Assessing your goals at the halfway mark
We are just past the mid-year point and its time, if you haven’t done so already, to check in to see how you are doing. Goals are very important and most originators set them at the beginning of the year, but measurement of those goals is equally as important.
All too often, loan originators and account executives don’t check in on themselves in detail to see how they are doing. I say this because time and again, when I am conducting an introductory coaching session with a prospective client, I will ask them about the volume, units, leads, etc. … Amazingly, even though the bulk of my clients are high producers, it is amazing how few actually know their numbers and stats. There is always a ballpark figure, but that is really not good enough.
In our business, what gets measured, analyzed and focused on, gets done! It is crucial that you not just measure what is happening in your business on a daily or weekly basis, but it’s critical towards meeting objectives to measure your progress towards your goals.
I often have conversations with originators and account executives about the difference between working “transactional” versus working a “business.” Transactional focus leads to more often than not working paycheck to paycheck. “Business” thinking leads towards much bigger things—from rapid and deliberate production increase, to the development and building of a team.
If it has been a while since you looked at your written goals (if you don’t have clearly written and defined goals, then that is a different conversation that is needed) and see exactly where you are in your business, now is the time.
I always recommend, when evaluating performance, that you should not only know your units, volume and lead volume, but there are so many more aspects that are important to measure. Some of the additional metrics which are important to measure are:
►The number of leads generated from each different relationships or lead source
►The conversion of those leads to closed loans
►The rate of re-approvals to closed loans
►The ratio of originated loans closed to measure pull-through
The more you understand where your business comes from, and as importantly which source(s) of business are the most profitable for you, the more you can make the right adjustments to how you market and promote your business.
The second part of your mid-year evaluation is taking a look in the mirror to see exactly what you might need to improve upon. Measuring your progress related to production and income are only part of where you need to look. Focusing on your sales, marketing or even time management skills are just as important.
For example … if you struggle with controlling your time, then your ability to increase your production is immediately compromised. If your business is run in a chaotic manner, your brain will immediately link up “more business means more chaos.” That association on a subconscious level will ultimately lead to self-sabotage where you will take one step forward and then one step back. What will make it even worse is that you will have more stress when this happens.
The better your skills on influencing others to follow your lead, the less time is spent on each activity, like gathering documents, getting prospects and referral partners to say “yes.”
Although any time of year is a great time to check in with your goals and skill assessment, if you have not done so, then mid-year couldn’t be a better time. You will be amazed at what you find out about yourself and your business when you do it. Some of it will be great, and likely some of it might be just what you need to make massive changes to elevate your business to a whole new level.
Ron Vaimberg is president of Ron Vaimberg International and executive director of NMP University. Ron is a veteran of the real estate and mortgage industry since 1983. As a leading speaker, trainer and strategic coach, he possesses the ability to quickly assess any individual’s business challenge and provide instant solutions that are simple to implement and provide significant growth results. Ron may be reached by phone at (866) 360-6645 or by e-mail [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the August 2016 print edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
