The Mortgage Rainmaker Podcast

You don’t have to lose your fire to become a better leader. Hey there, Rainmakers! Jon Arnold and I connected because I could feel his intensity immediately. He built his career the way a lot of us do: through survival, relentless work, and a refusal to fail. But over time, that drive evolved into something deeper—service, vulnerability, and real leadership. In this episode, Jon shares how he rede...

The bar is lower than you think. Show up, sell yourself, and do the damn work. Hey there, Rainmakers! In this episode, I’m coaching Zenon, a Catalyst member who’s just over a year into the mortgage business and hungry to build. We break down how to earn more opportunities with real estate agents without hiding behind complicated loan products. From positioning yourself as the backup lender to leve...

Ryan Erekson wants to build a $24 million mortgage business working five hours a week. And AI is how he plans to do it. Hey there, Rainmakers! Ryan is my AI coach, and in this episode, we’re breaking down how to use AI to create more money, more time, and higher-quality work—without replacing the relationships that actually grow your business. We get tactical with how AI can help with pipeline rev...

Alex Dykes went from taking out personal loans to pay his bills to becoming a Chairman’s Club producer on pace for 202 loans this year. Hey there, Rainmakers! Alex Dykes is proof of what can happen when you get humble, get coached, and stop trying to figure everything out alone. After watching his production collapse to 52 units in 2023, Alex doubled down on himself—and completely rebuilt the way...

What if you could sit in on a real coaching call and hear exactly what’s keeping another Rainmaker stuck? Hey there, Rainmakers! Today, I’m pulling back the curtain and letting you inside two real one-on-one coaching conversations with Art Shalomov and Tanya Brown, two students in my Catalyst coaching program. This is The Hot Seat. No polished interview. No prepared answers. Just real loan officer...

What happens when you stop trying to look like a loan officer—and start showing up fully as yourself? Hey there, Rainmakers! Anne Solano went from losing everything and rebuilding her life in recovery to becoming one of the most exciting new loan officers I’ve watched enter this business. In her first full year, Anne closed 42 loans with 25 different Realtors referring her business. And she didn’t...

Hey there, Rainmakers! Brendan Williams is proof that you don’t have to become someone you’re not to build an incredible mortgage business. He’s not living on social media, chasing endless coffee meetings, or reinventing his strategy every six months. He created a simple system around relationships, calls, follow-up, and organization—and kept showing up. In this episode, Brendan breaks down the sy...

What if the breakthrough you’re waiting for is on the other side of your fear? Hey there, Rainmakers! Amy Roe closed just two loans in her first eight months as a loan officer. She questioned herself, froze at networking events, and wondered if she’d made a huge mistake. But she kept showing up. That persistence took her to 34 transactions in 2024, then 49 transactions and $22 million in 2025. In...

What if the business you're praying for is already sitting inside the relationships you have today? Hey there, Rainmakers! If you've ever said, "I'm just not a salesperson," this episode is for you. I hear it every single week from incredible loan officers and real estate agents. You're amazing at serving people. Your clients love you. You know your craft. But when it comes to consistently growing...

What’s the point of building a successful mortgage business if you don’t have a life left to enjoy it? Hey there, Rainmakers! My good friend Tasha Hastings has spent 13 years building something so many loan officers want: a thriving mortgage business that doesn’t own her. She’s a top producer, a wife, a present mom of three, and a leader who has been incredibly intentional about protecting what ma...

What happens when a brand-new loan officer stops overthinking and starts running the plays? Hey there, Rainmakers! Jannette Gomez left a 13-year career as a dental hygienist because she knew she was capable of more. Just 14 months into the mortgage business, she closed a $4 million month by staying hungry, asking for help, and doing the work most people avoid. In this episode, we break down exactl...

Hey there, Rainmakers! Mike Bertarelli walked away from consumer direct after closing $125 million in production and stepped into retail with zero referral relationships and no magic bucket of leads. Three years later, he closed 111 loans for $33 million in production and built a team of seven loan officers. In this episode, Mike and I break down what actually drove that growth: going all in, buil...

