Last week, the MBA reported that 2020 has been the best year in the industry since 2003 and that the volume generated to date is already $1 trillion more than in 2019. One of the few positive spots in the economy has been the housing market where there are not enough real estate sellers and […]
$3 Trillion in Mortgage Volume and its Unintended Consequences Read More »
Last week, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced its first-ever Diversity & Inclusion Transparency Report. According to a recent Fortune article, “women and racially diverse talent now account for 65% of [PwC] entry-level hires, 7% of whom identify as Black, 12% as Latinx.” Shannon Schuyler, PwC Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer, said the company’s goal is to
Why Large Mortgage Firms Need to Issue Annual Diversity & Inclusion Reports Read More »
Stratmor recently reported that 84% of the purchase money volume originated last year was generated by producers with less than five years in the mortgage business. When I shared this fact with senior executives, the majority were surprised; only a handful of managers noticed a similar trend at their companies. This raises the question,
Our Mortgage Sales Superstars Are Not Who You Think They Are! Read More »
Before the Covid-19 virus swept through the country, industries were already facing unprecedented challenges from technological innovation to dramatic shifts in consumer buying behavior. But amid this global pandemic, selling has never been more difficult. Mortgage managers, originators, and home loan prospects alike are operating in an environment of extreme uncertainty about what the
What Every Manager Should Be Asking Employees During the Pandemic Read More »
Every day, we are witnessing changes that many predicted would be coming to the mortgage landscape, but now they have arrived. From online loan processing to video conferencing, our industry is undergoing a fundamental shift. While it is hard to concentrate on the future when the present is so robust with refinance volume, mortgage
Good Managers and the Remote Working World Read More »
Last week, I discussed highlights from Quicken’s IPO and how the company has achieved record growth by having a defined sales process; and training and developing employees. While these are certainly not new concepts, they are rarely practiced at mortgage banking firms. While a number of lenders claim to provide employees with a structured
How to Conduct Training According to Quicken Read More »
During a recent training session on recruiting originators, I described our current mortgage environment as the “best of times and the worst of times.” The famous quote from Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” offers fresh insights for managers and originators trying to determine the best course of action for sustainable sales success. It
Sales Success in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times Read More »
Selling is an emotional business that requires sales professionals to have a high level of emotional intelligence if they want to succeed. Emotional intelligence refers to originators’ ability to recognize, understand, and manage their emotions as well as those of their prospects and customers. This is not news. While sales candidates might be attracted to
Sales Success Starts with “Know Thyself!” Read More »
Every crisis provides an opportunity for mortgage managers to put everything on the table and re-examine their LOs’ selling models as they determine the best path forward. One manager recently said to me, the pandemic has changed everything and “inmates are no longer running the asylum in mortgage banking.” Of course, this may not be
Do You Really Want to Be a Successful Originator? Read More »
While lenders are super busy now, many in our industry are wondering what mortgage lending will look like after the pandemic is over. Will we return to “business as usual” or will the environment be completely different? I believe it will be the latter. For managers with 20 years or more left to work
Winning in a Period of “Optimum Warning” Read More »
