Bryan Lovell is the national sales manager for strategic
alliances at VanDyk Mortgage. He also is an independent
certified speaker, coach and trainer for the John Maxwell
Team. For 30 years, VanDyk Mortgage has provided the
platforms loan originators need to succeed in today’s competitive environment. VanDyk is a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
and Ginnie Mae seller-servicer that is working hard to be a
company that originators want to work at and never want to
leave. Reach Lovell at blovell@vandykmortgage.com.
Make Success an Intentional Act
A proactive business plan is the first step in taking control of your future
By Bryan Lovell
Business planning is a critical item often overlooked by mortgage originators today. Many originators are fixated on a plan that essentially says, “Let’s just close as many
loans as possible.” They often don’t stop to consider
how they are going to go about accomplishing that
goal, however.
The best prescription for business is to be intentional about planning. Leadership guru John Maxwell
teaches that, “The secret to your success is found in
your daily routine.” Following are examples of two
daily routines — one that works well, and another not
so much.
One mortgage originator gets up in the morning,
takes a shower and wonders what the day is going
to look like. Another originator gets up in the morning, takes a shower and knows exactly what the day is
going to look like.
In the first example, the originator’s day is most
likely going to be dictated by the first phone call or first
e-mail received. In fact, that individual may spend the
whole day chasing after e-mails and returning phone
calls. At the end of the day, this can create the feeling
that a lot of work has been done, but really it has led
nowhere. It’s like a hamster that runs on a wheel. There
is a lot of activity, but no achievement.
In the second example, the mortgage originator has
control of the day. The individual isn’t busy reacting to
things. Instead, the person is being proactive. At the
end of the day, the originator has a clear measure of
what was accomplished in terms of business and has
a plan in place for how to tackle the next day as well.
Remember, the proactive originator went to bed
the night before with a plan in place for exactly what
needed to be done to win the day. The individual’s
daily activities were predetermined.
Moving the chains
Most mortgage originators make the mistake of measuring their wins and/or losses by how many loans they
close each month. The number of loans closed is an
important factor to measure, of course.
Instead of measuring wins and losses only by the
loans closed every month, however, it might lead to
more business success if you measure your wins and
losses by the activities accomplished daily. That could
have a far greater impact in moving the chains.
For everything that is measured, there are behaviors
and disciplines that drive those metrics. Following are
n One-on one-meetings;
