“If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.”—Anthony Robbins
Warning … if you only want what you’ve always gotten, don’t waste your time reading this article.
Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin. If you happened to catch any of March Madness—the NCAA basketball tournament—did you notice how when things start going wrong for a team, its coach almost always calls a timeout? Good coaches can see what’s going on to cause the lull in scoring, so they huddle the team to make adjustments—to do something different. Mr. Robbins’s quote above is spot on.
Well, this article is a timeout for all you lenders out there who are feeling you could be scoring more points in mortgage lending but for some reason (or reasons) you’re not. I’ve been in the business for decades and I have yet to see a successful lender or team of lenders who were successful without at least some coaching.
I know, when you hear the word “coach,” you think you’re giving up your independence. You’re independent. I’m independent, too. That’s one of the reasons I got into this industry. It allows for independence. But when you look at the facts, the actual numbers, the truly successful people in this industry have had (or do currently have) coaches. Every pro team has a coach. Show me a team without a coach, and I’ll show you a losing team. Coaches are those who’ve been on the court and know how things can go haywire. And better yet … coaches know how to change things to make the ball go into the basket.
I want to you to take a timeout for the rest of the article and consider the following:
1. Where are you in your career? Is your career where you imagined it to be when you started in mortgage lending? If not, why not? Do you sometimes find yourself wishing you were as successful as other lenders in your market?
2. What do you want changed in your career? Think about Monday mornings: What bugs you when you get out of bed and start thinking about the day ahead? What items on your to-do list cause even the slightest bit of dread?
3. What do want most in the next year in your career? What about the next five years? What’s the true carrot you’re chasing?
4. Here’s the real kicker: Are you having trouble answering how to make the changes for questions two and three—how do you eliminate the dread and how do you reach your dreams? If so, you I’d like you to seriously consider a coach. Thousands of lenders have been where you are now. Those who chose help are now achieving their dreams in mortgage lending. I’ve seen it over and over in my career as a coach.
Every single lender has more potential than they’re tapping right now. There aren’t many things uglier in this world than unrealized potential, so I’d like you to seriously consider the option of hiring a coach. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. And you can learn about them for free. I know my company offers a free consultation (and many others do too). And once you hire one, it might just be for an hour or two. Not much money at all. The return on investment might well turn out to be a slam dunk!
Bubba Mills is CEO of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 957-8353 or visit CorcoranCoaching.com.
This article originally appeared in the April 2016 print edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
