Winter Is Coming! Meh, really? Seriously, why is this a constant refrain in one form or another? I attended a five day event in January 2017, and the host (who is ‘not my guru’) repeated this like a chant, over and over and over each and every day. I’d also noticed a previously optimistic, very […]
An excerpt from Volume 2 of Be the Better Broker. Every interaction you have with an underwriter, a BDM, a team lead, a lender VP and so on during the processing of a file—even just in a casual conversation at a trade show—is you either building or burning bridges. Your primary goal is to recognize […]
I can recall one Mortgage Broker saying to me upon exiting the business after less than four years, “I can only conclude that people do not like me.” This was a person paying not just an economic toll, but clearly an emotional one as well. On paper this Broker had every reason to have been […]
Few among us look forward to making cold calls. We know what it’s like to be on the receiving end. When someone cold-calls me, he is intruding on my life without an invitation. He is interrupting whatever I may be doing. This can bring out a side of me that is abrupt, perhaps rude: the […]
It is time for a commission sales reality check. The first step in avoiding the alluring alternative reality of “gross commission” is being aware of its existence before you get sucked into it. Understanding the following four terms is going to be vital to your survival. Gross Production—the value of the item you are selling […]
“A paradox of life. The problem with patienceand discipline is that developing each of themrequires both of them.” ~Thomas M Sterner One of the more insidious things to creep into a successful Broker’s life, into the life of just about any and all commission sales agents who are “lucky” enough to be paid in pre-tax […]
I published this post nearly 5 years ago, and these points still hold up today, in a time where electronic communication in business is at an all time high. 1. Have just one email address Managing multiple email accounts adds an unnecessary layer of complexity to your life and presents a potential obstacle of confusion […]
Maintain Control Focus first and foremost on maintaining control over the one and only thing that is in fact within your control: your reactions. Learning to control your reactions is vital, and no matter our age, all of us generally need continuous work in this area. I am working harder than ever on this, actually […]
You need to understand what hard work is before you can lay claim to having done any. Working hard should not be confused with work that is hard. Changing out tires on heavy-duty equipment is physically demanding; performing neurosurgery is mentally taxing; being an ice-road trucker with two sets of log books and a fierce […]
You would be hard-pressed to find a top-performing athlete in any sport that decided as a kid he wanted a $6-million-a-year contract, so that’s why he learned to love baseball or hockey or basketball. Few, if any, were driven to excel by the money. They simply loved the game so much they worked harder than […]