All posts by Coach Victoria

Jun 07
0

How to Respond Strategically When Getting Dumped for Another Lender

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

competitionGetting dumped for another lender happens, but responding strategically to the client’s reasons for making the switch is just as important as your script when engaging with the prospect for the very first time.

The majority of the population loathes change and feels quite insecure and hesitant when faced with switching gears for any reason. Once the change is made, the smallest glitch or bump in the road will cause most people to regret their decision and wish they hadn’t made the change at all.

In the case of obtaining a mortgage, there can be plenty of moments of uncertainty and insecurity for the borrower, so the likelihood is when you do get dumped for another lender, there’s a real possibility of wooing your prospect back if you just gracefully and strategically keep the door open and follow-up.

Just recently I helped a client of mine write the following email script to send to her straying customer. In this particular case, the loan officer had given advice, consistently checked-in and been an ear to this prospect’s personal challenges over a significant period of time, yet the prospect decided to go with her credit union based on, “convenience.”

Ouch! Right?

Of course, this is just one way to respond, BUT what I like to remind my clients when responding to rate shoppers or getting dumped for other reasons is…

1.    You are NOT desperate-Let ’em go gracefully and keep the door open.

2.    You are the BEST choice regardless of their reason.

3.    Remember, the prospect has NO idea what they should really be worried about, like actually making it to the closing table and CLOSING.

Feel free to adopt, edit and use the following script as you see fit.

“So happy to hear things in your personal life are just about wrapped up for you. Onward and upward, right? 🙂 Congrats!

Please do keep in mind that not all mortgage services are the same, so if for any reason things start to go sideways with the process or communication with your credit union, do not hesitate to contact me ASAP. Starting the loan process is easy, but getting to the finish line and closing your loan is where experience, solution-based thinking and perseverance is a must. I can honestly say I’ve saved dozens and dozens of deals from falling apart in my 20+ years of lending. 

I’d love the opportunity to help you into your bright future with a brand new home. Again, if anything changes, just call me immediately. I’ll make sure to check in on you in a few weeks to see how all is coming along.

Take care out there and stay in touch.”

Jun 01
0

What Creates Dysfunction in Teams?

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

team dysfunctionWhether your team consists of 10 people or if your team is made-up of yourself and one Assistant, being aware of what will make your particular team effective and productive vs. dysfunctional is important to the overall success of your business.

Here are the five signs of a dysfunctional team, which includes behaviors that you, as the Team Leader, may be exhibiting as well:

  1. No Commitment-Lack of buy-in. Tendency to agree during meetings, but refuse to follow-through on actions items. Appears ambiguous about company initiatives, projects, and changes. Over-analyzing. Misses deadlines.
  2. Accountability-phobia-Low standards. Will not confront team members on counterproductive behaviors or actions. Lack of setting deadlines. Lack of follow-up and follow-through. No clear expectations. Easily distracted. Lack of growth.
  3. Inattention to Results: Status and Ego. Put their individual needs above the collective goals of the team. Unaware of production numbers. Lack of tracking. No communication regarding individual team member’s effectiveness and/or team accomplishments.
  4. Lack of Trust-Difficulty in sharing ideas or admitting to errors. Unwillingness to be vulnerable and open. Hesitates to offer help outside of their job description. Dislikes team meetings.
  5. Avoidance of Conflict-Pretending as if all is in harmony. No engagement in passionate debate. Lack of constructive criticism or suggestions. Veiled discussions and guarded comments. Meetings are unproductive and boring.

In order to begin, “righting the ship” so to speak, the first place to start is with a good ‘ole self-evaluation.

Becoming aware of and actively working on your own set of weaknesses and being transparent with your team about your journey on the road to self-improvement is a sign of a great, leader-in-the-making and will inspire your team members to follow suit. As the old saying goes, “It all starts from the top!”

May 15
0

Achieve More with an Accountability Partner

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accountabilityBeing the captain of your own ship comes with a lot of great perks like setting your own work schedule and being in charge of how much money you can make.

