THANK THEM ALL

We all know (or should know by now) that one of the keys to obtaining multiple referrals from the same person is to thank and acknowledge each referral along the way. With that said, please make it your practice to thank people for referrals immediately after you are contacted rather than waiting until the closing. 

Why? You ask. remember that just because a transaction did not close does not mean it wasn't a referral. Your customer tried and they did their part. Just because something happened that cause the transaction to not occur or the borrowers went elsewhere is no reason to withhold your thanks!

THE "ONE LOAN STAND"

Recently a fellow Loan Officer told me that they needed to increase their production and income in a hurry. While there is obviously nothing wrong with that, it was his plan that seemed a little askew.

His strategy was to make some "fast relationships" in order to reach his new production goals. Those with considerable experience in our profession, however, know that "fast relationships" rarely occur, nor are they usually very productive.

As we have discussed here several times, the chances of a referral source sending you business until you have spoken to them in person a minimum of five times is rare. Add to that the fact that for most people to really like and trust you usually takes anywhere from several months to a few years depending upon the amount of interaction.

Just as in the world of amorous relationships, the "fast relationships" rarely stand the test of time. So unless you are looking for a "one loan stand," please allow for proper relationship building time because something lasting rarely starts "fast." 

SHIP AHOY!

Yesterday we examined the universal law that our returns in life are equal to our service to others and that we as Loan Officers are fortunate to have several tangible ways to measure our service. As commissioned salespeople, we enjoy a system of rewards based upon our service that paints a very clear picture of our work.

That is the good and the bad. The bad is without mandatory requirements like hors, contacts, calls, etc... so many commissioned salespeople are doomed to mismanage themselves primarily because they lack a plan.

Consider the example of a cruise ship. Every time the ship leaves the harbor, it has a plan and barring a disaster the ship will arrive at it's predetermined destination every time. What if the ship had no plan? What would happen if the ship had no destination, someone just turned the engines and let it go? I think you will agree that the chances of the ship running aground at an undesired location are 100%.

Salespeople are much the same way. If they know where they are going and have a plan to get there, they will reach their destination consistently. However, without such a plan, the destination is seldom reached.

So make your plan, follow it and act as if it were impossible to fail. Pay the price by being the person and professional you want to become. It is much easier than living unsuccessfully anyway!

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

“Your returns in life and in business are in direct proportion to your service to others.”

The above statement is not just a quote it is a fact! It is true in the business world, your personal life, your hobbies and in all endeavors.

The person who treats others poorly will get the same in return while those who treat their fellow human beings with kindness and respect will reap the rewards of the kindness and respect of others. This is just one of those universal laws of nature that over time will always be true. People can try to cheat this rule and they may succeed temporarily, but over time, your service and attitude towards others will determine your success whether at home, work or play.

As Loan Officers, we are constantly aware of this law that our professional success is determined by the quality and quantity of our service to others. We have some very tangible systems in place like production, commissions, and net revenue to measure our levels of service as opposed to salaried persons. Such a system is fantastic for many but without proper planning it can be a disaster. 

To be continued...

PICK YOUR LIFESTYLE

When you want something badly enough, we all have the ability to achieve it as long as the desired result is achievable. For example, I would love to play in the NBA or PGA tour but my lack of height, youth and talent make such a goal entirely unrealistic.

When people act as if it were impossible to fail, when failure is not an option, when we make consistent progress towards our desired results, success is all but inevitable. If the requirements of any task and compulsatory, we humans tend to find a way to make it happen as long as your mind believe that it must happen. 

So decide what is important to you, and progressively realize that ideal. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for the human spirit, most of our endeavors are far easier than that of raising children!

LOST FOCUS

Regardless of where you are or what the cars and houses look like, successful people are all around. The schoolteacher who has invested decades into making a difference, the nurse who enjoys helping those in need, the homemaker who takes pride in their daily endeavors.

Successful people enjoy their chosen lifestyle.

