Get Ready To Pivot … Or Else

Get Ready To Pivot … Or Else

Good things come to an end when there is no plan to pivot to a workable solution

BY RALPH LOVUOLO, SR. | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

If I had discipline in my life, I would be much happier.

And so, it comes to pass that all good things must end. But is that really the truth? Must it always be that there is an end to those things that we have come to embrace, that we value, that we enjoy? No, not always, for always has no end, and we’re nowhere near the end. The aphorism that is credited to author and poet, Geoffrey Chaucer is an oft used adage. Supposedly the “Father of English Literature” who lived and wrote in the 14th. century used the adage in his poem “Troilus and Criseyde,” a story of two lovers.

However, I am distracting you from the main theme that needs to be addressed here. Is the pandemic over? Are interest rates going up? Will there continue to be a glut of purchases? Is the refi market dead?

To wit: all good things do not have to come to an end if you adapt, pivot and become that which you have sought for your entire career, disciplined in all aspects of your life.

I recently read an article where Rob Chrisman posited, and I’m paraphrasing: If you’re a loan officer right now and not making more money than you’ve ever made, you’re in the wrong business. These words are so true that I’ve repeated them over and over to all my clients.

MARKET FOR MORE BUSINESS!

The people I coach would more than likely tell you they are sick and tired of hearing me talk about all the additional marketing they could be doing that would produce so much more business, that there are so many more people who need to refinance and only a nudge, just a little nudge from them and the client could save enough money, they would be so much happier knowing they are saving money and they could stop calling themselves procrastinators.

If you don’t want the party to end, you have to do things that you didn’t do before all this business fell in your lap. Pivot. Become more disciplined.

Somewhere in the early ‘80s, there was an incredible need to refinance as rates fell from a high of at least 17% to somewhere near 9%- 10% in just a couple of years. I took advantage of that market buying a house for $55K with a 15.5% rate that I kept for one-and-a-half years and sold for $200K.

In addition, having started my own business originating a serious passel of refinances, I was as guilty as mortal sin to have just about abandoned many of my Realtors, seeking the quick buck and not being disappointed. There was a particular Realtor, a first-class professional salesperson, who had an excellent reputation and had come up on my radar screen early in that recession, somewhere about 1982-1983. I had visited her office a number of times but to no avail. I gave up, mostly because I was doing so well with other Realtors and my office was booming with refinances.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

What a mistake that was. Give up? Didn’t I preach it even back then? Yes, I did! But justification is an easy teacher. My pipeline was full for a couple of years. Then the end came. Rates didn’t drop much anymore, and sales were slowing down. It was time to revisit people who could and would, boost my effectiveness.

When I walked in her office, dressed in a silk jacket, custom tailored shirt with French cuffs, $150 tie, Italian leather loafers, driving a Mercedes, boy I was something else. She turned her eyes toward me, with the devil himself burning holes in my beautiful Armani jacket and I promise I’m telling it just as it happened, she immediately said, “So where have you been for the last two years?” Crushed, just crushed me. The look would have been enough, but the words destroyed me.

It took months of visits plus every legal trick I could muster to get just crumbs. But my sterling personality won the day. Well, that’s not the complete truth. She never let me forget my mistake.

BACK TO THE BASICS

My coaching has come to this: We need to get back to the basics. We need to have a plan and get the discipline necessary to outperform every single other MLO who will not be able to survive this market. It’s September, I’m pretty sure you’ve refinanced every possible worthy client, their friends and family and if you were smart, you were lucky enough to refi the family of your past clients.

If you’re a leader of people, there are questions just for you: What has changed about you during the lockdown? What are you going to continue to develop that will make your team(s) develop more business? Do you have regular meetings with your team(s)? What do you discuss? Do you have a training program? Do you require your team members to report their activities? Do you meet with your team members individually? Calling me to speak with your group on a regular basis will only make them more effective.

If you’re an MLO, here is what to discuss: What time do you go to bed? What time do you get up? What do you eat for breakfast? What do you weigh? What did you weigh when the lockdown started? How much time do you spend exercising in a week? What do you eat for lunch, dinner? What snacks do you eat?

How many Realtors do you do business with? How many loans do you want to write a month? What is your detailed marketing plan? How much time have you spent developing new referral sources? Have you filled out my self-evaluation questionnaire? When do you want to retire? How are you going to pay for your kids’ college? What are you spending for your car(s) monthly payments?

THIS COULD BE A BOON

All good things do not have to come to an end. This lockdown could prove to be a boon for you, mentally and physically. But only if you have a plan, a workable, well-thought-out plan meant to overcome the stare that will ensue when you or your salespeople walk into that real estate office you stopped calling, emailing and texting. We can help you.

Good things come to an end when there is no plan to pivot to a workable solution that has not been addressed. I’ve heard about people who did as much business in two months that they normally would do in six months. I am also aware of people who did not address the issue of developing ANY Realtors and just accepted what came in the door.

That proves they were not serious contenders to begin with. They are the kind of people who would not have been calling on that realtor I set aside and definitely are content with three-to-four deals a month for most of their working life.

Are you a professional? It is a story often told of the mortgage broker who went to their 40th HS class reunion wearing the $150 tie, custom fitted shirt, silk jacket, driving a Mercedes who fit right in with those he graduated with: Doctors, Lawyers, Judges and Presidents of major corporations who was a professional and had pivoted enough to fit right in. That Professional was me. It can be you.

Ralph LoVuolo creates a daily video @ www.oneideaaday.com