In reviewing sales originators’ pipelines, it is clear to me that better performers originate business from more referral sources than poorer performers. This doesn’t matter whether it is a retail or third-party originator — the trend is consistent. In the past, originators could make their budgeted goals with just a handful of referral sources. Today, […]
What is the Minimum Number of Referral Sources? Read More »
All is not well in the world of mortgage origination. Managers and executives know this. Even top originators will voice their concerns about the position over cocktails at conferences. It seems that the Emerald City may be fading. Some mortgage consultants will say that the ops side of mortgage companies is getting so much better
Why an Autonomous Originator Model Doesn’t Work Read More »
When speaking or consulting, I am often asked, “What is the number one activity that will turn around a sales force?” The right answer has three parts: Hiring right, which I discuss often in my weekly blog; having quality first-line managers and training them on how to manage and coach; and setting performance standards for
Do You Know the Law of Large Numbers? Read More »
Prospecting has been a hot topic for sales organizations this summer. As the industry moves away from a refinance market, generating new customers and referral sources is paramount. The challenge is that reaching customers is not as easy as it was before. Today, there is technology to block prospecting efforts on all fronts. There are
The New Rules of Prospecting Read More »
The recent announcement by Wells Fargo and Prospect Mortgage that they were ending their marketing service agreements (MSAs) with real estate brokers has sent a shock wave through management teams. MSAs have been around for years under the justification that placing a lender’s originators in a broker’s office was a way to guarantee sales volume
What Losing MSAs Means to Lenders Read More »
In a recent training engagement with experienced B2B originators, I looked up their profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to familiarize myself with the students. How many do you think were active social media participants or even had an updated LinkedIn profile? None. Zip. Zero. I was shocked. When I asked why this was the
How Does Your ZMOT Rate? Read More »
Every salesperson knows the metaphor of low-hanging fruit. In sales origination, it means the easiest or simplest way to generate volume. These are the most obvious opportunities because they are readily achievable and do not require a lot of effort. In mortgage banking, refinances have provided low-hanging fruit for a long time. The problem is
Do You Know the Number One Problem in Mortgage Origination? Read More »
Conventional wisdom dictates that originators complete to do lists to succeed but the problem is that lists don’t work and can actually get in the way of real progress. Why? To do lists are tasks of everything that is on a salesperson’s plate for a day. What this translates into is an unstructured collection of
To Do Lists Don’t Work! Read More »
Every originator and manager has heard that well-known truism “sales is a numbers game” from their first day in the business. The assumption is that if salespeople present their product/service to enough prospects, eventually somebody will take what they’re offering. Managers have translated this cliché into a formula: If x number of customers are presented
Is Sales Origination a Numbers Game? Read More »
In recent discussions with sales executives, I have asked a critical question: “What percentage of time do your salespeople prospect for new referral sources?” Most managers estimate that originators are prospecting 70% of the time. However, when we tracked actual prospecting efforts, in many cases, that percentage is actually closer to 10% to 20%. With
How Often Are Your Salespeople Really Prospecting? Read More »
