The League of Extraordinary Loan Officers
How You’ll Benefit From The League Of Extraordinary Loan Officers:
These days, the vast majority of loan officers are frustrated by the sheer immensity of all they have to be able to master in order to succeed. Without exception, the people I talk to tell me they don't have enough time to do it all. I get it.
What's the solution?"
Like every other loan officer who will belong to this League, you have talents and strengths – and you also have flaws, and areas where your mastery of a critical skill is less than “extraordinary” in the true sense of that word. By combining the different strengths of all of the members of this League, and by helping each other, every one of us will make more progress and accomplish more than any of us would have been able to do by working alone. You will contribute to the success of the other members of the League, and they will all contribute to yours. From your perspective, you do the work of one, and you receive all of the benefits of the work of many. It's more than being able to multiply your own work output; because your fellow members of the League can do things that you don't know how to do (or at least they can do them better).
THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS
As soon as you've completed your membership subscription online, you'll be re-directed to a self-assessment survey, where you can rate yourself on each of the7 Critical Skills. I will use your survey responses to help me determine your team assignment. My goal is to have each team made up of people with relatively high proficiency in that team’s Critical Skill. Let me give you an example, using our first month's focus on how to get more referrals from real estate agents, to give you a clearer picture of how this will all work.
Every week, in our regular meeting, I will do a short training session for the first 15 or 20 minutes, where I will take some aspect of the theme of developing more realtor referrals, give you a new tool I have developed, and show you how to use it. (All materials developed will be sent to every league member, along with recording of the session, by the end of the day.)
Each of the seven Teams will be working on a project related both to their teams critical skill and to the theme that the entire league is currently working on. So, for example:
- The Real Estate Team could be working on practical methods for obtaining current information about both a local real estate market, and the production of real estate agents in that market, along with their contact information. In other words, this team would be working to help every member of the league be able to get accurate and current information about which realtors are doing what kind of business.
- The Marketing Team could be developing a library of original, high-value e-mail pieces that would be shared with all of the members of the League (each with a Call to Action that gives the realtor a reason to call you).
- The Sales Team could be designing a system for moving a real estate agent, starting from scratch, to the point where that agent is a productive, referring, Realtor Partner. The system would be flexible enough to allow the loan officer to adjust their approach to the unique personality and status of each individual real estate agent. It might include things like scripting, interview questions, answers to commonly-heard objections, and an effective tool for assessing each agent, your progress with that agent, and your strategy for your next step.
- The Financial Competency Team could be developing educational materials to be shared with Realtors on subjects like lesser-known loan programs (niche products), and educational information to help realtors better understand the role of the loan officer in today's loan process, what today's tighter underwriting rules mean to agents and their clients, etc.
- The Technology Team could be working to make sure that every member of the League has access to an easy-to-use e-mail marketing program; so that all of the materials being developed by some of the other Teams in the League are actually being sent out to the real estate agents in each League Member’s market area.
- The Leadership Team could be developing training modules and systems for dealing effectively with the many conflicts that can arise during the course of a real estate transaction. So, during our focus on getting more leads from real estate agents, the Leadership Team would be paying particular attention to finding and sharing ways for Members to share their unique vision of a productive realtor/lender partnership, to help inspire agents to be motivated to act on the basis of that vision.
- The Systems & Time Management Team could be working to provide each Member of the League with better time management, calendaring, database, and CRS solutions – as well as assistance in better utilizing these solutions. Again, in the case of our first four weeks, during which we are focusing on getting more referrals from Realtors, the Systems & Time Management Team would be targeting methods for using the systems to more efficiently develop and work with Realtor Partners.
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The Seven Critical Skills of the
21st-Century LO – Definitions
- Real Estate. This skill measures your knowledge of your local real estate market. It includes a familiarity with the neighborhoods and areas where your clients buy homes, a basic grasp of the history of values in those neighborhoods, a familiarity with the inventory in your market (or at least the ability to access that information), and understanding of the role negotiating plays in a home purchase, and a knowledge of the real estate agents in your market – particularly the most successful ones – as well as the ability to obtain current and accurate information about the production of Realtors in your market. Bonus points if you have ever been a Realtor.
