Don't throw in the towel...act

I just got a call from a Loan Officer in another state asking for help.  He was looking for the answer to the age old question; How do I become a top producing Mortgage Loan Originator.  I don't think he liked the answer I gave because it wasn't a recipe but a philosophy.  Here are the five steps I believe it takes any sales person to be successful.  It doesn't matter how good or bad the market is, it is your attitude that determines your results:

1. Network, network, and network some more.  Join every committee, every club, every leads group and every organization you can find.  Once you have joined a group, be active.  Volunteer for committee assignments and take a high profile.  The more people you know and the better you know them, the more success you will have in network marketing.  I even went so far as to become the first male president in the history of our elementary school PTA.
2. Always provide value in your service or with your product.  If your service is overpriced and there is no value, you won't get continued referals.  Customers must leave their experience with you under the opinion they received value.  Perception is more important than reality...if they believe they got value, they did.
3. Always ask past clients for a referal!  In the mortgage industry, ther are multiple parties involved in every transaction.  Every buy has and agent, every transaction has a listing agent, every borrower has professional advisors.  Reach out and offer the value of your service to everyone involved.  You will never get their business if you don't ask.
4. Spend time each day marketing.  Set asisde a specific time each day and dedicate it to outgoing sales calls.  This is the time to call your leads or in the absence of leads make cold calls.  If you spend 1 hour every day doing proactive marketing, you will have more business than you can handle within a year.  Don't cheat yourself or your prospective clients; share your time with them every day.
5. Remember the "Law of Attraction".  Be thankful for what you have and cognicent of what you want.  Put your desires on paper every day and you will attaract what you seek.  If you leave your random thoughts loose, you will attract the things that do not help you attain your goals.  Write it down...you won't be sorry!