In past months, I've highlighted Superstar originator Mike Grace from Athens, Georgia. In those posts, we addressed what Mike was doing to maintain his production in a down market.

Last week while reviewing past postings, I re-read the two about Mike and immediately thought it would be a great time to call and find out how his production predictions were progressing this year. When Mike answered his cell phone, he immediately knew why I was calling and blurted out the following"

"Thank God you don't have to look like George Clooney to be successful in the mortgage business, because if we did, the both of us would be in trouble!"

After I stopped laughing and agreeing with his statement, Mike further elaborated on his impressive YTD production and how he closed in excess of $4,000,000 in May. While $4,000.000 in monthly production is impressive in any market, Mike funded that volume with an average loan amount of $180,000 while also managing three very profitable branches for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ...now that's REALLY impressive!

Even though Mike has been a powerhouse producer for over twenty years and had considerable market share, last fall he sensed the market shifting and realized he had gradually stopped consistently doing many of the marketing activities that had initially made him successful.

That said, last summer (2006) Mike made an honest self-assessment and realized the market was shrinking (not the boom period our industry recently experienced) and it was essential he return to the fundamentals that originally made him successful. Mike always tells his team not to rest on their laurels and he took a dose of his own medicine. Since September, Mike has been working like a man possessed. Guess what, unlike his competitors, 2007 has been a good year and Mike is fully expecting to exceed his 2006 production.

According to Mike, it boils down to one thing:

You know what you need to do; the secret is doing it and doing it consistently over a prolonged period.

Observation: It's a good thing George Clooney has his acting career, because if he had to depend on making his living competing against Mike Grace in ANY market, I would put my money on Mike.

Another Mortgage Cicerone post.