Salesman Vs. Technician

The past few years has been a time of unprecedented change in the mortgage industry.  Banks and lenders go under almost every week, and the ones that are left are changing their rules daily to avoid the onslaught.

This time of lending upheaval has brought about the new kind of Loan Officer: The Technician.

Just three years ago, the only thing you had to do to be a successful Loan Officer was to be a good salesman.  Just get the customers in the door, and someone, somewhere would find a loan program that would work for them.  This fact was evidenced by who you saw becoming Loan Officers. 

I worked at a company that started hiring car salesmen to be Loan Officers.  Did these "Loan Officers" know the difference between a fixed rate and and ARM, FHA or conventional.  Heck no.  But they could go out and get customers in the door.  For this reason, our industry lost respect and trust with the public and media.  This new breed of Loan Officer was more about sales than customer service or good old fashioned know-how.

Then came 2008 and 2009.  The lending world changed overnight.  Many companies that hired the typical salesman went under.  These salesman no longer had a way to get a loan for anybody with a pulse.

The changes brought about a new breed of Loan Officer.  A Loan Officer a lot like me.  The Technician.  Someone who knew all the lending standards inside and out, and what new rules and standards were coming onto the scene on a daily basis.  These new Loan Officers aren't the slickest salesman or the ones that can talk someone into a loan.  But I would argue that the Technician should be the loan officer that a customer should seek. 

The Technician analyzes the borrower's overall need and comes up with the best scenario.  It's all about the customer, not the sale.  The Technician is the one that will be in business 5 or 10 years from now, because the borrowers that have benefitted from his/her lending knowledge will keep referring him/her business.

So the next time you need mortgage financing, don't get roped in by a salesman. Find a Technician.