The Keys To An Effective Training Program

Loan origination is an industry that needs financial expertise

BY DAVE HERSHMAN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

The mortgage industry is not known for excellence in training. Before nationwide licensing requirements, there was little-or-no training required in most states. And even now, the only required training is the 20-hour pre-licensing course -- in which the curriculum is in no way designed to help originators perform their job. It is almost totally focused upon industry laws and ethics, very important topics, but not helpful for originators’ quest to assist others with one of the most important financial decision they will make in a lifetime.

To become trusted mortgage advisors, loan officers must become experts in an entire field. To become a Certified Financial Planner, the average time that is required to finish the coursework is 12 to 18 months and a college degree is required as well. A CPA? A college degree in accounting and 150 hours of additional coursework.

For loan officers? No college degree required and 20 hours studying the law. If you go to work for a federally chartered bank, the 20 hours is waived. Though, most banks have a pretty rigorous legal training requirement. Expert training? That is another story.

Of course, many major lenders have in-house “universities” and there are schools such as OriginationPro Mortgage School, which offer courses to individuals and smaller and mid-sized companies. But coursework is not enough. Moving on from the required licensing curriculum, an effective educational program must have many facets.

For one thing, it should be individualized. A novice with no experience would need more training than someone with 10 years of experience. But do not assume that experience obviates the need for training. For example, if someone has worked inside a bank branch for a decade and now is becoming a “street” loan officer, there would be much to learn. If a broker comes to work for a banker, again, the curriculum would been to be individualized.

It would need to be diversified. Classroom training would not be enough. There would be needs for on-line segments, classroom training and field training. Beyond that there would be a need for mentoring.

WHAT SHOULD TRAINING COVER

Orientation.

Welcoming someone to the company is not enough. A formal orientation program would include everything from signing up for benefits to learning the company systems. For example, training on the loan origination system (LOS) and company specific products and programs. There may be four to 10 technologies an originator should learn—from the LOS to a companyprovided customer relation management (CRM) system.

The basics.

For novices, basic financial training is a must. Here they would learn the basics of qualification, various types of mortgage loans such as ARMs, sources of mortgages such as FHA/VA and how to take a loan application.

Advanced topics.

For OriginationPro Mortgage School, these topics include the economics of homeownership, introduction to secondary marketing, refinances, comparing mortgage options and delivering great customer service by mastering the loan process. You can’t build a referral base without delivering great customer service. And that is not so easy in our business.

Sales and Marketing training.

The emphasis on these topics would again vary depending upon the needs of the individual and institution. For example, an inside loan officer converting leads would need more focused sales training, while a street loan officer would need more help on the marketing side.

Mentorship.

Training without mentorship would be incomplete. Mentorship might include anything from role-playing to coaching to reviewing loan files. It is important to have a formal mentorship program, especially if you are integrating in-experienced originators.

ONGOING NEEDS

Keep in mind that education should also be ongoing. And we are not just talking about covering industry changes or new products. For example, you might get introduced to social media marketing in a course, but an originator could take a complete course on the topic. If the loan officer is serving real estate agents, perhaps they should take a real estate licensing course so that they know more about those they are serving.

When you individualize the training plan, you must decide in which areas the originator would need to go deeper. Certain training might be added each year. One should never stop learning.

Does putting together a complete and diverse individualized marketing plan take a lot of thought and work? Absolutely. On the other hand, let’s go back to becoming a CPA or CFP. I would argue that financing a home is just an important decision in someone’s life as purchasing an investment. Or filing taxes. Actually, their home is even more important. It is a position that requires expertise.

Dave Hershman, senior vice-president of sales for Weichert Financial Services, is an author with seven books published.