First and foremost, the mortgage industry is not for the faint of heart. If you are not already a loan officer; I do not recommend this profession unless you absolutely love sales and problem solving. Loans aka mortgages might as well be called, “problems that need to be solved” because nine times out of ten; you will encounter a problem of some sort on all loans. Whether it is the basic problem of providing money to someone who does

not have it(easy) or it involves repairing someone’s credit so they qualify for a mortgage(not easy); you are constantly solving problems… and when you are not solving your client’s problems; you are solving your own… as in where to get your next client.

My goal in this article is to give you some basic building blocks in order for you to produce $100,000+ per year as soon as you hit the sales floor like I did. Let me preface this article by letting you know that I had been a moderately successful entrepreneur for ten years prior to getting in to the mortgage industry so I was coming from a background that did not yield fruit unless there was labor. You should not need contests or any other Bull$hit ideas that middle management comes up with other than this idea; “Take care of your clients and the rest will follow.” With that said, let’s begin…

Step 2: “Dress for the job you want; not the one you have.” – A wise man once told me to wear a tie if I was asking clients for money. Be first in and last out(FILO) until you have mastered the craft and your co-workers are coming to you for help. If you bust your ass; this should take 3-6 months. Loans are your job; know them better than the next loan officer because that is how you will earn your stripes and earn agents’ business…. They like to be pulled out of fires; not put in to them! Last but not least; always wear a pocket square with your suit.

Step 4: Track your own data! Keep your clients’ info on a separate excel sheet or ledger outside of the company’s CRM because you will want that information when you part ways. Loan and client information is the most valuable commodity in this industry and don’t let anyone tell you different. NOTE: Some companies may not like you tracking clients’ info separately if they are paying for the leads so do so at your own risk.

Step 5: While working at a call center and after you know what loans are; try to mix in a trip to your local real estate office or broker’s caravan at least once per week until you know two Real Estate Agents and what their favorite food or drink is. This is not an overnight process so don’t treat it like one… you actually need to know them and be friends with them to earn their business. Ask them questions and do not talk about yourself or your nifty loans… agents don’t give a $hit about your loan products; they have other things to worry about, like home inspections, repairs, appraisal issues, etc. Focus on what they need and how you can help.

Step 7: Get out there for some networking! A lot of lenders will get stuck behind the desk but networking is a key aspect to building a sustainable business model. Get to know everyone locally from Title & Escrow to Real Estate Agents to Home Inspectors… even other lenders will refer you business if you’re good and they cannot perform. So get out there and get to know them… Cheers!(Network Responsibly)

Step 9: Do something every day! What does that mean? It means you apply consistency to your marketing plan every single day. That might mean you post something to Instagram or Facebook every day. It might mean that you blog or vlog but whatever you do; do it consistently. I recommend every day for at least 6 months and then you can dial it back to once per week for the next 12 months after that. You should have some semblance of a referral network after 18 months and you can determine the consistency frequency that suits you best.