- Marketing. Knowing how to target or identify a specific demographic or market; understanding how to find out what members of that market really want, and how to find and reach them cost-effectively with an offer they can't refuse. In short, being good at lead generation.
- Sales. This is the ability to approach Clients and Referral Partners with the sincere intention of helping them succeed in a way that they feel good about. You know that sincere intention always trumps technique (and you also know that technique is important). You are genuinely interested in the other person, and this drives you to ask the right questions, and to listen actively and carefully to their answers before you propose a solution. One way to measure proficiency in sales is to look at the percentage of leads you convert.
- Financial Competency. Being able to help the client understand how the purchase of a home fits into their overall long-term financial goals. Financial competency means that you not only understand the big financial picture for the client (including, but not exclusive to the loan), but that you are also able to explain it to clients in a way that they find both interesting and easy to understand.
- Technology. Proficiency with technology, including your LOS, database, calendaring, e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, and basic graphic design. The ability to handle the technical side of putting on a webinar, creating a video presentation, audio e-mail, etc. the ability to add content to your website, and at least a basic understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Leadership. Includes Vision – the ability to see things not just as they are now, but as they could be, Influence – the ability to understand, persuade, and motivate people, and Courage – a fierce resolve and a refusal to ever give up. Proficiency in this skill means that you are usually successful at inspiring and motivating the people you interact with – including prospects, clients, Realtors, processors, underwriters, and other stakeholders in the loan process.
- Systems & Time Management. The ability to design and implement systems that work; having and using effectively an integrated system (software or otherwise) that allows you to collect in one place all of the things you must be able to do in order to accomplish her goals, and to be able to efficiently prioritize those things so that on any given day, you are generally getting the “right” things done – those things which will produce the highest payoff.
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Ready to Become a Member?
Membership is only $100 per month, and you can cancel your membership at any time. To join, just click on the button below:
If you attended my webinar, “How to Become an Extraordinary Loan Officer,” or read my Special Report, "Change or Die; The 7 Critical Skills of the 21st Century Loan Officer,” you'll remember that I talked about Dr. Dean Ornish, who proved through his research studies that when people make BIG changes, they are more likely to be able to sustain those changes for one simple but powerful reason: the big changes produce big results, and those big results so dramatically improve the quality of their lives that they simply don't want to give up the benefits they have gotten from making those changes.
I’d like you to imagine what it would be like to focus on one thing (like getting more referrals from Realtors) – and be able to improve your performance in 7 distinct critical skills as they relate to that one area of working with Realtors. I think you’d agree that that would create a powerful feeling of forward momentum, even excitement, about your business. And I suggest that once you start getting that feeling, you won’t want to give it up.
The League of Extraordinary Loan Officers is a new experiment designed to produce exactly that type of powerful change in the way you do your business – and in the successful experiences you are able to get out of your business.
You and every other member of the League will be assigned to one of 7 Teams – corresponding to each of the 7 Critical Skills (see above).
The next step is to complete your membership subscription. Please do this today, if possible, so you can have the best chance of getting assigned to your preferred choice of Team, and so I will have time to review everyone's self assessment, and so I can make sure that qualified people are assigned to each team. Please click on the “Subscribe” button below to do that:
As soon as you've completed your membership subscription online, you'll be re-directed to a self-assessment survey, where you can rate yourself on each of the7 Critical Skills (the survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete). I will use your survey responses to help me determine your team assignment. My goal is to have each team made up of people with relatively high proficiency in that team’s Critical Skill. (I have more information on the Teams on this page under the Section Heading “The First Four Weeks”.)
(If you don't have a PayPal account, just look below and to the right of the PayPal logo in the lower left area of the checkout page. You can click on that link to pay using your credit or debit card without having to login to PayPal.)
Once you've subscribed, your membership fee will be automatically charged to your account once a month. You may cancel your membership at any time. If you have any questions, please email me.
Best wishes,
Coach Bob Williamson
PS: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." -- Herman Cain
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