DESTINATION UNKNOWN

“If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him.”

— Seneca (5BC -65AD)

We all know the driving route to our offices, but many times that is where our clear sense of destination ends. Once inside the office,many Loan Officers throw themselves into the "favorable winds" of their business. Those who do so with a business plan and clearly defined goals can ride almost any wind to their favor.

Those who lack plans and goals are throwing themselves into unfavorable winds that are more like a tornado. Spinning, twisting and rambling in an unpredictable direction with little left behind but destruction and chaos.

Like a plane without a flight plan or a ship without a rudder. A mortgage practice without planning and goal setting is aimless and destined to miss its intended destination. 

TIMELESS WISDOM

Seneca (5BC-65AD) - Was a Roman dramatist, philospher and politician. He also would have made an excellent sales trainer and Loan officer. This week we will look at some of the man's famous quotes that still relate to our livelihoods 2000 years later.

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

— Seneca (5BC-65AD)

It has been said that adversity is a business and emotional physical fitness program. Make no mistake, we all dread adversity, but it may be the best learning tool of them all for Loan Officers. Those of us with extensive experience in mortgage lending can tell you without hesitation that most of the best lessons they have obtained over the years arose out of difficulty.

So next time the "adversity bug" bites you, embrace the opportunity as an opportunity for short-term pain and long term gain!

YEH, BUT...

"The Cowboys played well, but still by 21."

"I'd love to go to dinner with you, but I have to wash my hair."

"We could close your loan tomorrow, but we don't have an approval."

The three sentences above all have one thing in common... the word "but", and please remember that a "but" wipes away everything before it.

Please be judicious when using this word because "but" can destroy anything nice you were trying to say in the beginning of even the simplest and most harmless of sentences.

YOUR MOVE

Your surroundings and more importantly those you associate with are all living expressions of how you are using and have used your mind. Almost like a constantly running movie about your life.

If you associate with undesirable people, would anyone come to see your movie? It probably depends on just how undesirable they are, but what would the audience think about those co-stars around you?

If the reviews are lousy, would you make another movie with them? Of course not, but ironically we are talking about something far more important than a movie. We can let our circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and be the master and commander of our own surroundings and associations.

It is all up to you. This fact is not "sad but true," but rather a glorious opportunity to recognize that you alone possess the power to make your world a better place!

HEAVY INSPIRATION

Yesterday we looked at the words to Metallica's "Sad but True." Since the lyrics are set to heavy metal music, unfortunately a more upbeat title like "Glad but True" was out of the question at the record company so the song resonates with a powerful negative message about how you and you alone are the architect of your life for better or worse.

Kind of like a choleric version of Tony Robbins.

Yet the simple, yet often overlooked fact remains that whatever situation you are in right now, it was and is created by you.

People are where they are because that is exactly where they really want to be - whether they will admit that or not. Luckily, we all have the power of change from within.

Tomorrow: "Your Life" the movie. 

THE BLACK ALBUM

“Hey! I’m your life
I’m the one who take you there
I’m your life
I’m the one who cares
They, They betray I’m your only true friend now
They, They’ll betray
I’m forever here

You, You’re my mask
You’re my cover,
My shelter
You, You’re my mask
You’re the one who’s blamed

I’m your dream, make you real
I’m your eyes when you must steal
I’m your pain when you can’t feel
I’m your dream, mind astray
I’m your eye while you’re away
I’m your pain while you repay

I’m your truth telling lies
I’m your reasoned alibis
I’m inside, open your eyes

I’m your life,
I’m the one who took you here
I’m you!
Sad but true”

Most of you hard rockers and gen-x-ers recognize the words to Metallica's "Sad but True" from 1991. For those who are wondering just what a Metallica is, all you need to know is that this song is one of the heaviest, hardest rocking songs of all time. It is also one of the heaviest songs ever on the subject of our personal empowerment or failure, which all resides in the region behind our ears.

To be continued...

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! 

SERVICE FIRST

When a borrower who just closed has a servicing issue or needs a document from their closing package. Do you respond with the same excitement and service level as the day you first met them as a prospective borrower?

When they call to tell you they are buying a new home, using the builder's mortgage company, but they still want your advice? Do you act in a helpful fashion rather than disinterested or put out?

When they call you upset because they despite the servicer who bought their loan that you originated because someone was a smart ass to them on the phone. Do you try to make them feel better or just explain that rude mortgage customer service agents are just an inescapable fact of life?

When they call because they were expecting a larger escrow refund than the $75 they just received. Do you help them do the math in order to understand or just blame it on their previous mortgage company?

Service after the sale is just as important, if not more important, than during the sale. Please remember that no matter how great you were at originating a mortgage, if you act disinterested at a later date, it will not only be the last impression you will leave with that customer, it will most likely be your last interaction with them too!

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS?

Did you hit the snooze button multiple times every morning? Have trouble getting a good night's sleep? Feel fatigued throughout the day? Are you trying unsuccessfully to lose weight?

Most people suffer from at least one of these maladies and the majority of these issues can be traced back to just one problem going on in your body... caffeine.

While a cup of coffee apparently stimulates your senses, a regular in take of caffeine can leave you a complete wreck. This is because coffee simply stimulates the central nervous system, increases the stress hormones in the blood stream and makes a person feel unnaturally alert. Consequently this induced alert state tends to subdue your body's natural instincts and prevent it from relaxing causing undue stress and leading to all kinds of disorders.

Daily caffeine intake induces a 24 hour cyclic disturbance in your body. While the morning cup perks up your mood most people can't stop at that. Almost everyone develops a craving for the next cup and subsequently, a heavy fatigue sets in by late afternoon. Even if another cup revives you at this time of the day, a total collapse is inevitable by evening.

Irritability, fatigue and gloom are the usual symptoms. And worse yet is that finally when you try to sleep away your blues at night, you can't. This sleep deprivation is the silent reason why so many people have trouble losing weigh because a good night's sleep is essential to any successful weight loss program. but that's not the end, the next morning you get up tired, thirsting for another fix to settle your mood. So the next time you take a sip remember you are sipping a host of health problems and stay tuned tomorrow for suggestions on how to rid yourself of the vicious caffeine cycle!

THE ORIGINAL SALES TRAINER?

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

— Aristotle

Despite the fact that he lived about 2,400 years ago Aristotle would have been a damn good Loan Officer. Alas, he had other things to do like help educate the people of his time as well as hundreds of future generations. Our world may have changed dramatically over the past two and a half millenniums, but human nature remains pretty much the same. Aristotle's philosophy and writings in regards to our behavior are as accurate today as they were back in 350 B.C. 

CHARMING

Another superb way to improve your batting average is to simply improve your charisma or as some people call it, charm. Charisma is easy for some and elusive for many, but the root of charisma is a polite and positive disposition. Something that everyone can improve upon whether they are a debutant or a trash hauler.

To give yourself a dose of "instant charisma" try this formula:

• "Name" x 3 : "Please" x 2 : "Thank You" x1

People are instantly attracted to those who are polite and call them by name. This formula will give you a dose of "instant charisma" with the person on the other end of the phone and your batting average will soar just by saying their name and using the "magic words" in your conversations!