Success does not mean a large bank account for everyone because anyone who enjoys their chosen lifestyle is successful. But, for those who desire a large bank account and the lifestyle that goes along with it, success will rarely beat down the door of a person who dislikes what they do.

Another fine example of this is once again, raising a child. Parents will regularly make mistakes and second guess themselves, yet all of those setbacks will not initially affect their ultimate goal of giving society a healthy, educated, responsible, ethical young adult.

The child may have other ideas though which become more of a hindrance to the goal as they grow older. This is the point where the parents are tested repeatedly and some take on every challenge in order to see their children eventually prosper while others give up and lose interest.

Those who lose interest usually do so because they no longer enjoy pursuing their goal of raising the child like they once did. In many cases the child has become so unpleasant compared to the little bundle of joy they brought home from the hospital that the initial worthy ideal of raising the child is deemed so old that it is lost.

To be continued...

THEY SHOOT, THEY SCORE!

Yesterday we looked at success being the progressive realization of a worthy ideal,

For some it may be running a marathon or climbing Mt. Everest while for others, it is just getting their next hit of crack. People pursue lifestyles and for those who pursue something truly worthy, nothing gets in their way. 

A fine example of this is raising a child. Most couples who have their first child are no more equipped for the task than they are to fly a 747. Despite the fact they lack training and experience; new parents will almost always rise to the task. For most responsible parents, the worthy goal of supporting and caring for another life is not considered a goal at all. It is considered mandatory.

"Mandatory" is quite a stiff word but "mandatory" is what happens when goals become musts and when goals become musts, the goal has been scored!

To be continued....

SUCCESS DEFINED

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”

— Earl Nightingale

Many people view success in the visual and material world because this is what society has embraced as success. The tangible comparisons are inevitable among all of us. We tend to size up our own "success" with regard what others have or have not versus our own have or have nots.

We look at the person with a large home, luxury car, fine clothing and jewelry and most people would say that that person is "successful". They have all of the outward appearances of success anyway. How did they get that way?

Unless they inherited it or won the Powerball, in which case they will blow it all anyway, those who are financially successful got there via progressive realization of a worthy ideal. It is their success in their progressive realization of a worthy ideal which then led them to a life of wealth and privilege not the other way around.

However, success does not always come with a large bank account.

To be continued...

CH, CH, CH, CHANGES

“The person who thinks they don’t have to study or continue to learn their craft, art of profession is a pompous fool and their chances of ever amounting to much are very slim indeed.”

— Earl Nightingale (1921-1989)

Ear was a man of great wisdom who was right about almost everything. No matter what your profession, things will change and this evolution is almost always for the better thanks to the creativity of the human mind and its capacity to learn, imagine and innovate.

Think about just ten years ago. We had almost none of the technology we now enjoy and our business has changed radically because of it. We are more productive than ever in terms of the time invested to close a loan and most of the people who were the big producers in that day are even better now.

However, there are also plenty of them who didn't keep up with their profession like they should have who are now paying the price. Many of them have left the business entirely and many more still originate albeit in a less productive fashion than their colleagues who accepted and embraced the evolution of mortgage lending.

THAT SWEET SOUND

The phone is still the single most powerful business tool ever. Without its glorious ringing sound we would have nothing. But because of the phone's cash register like qualities some people give in to the temptation of answering every call humanly possible which can end up in lost, unproductive days. 

The one common theme amongst all of you who so kindly contributed your phone management ideas is the daily changing of the voicemail greeting. This simple 30 second task can be a huge timesaver all day long. Besides who gets anything out of the standard "I'm either on the phone or away from my desk" message? I'd say they are both pretty safe assumptions since you didn't answer the phone at your desk anyway right?

Also, please be careful with the "Brian Buffini" style of voicemail greetings that say "I return calls at 10:00, 2:00 and 4:00 or whatever" because it can and does make some people feel put out. Besides, every day is unique so why would anyone return their calls on such a rigid daily schedule?

By letting people know that you are working, that you have a schedule, and when they can expect to hear back from you, you will properly set customer expectations and discover newfound productivity. 

So make your phone ring as much as possible, just don't answer it every time!