Lately I’ve been chatting with quite a few loan officers. In the last 10 days, I spoke with someone who was so desperate, he offered me 50% of his closings for the next 6 months if I could help him close more; and I also spoke with a loan officer who closed 28 loans in the last 30 days. (His average is over 25 per month - This guy is a machine!)
The irony of this situation is that both loan officers worked within 30 miles of each other. This raises a question… What is the difference between those who are closing hundreds of loans this year, and those struggling to find 1 or 2 per month? Attitude, and trust…
This is not to say that those who are struggling have a bad attitude. Rather, what I’ve noticed is that those who seem to be kicking in the doors lately, and closing loans at an exponentially higher rate than their competition have a high degree of trust in their marketing and sales ability. If you don’t think you can succeed, then why should your actions tell you any different?
If you’re skeptical, and keep playing the sales game defensively rather than going on the offense, you are making your job much, much more difficult than it needs to be! Let’s look at a loan officer named Omar.
Omar came to me, and told me his situation. It was a tough spot to be in to be sure, but he said something to me that I knew would make him a great candidate for a rapid change in his career: “Just tell me what to do, and I will do it.” Omar stuck to that promise. Despite the tight spot he found himself in, he made that decision to give it his all, without wasting time playing the “what if” game.
Too often I find originators worry about what will happen IF this or THAT doesn’t work… This is a defensive attitude that will kill your progress dead in its tracks. Its the same as trying to play basketball by doing nothing more than blocking. How many points would you score? None! You’d almost certainly lose every single game since no one is good enough to block 100% of the other teams shots!
In a similar vein, no loan officer on the planet can successfully block bad things from happening 100% of the time, so stop trying! A defensive mindset stops you from reaching your potential. Go on the offense, and tell yourself the same thing Omar did: “I’m going to do it - Success is NOT an option!”
Why should it be? You have the exact same opportunity that everyone else has. Some of our members were hurting so bad they had to take small loans or borrow the money just to join the Loan Officer Marketing Lab… Yet, most of them have added several closings per month to their wallet… If a loan officer so tight on cash can still market themselves effectively, then anyone can! (No, I am not promoting mindless spending here, but rather, CALCULATED risks. There is nothing wrong with being prudent with your spending, but at some point, you MUST make a decision to move forward and commit yourself to that decision)
Find your “ON” button and keep mashing it throughout the day. What gets you going? What gets you excited? What makes you stand up and take action? For Omar, he told me he didn’t have a choice, he HAD to make this work! I love hearing that, because it tells me things are about to get done! People seem to transform when all options are removed. A mental decision is made that “I’m going to do what I have to… Nothing is going to stand in my way.” That’s the mode you need to be in right now. Forget the market, YOU are in control. Just ask the loan officer who closed 28 loans in April…
Chad Weber - www.loanofficermarketinglab.com - www.fsboleadportal.com
Mortgage Industry Professionals. Like what you see?
SUBSCRIBE for free by RSS or email, and never miss a post!
5 responses so far ↓
1 Genuine Chris Johnson // May 5, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Fabulous post. There are people that are within 3 doors of each other in the same company having vastly different experiences. It’s attitude, effort, and belief.
The absolute beauty of this business is that–at most–you’re 45 days away from a massive check. And–no matter what, you’re 100 days away from a radically better life. That’s the promise, and why, even now, it’s still the best business to be in.
2 Diane Cipa // May 6, 2008 at 4:32 am
Chad: Wonderful post. Just move ahead with your ideas, some won’t work, some will, some will work beyond your dreams, but be positive and continually seek and move forward.
I am always shocked that our competitors haven’t simply copied our business model. It’s transparent. They ask me all the time how we get business and I tell them and yet they still don’t believe. They are so busy telling themselves why it won’t work.
If you’re always moving forward, something will happen. You’ll have failures and successes, but that means you’ll have SUCCESSES which is much better than nothing. So, don’t be afraid of getting the failures because without em, you won’t get success.
3 Chris Hyde // May 6, 2008 at 7:29 am
Excellent post! I am new to the industry and I have had tons of people telling me that I am stupid to have chosen to get in at this time. But I haven’t let that stop me. I’m confident in the future…and even in the now. I want this and I’m going for it!
4 Direct Mortgage // May 7, 2008 at 3:43 pm
This phenomenon of some people succeeding and others failing or just being mediocre seems to appear in all areas of life, not just this business. As someone who’s tried his hand in selling (though not in the mortgage business), I know that if you don’t fully believe in what you’re selling and/or if you have the feeling that what you are offering isn’t worth the price, then you’re almost destined to fail.
5 Tom Vanderwell // May 9, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Chad,
This is so absolutely true. My business was up 40% last year from 2006 and this year is up another 28% already. Why? Because I know what I’m talking about and I’m confident even in these turbulent times. We need to be experts and act like it and work like it and the success will follow. Thanks for reaffirming that and telling others!
Tom
Leave a Comment