The one thing that successful branch managers have in common is that they have a plan in place for consistent recruiting. When you consider the fact that one good recruit adds approximately $24,000 a year to your personal income, it’s not hard to see why success-minded managers MAKE TIME to focus on their recruiting strategy. They understand that the highest and best use of their time is to recruit producers who can bring in the loans rather than working longer hours to bring in the loans themselves.
Recruiting involves time, energy and focus, which is why it is usually swept aside for most “busy” branch managers. To help get you started, here are the top three places to begin the search for your new team.
Existing MLOs
The fastest way to see your recruiting efforts payoff is to find someone who is ready to hit the ground running and start producing for you from day one. Optimally, this producer is already licensed, knows the business well and has a transferrable pipeline. Chances are, you won’t be the first to try to recruit them (if they’re quality producers)—just remember that recruiting is all about relationship-building and getting to know someone to see if they are a good fit for you … and if you are a good fit for them. Keep in mind that it’s not always all about the money for existing producers. Paying more money that what they are getting now only goes so far. Show them that you can solve problems for them, help them with their marketing, help them get their loans closed faster, and make their work easier (and more productive) for them. If you don’t have something better to offer them, align yourself with a company that does first.
Newbies
An excellent source for great future loan originators! Train them in the way they should go, and in most cases, you will have a loyal producer for years to come. They do take more time to develop, which is why they must be very carefully selected. A qualified candidate must be great at sales, highly-motivated and possess a strong work ethic. Find someone with a proven track record of success in sales, and you will find someone who will be amazed at how easy and profitable the mortgage business is! Find great new talent by running an ad in the sales section your local newspaper. No recruiting plan is complete without a consistent stream of fresh (yes, that means “green”) talent.
Bank originators
A ton of great producers went to banks when the licensing requirements went into effect over a year ago. The main reason that most of them went to a bank was to avoid having to take continuing education tests (or maybe they didn’t pass the tests). The problem is, it didn’t take them long to figure out that they were originating loans for just above minimum wage, and now a bunch of them are starting to think that maybe that test might not be so bad after all. For example, we have a program in place for our branch managers to recruit LOs away from banks by offering a recruiting package that pays bank LOs to take their test and reimburses them for the cost of the prep course/materials and test.
Bank LOs present a great recruiting opportunity that most lenders are ignoring—don’t miss out on this great source of growth potential for your team.
Don’t just read this article … take action right now!
Scratch out your basic recruiting plan down on paper today, and then make time every day to focus on refining and working your plan. It’s essential to take a long-term approach to recruiting—most producers won’t make a move after just one lunch meeting. Plant the seeds and nurture them consistently, and you will find out how much easier it is to reach your goals when you have a pipeline bringing it in for you instead of carrying buckets of water yourself!
Look, let’s deal with the facts … most companies provide ZERO recruiting support for their branches (they fall victim to the same trap—for them it’s just easier not to). At Hometown Lenders, we work with our branch managers to create recruiting strategies and to help them put producers in their branch. We have a team of corporate recruiters and recruiting firms that do the heavy lifting for our branch managers because we understand the time demands that come along with running a branch. We appreciate the fact that recruiting is a critical core function of branch success, and we invest in our branch managers success by removing as much of the hard part as possible. If your company doesn’t offer recruiting support, find one that does TODAY—it’s that important.
THINK BIG!
Eric Tishaw is chief operating officer of Hometown Lenders and author of the Net Branch Survival Kit. Recognized as a leader in the mortgage industry, Eric was recently included in National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s "Top 40 Under 40" list. With more than 12 successful years in the business, an MBA, and a lifetime of working in and around the mortgage business, Eric understands exactly what it takes to be successful in this industry. He is committed to helping the loan originators and mortgage branch managers at Hometown Lenders realize their fullest potential by utilizing and sharing the skills he has learned, and the best practices he has observed throughout his career. He may be reached by e-mail at
[email protected].
