How to Become a Superstar in the Mortgage Business

o my way of thinking, there are two ways to describe “new” in terms of a loan originator. New as in you just got your license and are launching your career. Then there is new, as in doing the same first year over, three, four or more years running. In either case the same advice applies.

The great news is that what it takes to be a highly successful originator is pretty simple stuff. That’s why I often talk about getting back to basics. It’s the basics, applied in systematic ways, that make superstar mortgage originators.

The Basics

1. Every day, work on taking a new loan application. I could stop here and many of you would make lots more money. For some of you that means just what it says, get a new loan into your pipeline. Don’t forget, this is what you get paid for. Keep it on top of your “Daily Priorities List.” A new loan in your pipeline is the highest return on investment of your time, energy, and effort.
2. Understand that you are your client’s trusted advisor. Make a promise to always tell them what they need to know to make a good business decision. That may not always be what they want to hear, but it is your fiduciary responsibility to them, and to you for your career success.
3. Never stop prospecting. The goal is to get to the head of the class and to have 70 percent or more of your business coming from referrals. That takes a commitment to faithful prospecting and gathering data so that you can stay in touch with every person you ever talk to about mortgages. Yes, that’s right, every person. Great originators understand that every person has the real potential of becoming a future client. If you are not the one keeping in touch with them, they will not be coming to you. Take that to the bank! Your contact management system is the key here. If you’re not using one, with all due respect, shame on you. Enter anyone that you know into the system and make a commitment to add at least 20 names a week. Think that would be difficult? NOT. Here is a trick. Every day fill your pockets with 10 business cards. Make a commitment to hand out every last one of them before your head hits the pillow at night. Every person to whom you hand a card is a potential client. Ask them for permission to add them to your database. Most of them will say okay. Then, without fail, send them something once a month. 98% of your success in the loan business is directly related to the number of people you meet every day.
4. Learn the difference between activity and productivity. They are worlds apart in helping you make it in this business. Many agents are busy and never really achieve a thing. Here is how I want you to measure success. Count the number of appointments you have in a week. If it is fewer than five, get back to work and do better. You have to have five solid appointments with motivated people who have urgency to move forward in order to ensure that a loan application results. Anything that you are doing that keeps you from setting appointments is activity and not productivity. Get disciplined, and start doing it. You will always be treading water if all you do is $8 an hour work. Find someone to do it for you. Remember that face-to-face and belly-to-belly contact is where the superstars generate new business. Set more appointments if you want to close more loans.
5. Take days off regularly. Burnout is a real concern in this industry. If you are not taking care of yourself, you will end up hating the business and leaving. I have seen it happen too many times. When you come from a place of abundance and not scarcity, you are there for your clients. This is a service business, and to be of service to anyone, you must first take care of numero uno. That is not in the least bit selfish. It’s just a fact. You don’t want to be the richest loan officer in the hospital.
6. Never stop learning. Every chance you get, take classes, listen to tapes, go hear speakers and attend conventions. Surround yourself with the best of the best. What’s that saying, “If you want to soar like an eagle, don’t hang out with turkeys.” Good advice if you ask me. Wear a “NO Whining” button around the office if it helps. Commit time every day toward perfecting your craft. If you want to do better, you must get better.
7. Be willing to reach out and help others. The agents who give freely of themselves are the ones that are the most inspiring success stories. When you can focus on helping another, you help yourself in the process. Practice the universal principal of give, ask, receive. Always be willing to give first.
8. Use your coach. No one who ever achieved greatness did it alone. There on the sidelines was a coach cheering, pushing, cajoling, and helping them be all that they could be. Get yourself a cheerleader or a coach; we all have blind spots.
   This is a grand business. We have the privilege of assisting people and helping make their dreams come true. We literally change lives. How many people can say that about their career choice? Be grateful that you are here and give yourself the gift of getting better every day. Never take your eyes off what is best for your clients, and they will take care of you! Success in the mortgage business is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals. It takes discipline to succeed. It is the accumulative weight of our daily discipline that leads us to either fortune or failure. Success is no coincidence; it is a choice. Choose to be great!