The downside to not having a boss breathing down your neck is that there can be a tendency to fudge a little, even slack off at times when it comes to your goals and business growth.

Contrary to what many believe, allowing accountability into your life does not mean you’re weak, lack experience or suffer from some form of attention deficit disorder. Rather, engaging with an accountability partner, mentor or a Coach will greatly increase your focus, keep you motivated and will provide you with alternate perspectives and creative solutions to help you achieve more in a shorter amount of time.

Look for the following qualities in your Accountability Partner:

  • Positive attitude
  • Interested/Invested in your success
  • Candid
  • Goal-oriented
  • Creative
Apr 26
0

Realtors too Busy to Meet? Here are 3 Awesome Alternative Ways to Stay in Front of Them!

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

topofmindawarenessIf you didn’t manage to schedule all of your face to face meetings with your Realtors during the Fall and Winter season and you’re trying to cram them all in now, you may be experiencing some frustrations due to the simple fact that NOW, more listings are cropping up and most of your Realtors are too busy to meet.

If you think the solution is to up your email drip campaign frequencies to remain, “top of mind” I can assure you, you’re in for more frustration as the open-rate is likely going to plummet, which should not be taken as a sign that your Realtors have strayed, BUT the non-responsiveness can deflate your ego and confidence and who really needs that?

So, my advice is not to fall prey to this knee-jerk reaction and begin blowing-up your Realtors’ email inboxes, but instead get creative about how you’re going to remain a strong presence rather than a nuisance throughout your Realtors’ busy season.

Here are three fabulous ways to get your Realtors’ attention WITHOUT the possibility of an opt-out!

  1. Yelp your Help-More and more Realtors are utilizing Yelp’s services to capture client testimonials, expand their brand and gain leads. Visit their Yelp profile and provide them with a testimonial. You can also peruse all of their current testimonials and click on one of the three web buttons available labeled, “Useful,” “Funny,” or “Cool.” Of course, your Realtors will be alerted to these activities and you become instantly, “top of mind.”
  2. Get in the Game-Offer to co-sit your Realtors’ Open Houses to help answer financial questions should any arise, help put out signs, bring waters, or balloons or other helpful goodies, pass out open house flyers to the neighbors and invite them to visit the Open House, pick up the slack when your Realtor becomes overwhelmed by visitors, encourage visitors to sign the sign-in sheet or simply make small talk and collect useful intel to share later with your Realtors. Even if you only have an hour to spare, even if you can only do 1-2 a month, nothing builds stronger bonds than being a true team player.
  3. “Like” ‘em A LOT-Become your Realtors’ biggest fan on Facebook. Many Realtors use Facebook to promote their listings, showcase their expertise and their open houses with video, advertise home buyer seminars and post pictures of happy home buyers. Support their efforts by posting positive comments. “Like,” “Love” or “Wow” their posts. Share their informative and educational tips and if their page allows, post pictures of neighborhood characteristics, nearby schools or shops, bike paths, parks, etc. that would help support the listings that they are promoting on their page. P.S. You don’t have to be a freelance photographer, simply use Google Image to locate these pictures.
Apr 21
0

What My Clients Have Taught Me About Becoming Successful

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

cropped-address-bar-victoria-fifield.pngToday, I am grateful, humbled and more excited than ever as I celebrate my 10 year anniversary as the mortgage industry’s #1 Business Coach!

Of course, nobody succeeds alone and I have to thank all of my faithful, dedicated and goal-focused clients, both past and present who put their careers in my hands to help them visualize, plan and execute business growth initiatives that have taken them to the next level.

Being witness to the enormous changes my clients experience on the road to becoming the best versions of themselves in their business and personal lives continues to drive me every day to sharpen my own coaching methods and skills, stay abreast of marketing and sales trends, new technologies and track what Loan Officers are implementing in their businesses that is gaining a return on investment and what is not!

As a Coach you learn some extremely important skills, such as: the art of listening, knowing when to push and how to push, applying accountability tools and tactics that elicit positive action, asking questions that help your clients uncover their own solutions, how to create wins, leverage opportunities and how to encourage people to move past fear, anxiety and perfectionism.

