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 »
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
New Selling Model: Deliver Value Daily Read More »
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
What Realtors’ 2020 Projections Mean for Mortgage Bankers Read More »
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
Sales Methodology is Key to a Great Customer Experience Read More »
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
The Impact of a Level Playing Field in Sales Technology Read More »
The number one issue every manager and originator is discussing today is how to generate more referral sources and thus close more loans. The research clearly shows that originators with the most referral sources do the most volume. I think this is no surprise to most salespeople and managers. The question is why do so
Growing Referral Sources Starts with a Connection Strategy Read More »
For years, mortgage banking managers have measured success based on whether the salesperson met the buyer’s expectations. In my opinion, this thinking is outdated because in today’s world of selling 3.0, simply meeting customer expectations is by definition mediocre. Yes, mediocre. A mediocre customer experience is not enough to instill the loyalty needed to generate
The Conundrum of Meeting Expectations Read More »
Two weeks ago, another national lender announced that it was closing its consumer direct business due to unprofitability. The organization’s sales approach was to buy leads and try to refinance them. This marketing approach is expensive and as a result, the company couldn’t cover the costs involved with bidding for leads. Five years ago when
Why Having a Tribe Matters in Sales Success 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 »
Since time immemorial, selling has been defined by having a physical location. Whether in movies, books or on TV shows, the salesperson has typically been portrayed as someone who travels to a market and physically visits a customer or potential prospect. Similarly, a sales manager’s primary job has been to take the map of a
Redefining Market Presence in Mortgage Banking Read More »
