Art of Mortgage Marketing

Comfort is the mortal enemy of greatness, but even the most aspirational loan officer wants a sense of stability in their business.  Mortgage is full of ups and downs, and that can become soul-crushing pretty quickly for aspirational LOs and average Joe’s alike. The question is, how can we beat the unpredictability? What can we do to take our earnings from a fluctuating nightmare to firmly grounde...

None of us want to feel like we’re loan leeches, begging Realtors for their time, but so often, that’s what happens. How do we break that cycle? We know we add a ton of value, so it’s time to stop haggling Realtors and let them know we hold the cookie. How can we adopt an attraction-based approach and kick our prospecting pleas to the curb, once and for all? Is it possible to get maximum results w...

We all want to make it in this business, but far too many of us are being held back by stumbling blocks. What's stopping us from making our dreams a reality? Unfortunately, most of the time the obstacles in our way come in the form of mythical ideas, taken for granted as fact. We're not being held back- we're holding ourselves back! What are the myths we're telling ourselves, and how can we quit b...

Most of the time, our sales managers aren't teaching us the strategies we need to build super-sized businesses, and that's because they can't teach what they don't know. This is a situation of the blind leading the blind, but what happens when we have crystal clear visions of what we want?  Which vital tools are our mentors neglecting to tell us about, and how can we right the wrong?  Where can we...

Among mortgage pros, there’s no shortage of big dreams, and everyone wants to reach astronomical heights. However, what sets the industry elites apart from the mediocre majority is the willingness to genuinely believe we can achieve whatever we set our minds to.  It’s one thing to have a goal in mind, but it’s another to be defiantly committed to making our dreams a reality. Our mindset makes all...

From the outside looking in, it often seems like top producers have some kind of superhuman capacity that sets them apart from the rest of us, but that just ain’t so.  No one comes into this world as a top producer, and all it takes to reach the next level is having the right skills. The great news is, that means all of us have the latent ability to become elite players in the industry. What skill...

When it comes to lead gen, LOs aspiring for greatness tend to want to make the most audacious moves possible. However, this might just be the one time we want to play it safe and start simple. Implementing a range of lead gen pillars in our businesses is the only way to stay prosperous no matter what’s going on in the market, but if we’re not starting with the low-hanging fruit, we may end up dang...

It doesn’t matter how much drive and ambition we have... if our marketing game isn’t on point, we’re only going to end up spinning our wheels and grinding our gears. As loan officers, we often make the mistake of thinking mortgage is our area of expertise, but that just ain’t so. We’re in the marketing business, and until and unless we acknowledge that and adjust our strategies accordingly, we’ll...

When pushing our businesses to the next level, many of us think in terms of what we should be doing, but sometimes it’s more important to think about what we need to stop doing. No amount of pressing on the throttle will give us a smooth ride if we aren’t letting off the brakes. The question is, what are those brakes in our businesses?  Which activities are keeping us stuck in place, and how can w...

Thanks to crazy low rates and being deemed an essential service in the face of the pandemic, our industry is faring far better than most, and there’s no denying that we’ve been blessed with an avalanche of awesome. However, if we want to take advantage of all this, we simply can’t afford to be complacent.   It’s easy to feel secure when we’re in a place of relative comfort, but the truth is, being...

As we move into 2021, it’s not enough to think about how we’ll sustain past results. We have to aim for newer, higher, and more audacious heights. The question is, do we have what it takes to conquer the mountains ahead?   For many LOs, setting goals isn’t the problem. However, the same can’t be said for execution, because far too often our dreams are left unrealized. Where are we going wrong?   ...

2020 has brought significant challenges into all of our lives, and many of us are experiencing real pain at the moment. However, it’s important to remember that the depths of darkness we’ve been through are equal to the heights of the light we can shine in this world, and we can get through this.    That being said, moving through grief of any kind is often easier said than done. In truth, there a...

