Mortgage Manager Playbook

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Tom Finnegan, Principal, STRATMOR Group. Key Highlights: AI must deliver measurable results; loan officer compensation needs reexamining; stop accepting poor sales execution; and product strategy must reflect changing customer needs.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Mike Cush, VP of Purchase Strategy, AmeriSave Mortgage. Key Highlights: AI agents will change how consumers select lenders; profitability requires a more efficient organization; data will become a major competitive advantage and start with the future customer experience and work backward.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Jon Overfelt, Director of Sales, ASMC. Key Highlights: develop and retain LOs instead of constantly recruiting; develop 90-day execution plans; protect profitability and the balance sheet; and make faster decisions about underperformers.

Scott Johnson, Divisional Executive, CMG Home Loans. Key Highlights: growth is non-negotiable; junior LO model; AI should increase capacity, not simply eliminate people; and profitability has to become the discipline behind growth.

Steve Capen, Director Strategic Growth, First United Bank. Key Highlights: recruiting is prospecting—not waiting for candidates; leadership problems create recruiting opportunities; recruiting requires speed and accountability; and production alone doesn’t make someone a good hire.

Malcolm Hollensteiner, Director Home Loan Strategic Sales, Atlantic Union Bank. Key highlights include: stop waiting for the market to improve; banks have an underused competitive advantage; home-equity management could be a major overlooked 2027 opportunity and industry needs product innovation.

Joe Camerieri, Lenders One, discussed the Outlook for 2027. Key highlights: lenders need to look inside for untapped production; profitability and efficiency matter more than volume; HELOC boom may have limits; and lenders need to answer question, “Why are we in the mortgage business.”

Dustin Gray, Founder & CEO, Homeowners.ai . Key Highlights: 80% of borrowers forget their loan officer within 3-6 months-Why?; birthday cards and drip emails are not retention; your database is bigger than closed loans; and loyalty is earned through repeated value, not one -time transactions.

Joe Camerieri, SVP, Sales & Strategy, Lenders One. Key Highlights: AI isn’t the magic bullet---lenders are aiming at the wrong target; the real cost savings live behind the scenes; real estate ecosystems are shifting fast; consumer-direct is coming for everyone; and rate volatility isn’t a surprise.

Dustin Owen, Creator & Host of The Loan Officer Podcast (TLOP) . Key Highlights: mortgage industry lacks true business management discipline; developing new talent is underutilized; broker channel is gaining energy because it attracts younger, entrepreneurial originators; and training and development must be intentional, cultural and led by experts.

Molly Dean, SVP of Production , Leader One Financial. Key Highlights: top producers don’t want to be left alone—they want meaningful support; respect matters more than special treatment; retention isn’t just about compensation; micromanagement kills productivity; and purpose sustains long-term success.

Rebecca Costanzo, Director, Mortgage Originations at United Community Bank. Key Highlights: high-performing teams ae built through coaching; emotional intelligence is a revenue driver; manage behaviors before you measure results; and today’s best leaders don’t just manage numbers---they understand people.

Eric Mitchell, Chief Revenue Officer , NEXA Mortgage. Key Highlights include: AI is no longer optional; your CRM is the foundation; coaching accelerates success; implementation beats information; and accountability creates growth.

Pat interviewed Ryan Todd, Chief Capital Markets Officer, V.I.P. Mortgage . Key Highlights: fix the process before buying more technology; measure ROI, not vendor features; root cause analysis comes before automation; and the future belongs to lenders who lower cost to produce.

Brian Koss, Regional Manager, Movement Mortgage. Key Highlights: 80% of borrowers forget their loan officer within 2-3 years; generic drip campaigns are dead; your database is either an annuity or a graveyard; and the best loan officers don’t sell loans—they manager debt for life.

Jay Promisco, CEO, GO Mortgage . Key Highlights: the old mortgage model is dying; AI won’t fix a broken company; the loan officer of the future is an influencer and relationship builder; the next cycle will reward profitability over volume; and sales leaders need to simplify.

Tom Finnegan, Principal, Stratmor Group. Key highlights: secret shopping reveals the real customer experience; lack of follow-up is a key problem; too many LOs are order takers instead of consultants; speed matters; and customer experience is now a competitive advantage.

Dave Savage, Chief Growth Officer, TrustEngine & Founder, Mortgage Coach. Key Highlights: the game has shifted from transactional to advisory; consistency separates the Top 1%; prospecting wins before Noon; technology adoption is a mindset, not an age issue; and your database is still the #1 growth asset.

Stephen Moye, Producing Sales Mgr/Sr. Loan Officer, New American Funding. Key Highlights include: ownership is often given without readiness; production skill does not equal operational leadership; ownership is a trade-off, not a promotion; the economics of leadership no longer work; and the industry model is misaligned with the future.

Jay Crowell, President, National Retail Division, Cornerstone Home Lending . Key Highlights: mission over money drives long-term success; the future belongs to human value, not just information; high performers are ruthless with focus; database equals the most underutilized goldmine; and great managers balance care and accountability.

Eric Mitchell, Chief Revenue Officer , NEXA Mortgage. Key Highlights include: change is no longer optional; top talent leaving is the #1 warning sign of a failing organization; learning equals value; the problem isn’t knowledge—it’s execution; and systems are no longer optional especially CRM.

Paul Wyner, Chief Solutions Officer, Revolution Mortgage . Key Highlights include: AI in mortgage is an evolution—not a replacement; the biggest shift is from tools to orchestration; lack of adoption is the real risk; AI should augment not replace human roles; and the real opportunity is freeing salespeople to sell.

Pat Polson, SVP, Div. Sales Mgr for NC/VA/TX. Key highlights: retention starts in recruiting, not after the hire; managers must uncover a candidate’s real “why”; day one onboarding must create a “wow” experience; retention requires ongoing manager involvement; and lenders must be honest, intentional, and structured.

Mike Cush, VP of Purchase Strategy, AmeriSave. Key Highlights: removing friction must start with the consumer, not the lender; too much tech is built to help the lender, not improve the customer experience; AI should simplify the process; best place to reduce friction is a the beginning of the home search; and lenders need to rethink their strategy now because AI will change mortgage quickly.

LaTasha, President, NFM Lending. As a lawyer (and a mom of five), LaTasha wanted to write something for her children about making wise decisions , then expanded it into a creative way to teach financial literacy . Key highlights include: money can be used in more than one way; spending is ok—but not all at once; create a simple plan—spending and saving; future—you needs to have options; and making...