is doing something different. I’m glad that I don’t operate the way those guys do, but regardless of how you run your business, you’re going to have to be different in these changing times if you want to thrive.
Hello, I am a student journalist. I’m working on a piece exploring the way loan officers are (or were) compensated. In my research, some experts have told me that officers would knowingly sell faulty loans in an effort to meet high compensation and/or bonus requirements set by companies. I am wondering if anyone would be willing to speak with me about this, either on or off the record. My e-mail address is mortgagestory@gmail.com
Thank you.
You are exactly right! There are some great systems available to not only generate leads for you, but for Realtors, CFP’s, Life Insurance agents, etc. You need to adjust your strategy.
I developed http://www.habitatboom.com for this specific reason. I can develop a marketing plan for anyone using this system.
Stepping out of your comfort zone is all it takes to be successful in any profession, in any market. It’s a choice.
Thanks for posting this!
All the best,
Rob
Hey Chad… “Invest in yourself and step outside that comfort zone” equals one word: RISK. If you’re willing to risk, big things come but you’ve got to believe they will. Great post my friend.
I agree with you Chad this is bad time for us . Also we tend to just sit back and worry and not act upon taking right marketing approach.
My business was in dumps with all the mortgage mess. Small business owners like me did not even saw a chance to survive. Until my friend Laura told me a new way to reach customers and close them . Yes it helps reaching out to your customers. I used Mortgage contact center predictive dialer by 3CLogic and its WebAstra dialer helped me to reach and keep records of my customers. It sent me alerts and reminders and automatically dialled in to the customers to ensure me to reach them out at their desired time. Yes good service helps build trust and thanks to WebAstra my business is seeming boom.
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