So I was having a conversation with another trainer last week about 2 great book I just read. (For the second time) "Triggers" by Joe Sugarman, and "The Well Fed Writer: Back for Seconds", by Peter Bowerman. The 2nd book was a shocker for me, as it was meant primarily for author's and/or individuals who make their living as writers.

In retrospect, I would have to rate this book as my #1 recommendation for anyone who is in the sales field. If your income depends on sales, you should read this book. My bookshelf is dangerously close to falling over from the combined weight of over a hundred (No exaggeration here folks) sales and marketing books. If my house caught on fire and I only had time to grab one book, this would be it. (And my cat "Puff" of course - Puff as in a ‘cotton puff')

The reason I say this is because of the blunt, yet encouraging tone of the author. Peter looks past the surface, and really has a firm grasp on sales behavior. To sum up one of my favorite chapters: "Sales people hide from themselves on a daily basis. They spend their days finding ways to keep themselves "busy" doing unimportant, but safe work. Safe from what? Rejection and reality.

So with 90% of their days spent pushing paper, true down and dirty prospecting is ignored, or given only a token effort. The rest of the day is spent "planning" or "researching", and ultimately complaining about how no money is coming in.

If you're feeling down and out, or that the money is no longer there, it's time to look in the mirror. Stop glossing over reality with excuses about the market, or how terrible your place of employment is. When it comes down to it, you can find originators and real estate agents in ANY state, and in ANY market who is doing great. You simply have to be prepared to make adjustments.

We kid ourselves with mental images of these individuals who have unfair advantages, and excellent superstar sales personalities... I must tell you, some of the highest producers I have met had some of the most grating personalities, and in one case, almost shy mannerisms. My number one student right now (Who originates in one of the hardest hit states of all) insulted me when we first met. I laugh as I look back on it now, but what I mistook as rudeness, was a forwardness that has served him well in his career.

My point is that I buy wholeheartedly into Peter's observations. We spend so much time worrying about conversion ratio's, avoiding rejection, conserving money by not marketing, that we kill our own progress before it's had a chance to grow. Whwn you're so low on funds that you are worried how the bills will get paid nxt month, who cares if super secret origination technique #1 pulls 5% better than super secret origination technique #2 ? It's a moot point. The time spent arguing about which technique is better could have landed another application. It's time for action, not theory.

This happens all over the country in all sales professions, not just the mortgage and real estate industry.

Ultimately, no one can bail you out unless you're ready to take full, and 100% responsibility for your career. This market is not half bad if you are open to change. Last week I received an email from a loan officer who used to do refi loans exclusively. (You know who you are) He kept banging his head against the wall trying to find new ways to get his old "groove" back. Finally, he realized that the answer was to stop trying to force the market to conform to his world, but to rather force himself to conform to the new market.

In other words, stop worrying about how things used to be, and focus on what new opportunity awaits. For the loan officer in question, he generated 73 leads last week, (How much money would he have sent to BUY those leads?)and sent me an email begging for tips on how to handle that volume! I was refreshed to hear him complaining about how busy he is taking new apps, and closing loans. What a wonderful problem to have! It all stemmed from his realization that his problems lay not in the changes of the current market, but rather, in his perception of why he was having problems, and ultimately, his attempted solution.

Once he faced himself and his fears, we crafted a marketing program that has delivered leads to him he didn't even know were there. Chances are, you may be sitting on a goldmine of leads, and new closings as well. The real question is, what are you doing to uncover these leads? Have you taken a hard look at your efforts in the mirror lately? What is your day spent doing? How have you grown? Do you have an open mind, as well as the motivation to do something proactive, if not a bit outside your comfort zone?

Ultimately, ACTION is king. Take action today to improve your career. Jump on the phone until you have a solid prospect, network, call up your SOI, learn a new skill that will benefit you... Mediocre sales skills combined with a proactive personality will beat out a superstar salesperson with spotty activity any day of the week.

Just a few thoughts... I wish you all a profitable day and an enjoyable weekend. 

 Chad Weber - www.fsboleadportal.com/blog - http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/

PS - I'll touch on the book by Joe Sugarman next time.