Your Key to Success...Do Your Job With Greatness (It's Simple)

In Tim Braheem’s latest video, he speculates that being a mortgage loan officer is similar to being the very first runner during a relay race.

Loan originators have to do their part efficiently in order to put the entire loan process into motion. This includes finding potential clients, educating clients about the best possible options, coordinating with an underwriter, monitoring the market,  gathering accurate documentation, and much more. It’s certainly not a job for the faint-hearted!

However, with all these job duties and responsibilities, it often becomes overwhelming to keep everything in order, and this can create trouble for your relay team down the road. To optimize your efficiency, it’s helpful to understand why loan origination is such a tough job, how to recognize your own shortcomings and ways to tackle the most common problems head-on.

The Challenges of Loan Origination

As mentioned previously, loan officers are often responsible for a wide range of job duties, and it’s nearly impossible for someone to be great at every task. Tim describes a litany of assets a loan officer is expected to have, and many traits actually contradict one another! For instance, they have to be:

• Extroverted and analytical.
• Master networkers and detail-oriented strategists.
• Knowledgeable of the financial market and efficient communicators.
• Capable of educating clients and managing a team.
• Trustworthy salespeople and excellent customer service representatives

These are just a few of the main challenges faced by loan originators, but the end result is that each officer’s weaknesses will begin to show. The loan process might slow down, which can result in frustrated clients, overlooked mistakes, or the loss of potential leads to a competitor. However, the most common way that these personal weaknesses are revealed is through poorly prepared files.

How to Solve Inefficiencies

When loan originators are able to put together a well-documented and organized file, the loan processor’s customer service will go through the roof. If a loan processor receives a messy file that has missing information or documentation, they’ll have to spend more time confirming details rather than quickly submitting it to the next person in the metaphorical relay race. Tim talks about this in great detail in this Dave Savage Interview video on the Perfect Loan Process.” Here are a few of the main highlights that you can expect to learn about:

• Be consistent with your scripting and processes with every client and referral partner you encounter. Your consistency should extend throughout your work so you can develop a predictable routine for each client.
• Use a Total Cost Analysis for every client, and work that into the script so you can effectively manage their expectations and show that you’re transparent and trustworthy.
• Resist the temptation to get re-involved with clients who contact you instead of the next person in the relay race. Even if you’re able to help them, pass them along to the correct team member so the customer won’t call you again with any further questions.
• Make sure you establish credibility for the next person the client will have contact with during the loan process.
• Utilize modern technologies in order to streamline and automate certain processes, maintain accurate documentation, contact clients, and much more. It might also be a good idea to become active on social media if you haven’t done so already.
• Know the right time to ask your clients for referrals (watch the video to find out the optimal time!).
• Remember what your primary goal is: close more deals!

Of course, one of the best solutions for improving your job performance is to delegate some of your job duties to another person. Think about it: there’s a multitude of tasks that must be completed in a timely manner, and you most likely have several clients that you’re managing. If you insert another person in between you and the processor, you can focus more on the tasks you excel at.

More About Hiring a Transaction Coordinator

A transaction coordinator can work for real estate agents and loan originators alike because they’re knowledgeable about the entire loan process. Transaction coordinators tend to be very detail-oriented, and they often handle the bulk of tedious administrative tasks. You can feel confident that every file will be double-checked before it goes on to the next part of the relay race, and you can enjoy a far more efficient workplace and more satisfied clients!