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 […]
Three Keys to Transforming Comfort Zone Originators Read More »
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
The Mortgage Industry\’s Madness Strategy Read More »
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
The Mortgage Industry\’s Madness Strategy Read More »
During a recent conversation, a manager discussed how his company was handling an underperforming originator. The lender’s solution was to take away the individual’s draw and benefits but compensate the salesperson for any loans brought in. The manager felt that this approach was a great way to reduce the lender’s costs and address the problem
The Invisible Killer of Mortgage Sales Groups Read More »
As a sales organization “fixer,” I see first-hand how companies are defining their current sales problems in terms of external events such as rising interest rates, compressed margins and too many regulations. In my opinion, this outward focus masks the real issues why a company fails to implement essential changes. Too often, change
Are You Willing to Be a Disruptor? Read More »
Like many people who are fans of Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder’s report, I also admire what Jeff Bezos had to say in his annual report to stockholders. This year, the Amazon founder discussed the challenge every company has in meeting customers’ ever-rising expectations. Bezos claims that “it is the nature of human beings to have
The Impact of High Standards on Recruiting and Retention Read More »
In my consulting practice, I often hear managers complain about originators who are not calling leads when they are assigned to them. The interesting thing is that the amount of leads is not the problem for sales organizations, but the failure to work and close the leads that are available. As I’ve discussed in previous
The Number One Question Underperformers Must Ask Themselves Read More »
During one of my recent presentations, there was a lot of discussion about how to handle underperformers. The managers I spoke with agreed that some originators were not performing and needed to be fired. Many managers blamed HR for not letting them terminate the underperformers for fear of triggering a lawsuit. This is something I
Three Signs That It Is Time to Fire An Originator Read More »
Last week I spoke at a conference where the agenda was dominated by technology presentations. This is fairly typical of many industry events. My topic regarding sales personnel and the future sales organization was the next to last session. After my presentation, one attendee lamented, “I don’t know why there is such emphasis on
Fixing Mortgage Bizarro World! Read More »
One of my colleagues recently observed that mortgage bankers are facing difficult decisions regarding the fundamentals of their business. Caught between a rock and a hard place, these firms are trying to implement critical fixes while generating volume and revenues to fund the necessary changes — not an easy task! According to my colleague, the
Why Mortgage Banking Should Be \”Open While Renovating\” Read More »
