Happy Sunday Everyone:
One of the things that gets me out of bed each day is the excitement I have to go to work. Too a large degree, that energy comes from knowing I have one of the best teams in the industry. Knowing I have one of the best teams in the industry gives me the confidence to go out and sell. Sales people who have integrity sell based on their belief in what they’re doing, for me being able to stand behind what is being promised is all I need.
Our industry has a horrible reputation for execution. This reputation is deserved as I hear the horror stories on a daily basis from business partners (thankfully not on our own clients). What people on the outside don’t see is how complicated our business is on the inside. Loan officers, assistants, processors, underwriters, doc drawers, funders, lock desks, appraisers, appraisal management companies, servicing, deal desk, guidelines, jumbo, conforming, fha, va, usda, credit scores, income types..etc…..it’s really easy to screw up a loan. Oh-and by the way-with all that, everyone expects to close in 18-21 days w/ no loan/appraisal contingencies, so if you don’t get it right, the client losses their deposit of 3% of the purchase price, no pressure.
I’m bringing this up today because our business is hard enough as it is. When you throw self-inflicted wounds on top of the overall complications of our industry it can cause people to want to jump. I see it with my coaching students, I see it with other companies, and at times, I see it with my own. No company is immune from it but every company should work on it, and I think the only way to work on it is through individual accountability.
Going back to believing my team is one of the best in the business, it starts with my business partner, Erica, and then goes down to each other member of the team and the direct responsibilities they take upon themselves to execute. I wanted to point out some things I see them doing consistently in the hope that others could learn from them:
1. Clarity/attention to detail-go slow to go fast. When my team communicates internally or externally, their attention to detail leaves no room for interpretation or additional questioning. I see people respond to emails with answers that simply leave you guessing, which then requires 5 more emails to finish the job. Do it right once and move on. If someone is responding to your emails w/ more questions, you’re doing something wrong.
2. They set proper expectations. If something can’t get done in x amount of time, don’t say it can and keep your fingers crossed. This goes for sales people and operations.
3. They understand what they’re doing. This sounds simple but if clients understand “why” you’re asking for something, they’re more agreeable to provide it. If your answer is “because the underwriter wants it”, it doesn’t end well. My team asks “why” all the time, this grows their understanding and also holds our internal team accountable to learn themselves. If you can’t explain to us why you want us to ask the client for something, we’re going to keep pushing.
4. They peek around the corner. They have the mindset to set our internal/external partners up for success by their upfront due diligence to get it right. This is big-we all need to ask the question “are we setting the next group in line up for success”.
5. They are proactive in all communication. If people are constantly asking your for updates, your communication is terrible or you didn’t set proper expectations. If we tell someone we are going to do something we do it. If we can’t do it, we proactively reset expectations.
6. They act like they care. Thankfully they act like they care because they do but you get a lot further internally/externally if people believe you care. If you look at how you’re communicating or what you’re actually doing, does it leave your internal/external client with the thought that you care?
No matter where you are in your company or our company, you should ask yourself how your efforts/actions align with those 6 bullets. I know for me personally, I need to get better at all 6 but understanding that is more than half the battle.