In this market and season, I’m shocked by what I’m seeing and hearing. Many loan officers are pulling back by 20% to 30% because they’re unmotivated or confused. They’re not confident. They’re not feeling good about the market, themselves, or their customers.
Look, in this marketplace, you have to work smarter, you need to work harder and yes, it takes extra effort. It’s not raining loans anymore, so easy loans aren’t just walking in your door without effort and focus.
And this might be my harshest message of all: The market is the ultimate equalizer; it always pays us what we’re worth. What do you feel you’re worth? Guess what, whatever you think that is, that’s what you’re getting paid.
If you are in the mortgage business and you aren’t going to increase your effort by 20% to 30% and you aren’t going to get more focused on the best strategies, then your business is going to continue to go from OK to bad and even bad to worse.
The leads are right there in front of you, as are the tools. You can conduct annual equity reviews…ARM reviews, seller buydown analyses…monthly rate reviews….divorce planning…recast reviews… and more. Every single loan officer in the business today is sitting on dozens of hidden opportunities for generating new business. You simply need to uncover those that are being overlooked by homeowners and other loan officers.
I’ve been talking to people who are saying that they’re not ready to make the investment in their business right now. In this market, how can you afford not to?
Cold call direct mail pieces don’t generate trust, and trust is critical today. When you contact people who have been referred to you by someone they trust, that trust is automatically transferred to you. Are you willing to waste $1,000+ and your precious time on a less than 1% response rate? Do you really think that’s going to keep you afloat right now?
I’m baffled. Even people who are networked in the community and are members of their country club aren’t putting forth enough effort. Just having a good relationship is not enough anymore. You need to deliver something valuable and uncover the opportunities that are not obvious — that your competition can’t see and can’t reach. Those are the golden nuggets.
And it’s not going to get easier any time soon. You need to have more energy, put forth more effort and deliver a higher caliber of service. To succeed, you’ve got to increase your activity by 20% to 30%.
We have weekly recorded case study calls you can listen to where Mortgage Coach users explain how they are thriving in this marketplace. These MC users aren’t paid. They agree to be interviewed because they want to share their success with their fellow LOs. They weren’t prompted or prodded in anything they say and each one has a unique spin on how they are succeeding.
Click here to listen to the success stories of your fellow loan officers who are selling advice through the power of Mortgage Coach.
Remember, if things are good, they’re going to get bad. If they’re bad, they’re going to get worse if you are not taking advantage of the strategies we evangelize.
Stop making excuses! Start making the necessary investments and changes you need to win in this market. Remember, the only market we have to work with is this one. In the words of Nike, just do it! Your future depends on it.