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 »
One of the hottest topics in mortgage banking is customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is a measure of how well the company and the salesperson meets and surpasses the client’s expectations during the loan process. In mortgage banking, one of the keys to excellent customer service is meeting the customer’s closing date. According to Stratmor’s recent
Customer Satisfaction’s Seven Deadly Sins Read More »
Since there has been so much discussion this past year on whether technology will replace originators, I thought I would share my niece’s experience purchasing her first home. What made all the difference? Her loan officer! My niece got married last June at age 36. She has wanted to own a home for a while
What First-Time Home Buyers Need Read More »
In the 1960’s, Hanna-Barbera produced an animated sitcom TV show called “The Flintstones” depicting family life in the pre-historic days. In this fantasy version of the past, cavemen co-exist with dinosaurs and other long-extinct animals such as saber-toothed cats, and woolly mammoths. Like their mid-20th century counterparts, these cavemen listen to records, live in split-level
Are Your Originators Jetsons or Flintstones? Read More »
Recently, Ford Motor Company abruptly terminated its CEO, Mark Fields — a move that surprised many people in the financial sector. Apparently, the board of directors and chairman Bill Ford, Jr. believed that Fields had not done enough to put the company ahead of the curve regarding future technology in its industry, specifically in the
The Firing of Ford CEO Mark Fields and Mortgage Banking Read More »
In Tom Friedman’s latest book “Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations,” he calls climate change a “black elephant” phenomenon. A black elephant is a cross between a black swan (a rare, low-probability, unanticipated event with enormous ramifications) and the elephant in the room (a problem that
Mortgage Banking and Black Elephants Read More »
When discussing mortgage retail strategies for 2017, I hear two distinct camps of thought from senior managers generally based on their current responsibilities. Distributed retail managers talk about their branches while consumer direct managers speak about their centralized call centers. In mortgage banking, separate retail structures have been in place at most companies for years.
The Ever-Changing World of Retail Origination Read More »
For any business, failure to change and adapt to new marketplace conditions can be fatal. One recent example of this was Nokia’s acquisition by Microsoft. A LinkedIn article referenced Nokia’s CEO lamenting that “they did nothing wrong, but somehow lost the battle” when announcing that their company had been acquired. While Nokia had been a world
Failure to Change is Fatal Read More »
If you think that your lender’s non-qm, super-jumbo or first-time buyer loan program is your Number 1 product, you would be wrong. The reality is your top product is the customer experience that your company delivers. Not too long ago, mortgage banking firms claimed the key to winning customers was to provide quality products
Your Number 1 Product is Not What You Think! Read More »
