Naval Ravikant, AngelList founder and early investor in Uber and Twitter, credits much of his success to asking one question: how do you get rich without getting lucky? His answer ... leverage.
Naval's framework highlights four types of leverage: two older forms and two newer ones. The older forms — labor and capital — are how the great fortunes of the 20th century were built. The two newer forms — media and code — are how the fortunes of the 21st century are being built. Mortgage industry CEOs and executives have woken up to this fact and have turned to media to help build their own fortunes.
Mortgage recruiting is hard, and getting harder. MBA and Stratmore data put long-run retail loan officer turnover near 38%. In order to grow, independent mortgage banks (IMBs) need to work against a steep replacement rate, and even a successful year of recruiting could mean standing still if loan officer churn stays high. In order to combat this, a growing number of mortgage executives are taking to media in order to achieve their recruiting goals. They are betting that visibility is a constraint to their recruiting efforts and that using media will allow them to build a larger roster of potential recruits.
The Shrinking Pool Of Producers
Of the 192,800 licensed loan originators as of late 2024, only 177,900 of them closed at least one loan in the last 12 months. Down approximately 46% from the 2022 peak. On average, those loan officers were producing approximately 21 units a year, or just under two units a month, and only the top 10% of loan officers were producing around 4 units per month.
It makes sense that those top 10% originators are the target for the majority of recruiting efforts, and understandably, those loan officers have grown weary of the attention. There is only so many times that a loan officer can hear somebody describe their company as having the best tech, best comp, and best rates without feeling skepticism. This has left CEOs of IMBs trying to answer the question of how to stand out in such a crowded market. Executives have come to the realization that if cold calling has stopped working, they should rely on generating inbound interest through leveraging media.
The Birth Of The Modern Day Mortgage Influencer
In order to get around the wall of noise that has become the outbound mortgage recruiting space, CEOs and other executives are taking to LinkedIn to tout the benefits of working with them. Where recruiting used to happen individually on sales calls, these conversations have shifted publicly and online. For the first time, originators are evaluating the credibility, likability, and expertise of leaders through their digital footprint rather than through recruiters.
This works especially well for small to medium sized IMBs, as their size allows the CEO to take the initial recruiting calls directly. This means a leader or branch manager can create a piece of content, monitor engagement, and message loan officers who like or comment on the post.
This worked so well that one of our clients was able to book $243 million in recruiting volume to his calendar in 30 days. The direct messages the client sent were as simple as "I would be happy to talk about the business if you're interested." Positioning introductory calls without sales pressure allowed this client to build relationships with 13 new loan officers that would have otherwise ignored or avoided a recruiter.
Recruiting Takes Time
Recruiting in the mortgage space is more like dating than it is like sales. Relationships and trust are built over time, and CEOs are consistently doing this with content over 12 to 18 months. Most originators will not be ready to make a move this quarter, or potentially even this year. These modern day mortgage influencer CEOs aren't betting on overnight success, they're betting that over the next 36 months hundreds of loan originators will come to know, like, and trust them.
What To Write
In order to avoid analysis paralysis, here are some pointers to get started:
Founder Mission - Who are you trying to help, and why? Whether you are the founder, the president, the CEO, or a Regional Manager, there is a specific type of loan officer that thrives at your company. Identify the type of loan officer that you excel at helping, and write content speaking to them. Be specific, everybody wants entrepreneurial go-getter types. Get really clear about your ideal originator profile and create content that speaks directly to how you solve their pain points.
Industry Trends - How has origination changed over the last 3 years? Things are changing faster than ever. Consolidation, margin compression, housing affordability, are all top of mind for loan officers. Taking strong stances one way or the other is a powerful way to create urgency, signal expertise, and generate attention. Create content that speaks to your understanding of these changes.
Futurism - How will origination change over the next three to five years? AI disruption, compliance changes, and rate volatility remain front and center for originators. Writing about these highlights to loan originators that you are thinking about the future and you're prepared to handle what's coming. This content pillar is about opening a dialogue about where things are going and demonstrating your pattern recognition ability. No need to accurately predict the future, but extra points if you do.
Media As A Compounding Asset
Naval Ravikant correctly identified that media allows business owners to build leverage. Relationship building can now be done at scale. The CEOs that are leaning into this are building audiences of loan originators that will pay them dividends over the next five years. Media is a compounding asset that grows your visibility exponentially. As Naval put it, "All the returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest."
