Laugh, Lend and Eat

KEY NUGGETS: [02:21] Why First Option is a sales-oriented and not an ops-orientated company [08:30] Challenges that producing managers face and how to create your wins [11:27] How to put your team's priority above your priority as a producing manager [14:12] How to find balance and calm in stressful situations [18:33] Why mishandling a deal due to lack of communication is costly [20:54] How to bal...

Fobby Naghmi , National Sales Manager for First Option Mortgage is joined by his co-host Madison "Madness" Keenan of AnnieMac Home Mortgage. In order to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve raised key interest rates by 0.75%.   While this may have some positive effect on the economy, Madison is discovering that her pre-qualified borrowers are more confused than they were when they were o...

Women Revision Versus Having the Right People at The Table. At 02:19, you will learn how to approach women revision correctly in your business. You don’t need 9 men and 9 women at the table to thrive. You need the right people. Christine explains that her goal with women's revision is to help more female business owners not feel insecure about not having the education to run their businesses right...

Fobby Naghm i, National Sales Manager for First Option Mortgage , is joined by his friend Christine Beckwith , Founder and CEO of 20/20 Vision For Success Coaching.  In their first interview in 2019, Christine told Fobby, "It doesn't matter where your story starts," and those words have since inspired him.  We find that Christine came from humble beginnings, being the middle child of thr...

Todd Duncan is an American author and speaker. According to CNN, Todd Duncan is “the Tony Robbins of the mortgage industry.”   Todd shared his moment when he decided to teach other mortgage professionals what he had learned and support their success.    If you have questions about what to do to get your career in the right direction, this episode will give you major takeaways that y...

Episode Summary In today’s episode, we’re joined by Darcy Reynolds , Team Growth Manager at Streamlined Properties On-Market, Gina Scodella , Real Estate Agent at Keller Williams Shore Properties, and Kristina Hajhassan , Remax Realtor and Real Estate Investor. We get into social media marketing, Madison forgets her slogan, we remember our craziest clients, and we worry about the price of gas. Top...

In this episode, Madison Keenan of AnnieMac Home Mortgage discusses the challenges she is still facing in light of higher mortgage interest rates and multiple bids on existing homes on the market.   Overbidding has been an issue over the past few years, and while the mortgage interest rates were low, it was ok.  But when higher rates make it harder for potential homebuyers to qualify for...

It is our annual episode where we sit down with mortgage industry recruiters and get an update as they are seeing the mortgage industry in 2022. We are joined by Guy McFadden of One Good One; Ashlee Cragun of First Option Mortgage; and Matt Hill of Pursuit Search Group, LLC.  We dive into various topics such as the mass movement of mortgage professionals in 2022; bad actors in the recruiting...

Ever get too scared to just post some new content on a social media platform?  We've all been there.     If you listen to our guest, Coach Kyle Draper, you'll begin to understand why videos are so vital and why most of us probably aren't that great at making them.  But there's hope for all of us!!   That's why seven years ago, Coach Kyle took it upon himself to s...

A new comedic rant on all things mortgage, real estate & business.  Episode 1 dives deep into the origin of co-host Madison Keenan's brand name "Madness"  and how the hell she came to referring herself as Madness.  Madison also talks about her recent escapades at a local airport bar, as well as how she handles first-time homebuyers.   This series will coincide with our trad...

Michael McAllister breaks down in plain language why it's all about the conversion of leads.     Starting off as a mortgage loan officer at the age of 21,  Michael quickly found his lane where he could optimize his experience and benefit the most customers.     When he decided to start Empowering LO, the decision was crystal clear on why and just how he would do...

Joined by the founder of InDesign, Roland Cochrun...we discuss how high-producing mortgage loan officers can find meaning beyond the sales reports.     Roland brings a different perspective to this topic since he was a high achiever. However, he found out all the luxuries and exotic cars did not make him feel complete.   So he set out on a journey to find what was missing...

Fobby becomes the guest on this episode to answer questions about his book, Falling Forward, Mishaps on the Road to Happiness.  He is joined by John Perry and LLE's new co-host Madison Keenan.     Falling Forward takes us from Fobby's early childhood days being raised as part of a large, loving first-generation immigrant family in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to his early suc...

Every business is driving engagement in some manner. Sometimes the company engages the customers, sometimes the employees. But no matter what, we are trying to drive engagement.     Aru Anavekar and her team at Botsplash do just that...drive engagement with their new AI tech-driven software. As a result of Botsplash, it's now easier than ever to engage with a customer.

Hispanic home buyers have become a sizable and growing share of the housing market across the country.  Our panel of mortgage professionals share their experience, their challenges, and their best practices to support their client's needs.

When we invited the CEO of Sales Boomerang, Alex Kutsishin, onto the show, we knew he would share a lot of knowledge.  But we also knew that Alex would bring some excitement that only he could.  He did not let us down!   From the evolution of a CEO to the misuse of AI technology, no subject was off-topic.  But even we didn't see the "Friends with Benefits" relationship tha...

Rich Swerbinsky, President and COO of The Mortgage Collaborative joins us for the final episode of season 2.  We dove into multiple topics that the independent mortgage lender is facing, as well as the solutions to those issues.  When the topic turned to pierogis, well Rich was full of ideas!!

The Millennials have an estimated size of 72.1 million people just in the U.S.  So yes...the millennials are making their impact on all parts of our lives.  We sat down with a panel of them to get their insight on what's working and what's not working in the mortgage industry.  What we learned from them was very revealing and comforting.   Thank you to Laiken Hobbs, Eric Esteve...

We're joined by Social Coach founder, Joe Wilson for episode 45.  Joe shares his knowledge on the do's and don'ts for social media.     Social Coach's platform allows companies to magnify their brand reach, control the company message and monitor social engagement all through one simple platform.    If you ever thought you were not ready for social media, this episode...

Best-Selling author and education specialist, Ginger Bell, talks about how she became the video maker to create and deliver educational marketing programs for the mortgage industry since the '90s.  Ginger shares her knowledge of making videos with us so that anyone can start creating video content immediately!

What does it take to be Women with Vision award winner?  We got to ask Kiran Shah and Corrina Carter, two winners of last year's Women with Vision award.  Along with the founder of the award Christine Beckwith.  This was a great deep dive conversation into many different topics that were important for women and all in the mortgage industry.

In 2019 Marvin Colon was already looking towards the future.  He knew streaming shows on the internet was a hit.  But what if he started streaming mortgage and real estate shows for those specific industries?   And just like that, MortFlix was born.  A streaming service dedicated to providing content to real estate and mortgage professionals.

Do you want to get something started from the ground up?  It would be best if you had someone like Micahel Kelleher, founder of Easy Mortgage Apps, on your team.   Recognized by Progress in Lending Association as a "2020 Thought Leader", Michael has a knack for starting something, learning all the nuances, and then going about how to make it better.  An added benefit is Michael brin...

It's not too often you find the leadership of a company that can balance one another out as well as the three owners of First Option Mortgage.   Started in 2004 by Kurt Nikolai, a local lender based in Atlanta, GA. FOM has grown as more mortgage professionals have been attracted to what was being created.   Joined by Alvin Shah and Sohail Halani, the company truly reflects the...

Do you have a strategy for recruiting?  Most people don't.  We have relied on the same methods and techniques with limited success.  But these recruiting industry leaders sure do!   In 2020, they had historic low-interest rates to deal with.   This year, they have a new issue, technology, and how to use it in an industry where the average age is higher than most highw...