Certified Mortgage Planning SpecialistJohn D. SvirskyNational mortgage broker designations
As our profession has gotten harder with more and more brokers
fighting for the same clients, we are competing not only with the
individual mortgage brokers with whom we always competed. We are
now also competing with national mortgage brokers who advertise the
lowest, lowest rates, such as Quicken Loans and Ditech. Their
come-on ads sound great to the uneducated consumer who hears the
words "one percent mortgage rates" and actually thinks that is the
rate he will be paying for the next 30 years. Hasn't that happened
to you? You are telling a prospective client your rates and they
respond with a smug, "Yes, but I can get one or 1.25 percent
financing for 30 years. I heard the ad on television or radio."
Many consumers actually believe they are getting a 30-year fixed
rate at 1.25 percent. As the mortgage origination business has
become more and more commoditized, even our most loyal repeat
clients are being bombarded day in and day out via TV, radio, mail
and telephone calls to refinance now and save. Everyone and his
brother uses, "Yes, but I will give you great service as well as
low rates." That just doesn't cut it anymore. You need to offer
more. We as mortgage brokers need to be more than just order-takers
if we are going to survive. Several of my articles have talked
about being a true professional—now called a trusted advisor
by same. This article continues on that theme.
Sales training and mastery is now a big business. We all get
five to 10 e-mails a day offering us this or that course, or this
or that mortgage service. Some of them are very convincing. I am
thrilled that the move is toward higher education, something that I
have always supported. Even though I have been in the business for
25 years, I am still going to seminars and listening to the
conference calls. Just recently, I was blown away by David Allen's
"Getting Things Done" and have implemented his system into my
workplace, but that is for another article. Today, I would like to
share with you a training course that you can do at home in your
own time: Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS). The CMPS
curriculum incorporates the five essential CMPS skill sets related
to integrating a client's mortgage, debt and home equity strategy
into their overall financial plan:
• Financial market and interest rate analysis;
• Cash flow analysis;
• Debt analysis;
• Real estate equity management; and
• Real estate investment analysis offers training from
several of the best of the best in the business.
The course consists of:
• Barry Habib's Fiscal Literacy series, which includes six
CDs and one DVD of his talk at Brian Sacks' Birthday Seminar in
Florida last year;
• Jim McMahan's three CDs of Scripts for Success. Jim has
been a top mortgage broker for CTX for the past 20 years and he
really has a lot to offer and teach. There is a two-and-a-half-hour
mortgage planning CD with Dave Savage of The Mortgage
Coach—if you haven't bought The Mortgage Coach after
listening to these CDs, you will ask yourself why you waited this
long to buy it. For years, through the various upgrades, I have
encouraged you to buy The Mortgage Coach, still one of the best
mortgage products in the market. It will pay for itself over and
over again while distinguishing you from the competition. Finally,
the creator and founder of the CMPS designation, Gibrahn Nichols,
offers his own CD on wealth equity and an adjustable-rate mortgage
(ARM) planner program. I found it perfect for me, since I deal with
high net worth individuals. It will take at least 20 days to go
through all the CDs. They suggest one a day for 20 days. It's lots
and lots of information, and some of it is very useful and
practical. What I like is that Barry Habib is from New Jersey, Jim
McMahan is from Texas, David Savage is from California and Gibrahn
Nichols is from Michigan—a complete cross section of the
country.
Over the years, I have worked hard to maintain my integrity with
you. I have shared my personal experiences and feelings about every
product I've reviewed. I have nothing to sell you, and no vested
interest in what I review. So right up front, I want you to know my
hesitations about doing this review and why I eventually decided to
go ahead and do it. If you are a subscriber to any of the speakers
I have mentioned above, you might have already heard some or all of
these tapes. That was what happened to me. CMPS is a vehicle that
rehashes seminars and conference calls that were given for other
venues. None of these classes were done specifically for CMPS
(maybe with the exception of Gibrahn Nichols' CDs). But, my guess
is that enough of you have never heard them and for that reason, I
am recommending the course. Also, now you can get credit and create
new marketing tools for success. I love the concept of teaching
Certified Financial Planners for continuing education
credits—that really should bring in a lot of new deals. I am
a subscriber of Barry Habib's Mortgage Market Guide
(www.mortgagemarketguide.com), something I suggest you do also.
Mortgage Market Guide is by far one of the best services in the
business. There are others that are also excellent, but Barry's is
definitely one of the top. So, if you already subscribe and have
already listened to his Financial Literacy conference calls like I
have, then the six CDs will be familiar to you. My ego told me that
I didn't have to listen to these again—I'd heard them before.
Then a funny thing happened when I got past my ego and did listen
to them again. I learned new things and I picked up new techniques,
which I did not get the first time around. I heard them
differently. Let me describe briefly what you will be listening
to:
• Barry Habib and Jack Howley on "The Velocity of Money:
How to Make Your Money Work for You." Brilliant concepts and
brilliant ideas; although I had listened to this two previous
times, I got more out of it when I listened to it for a third
time.
