The Power of Mortgage Lender Focus
People who study success for a living will tell you that what we focus on will expand in our lives. That can be a real challenge in a world so filled with distractions that focus becomes almost impossible. As a consequence, we see more executives paying closer attention to their mental and physical wellness and eliminating distractions from their work lives.
Learning to focus on the important work at hand is a step in the right direction, but only if we’re focusing on the right work.
Too often, we find executives who are easily distracted by every shiny thing they see. Just like a raccoon that sees something shiny in a hollow log, they get a hold on something they can’t easily let go of and their work suffers.
The most common shiny object I see in our business is the refinance loan. Easier to write than a purchase money loan and requiring little if any sales expertise, they are like slow pitches lobbed across the plate. It’s easy to hit home runs when interest rates fall and homeowners return to the closing table for lower rate refis.
But every lender knows that refinance transactions alone will not support a mortgage company when rates begin to rise, as they eventually must. Unfortunately, every time many lenders begin to do the work of establishing their purchase money sales and operational programs, they see another refi spike. The shiny object pulls them away.
It’s a lot easier to wait for refi business to land on your doorstep than it is to do the work of creating a compelling program for purchase money mortgages. The work isn’t glamorous, but it’s important and has to be done.
It reminds me of a fantastic quote I came across recently in my daily reading. It was from pro football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach. He said:
“Spectacular achievements are preceded by unspectacular preparation.”
This is so true.
Successful people often look back on days filled with seemingly mundane tasks that they embraced with focused attention through to completion. Whether it be studying or exercising in the mornings, staying informed on industry events and learning about new industry innovations, or reaching out to touch base with contacts in the industry, each task seems individually unspectacular.
But taken together, the result is a professional, well-prepared leader who can mobilize a team to take a company from a mediocre competitor and turn it into an industry leader that its clients rave about.
How often do each of us go through our day feeling gratitude for the preparation we have the luxury to apply to the tasks at hand? I hope it’s often.
Being focused, at least in part, on the purchase money business will prepare lenders to succeed, regardless of the ebbs and flows of our cyclical business. Failing to do so can only result in great disappointment in the future.