Show Up; Be Part of the Conversation; Create Your Reality

Recently, my friend Josh Pitts, host of the Shred Show, sat down with another friend Frank Garay, top industry leader and my partner at the Mortgage Marketing Animals, to chat about loan-getting activity and building a team.

They also talked about The Loan Officer Breakfast Club which meets on Zoom every Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to 9:00am. (You know I take Fridays off.) We’ve got 120-150 loan officers showing up every morning to get the latest on industry news, tips and strategies, and success stories. The last five minutes is always about one specific activity you can do every single day and have less headaches in the mortgage industry. We have some incredible conversations, and it’s absolutely free.

Why The Loan Officer Breakfast Club?

To be successful in this industry, you have to have a certain mindset. You have to surround yourself with the right people and start off your day in the right way. Each morning, we talk about what’s going on and how to keep the ball moving forward, so we can grow in our businesses.

In the Loan Officer Breakfast Club, we all participate and learn from each other. You know what they say—a rising tide lifts all ships. You don’t have to show up every day. But I think if you do show up, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s so good to stay connected to people doing great things, people who are positive and energetic.

Frank and Josh love what they do. They love the loan officer career path. And they love sharing what they love—and what they’ve learned—with other loan officers.

Do You Love What You Do?

Unlike Frank and Josh, a lot of people in this field don’t love what they do. They don’t wake up each morning excited to go to work. Their loan officer career is not enjoyable. It’s exhausting, frustrating. A large majority of originators are out there busting their hump every day, trying to make a living at this, but they just don’t love what they do. 

They’re also overworked. If they manage to get a weekend off where they didn’t get hit up by five realtors taking away from their family time, then they wake up Monday morning dreading everything that’s waiting for them at the office. This is no way to live your life.

Do What You Love; Delegate the Rest

So what’s the answer to this? The answer is: do the things you love, and hire other people to do everything else. You don’t have to pre-qualify people. You don’t have to chase conditions. You have to learn how to put together your business so you’re just doing loan-getting activities. And you have to learn who to hire, how to hire them, what to put in the job description, and how to train them.

So many people say, I’m happy with my six or seven loans a month. I don’t need to hire an assistant. What if you could double or triple your production with the same amount of work? What if you hired the right team? It’s all about surrounding yourself with the right people. Teamwork makes the dream work.

When Josh hired his first loan partner, he had a loan assistant helping him with the process. He was scared to let go. But he finally did, and it made all the difference in the world. “I love the people,” he says. “I love engaging with them. I love helping them. But I hated chasing conditions and dealing with the minutiae every single day. The day I hired a loan partner and I was able to finally let go was a turning point for me. It changed everything.”

Jen Loves What She Does Too

You’ve heard me talk about my dear friend, Jen Conley. I think she’s awesome, and Frank and Josh think so too. Jen was broke, brand new in the business, and she and her partner were trying to do this thing together. She joined the Mortgage Marketing Animals and it changed her whole business. Twelve years later, she’s in a small town in Ohio, cranking out 300 units a year. She’s doing a third of all business that gets done in her county, both purchasing and refis. 

Jen does not talk to a lead. She does not take a loan application. She does not chase a condition. So, what does Jen do? She has a really fun time on the radio. She and the top real estate agent in her town are on the radio every Monday at 4:00pm, just chatting with each other for 30 minutes, shooting the breeze. She also does live spots and recorded spots, plugging her company. She loves doing radio. She also loves podcasts and coaching and does those too. 

She only does the stuff she loves, stuff she’s good at, things that generate leads. And she can afford to do that because she built the right team. This can be a reality for anyone. What’s Jen’s biggest piece of advice for loan officers? “You’ve got to find the right coaching and submit to the process. You have to do what they say, follow through, and be willing to give up control.”

Find Your Superpower 

You have to be able to understand that somebody else can do it as good as you, maybe even better. But even if they’re not as good as you, as long as they’re 80% as good as you, it’s good enough. 

You have to find your superpower. All of us have a unique ability. All of us have something we’re really good at. Then there are things we’re really bad at. Years ago Josh realized he was not the best person to take conditions. First of all, because when he did it, he was really grumpy. He realized that there are people out there who are good at it and actually enjoy it. The day you can realize and understand that is the day you finally set yourself free from doing the crap you don’t want to do anymore. 

And then your team becomes more efficient. Your team is happy with you. Can you put an incredible team together overnight? No, but that’s why being part of The Loan Officer Breakfast Club is so great. They can support you, answer questions, help you avoid mistakes, share the things that are working, and help you get to that freedom faster. 

Now, more than ever, as our industry is changing and growing, technology is evolving rapidly, you need to be ahead of these trends or you’re going to be left in the dust. 

Josh, Frank, Jen, and I want to see you succeed. And we want you to be happy in the success you’re having. Join The Loan Officer Breakfast Club today. Be part of the conversation every Monday through Thursday. I promise it will start your day off in the right way.