If you are guilty of this, raise your hand right now! You work hard to fill your mortgage pipeline and then suddenly, you are caught in the office putting out fires, making sure loans close, and for the most part, doing what others should be doing. The month is over, you look at next month's pipeline and it is empty! Ouch! I call this the "roller coaster" syndrome: in a single month, you go from the top to the bottom of the roller coaster! Can it be prevented? Absolutely! In fact, many loan officers have discovered the secrets of consistent production. Get ready to take notes!
Secret one: Take the time to set up effective systems. When I was a branch manager, we constantly evaluated our systems to make them better. I found out early in the mortgage business that not having great systems will kill you every month and turn consistency into chaos. Do you have a system that clearly lets everyone know who is responsible for what? This includes the real estate agent, borrower, processor, closing agent, and the loan officer. Do you have a detailed "check sheet" for every step of the process?
Secret two: Clear communication upfront is critical to staying off the roller coaster. When our office started the loan process, certain calls happened on every single loan. The processor made a phone call of introduction to everyone involved and explained how the process would go and what to expect. After the application, the loan officer would call all agents involved, both listing and buyer's agents to answer any questions and "under promise." If we anticipated the loan being done in two weeks, we always added a week. If we were pressured for a faster processing time, we would make no guarantees. Better to positively surprise clients a day early, than be the villain if we were a day late.
Secret three: Weekly meetings between the loan officer and the processor to cover every aspect of every loan is a must, unless you have the greatest processor in the world! Usually, when things blow up in the loan process, it is caused by the "little things" that turn into big things. Not looking at an appraisal in detail and missing that bad comp, taking it for granted that the borrower contacted a property and casualty insurance agent, or assuming that a verification is correct without reviewing it in detail will blow up a closing or delay the process.
Secret four: Stop babysitting all of your files! If you spend time each day making sure everything is taken care of, it actually works to your detriment. You irritate your processor, take responsibility away from the person who is responsible for completing designated tasks, and triple your daily workload! Result? You stop making sales contacts!
Secret five: Great follow-up after the closing. It is critical that you gain information on every closing. Do a customer service review with the borrower and any real estate agents or builders involved. If something was not to any of the clients' satisfaction, you can find out and correct it or, at the very least, apologize. This follow-up is a part of improving your system.
It is time to get off the roller coaster ride and organize your business. Follow the steps listed above and you should begin to see results. The key is giving it time and being consistent in your actions. An organized loan officer is a profitable loan officer!
