5 Things Top Producing Loan Officers All Have in Common

A lot of people have misconceptions about what makes a top loan officer. They think you need a dynamic, larger-than-life personality. Some top producers have that, sure, but it’s not a requirement.

Another thing you don’t absolutely have to have is experience. We’ve seen people just getting started, and they’re already in the top 5% of the nation before they hit the one-year mark.

I believe anybody can become a top loan officer. So what is it that they all have in common? Five things.

#1: Top Loan Officers Time-Block

If you want to become a top loan officer, you have to have a plan in place. You need to know exactly what you want to do, when you want to do it, and how often you want to do it. You need a roadmap that shows you where you want to go, how much you want to bring in, and what it will take.

But then you have to actually implement the plan, and that’s where time-blocking comes into play. Time-blocking is all about putting your most important activities on the calendar and sticking to that calendar, day after day. When you plan your day in chunks, when you plan for those all-important sales activities, that’s when the money comes in.

Some people believe that living by your calendar robs you of freedom, but we’ve found the opposite to be true. I’ve never had more free time in my life than since I started time-blocking and living off my calendar. When you block off 9:00am to 10:00am for calls with your referral partners, and you sit in your chair and get it done, then you’re the one in charge of your day.

Otherwise, you’ll find yourself getting distracted, and you’ll be in reactionary mode and playing defense all day long. That’s nothing more than living by everyone else’s calendar. That’s not freedom.

#2: Top Loan Officers Build a Team

Successful people know that no one is an island. You can’t do it by yourself. You have to have a team. If you try to do it on your own, you’re going to have a few peaks, then some dips, then plateaus, but you’ll never get anywhere near where you could be with a team. A team takes you where you want to go, because they take things off your plate and allow you to focus on direct money-making activities.

One hundred percent of all top producers have a team. People are often hesitant to add that first team member, or even that second or third. They have the mentality that they’re obligated to employ this person for life. They’re not. As an employer, I’m in the opportunity-giving business. I give my employees opportunities to excel. Those that excel help us get more business, and that gives them more job security.

As long as I bring someone on, and they do activities that bring us more clients, more loans, more money, more closings, then their job is secure. If they don’t, then their job isn’t secure. It’s as simple as that. They’re in charge of their own job security. In the first 30 days, if they’re not generating more loans, then I have the wrong person.

A team can be one other person to start. You don’t have to hire 70 people at once. One at a time, one at a time. Every time they take something off your plate, it frees up another hour to four for you to go out and sell. As long as you replace the time that they take with selling activities, you’ll always make more money.

The job description for your first hire is everything you’ve been doing after 5:00pm. Hire that person, and you can go home at 5:00 every day.

#3: Top Loan Officers Spend Their Time on Money-Making Activities

Do you know which one activity brings in most of your money, leads, and closings? Some people would say taking applications or going to the closings. Those are good activities, but that’s not the activity that brings in the money. A top producer has a very clear picture of their number one money-generating activity. Whenever they have free time, they spend it doing that one thing.

We set aside two hours every single day to make phone calls to people who can send us business. I know that if I make two hours’ worth of phone calls, X amount of loans will come in. When you spend two hours a day making outbound phone calls—not chasing down conditions, not asking for pay stubs, but calling those people that can refer you business—you will epically change your life. Six months from now, your life will look nothing like what it looks like today.

Most people just aren’t doing this. And I know all the excuses. “I don’t know who to call. I don’t know what to say. I’d be afraid to do it.” Calling these people with a proven loan officer script is a game changer. It will give you the courage to make those calls. You still might feel a twinge of fear, but you push through it, and do it anyway. Top producers push through the fear.

#4: Top Loan Officers Have a Good Follow-Up System

Follow up, follow up, follow up. I can’t say it enough. You need to get that higher-hanging fruit, and the only thing that does that for you is good systems and processes. If you want to get more realtor referral partners, you have to follow up, or you’ll lose them.

Now, when we talk about follow-up, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re the one doing it all. That’s why you have a team. Some people are afraid to delegate follow-up to team members, because they might mess up.

This is where “feel the fear and do it anyway” comes into play again. Of course your team is going to mess up. We all mess up. We’re human. We’re in a dynamic business where things go wrong sometimes, and it’s okay. We learn from our mistakes, fix them, grow better and stronger because of them.

Have a team member follow up in your name, on your behalf, so it looks like you, but it’s not you. You just have to let go. You can’t follow up without help.

#5: Top Loan Officers Build Time Into Their Calendar to Recharge

If you’re tired, stressed out, or hate your job, you’re going to burn out. Take some time off. And put that time on the calendar so you can guarantee it will happen. Don’t work evenings or weekends. Hire someone else to do that.

I know zero top producers that have found happiness without recharging their batteries. You need rest if you want to have a strong game. You’ll feel like growing your business more when you put time off on your calendar. Once it’s on your calendar, it’s non-negotiable, just like an appointment with any other person. Frankly, it has the highest priority because it’s going to grow your business.

If you’re exhausted, if you’re frustrated, you’re no good. You’re no good to yourself or your business or your employees or your clients or your friends or your family. You need rest. You need to get recharged, so you can get filled back up and ready to go, and be at your very best.
If you’re ready to become a top producing loan officer, we want to help you on your path. We’d love to set up a FREE strategy call with you and share our best tips for becoming not just a successful loan officer, but one of the top producing officers in the business. We’ve got tips, scripts, and everything else you need to become the very best. Give us a call TODAY.

5 Things Top Producing Loan Officers All Have in Common