What do the best loan officers do when business gets harder? They don't wait for opportunity. They learn how to create it. Hey there, Rainmakers! Every loan officer goes through seasons where business feels harder than it should. Markets shift. Buyers hesitate. Referral partners get quieter. This conversation isn't about pretending those seasons don't exist—it's about learning how the best Rainmak...

What if the reason your marketing isn't working has nothing to do with how or what you post... and everything to do with the feeling you're creating? Hey there, Rainmakers! When most loan officers think about marketing, they jump straight to social media, videos, newsletters, or the next shiny strategy they saw at a conference. I've been there too. In fact, my natural instinct is to move fast, exe...

What happens when you combine passion, conviction, and a willingness to do the hard things everyone else avoids? Hey there, Rainmakers! This week, I’m sitting down with one of my own — Katie Stockert, loan officer on Team Shayla at Guild Mortgage in Fargo, North Dakota. In just four years, Katie has gone from closing 25 deals in her first year to being on pace for $40 million in production. But th...

Hey there, Rainmakers! Over the last 22 years, I've gone from being broke, scared, and trying to survive to building a business that has given me freedom, purpose, impact, and experiences I once couldn't even imagine. But none of it happened because I was special. It happened because I kept finding people who had what I wanted and then did everything I could to learn from them. In this episode, I'...

Hey there, Rainmakers! For years, I thought I was building a business when I was really just chasing transactions. Every time my pipeline got light, I would scramble. Every time it filled up, I'd stop prospecting and focus on closing loans. It felt exhausting, unpredictable, and completely dependent on what happened next. In this episode, I sit down with my friend and fellow Catalyst coach, Dino R...

What if the life you're chasing isn't built by working harder—but by getting crystal clear on what you're building and why? Hey there, Rainmakers! This week, I sit down with Kei Kullberg, a young mortgage leader who's already built an incredible foundation—personally, professionally, and financially. But what impressed me most wasn't his production. It was his vision. Kei shares how coaching chang...

What does effective leadership actually look like in a high-pressure, relationship-driven industry? Hey there, Rainmakers! In this episode of The Mortgage Rainmaker Podcast, I sit down with mortgage industry veteran, coach, speaker, and entrepreneur Chris Vinson for a practical conversation on leadership, growth, customer experience, and what actually separates great professionals in this business...

Hey there, Rainmakers! In this episode of The Mortgage Rainmaker Podcast, I sit down with Katie Skaggs — a relationship-driven loan officer who’s on track to nearly double her business this year while raising three kids and building almost everything through authentic connection. Katie shares how she’s creating referral relationships in today’s market without feeling pushy, fake, or transactional....

What if you don’t need more agents… just deeper relationships? Hey there, Rainmakers! This episode is a straight-up masterclass in realtor referrals, relationship building, and becoming the loan officer agents never want to leave. I sat down with James Allen, the #1 purchase loan officer in Connecticut, to unpack the exact strategy behind nearly 500 closings a year. And what shocked me most? James...

Hey there, Rainmakers! Let me give it to you straight—your success in year one has nothing to do with how much you know. It has everything to do with how fast you take action and where you focus your energy. I sat down with Cameron Scully, a 27-year-old former Navy mechanic who stepped into this business with zero experience and closed $7.9M in his first year. He didn’t wait to feel confident. He...

Hey there, Rainmakers! This episode is a masterclass in resilience, sales, and learning how to truly become a Rainmaker. I sat down with Corey Luckow, a two-time cancer survivor, wife, mom of two, and loan officer from Tucson, Arizona, who found herself standing at one of the hardest crossroads of her career. After years as an in-house lender, she suddenly lost 70% of her business when that relati...

Hey there, Rainmakers! This episode is for the loan officer who is incredible at the work—but trapped by it. In this episode of The Mortgage Rainmaker Podcast, I sit down with Joel Olson to talk about the trap so many high-performing loan officers fall into: being incredible at the work, but unable to scale because everything depends on them. Joel built an $88M mortgage business by becoming the go...

What actually makes an agent trust you enough to send you business over and over again? For the first time ever, I brought a real estate agent onto the show—and not just any agent. Jayce Coziar is someone I’ve watched, respected, and finally sat down with to understand how she’s built a 95% referral-based business. This episode is different. You’re getting a real look at how I build relationships...