Learn the 2 most important things that will give you a more efficient and productive process
The Overlooked Secret
How you start your day will determine how productive that day is.
- Start your day by getting a handle on your pipeline:
- We all know that you can’t just show up and “start working.” There needs to be a plan and the best way to get your mind in the right place to sell new deals is to organize your existing pipeline. Why start here? Because these are checks waiting to be cashed so if someone made it this far don’t lose them now.
- Morning Team Meetings are a must:
- Every morning we have a team meeting for 15 to 30 minutes and we go through every loan that is in escrow. Whether it is a refinance or a purchase, if it’s in process we go through it front to back. I assign a task for each team member each day and then we’re off to the races with a clear picture of what everyone needs to do on every file each day. It’s also a great way to hold your staff accountable.
Start with the files that are furthest along at the top then work your way down. New deals will be at the bottom.
Off to the races
Now that you’ve established a game plan what’s next? Start out by going through your meeting sheet and doing everything you need to do on your side of things. Trust that your team will do their items and you take care of yours.
Once you’ve done all your pipeline management and got those balls in motion it’s time to CLOSE your new deals: This is where I go through any new refinances that I’ve pitched to get them on board. I go through any pre-approvals that I’ve sent out where clients have made an offer since these are the second on the hierarchy of importance. They’ve made it this far now we need to convert them to loans in process and lock in the check.
After these 2 things are done now it’s time to lead generate and this is where lead mailbox or your CRM comes into play. Remember it’s not just about auto emails it’s about making calls and moving things forward.
Prospect organization
The goal is to move as many people into the Application Taken Folder as possible.
Close ratios as follows:
Working in Process = 10% | Working Good = 35% | Applications Taken = 70%
Plan for the week
Like we’ve talked about you can’t just have a plan for your leads you also need a plan to grow your business.
Even if you have a plan you need to hold yourself accountable and there is no better way than a tracker. Below is a an example of a business development tracker. By following this you’ll ensure that you’re not just closing new loans but you’re also generating future business each week. You can alter the sections to meet your style but no matter what you need to have a tracker to see how you’re doing each week as well as set goals.
Time block for your plan
So you’ve got a plan, you’ve set your goals but now how do you execute it? Time Blocking is the only way to stay on track and ensure that you get to everything you need to get to each day and each week. Otherwise the distractions of the industry will take over and consume your time.
Everyone feels comfortable in different ways and there are 2 main ways to time Block. The first is similar to when you were in grade school and I like to call this one the class schedule way fo time blocking. The second option is to bite off big chucks each day and remain a little more flexible.
NEITHER OF THESE ARE RIGHT OR WRONG BUT YOU HAVE TO DO THIS SOMEHOW OR YOU’L BE IN A STATE OF CONSTANT SCRAMBLE.
Scheduling and Chunking
If you go with the big chucks you’ll need to monitor what you’re doing in each category.
For Example:
“Prospect and close deals” — This can mean a lot of things and from one day to the next it could be different. Monday it might mean pitch 3 loans and sending out scenarios. Tuesday it might mean calling all of your prospects/applications taken. The same would hold true for generating new business as that could be getting new clients on board or calling on realtors or having a meeting with a wealth advisor. This is a more flexible and fluid way of approaching it but also one that you’ll need to hold yourself more accountable with.
Consistency
You’ve got your plan, you’ve got your goals, you know what you need to do in order to reach those goals now the only thing left to do is be consistent.
This won’t happen overnight and having 1 good day or 2 good weeks won’t put the deals into escrow. But if you have 4 good weeks in a row I can guarantee that in 2 months you’ll have a great month. If you can put 52 good weeks in a row you’ll have an amazing year and close more business regardless of rates or the housing market than you ever have before.