Here is what my clients have proven to me time and time again about becoming successful…

  1. Nobody succeeds alone. What most business professionals lack the most is a trusted advisor, someone invested in their success, who unwaveringly stands in a place of hope and possibility for them when they feel like tapping out.
  2. ACTION secures results. Trying to predict the outcomes, over-analyzing and getting stuck in assumptions stymies the growth process. The old quote still stands 100% true, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”- Henry David Thoreau
  3. Discipline defines success. Sticking to a plan of action, embracing time management principles, doing what we set out to do even when we rather be in bed reading a good book ALL boils down to self-discipline. You either choose to be disciplined or you choose not to be disciplined. It’s the biggest choice to how your life will play-out.
  4. Never count yourself out. Whatever errors, mishaps, misfortunes, missed opportunities, failures, embarrassments, etc., have befallen you, DO NOT define you! The human spirit is unimaginably powerful. Our ability to change and grow stays with us forever. I have been witness to people who have lost everything, who have suffered from various health conditions, have been challenged by legal issues, who have left this industry, come back, left again and re-entered, struggled with lack of confidence, lack of experience and then watched as they changed and dug their way out of the mess and confusion to become some of the most successful individuals in this industry.

Ten years of coaching mortgage professionals as a full-time career has gifted me with the unwavering faith that success and happiness and fulfillment are always achievable no matter where you start from!

THANK YOU for these ten years and the many more to come.

Apr 10
0

An Exercise in Striking Out Fear

By | Mortgage Business Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments

What if you were told by an ancient oracle that you would become the wealthiest, healthiest and happiest person in the world, but you first had to fail at least 10,000 times before achieving these states?

Would you allow failure into your life, then? Might you be eager to attempt all that you fear the most in order to live the life that you envision?

What if I told you that ancient oracle actually lives within you, not outside of you, and that the mantras you repeat in your mind every day wield enough power to make whatever it is that you are focusing on an absolute reality?

The following are words from incredibly inspiring people who realized that failure is not to be feared but simply accepted as a stepping stone to greatness:

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much napoleonhill

temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a

man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit. And that is exactly

what the majority of men and women do.” – Napoleon Hill

briantracey“Everyone faces difficulties every step of the way. The difference

between high achievers and low achievers is simply that high achievers

utilize adversity and struggles for growth, while low achievers allow

difficulties and adversity to overwhelm them and leave them discouraged

and dejected.” –Brian Tracy

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”RobertFKennedy

-Robert F. Kennedy

What do you feel that you have failed at in your life up to this point? Looking back on the situation now, can you discover at least one success that was born from what seemed like a loss at the time?

What characteristics did you display? What did you learn and how did you grow from this experience?

Take about 15 minutes to really think about this. Meditate on how you felt at the time in the face of what you believed was a failure and then move your thoughts to how you feel right now. Can you see that this was simply a stepping stone in your life?

Take out a journal and write down everything that you have been fearing to fail. Your list might look something like this:

  1. I am fearful of speaking in front of a large audience.
  2. I am fearful of developing referral relationships.
  3. I am fearful of not appearing knowledgeable in my industry.

Once you feel that you have released every fear from your mind, go back and strike out the fear and write one small step that you could be excited about taking that would bring you closer to moving beyond the fear. For example:

I am fearful of speaking in front of a large audience. I am excited to take my presentation home and invite two friends over to be my audience.

Commit each month to achieving these small steps and then journaling to discover what each stepping stone on your path looks like for the next month and the next. Before you know it, this accumulation of small victories will bring you to your ultimate goal.

Mar 27
0

Watch-Out for these Time Sucking Vampires

By | Food for thought, Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

timevampsTime-sucking vampires are amongst us and the faster you can identify them and learn how to extricate yourself from their never-ending thirst, the faster you can get back to being productive, focused and a lot less drained at the end of your work day.

