Go with your gut and learn how your natural instincts will teach you where you can improve your office.
The goal of this exercise is to use your feelings to tell you how well you are doing and what areas you need to improve. I’ve created a total scorecard which I’ve included below and the way to use this is at the end of each day you ask yourself the 6 questions, then you answer them honestly and input your score. At the end of the week you’ll have a total score for each question and that total score will give you insight on where you need to improve, what you are doing well and allow you to use your feelings to guide your next steps.
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What Do My Scores Mean By Category
BASED ON YOUR SCORES TO QUESTION #1:
If you scored 40 to 50:
You have a very good system in place from an operations and processing stand point. You have ample time to sell and should now be focused on using your time to continue your current business but set aside time to focus on big picture things that will lead to more loans. Don’t get complacent with your current set up.
If you scored 30 to 39
You are very close to having a smooth and efficient process for your loans. You should spend time on your file flow and training your operations staff so they can take work off of you and you can work less on each loan and work more on growing your business and sales. You may need to consider adding staff, or expanding their roles.
If you scored 20 to 29
Your processing and support staff need a lot of work and so does your system. It may be time to considering upgrading your talent and letting someone go. It may also be a situation where you need to adjust your current process. If after a month of the adjustment you can safely say that you don’t have the right staff in place and need to look to hire more qualified people on your team.
If you scored less than 20
You have the wrong staff and the wrong process. It’s now time to say “I need help” and start from the beginning. Start with your process and determine who does what. Then determine how well each person does their job but 9 times out of 10 it’s 25% process and 75% people.
BASED ON YOUR SCORES TO QUESTION #2:
If you scored 40 to 50:
You are organized enough to manage your time, talk to the new clients you need to and have strategy calls/consultations with loans that could open escrow Your staff handles the non-sales work and you should turn your attention to scaling out your business to focus on things that will generate more referrals and ultimately more loans.
If you scored 30 to 39
You are close to being very dialed in and efficient. You have a good process for non-sales related items but should turn your focus on how you can organize your sales day. Schedule your calls, work on creating lists and a system for follow up with pre-approved loans. To get to the next level you just need to organize your sales day the way you have organized your non-sales items.
If you scored 20 to 29
You most likely don’t have 100% trust in your staff or your process. In turn you feel the need to jump back in and help out and solve problems. When you have the right process and right people in place you won’t feel this need. You may really like your staff as people but that doesn’t always mean they are the right people for the job. Take a hard look at your process and try to improve that. Then look at your staff.
If you scored less than 20
You’re doing way too much and you will be stuck in the never ending cycle of long hours, and running a transactional business. You want to run a business, not do transactions. You need to revamp your process, possibly your staff as well as the roles for your staff.
BASED ON YOUR SCORES TO QUESTION #3:
If you scored 40 to 50:
You had great sales weeks 3 to 5 weeks ago and that has translated into a strong pipeline. Your process and staff are dialed in allowing you to sell and also ensuring that the loans you put in the pipeline are solid and will close. Now it’s time to start using your pipeline and process to become a lead generating system and you should look for ways to leverage your existing clients and loans in process to generate more loans.
If you scored 30 to 39
You are very close to breaking through and you are 60% running a business and 40% doing transactions. If you trust your staff more and your process you’ll find that is what will allow you to take the next step. This could also just be an outlier and mean that 3 to 5 weeks ago you got off track from selling or something else happened back then that slowed down your pipeline.
If you scored 20 to 29
Your process does not allow you to focus on selling and it also does not have any barriers to entry. You’re running a business that will take any loan you can get which takes time away from building your business. You tend to have an attitude of lets get it in and then figure out a way to make it work. This will stop you from ever moving forward so put some processes in place and minimum requirements for loans in process.
If you scored less than 20
You’re just hoping you get a loan today and whatever type of loan it is you’ll take. Set clear parameters of what loans you want and establish a game plan for how you will get those loans. You also need to re-evaluate your team as they are not affording you enough time to sell.
BASED ON YOUR SCORES TO QUESTION #4:
If you scored 40 to 50:
You’re doing a great job and scaling up should be your top priority. Ask yourself where is my next source of business and build a plan to generate that. Possibly look to add a new staff member to help with the increased sales volume or look for a new staff member that can bring additional production to the table.
If you scored 30 to 39
You’re right there and with a few tweeks/improvements you’ll have the perfect process and team. Focus on where you are a little weak and as a team determine how you can fix that. Review at month end the 3 biggest challenges you had on files and see if you can isolate any issues. Then focus on improving those areas to get you to the next level.
If you scored 20 to 29
You’re running a transactional business and only closing loans and getting close to your goals by sheer will power and hours worked. This won’t last forever and you have a thin margin for error. This is caused by either poor staff or a poor process. You need to step back and clearly define what each persons role is, what you expect from them and then hold them accountable.
If you scored less than 20
You’re process is not clearly defined enough and you don’t do things the same way every time. Your staff is most likely not skilled enough to execute even if you put the right process in place. It’s time to set expectations, set the process and hold your people to that standard.
BASED ON YOUR SCORES TO QUESTION #5:
If you scored 40 to 50:
You have the time needed to lay the ground work for future referrals and will grow your business because you have the right team in place to hand the day to day. What you did this week will give you benefits 60 to 90 days from now so keep it up and don’t worry about the instant gratification we all want. Keep laying the foundation for a larger pipeline brick by brick.
If you scored 30 to 39
You maintained your current referral network and will continue to get their business. You may have picked up some additional business but not enough to consider it growth. This is probably due to a few minor inefficiencies in your process that you need to identify and iron out. It could also be caused by having too many new deals to pitch in which case you should consider ways to be able to handle the increase in referals.
If you scored 20 to 29
You did nothing to help further your business and grow your volume but you didn’t totally screw things up. This is caused by either not having the right process to handle loans in process, you may be un-organized and didn’t stick to a good schedule or you may be fixing mistakes from your team. If you scored in this range you need to identify the “why” and once you do then you need to fix it.
If you scored less than 20
You went backwards this week and that is most commonly due to not setting aside time to generate new partners. You need to block out at least 30 minutes per day or 3 hours per week. If you blocked the time and still didn’t get it then you have wrong team and they are holding you back.
BASED ON YOUR SCORES TO QUESTION #6:
If you scored 40 to 50:
This means that 2 to 4 weeks ago you were organized, you stayed on track and have executed your plan. Your team gives you time to sell while handling the small stuff and they also understand the importance of your schedule. You should now focus on staying in this range which will lead to future growth and more referral business coming in since you’re able to stick to your plan.
If you scored 30 to 39
2 to 4 weeks ago you were pretty close to being on track and probably had a few days where you got off track. Keep it up and re-focus on having great days every day. Don’t lose a day or a week and you’ll be up to the next level soon. Your team may need to understand why every day matters and get them to help out a little more on the days you need them to step up.
If you scored 20 to 29
Everyone was focused on the transactions in hand and forgot about all other tasks. Your team and process is not strong enough since you lost days and possibly even weeks in the last month just to close what you had. This is a transactional system and you’ll always ride the roller coaster of good months followed by bad months. You need to be more systematic, strengthen your team and potentially get a new team.
If you scored less than 20
Your team is not strong enough to consistently do the volume to reach your goals. If you’re in this category you lost a lot of time fixing issues in the past month that shouldn’t be your issues. You need to re-evaluate your staff, your process and probably start from scratch.
