The hottest question at the executive level is “When will lenders change their compensation packages for originators?” I’ve heard managers say that if someone will be the first to do it, they will follow but the reality is that no one wants to take the lead on this issue. If compensation metrics don’t change, more […]
In a recent Business Insider article, Mark Abadi discussed the difference between amateurs and experts in Scrabble. He said inexperienced players don’t utilize the option to exchange tiles for new ones, thus losing the opportunity to improve future moves which may have higher point values. In essence, Scrabble experts would rather play the long game […]
It seems like every day I receive emails from lenders that want to hire producing branch managers. The job descriptions are usually similar and require the branch manager to be responsible for P&L, lead management and on-time closings; working with processing and underwriting; recruiting and retaining branch sales and support staff; and generating their own […]
In today’s more difficult marketplace, the question I hear most frequently is some version of “What must my company do to succeed in a world where the consumer’s home-buying journey has changed so dramatically?” Consider that in just five years, more than 50% of homebuyers are finding their homes by searching the Internet. This monumental […]
Last week, I spoke at the Michigan MBA conference. This is a terrific group and I was very impressed with how active they are. If you are a mortgage banker in Michigan, you should definitely join them and support their work. While there, I had an interesting conversation with an originator who does about $8 […]
Not a day passes when I don’t hear from a manager about how difficult mortgage origination has become. Whether it is battling to recruit top producers or pricing wars regarding interest rates and closing fees, there is no question that competition is fierce. As one sales executive said to me recently, “it is hand-to-hand combat […]
Last month, Inman had its annual conference for Realtors. One of its sessions was on what the Realtor market will look like in 2020 — less than 600 days away. The panel included representatives from Zillow, Warburg Realty and Keller Williams as well as a Wall Street analyst. Two of the Realtors said that the […]
During a recent conversation, an experienced top producer lamented that companies don’t teach selling anymore. Early in her sales career, the originator learned sales techniques using Xerox Professional Selling Skills, a leading global sales training system. She observed that without a system in place, sales professionals must learn by trial and error which leaves results […]
In my consulting practice, many mortgage executives who I speak with are very concerned about the rising cost to originate a loan in today’s marketplace. According to the MBA, the cost to originate has mushroomed to $8,500 per loan. Making a profit is difficult when originators are being paid large sign-up bonuses and […]
It seems every conference and industry newsletter discusses the latest technology that will make sales organizations more successful. Whether it is the integration of Ellie Mae with Blend or Day One Certainty, a technological solution is often touted as the cure-all for the industry’s issues. Certainly, speed and efficiency are important when providing a […]