Many brokers are always a little nervous about the year to come. Will business be as vibrant as it was last year? I believe these concerns may have more validity this year then we have seen in the past few. Let's face it, we are in a rising interest rate market. Home inventories have been increasing in most national markets, there are many more in house lenders to compete with and the refinance boom has clearly ended. Where will your business come from in 2006?



I believe every broker must get back to the basic business disciplines that were absent over the last several years. The mortgage industry was fooled by a string of record-breaking years and lolled into a sense of security. We had forsaken many of our critical relationships because we were running at the business that was falling into our laps. It was total chaos as we were slammed year after year with high volumes of refinances. It was impossible to deliver world-class service to anyone under such conditions. Now the tide has turned. You will now have to learn how to earn your deals one file at a time. It is still possible to produce high volumes of business; it will just require a different mindset.

Your perception of what is happening is just as important to form a positive mindset when going out to compete. The last few years in the mortgage business felt like we were speeding down a major highway like passengers in a car at 125 miles per hour. We had no control and it seemed if we were to hit a bump it would be all over.

As we enter 2006 the car has now slowed down to 80 miles an hour. Even though that is considered fast, it feels like you're crawling when compared to 125 miles per hour! We are now entering back into a more normal market. A market where business does not happen by accident, it happens because you have earned it.

You will need to work your sphere of influence. Remind everyone that you know what you do for a living, how willing you will be to help them understand and obtain home financing.

You will need to position yourself in your market as a leader and expert in residential financing. You can achieve this by writing articles in your local newspapers with topics that will educate the consumer. Find different venues to public speak and do presentations that will add value and educate people about residential finance. Show them ideas of how to build wealth with residential properties and proper financing strategies. Learn to stop competing with price and learn how to compete with ideas. If your ideas are stronger than someone else's cheap rate you will win!

Get in front of realtors who have referrals, even if the realtor works for a company with an in-house lender. The in-house lender may not have all the products and knowledge that is required to get the job done. The good news is you do! Most house lenders only capture 25%-to-30% of the buyer sales that go through their offices. That leaves outside lenders 60%-to-70% of the business for them to capture. Do not be intimidated by the in- house lender. Stand up, stand out and compete with all you have to offer!

Most brokers focus on themselves, their companies and their needs. If you want to truly compete then start focusing on the needs of the clients and the realtors. Stop telling customers and realtors that your company is the biggest, fastest and that you personally funded $100 million in loans. No one cares! Tell them that you heard what they need and how you intend to satisfy those needs. Listen 80% of the time you spend with a client and ask great solid questions to uncover their needs. Only speak 20% of the time you are with your customer to explain how you will meet their needs. Then meet them and give them 10% more!

It will be critical to get yourself into networking opportunities as often as possible. They may include your place of worship meetings, realtor chapter meetings, local chamber of commerce meetings, Knights of Columbus, PTA meetings, children's sports leagues, networking meetings, bowling leagues, investment clubs, art appreciation clubs, alumni associations, basically any large groups of people that you can connect with personally to let them know what you do for a living.

You will need to prospect in order to ensure the next deal is added to your pipeline. You should schedule at least two hours every day to prospect for your next deal. Prospecting could be calling your past customers to do an annual review of their mortgage. You could cold call your neighborhood. You could walk blocks and knock on doors. You could mail to a rental complex to offer your services. You could stand in front of a Home Depot handing out promotional flyers. You could visit real estate offices in your community. What ever you feel most comfortable doing to prospect you should do. It must become a daily discipline. If you do not prospect you will fail.

Most top producers do not need to prospect in the same way a low producing loan officer has to. They have enough referral partners calling in referrals each day that eliminates the burden of prospecting. However, many times they have to call the referral partners to prospect them for more business as well. Prospecting is an absolute necessity in sales. It is the one discipline that most sales people hate and avoid at all costs. Embrace prospecting! Find the prospecting style that most fits your way of doing business and stick to it. You will have no production challenges what so ever if you commit to prospecting.

Finally you must work from a solid business plan. We plan so many things in our lives but spend so little time planning our business. We plan vacations, our weekends, chores at home, holiday dinner parties, what we buy for holiday and birthday presents for our kids! A very small percentage of loan officers plan their businesses annually. The ones that do are generally called top producers!

A solid business plan makes you proactive instead of reactive. Your business happens on purpose instead of by accident. You will produce more, work less, and have balance in your life, all the while earning a great deal more money!

Remember to write a loan application you first must get in front of someone who needs your services and will say yes to you. Go out and find those people don't sit around waiting for the phone to ring; it might be a long wait!