Here are the top 3 time-sucking scenarios that need to be immediately managed and by managed, I mean…Boundaries are set & expectations clearly communicated with a goal of 100% satisfaction, OR you sever the relationship all together.

  1. Loan officers, whether peers or direct reports, who ask you the same questions over and over again, do not apparently take notes or take time to read guidelines and learn their craft. Or, those peers or direct reports who vent tirelessly about their clients, their struggles, the market or what Corporate isn’t doing for them.
  2. Assistants or other support team members who make their work load your responsibility, by constantly having to double-check their work, take tasks back from them, ask how they’re doing with projects, rather than automatically receiving regular updates from them, or those who buck the system, refuse to proactively seek-out solutions or infect the rest of the team with their complaints, negative comments and insubordinate behaviors.
  3. Referral partners who accept your lunch invites, attend your seminars, use your resources, ask for contributions to their marketing, auctions, fundraisers, charitable causes, Broker Opens, Open Houses, demand that their procrastinations become your emergencies and NEVER offer to reciprocate on their own accord in any way.
Feb 24
0

Goals Eluding You? Give Yourself Some Grace!

By | Food for thought, Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

graceGiving yourself Grace is not about giving yourself excuses. Excuses are external, verbal creations that are given to people you believe hold expectations of you. Excuses are mired in guilt and many times an unspoken desire to pass-off responsibility.

Grace is personal and steeped in forgiveness and new solutions. Giving yourself Grace when your goals seem to be eluding you will help you to push past the hard times and make it to the finish line.

Is there a formula for practicing Grace? I’m glad that you asked. My personal formula for practicing Grace is: G=R3, or Grace= (Recall) x (Reaffirm) x (Recommit).

The first step is to Recall all that you have accomplished in the past and to imagine the lift of good feelings and rush of endorphins that accompanied those wins.

Next, it’s very important that you Reaffirm who you know yourself to be at your very best. If you’ve got your list of positive affirmations, read them. If not, write a new set of 10 positive affirmations immediately.

Finally, Recommit to those goals, visions and/or aspirations that you feel passionate about. If you’ve lost the fire for one goal or the other, examine why that might be. Is fear holding you back? If it is, it’s likely a very worthwhile goal that needs to be broken down into smaller steps.

If you feel a sense of boredom or simple disinterest, scrap-it from the plan and move on.

All great accomplishments start internally, as a seed of thought in the mind. The goals that we set are the first promises we make to ourselves to bring those thoughts into action.

If along the way we become derailed, or some of our goals seem to elude us, all we ever need do is to Recall, Reaffirm and Recommit, thereby summoning the blessings of Grace.

Jan 29
0

Don’t let thoughts of Monday steal your Sunday

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

sunday2Have you ever been sipping your Sunday morning cup of coffee and instead of simply enjoying the aroma, the peace and the quiet, you’re already thinking about work on Monday and worrying about files?

The best way to combat your sweet cappuccino turning into a bitter cup of Joe is to immediately grab a pen and a notebook and take the first 15-20 minutes of your Sunday morning and empty all of those work thoughts out of your head and dump them onto the page.

Free-up your mind, knowing that your to-dos have been captured, your files prioritized and your goals jotted down.

This list doesn’t have to be pretty, nor does it have to be a list at all. It could be a stream of consciousness journal entry, a mind map, calendar entries, reminders in your mobile phone.

The medium you select doesn’t matter. However, allowing your mind to release its grip on the work week ahead by engaging in this quick exercise means the world to your loved ones who are eagerly awaiting your full and happy presence on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Jan 25
0

Separating Magnificent Managers from Mediocre Managers

By | Mortgage Business Tips | No Comments

To all leadershipawardmy struggling Branch Managers weighed down by the dual goal of maintaining their own origination, as well as, inspiring other sales people to grow their production…Remember that you are responsible for providing tools, guidance, accountability and expertise to your sales team, but the drive to sell, the desire to close and the self-discipline required to be a successful Loan Officer either exists at the core of the individual or it does not. Being able to quickly identify the core of your sales team members and act accordingly is an ability that separates magnificent Managers from mediocre Managers.