Over the past 12 months I have had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of loan officers from dozens of companies across the country. There is one central theme that sticks out in my mind and that is the high degree of uncertainty regarding the future of the mortgage business. There is uncertainty in the sub-prime market, uncertainty in the housing market and uncertainty surrounding the general direction of interest rates.
The reality is that approximately 15% of the market has been eliminated as a result of tightened credit guidelines and moderating home prices. This means 15% less borrowers, 15% less commissions etc. etc.
The flip side to this is 85% of the business is still getting done. The big question is who is winning the business and how are they doing it.
First we must make a key distinction between self directed and other directed events. Housing prices, interest rates and lender guidelines are all other directed - this means you have no control over these things. You need to be aware of them but you can not spend your day worrying about them.
What we need to focus on every day are the things that we can control- the self directed things. These are attitude, strategy, process and consistency.
Consider the story of the BIG ROCKS-
One day a college professor stood in front of a group of students and held up an empty mason jar- He proceeded to take a handful of big rocks and place them in the jar. He asked the class if the jar was full. They replied yes.
Then he took a handful of smaller rocks and placed them in the jar to fill the empty space left by the larger rocks- he asked them again if the jar was full. The class again replied yes.
Then he took a handful of sand and poured it into the jar. He repeated the question and by now the class had caught on. After holding up the jar- he asked if it was full and the class replied no. That's correct he replied and he filled the jar to the top with water.
He then asked the class what was the point of this demonstration. Proudly the students replied that the point is "you always have room to add more to your daily events." "Wrong," said the professor.
"The point is: to maximize your effectiveness, you have to put the big rocks in first. If you don't put the big rocks in first you will never fit them in."
What are the big rocks in the mortgage business?
Number 1 is prospecting.
Each day should begin with a specified amount of time set aside for prospecting. Whether it's calling on realtors, emailing your circle of influence, following up on old leads, mailing a newsletter to your database or just plain old fashion cold calling. Prospecting is the most important function of a loan officer. This is the only way you as a loan officer can create a consistent pipeline.
Many loan officers get bogged down in a daily routine of tasks that are non revenue generating functions. For example, spending endless hours working on files that are never going to close or constantly looking for the next latest greatest loan program. These tasks are necessary but they are not vital. The number one goal of the loan officer must be to get in front of a customer who is qualified and who is ready willing and able to make a buying decision within a reasonable timeframe. All efforts must be directed toward this goal. We have to recognize that this is the only way we make money. This is the big rock that must be placed first in our schedule every day. If we do not do this we end up getting sidetracked with countless low priority tasks that will never produce any money.
Try this; create a sign that asks this question: "is what I'm doing right now getting me closer to my goals?" Place this in front of your computer as a constant reminder that you need to focus all your efforts on the big rocks.
Every loan officer I meet tells me their number one goal is to generate a consistent flow of business. The only way to do that is to consistently set time aside every day to focus on the big rocks.
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