• Derick Scenna talking about "Opening a New Source of
Business by Networking with Estate Planners." The idea of
partnering with estate planners is something very few mortgage
brokers do. Sure, we all do Certified Public Accountants (CPAs),
lawyers and financial planners, but not necessarily estate
planners. Combining estate planning with Doug Andrew's "Missed
Fortune" concepts is a pure homerun. A grand slam homerun if you
integrate The Mortgage Coach to show the clients the most effective
options of using the equity in their homes to protect their
assets.
• Paul Majane on "Velocity of Money: Accelerate Your Wealth
with Tax Free Municipal Bonds and Treasures." A novel approach; I
did not buy it, but maybe you will.
• Doug Andrew, who has created a concept that is
revolutionizing the mortgage business: "Missed Fortune: How to Use
Home Equity to Accelerate Wealth While Increasing Your Mortgage
Business." I have had the pleasure of going to one of Doug's
seminars and I will probably be taking the full mastery class in
the near future and writing about it. Those pioneering brokers who
have applied Doug's concepts have added more than $100,000 in
income (just ask Steven Marshal from Washington state or Jim
McQuaid). This is just one more example of taking the mortgage
business, integrating it with financial instruments and or life
insurance, making two commissions and the client being richer and
better off in the process.
• Barry Habib and Sue Woodard talk about techniques they have
used in their respective mortgage practices to separate themselves
from the competition and rate shoppers. I practice Barry's
"Creating Wealth through Financial Literacy by Positioning Yourself
as Your Client's Indispensable Asset" in my own business and it has
worked wonders. If you have not heard this CD, I encourage you to
do so.
• Jack Brodsky talks about four things you must know about
RESPA. I find RESPA so frustrating; it is so easy to be illegal
even when you do not intend to be. This CD can save you fines or
even worse. By the time you implement what Barry Habib and Jack
Brodsky talk about, RESPA will probably have changed and we will
have to do it all over again. But for now, I suggest everyone
listen and learn from this CD.
• Gibrahn Nichols provides a four-CD set on enhancing wealth
through real estate management. Gibrahn offers lots of concepts
some you might find valuable. This is probably not for the
newcomer.
• Jim McMahan's "Certified Scripts for Success" were the
surprise classes for me. I have never heard Jim talk
before—lots of wisdom, down to earth and practical. For those
new to the business and for those who just want to learn from a
proven master, Jim is excellent and a natural born teacher. One
particular concept that I liked is he defines his client in three
categories from level one (the first-time homebuyers) to the
retirees. He tailors his sales approach and his marketing to each
category whether they would be best for an ARM, monthly adjustable
or interest-only fixed rate—personalized selling based on the
client's needs.
I hope I have not overwhelmed you with information, but there is
a lot of it to process as part of this training. There is more. It
is not just about listening; you will have the opportunity to take
a test, and if you pass that exam, you will become just like the
name implies—a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist. This
is one more way to distinguish yourself in a very crowded field. I
have never been one for labels or degrees, but I have found, over
the years, that clients can tell when I know what I am talking
about. Clients respect knowledge and experience; as a matter of
fact, I have observed that my clients actually want me to be
knowledgeable and go into depth with them on the various options. I
have found by educating my clients that they ask better questions
and in turn, I have been able to help my clients go beyond the
traditional 30-year fixed mortgage. Unlike their parents,
contemporary customers are using their mortgages as financial
instruments—part of a total financial plan. As always, not
everyone will follow through and become a CMPS. It is for that very
reason that I encourage you to go to their Web site, sign up and,
unlike our broken New Year's resolutions, listen to one CD a day,
take the test and become certified. You will benefit from the
knowledge and your clients will benefit from your expertise. Your
newfound knowledge will bring you riches of not only commissions
and referrals, but the knowledge that you have really been a
trusted adviser to your clients.
John D. Svirsky has been a mortgage broker for 24 years,
doing both commercial and residential mortgages. He is also a
volunteer firefighter, avid cigar enthusiast and cook. He may be
reached by phone at (845) 424-3388 or e-mail
[email protected].
Product Summary
Product Name: Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist
Web site: www.cmpsinstitute.org
What it is: An educational series done by the
masters of our industry: Barry Habib, Jim McMahan, Gibrahn Nicholas
and Dave Savage, along with assorted guest lecturers. The result of
this will be to take a test and become a Certified Mortgage
Planning Specialist. This will open doors of opportunity and permit
you to go beyond being an order-taking mortgage broker to being a
trusted adviser who looks at mortgages as part of a total financial
plan.
Cost: Varies depending upon whether you are
already a subscriber to other services. Check the Web site for
details.
