I do not want to go into all of the bad news in the press, the numerous failures of banks and mortgage companies, or the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are barely hanging on. We can find multiple reasons why loan officers are not producing. There is no question these are difficult times and many loan officers did not prepare for the disappearance of "easy business." Easy business is defined as the loans that simply come your way. The incoming calls from prospects you did not even know, the internet leads that could be placed into an option ARM or a stated loan, and the friend of a friend with marginal credit that could be placed into a sub-prime loan are for the most part gone. There are skills that many loan officers lost or never acquired, mainly sales and marketing skills, as well as really learning the mortgage business. The good news is it is not too late. The bad news is that it is not easy. If you want to remain in the business, you can no longer wait for the market to turn around (because it will not happen any time soon). In my seminar, "The Winning Edge," I go into detail about how to "jump start" your mortgage business now and get back on the road to success. Here is the short version! 
2. Review your biggest assets: people! (Past clients, business contacts, Realtor relationships, builders, and anyone who already knows you!) Start making contact as soon as you can.
3. Create a plan for "re-establishing" important relationships. Spend every single day calling and setting appointments. On average, you must make no less than 10-15 phone calls a day and have no less than two sales appointments every day to rebuild your business quickly.
4. Establish a solid business plan that includes specific actions you must take. You have never done a business plan? Create a "to do" list - it is almost the same thing.
5. Diversify your business. We try to focus all of our coaching clients on having three to five arms of business. An example would be Realtors, builders, past clients, financial planners, and CPAs as five arms of business.
6. Focus on your sales skills! Stop selling loan products and rates and start building relationships and fixing people's problems. The loan officer who lives by rate and product will die by rate and product!
7. Make marketing habitual! You have to market to prospects and clients every single month. We often put clients on our electronic newsletter system as a means to focus on their past clients and Realtors. It makes it "automatic" and creates value at the same time.
8. Take action every day. You can easily fill your day with useless, non-productive activities. Your most important activity is being in front of people who can send you business, period! You can look for all of the "million dollar programs" that claim to generate leads with no effort on your part, but in reality, you will have wasted your money. Get in front of people now!
9. Never stop! The easy days are over and to stay in this business, you must work for a living.
I know from the many loan officers we coach that those who do what I just outlined are doing a lot of business in this difficult market. There has never been a better time to be on the streets. Many loan officers have left the business and most of those still in the business are waiting for some miracle to occur. The real miracle is you when you simply walk out the door and start helping people.
