Why You Should Attend Mortgage Conferences

In today's day and age of the always-on, 24-hour news cycle, it can seem like we have all of the information we need at our fingertips. We have e-mail updates coming in, we can stream the news through apps on our phones, and news stories break almost as soon as they happen. So, a legitimate question we might ask is: Have traditional conferences lost their value? Do we still need to attend mortgage conferences to stay informed? Are they worth it?

Well, here's the thing—just because we have a wealth of information available to us, that doesn't mean that all information is created equal. Getting information on our own by following news stories and industry research can go one of two ways:

1) We can get information immediately, but the information will likely be incomplete; and

2) We learn the information more deeply, but it can take a long time to develop a good understanding.

Mortgage conference provide the unique opportunity of getting the best of both worlds—immediate and in-depth information.

So, yes, I am a fan of attending mortgage conferences—despite all of the technology we have available to us today for getting information. Nothing can replace being part of an event in which the best content is revealed in a short amount of time. On the Sept. 28 episode of my Lykken on Lending Internet radio show, we had the opportunity to talk with MBA President David Stevens about the upcoming MBA Conference. Year after year, the Conference has a higher and higher attendance. Clearly, people are coming away with something that keeps them coming back.

The conference isn't dead. In fact, I would argue that the barrage of information makes conferences even more important—they help us narrow down what really matters in the industry right now and give us direction on what we can do about it when we get back into the office.

David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president and chief transformational officer of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides a full-range of advisory services to owners and “C-Level” executives involved with mortgage lending. David has garnered a national reputation, and has become a frequent guest on FOX Business News with Neil Cavuto, and has had additional guest appearances on CNBC, The CBS Evening News, Bloomberg Radio and NPR. He hosts a weekly a weekly podcast called “Lykken On Lending” as well as a consumer facing video called “Today’s Mortgage Minute.” He can be reached at  (512) 759-0999 or e-mail [email protected].