Do you know what’s crazy? We’re not all the same after all!

I wanted to place a new job posting for mortgage brokers and agents looking for a career change or a new place to build their business. As a skilled entrepreneur, I learned early on to never create anything that already exists unless you can make it significantly better. In this case, I thought about taking the best parts of other job posts, adding my own flair, and “bang” I would have a pretty good job posting. After all, many brokerages are looking to hire new and seasoned agents all the time, so why reinvent the wheel.

As I wandered down this job posting rabbit hole, a couple of things resonated with me; they were completely the same. Every single ad, so much so that I ran a comparison algorithm to pull out keywords to prove my thesis. These were the words that stood out as the most used: 

1. Mortgage Sales Experience
2. Licensed Mortgage Agent
3. Training
4. Top Commission Splits
5. Be Your Own Boss
6. We Give You Leads

They all sound like attractive offerings for new hires. 

BUT, let’s take a minute to analyze three of these as they are essential factors when you’re out looking for a new mortgage brokerage to join.

Mortgage Sales Experience:

The interesting thing about this is it only applies to experienced agents and brokers. How else do you gain “Mortgage Sales Experience?” What makes this interesting was how many of the ads encouraged brand new agents to join their firms. It’s as if companies were literally mimicking each other’s job descriptions and then saying, “Let’s make sure we put a point in about mortgage experience.”

Why not ask for closing experience. If you have ever watched Glengarry Glen Ross, you will inevitability know Blake’s (played by Alec Baldwin) famous quote, “Always Be Closing!” Or perhaps “There is no such thing as a no sales call,” as put by Ben Afflick’s character, Jim Young, in Boiler Room (a must-watch for any budding salesperson), may resonate better with you. Either way, the point is clear. It doesn’t actually matter if you have mortgage sales experience because the most important thing is the ability to close a deal.  If you can’t close, you will be left with nothing but potential deals and no income. 

This is where we thrive at helping our agents turn the corner from mortgage agents to closing agents. The proof is in the results; our agents close their first deal 2 months earlier than the industry average. 

Training:

This is a real pet peeve of mine. You cannot speak to a mortgage brokerage these days without them proclaiming that they have the best training. Now I’m going to generalize as some boutique firms actually do a good job, but for the most part, “the best training” simply means we will drop you into some webinars and then learn on your own. I started in the industry working for one of the big 5 banks, and even I had a similar experience. “Here are a bunch of DVDs, go home and watch them… good luck!” – This actually happened to me. “Good luck,” what was I supposed to do with DVDs and good luck? 

Training should be continually based on your needs as a “Closer.” Everyone’s needs are different depending on where they start their career in the business. If you’ve been in the industry for 3 years and can’t break through the ceiling, maybe you need help managing your database, or you may need new ideas on how to grow your referral sources. Guess what? We actually teach you how to do that. We also have an excellent training program when you join our team. We start with a 5-day “Launch Your Career Course,” which eventually turns into your own mastermind group. We hire in cohorts of 10 agents so that you always have a team of like-minded individuals around you. Each group is led by an experienced agent and sales coach. New ideas can be cultivated into new business opportunities, and someone is always around you to answer your questions.

I had an interview this week with a potential agent, and his biggest concern was that he didn’t just want thrown theory at him as he really needed hands-on experience to learn the tricks of the trade. I was proud to give him all the details of our programs and articulate what I believe is the country’s best training and support system. We agree that hands-on support is what new agents need the most to be successful. It provides guidance and accountability. 

Of course, it doesn’t end there. We have professional sales consultants, social media consultants and executive coaches to help you be the best closer no matter the stage of your career.

Leads:

I want to address this topic because I am often asked whether we provide mortgage leads to prospective candidates who wish to join our team. I often respond with a question – Why do you want leads? The answer may seem obvious, but leads can be bought for less than $1 these days. I could even spend a few hundred dollars and give you a lot of them, but the likelihood of a candidate converting them into an application, let alone a closed deal is doubtful.

Instead, we focus on cultivating the leads you work hard to prospect and bring into your database. We have spent years perfecting the messaging, marketing, and advanced analytics to determine when is the best time to close them. Best of all, this all happens automatically for you. We will help you convert each lead you source into a closed deal, improving your closing ratio. In fact, our agents close nearly 25% of their leads – It doesn’t sound like much until you compare it to the industry average at around 12%. That’s right, our agents are doubling their closing ratio. So why ask “do you give me leads?”, when instead the question should be – “How are you helping me with my leads?”

If any of that resonates with you, well, I have great news for you. We are growing our closing team and are hiring our next cohort of 10 new agents.  We will help them become successful closer so that they have a successful career in the mortgage industry. If you click here, you can send us your resume and apply to be part of our team. 

We look forward to meeting you.

Apply now at LoanDesk.careers