By Todd Duncan

The only way to have partners for life is to work strategically with them during their life.  This is the follow-up plan that 99% of loan originators ignore.

Here’s a plan for making partnership planning work for you.  For the first 3 months of a relationship, meet weekly for 15-20 minutes on the phone.  The next 3 months, meet face-to-face, for 30-45 minutes.  After that, meet face-to-face once a month for one hour.

By Todd Duncan

How would you like to be in a position where for the rest of your origination life, you never again have to worry whether your rates and fees are competitive enough to get you business? How would you like to never give out a good faith estimate as the decision-making mechanism a borrower uses to do business with you? How would you like to be in the position of having clients never again question the cost of doing business with you?

By Todd Duncan

Zig Ziglar once said, “Prospecting is like taking a bath.  If you don’t do it every day, pretty soon you stink.”

So, how do you prospect successfully?

Time-wise, spend one hour prospecting every day until you have a solid 10-20 referral partners, and then prospect weekly or monthly.  Create unique value propositions and approach campaigns that will get you noticed.  For instance, you can send materials via Federal Express versus regular mail, or include a business book prospects may benefit from as a gift. 

By Todd Duncan

I have found that most loan originators don’t take action consistently in the areas that produce better results.  Success in today’s market is about discipline and disciplines. Knowledge acquisition is the first discipline you should do on a regular basis that will help you succeed in any market.

By Todd Duncan

Questions that are both heart and head provoking can begin to move an individual to a position of possibilities, and in today’s market, you need to see all the possibilities available to you. Some of the questions I have found helpful from my Life Planning series are...

By Todd Duncan

Jim Rohn once said, “For every disciplined effort, there is a multiple reward.”  And when you think about, discipline is one of your best allies when it comes to success.  That’s because you will never change your life or your business without daily disciplines that keep you focused on success.  Masterpieces are created when you make good decisions each day and then commit to managing those decisions that you have made. I like John Wooden’s advice when he says, “make each day your masterpiece.”

By Todd Duncan

Since 1992, I have studied the strategies and behaviors of top producing Loan Officers throughout America.  I have personally interviewed over 800 loan officers that make at least $250,000 a year in sales commissions, work less than 50 hours a week, and have an approach to achieving balance in their life.  RJ Crosby comes to mind, and just last year he called to thank me because he had “closed 45 loans in one month and had taken two weeks off.”  Mike Metz texted me that he had “closed 125 loans in the last two months and grossed over $550,000 in revenue.   That’s the kind of success I’m talking about.

What do Loan Officers like RJ and Mike do to get to that level?  And if you knew their secrets, you could model those and get the same results.  At our Sales Mastery Event last, year, RJ and 15 other Loan Officers did exactly that – showcased their “secrets”, which are not really secretes, but truths, laws, principles, that when followed make the biggest difference in your life and your business.  Here are the top 13 that are guaranteed to make your 2013, and every year hereafter your best year ever.

By Todd Duncan

My first real memory of selling was when I was in Little League at the age of eight. I remember my dad telling me that if I wanted to sell candy for the team, I had to go where the people were. He also assured me that it was highly unlikely that the doorbell would start ringing if I just sat at home and watched cartoons. Taking my dad’s advice, I did what every budding salesperson would do – I made a list of everyone I knew who would buy candy from me, highlighting those whom I thought would buy the most. Within two days, I was sold out, when everyone else had barely begun. It’s too bad I didn’t remember my young sales experience when I began my first real sales job.

To my recollection, I didn’t have substantial preparation before my first real day in the mortgage industry where I actually had to sell something to make a living. My professional sales preparation was more like, “Here’s your desk. Here’s your phone. Good luck, Todd, you’re on your own.” Maybe that’s why my first day in the field as a professional salesperson was so memorable for the wrong reasons.