The Five Things You Must Do Before The End Of The Year!

It’s the day after Christmas and how many originators do you think are working today? You know, it might even be less than that! It’s also likely that many others aren’t working their jobs either. In fact, many people are not expected to really go back to work until after the New Year! So here are the five things you must do before the end of the year and everyone else starts to trickle back to work in January!

  1. Finish your business plan, marketing calendar, and schedule for 2020! Seems like something that would have been completed already, but we all know that some people never even bother to plan at all, and even fewer have a predetermined schedule of activities and tasks they plan to follow. Marketing calendar?
  2. Call every pre-approval you did in 2019 and didn’t close and figure out why! So many are carrying “dead” preapprovals just to fill out a number. Let’s be honest, fake numbers are just stupid.
  3. Connect with every Realtor® you know and see if they are active this weekend and if they have also completed their business plans. Offer to schedule an appointment to help them get it done. Use the outline on the website.
  4. Check all Open Houses in your area for this weekend and visit at least one of them and follow the complete Open House plan!
  5. Visit each small bank and credit union on your list! If you haven’t made that list up yet, do it NOW!

The last six days of 2019 could very well determine the success of 2020 for you! So how about we just get out and go do the work and have a great year?

Have a safe and Happy New Year! If you can’t get this all done or you just have realized you can’t do it yourself, HIRE A COACH! There are plenty of good ones out there!

For help, questions or comments: Mike@IMTCoaching.com

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Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

I wanted to wish everyone who follows this post a very Happy Thanksgiving from me and my family, to you and yours! Many choose not to work this weekend and I don’t have an issue with that for those of you who are very far above expectations, so enjoy the time off! For those trying to reach their targets or further surpass their numbers, this weekend is a very powerful opportunity. Here are some things to pay attention to!

  • Get out and active on each and every day this weekend. Calling isn’t enough, get OUT AND VISIT!
  • Those of you with “Black Friday Sales” taking place remember the plan and execute! Don’t forget to be visible!
  • Open houses, neighbors, and those video coupons need to be visited and shared!
  • Facebook Live® and other social media can be a huge opportunity!
  • Remember your countdown to closing timeline! How many days left to get your deals done by the end of the year!

The people actually out and engaged in the home buying and selling process have a real need for your speed and expertise! If you aren’t keeping your people informed, you are missing out on opportunities!

Last but not least, you should be using your new weekly schedule based on your business plan for 2020 beginning next week. Working in that new schedule will likely show you some opportunities to make changes or connect your work sections more efficiently. That is why we plan in October, so you have this time to work through the material and make sure the plan works in reality as well as you thought it would on paper!

Enjoy the holiday!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Success Is Everywhere!

Today I return to beautiful Louisville Kentucky for the last of four business planning events I am have scheduled in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky for the mortgage professionals at Ruoff Mortgage! There is a real reason this company is the #1 retail purchase mortgage company in the Midwest, is there commitment to provide an exceptional opportunity for their mortgage professionals to succeed.

Connecting live with managers and originators to help build success is a commitment in the quality of the experience. The quality of the experience for our clients and referral partners is almost as important as the commitment in the quality of the experience for the mortgage professionals themselves! A great work experience certainly translates into a great client and referral partner experience!

All of this continues to support my belief that we need to keep the person involved in the process. Technology is certainly important to the process, and having a state of the art originations platform is an important part of the client experience; people who connect with other people create the best experience and achieve the best results.

Not only are those at Ruoff Mortgage having their best years ever, many of my other clients across the country are setting personal production records month after month. Who would have thought that your best personal purchase loan closing month could have been in October? How many would believe that yearly origination targets would have been eclipsed by the end of the third quarter? It all proves that with a plan, quality strategies, accountability, and commitment, no target is out of range!

I also wanted to thank all of you that registered, attended, and viewed the Crossroads event on Tuesday the 22nd. It was the single largest event we have ever done online, and the volume of new people joining in is a direct result of our loyal clients sharing the message with their referral partners and coworkers! So thank you!

The survival of our industry will be dictated by those who make a real choice. Do you strive to provide a great customer experience for your clients and referral partners; or do you become an assistant or an order taker with a job? It’s a real choice and a real opportunity for all of us to make. Success in our industry still remains a choice we get to make for ourselves; for now!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

The Power of Planning!

There is no better way to achieve what you want in life than to have a plan. It’s not surprising, that successful people have such a plan more times than not. The sheer power of putting your objectives in writing stands alone as the number one thing that successful people have in common. There is a real reason that businesses require them, and most managers are required to build them.

In the mortgage arena, many managers have their originators set goals, but rarely are these well thought out and certainly not built with many specifics, schedules, tasks, and most importantly, an accountability partner to help hold people accountable to what they have said they were going to do. In fact, shortly after these so called “business plans” or “planning sessions” are complete, nobody ever sees that document again. Maybe an occasional reminder by a manager as to what your “goals” were, but certainly not a real accountability to achievement.

One of the things I have really focused on was to start business planning in October, so there was time to learn what needed to be learned. Adopted whatever changes needed to be made in scheduling and processes so we knew they would work. Then really begin to live the life according to what we said we were committed to, and the tasks associated with the projections made. I also selected October because it was at least two full months of practice and integration before other people even thought about creating a plan.

After working with thousands of managers and originators; many of whom are now coaches themselves, it is nice to see a few also using October as a starting off point and the benefit of the business planning process! So think of your business plan as your map on how to go from where you are to where you say you want to be! Make success a destination. Your plan is the map to this journey of success.

You need to write your plan as if you were your own boss. For most originators they fail to see that their success is theirs alone to control. Not your manager or your company; but your own journey where you get most of the benefit of doing the work! And you need to do the work! Think for a moment; if you aren’t doing as well as you would like, it’s up to you to make a change! Think of it this way, when you look in the mirror, you are a bad boss blaming a bad employee for underachieving; or you are a bad employee. Blaming the boss for not giving you the tools and support you need to succeed!

The reality is, you get exactly the result you should get based on your plan, schedule, effort, and adjustments. A plan, even a poor one, can be successful if executed well and on an appropriate schedule! Efforts over time equals outcome!

Creating a business plan, the task list, and the schedule of implementation; coupled with a good accountability partner and well thought out adjustments will take you to the heights you may have never thought possible!

  • The plan
  • The tasks
  • The schedule
  • The accountability partner
  • The proper adjustments
  • Equal your destination of success!

Only you control your commitment. Successful people do what unsuccessful people won’t do. 100% of your outcome is earned by you efforts. If you are happy getting what you are getting, keep doing what you are doing! If you aren’t happy with your current results, what changes are you prepared to make?

Business planning events in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky for next week are already booked full. The webinar for Business Planning 2020 is October 29th.

The free Crossroads Event on October 22nd is available to you simply by going to www.imtcoaching.com and registering for the event. The Business Planning webinar is only available to those subscribers to “ACCESS” or those attending a live event. If your company is interested in a live business planning event, please email Mike@IMTcoaching.com for details, there are only two dates left available this year, November 15th and November 22nd.