We’re on the brink of a new year, and with that comes a ton of opportunity. However, it also comes with a lot of uncertainty, and many LOs are starting to worry about what their businesses will look like in the coming months. Are we likely to see an increase in rates and a decrease in inventory in the near future, and what would that mean for our business? More importantly, will it matter at all?...

Anxiety about the future is something most mortgage professionals have experienced, but it being a common phenomenon doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.     When we’re agonizing over what the future holds, our emotions are more than a blip on the radar. They can be all-consuming and even hold us back from reaching our full potential, and for that reason we should never brush worry off as some...

In the wake of the refi boom, many mortgage professionals have found their wallets fuller, but their lives emptier. We’ve burned ourselves out en-masse, with the common matchstick that is working IN our businesses, rather than ON them.   We signed up for this business because we wanted more freedom, autonomy, and independence, so why have so many of us ended up becoming chief, cook, and bottle was...

No one gets into this industry with the intention of trading all their time for money, but by insisting on doing everything themselves, many mortgage pros have sacrificed their dreams of freedom in favor of doing it the hard way.    To build the kind of businesses that set us free, we have to stop relying on human efforts to get everything done. It’s the 21st century, so why are so many of us stil...

Pre-COVID, meeting top producers in person was a great way to build profitable relationships, but that’s no longer an option. If we plan to dominate the industry in the face of the pandemic, we have to roll with the times and find a new way forward.   A lot of so-called ‘experts’ would have us believe the next best option is cold-calling, but that’s doing it the hard way. COVID-19 or not, we’ve st...

We all have the same number of hours in a day, but what separates superstars from the Average Joe LO is how that time is spent. If we want our businesses to be a vehicle for freedom, we need to shift our focus from activity to productivity.    To get better results, we don’t need to put in more hours, we just need to get more from the hours we’re already putting in. How can we squeeze as much prof...

It’s tough staying motivated when it feels like we’re spinning our wheels in the same spot, but most of the time, average results come down to one thing: poor marketing.   When our marketing isn’t positioning us as the only logical choice, we’re paving the way for mediocre results. It doesn't matter how great your products are or how great your service is, if you don't know how to market yourself...

Growing our purchase pipeline without making a ton of cold calls may sound too good to be true, but that’s only because we’ve become used to doing it the hard way.   Most LOs are so accustomed to begging Realtors for their business that the thought of doing it any other way seems downright audacious, but it doesn’t need to be. When we channel our efforts into working smarter, not harder, breakthro...

Getting “good” results year after year may sound like a blessing, but every seasoned mortgage pro will agree that after a while, good just isn’t good enough. To feel fulfilled by our careers, we have to aspire to be great.    The key differentiator between ordinary and extraordinary lies in growth, but far too many veteran LOs have tasted minor success and become complacent.    Since it’s our comf...

One of the biggest reasons loan officers struggle to delight in their work comes down to who they work with. Not all Realtors are created equal. Some energize us and our businesses, and others cause nothing but drama and trauma. If we're working with a lot of the wrong Realtors, we won’t be able to have more fun, flow, freedom, or funds.  The problem is many mortgage pros believe they have to work...

Struggling mortgage professionals tend to blame external factors for their stagnation, but sometimes the culprit is a lot closer to them. Even with the best intentions, the highest level of potential, and the biggest dreams, there are still certain hidden obstacles that we can’t outrun or outperform until they are dealt with.  These obstacles secretly suck the life out of our ability to achieve ou...

The recent half-point increase in conventional refinancing rates has rattled the cage of any LO who put all their focus on that market. Building your business on the ground of the refi market leaves you in a precarious and possibly desperate situation.  You could literally lose your income in a matter of days and find yourself struggling. If refis are quicksand, there’s only one worthy alternative...

Many ambitious loan officers do everything they can to progress, grow, and expand but constantly find themselves stuck with short-lived successes, unfulfilled potential, and results they aren’t happy with.    Even with the best intentions, they have a hard time getting out of their own way. Some things cannot be outrun by how hard we work.    From sneaky stinking thinking to playing the mortgage g...