NMN's Producer Profile series highlights career anecdotes and insights into the success of the loan officers from the
This week's edition highlights Shashank Shekhar of Arcus Lending, based in San Jose, Calif. He ranked No. 39 on the
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. How did you come up with the idea? What were the results?
I started my business in 2008 with three people in my database, probably the worst year to get in. I barely knew anyone in the country since I had immigrated recently. Very soon I realized the traditional model of depending on a sphere of influence didn't work for me, since I didn't have one.
I invested a lot of time and effort (and later money) into building a mini-celebrity brand in my market. From writing blogs and books, creating videos and being featured on local and national media — all that has played a part. That has to go down as my best marketing strategy, something I keep on investing into every year.
What's unique about the local market you serve and what do you do to address those needs?
Being in the heart of Silicon Valley, 90% of my clients are engineers and high-earning professionals. They are probably the most tech-savvy borrowers. I have built a stellar Web presence to attract them via social media, blogs, webinars, videos, etc. Heck, there is even a
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing.
I closed a purchase loan in a seller's market in more than three months. There were several issues with the loan: the borrower had a high debt-to-income ratio, unstable income, was making a low down payment and had a low credit score. It took several months to work on it and even till the day it funded we could never be sure it would go through.
But more than the challenge of figuring out the nitty-gritty of loan guidelines and convincing the underwriter that it was a good loan, the bigger task was to work with the listing agent and seller for that long a period. To get them to keep faith in me that I would eventually close was a lot to ask for, especially since they had a back-up offer. I had to dig deep to bring my best interpersonal skills game to the table.
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out?
I used to get really stressed at the beginning of my career if anything didn't go as planned. One of the reasons was sometimes I had only that loan in my pipeline, so the income meant a lot. With a bigger pipeline, more control over my lead sourcing and being able to look at a much bigger picture, I have been able to stay extremely calm and rarely get stressed. In fact, my team members think I am an "alien"— how else how could someone be so unfazed by all the chaos that's part of a top producer's daily life?
Who is someone in your life, personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success?
I am lucky to have an incredible team. There is a lot of ownership around tasks and responsibilities. Everyone understands customer service is nonnegotiable. I am especially fortunate to have Bianca Pourshahbazi as my processing manager (who was my first employee and joined as an assistant). She has played a huge role in my growth as an originator and Arcus Lending's growth as a mortgage company.
