Every successful loan officer has a "to do" list. But, consider what your life and your income would be like if you write down the things you will stop doing, the stuff that wastes your time and costs you money.
1. Don’t work with unmotivated clients. Don’t fret about the deals you didn’t get. Don’t worry about the pre-quals you’ve done. Save time by creating a system of e-mails, postcards and phone calls to keep in touch, spend your time and marketing money on people who have already committed to work with you.
2. Don’t work with people who waste your time. You know who these people are—they call you, ask a million questions, ask for favors and never give you anything in return. This advice is especially true of real estate agents who ask you questions but don’t refer their clients to you.
3. Don’t work with clients you dislike. If you have not established rapport or you feel a knot in your stomach each time they call you, you can “fire” them as clients. People who like and trust you will not only be your biggest fans, but you can concentrate your efforts on getting them to refer more of their friends and family to you.
4. Don’t let real estate agents and affinity partners choose you. Successful loan officers choose who they want to work with, not the other way around. The only way to be in this power position is to develop your marketing plan that identifies who you want to work with.
5. Don’t hang around negative people. In this market, there are plenty of people who will tell you how bad the market is, so avoid them. Spend your time with positive people who will brain storm with you on ideas on how to maintain or increase your business instead.
6. Don’t operate without a plan. Once you know exactly how many loans you need to close per month to support yourself and your family for at least one year. Review each closed loan on a monthly basis and determine “why” you got the deal in the first place. Make a list of each deal with notes. Review this list quarterly. At the end of the year, take a couple of days off to figure out what worked, what didn’t, which is the basis for your next year’s plan.
7. Don’t overlook other markets. The worst thing you can do is to discount a niche market without making an effort to investigate its viability first. There are plenty of buyers—single women, seniors, real estate investors and multicultural buyers who would love to buy a home while prices and rates are low. Use the time you have gained to create a marketing plan for the niche market that interests you the most.
What’s wasting your time?
Karen Deis is the publisher of
