Some Tips for LOs Who Want to Achieve More

Whether you’re concerned that your performance has hit a plateau, or you just want to boost your level of achievement, there are plenty of ways to improve your efforts. Through self-improvement and the right kind of performance goals, LOs can utilize clear methods to fuel their success. Here are a few tips to help boost your success as a loan officer:

Reflect

Before you start creating goals, you need to reflect on your past performance. Figure out the areas you’re happy with and those you’d like to improve upon. Start focusing on the kinds of things you want in the short term and long term. If you have aspirations, start defining them more specifically. Look at the past goals you’ve set. Did you achieve them? What went well and what didn’t? This time for reflection is an essential first step before you begin brainstorming new goals to set.

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Create a Plan

Once you understand the areas that you’d like to focus on improving, you can start defining goals that are motivating. It’s important to create the right parameters around your goals as well. Using the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal setting can help ensure your goals are effective. S.M.A.R.T. stands for defining goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Once you’ve created the right kind of goals, follow that up with a solid strategy. Loan officers who want to achieve the goals they’ve set should come up with a plan of action. This plan should outline the smaller steps needed to achieve that goal. Especially when it comes to larger goals that take time to reach, it’s a good idea to split them into more manageable steps. After that, make sure you incorporate all of these goals and action steps into a calendar or agenda to hold you accountable.

Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

When you’re creating the goals that will fuel your future achievement, you should create both larger, long-term goals as well as smaller, short-term goals. Often, these long-term goals can be broken down into a few short-term goals as well. For example, if your long-term goal is something like wanting to become one of the top performing producers in your office, some short-term goals might include having X number of closings, or gaining X new clients during the next month (or quarter). While it’s important to look out over the next few years, creating smaller monthly, weekly, and even daily goals can help you make real progress toward meeting those larger, overarching goals.

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Start Small

Don’t try to tackle a large ambitious goal right away, especially if you’ve only just started working at achieving more. These larger goals can become intimidating, and you may find yourself procrastinating more than you’re progressing because of a fear of failure. Instead, start with some of your short-term goals. These smaller, less-intimidating goals can help motivate you and give you a boost once you’ve achieved them. Success is commonly contagious, so these smaller milestones can propel you towards even greater achievements.

We all want to achieve more without sacrificing our work-life balance. These ideas work for me, and I think they’ll work for you, too.

If you’re a New Jersey loan officer considering new opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to set aside a few minutes to tell you all the reasons why CrossCountry is the best company to align yourself with.

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Larry Vindman

Branch Manager — CrossCountry Mortgage

(908) 216-4848

[email protected]