hiring

Mar 18
1

Wanna Hire a LOA? Better Read this, First!

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hiringThe great news I have to report today is that more and more of my mortgage coaching clients are being given the opportunity from their companies to hire Loan Officer Assistants a whole lot sooner and with a lot less volume than what has been the industry norm. Hip-Hip-Hurray for this positive change!

But here’s the rub, not every mortgage professional who’s ready to hire their first assistant has had the experience of managing another human being, holding someone else accountable and engaged, not to mention, actually motivated to excel on the job.

So I wanted to cover one very critical component in successfully on-boarding your new Loan Officer Assistant, that is largely overlooked by those with little to no management experience.

Starting off on the right foot with your new hire means setting the tone, the pace and proper expectations on the very first day. How do we achieve this?…Come prepared with a 30-Day Training Schedule!

The 30-Day Training Schedule that you prepare should include, at the minimum, blocks of time in which to cover the following items:

Expectations: Job roles, tasks and responsibilities, turn-around times, Professionalism, Attitude, Work hours, Breaks, Time off, Sick time, Vacation requests, Team meetings, Employee reviews;

Systems: CRM, Database, Marketing portholes, LOS, Loan flow/Work flow, Office equipment, Proper phone etiquette, Communication channels, Calendar,  Website addresses, Passwords, Other online tools regularly used in their position;

Shadow Work: Allow your LOA to listen to you on sales calls, accompany you at sales appointments, referral partner meetings, networking & during presentations. Schedule time for you LOA to shadow other key team members, too;

Goals: Mission or vision statement, Business Goals, Business Plan, Brand, Marketing plan, Team dynamics, Incentives, Bonuses, Morale boosters; Additional training opportunities;

One final tip: Keep track of what has been covered with your new employee each week, and then on Friday meet with him/her for 30-minutes to review the week’s lessons, answer their questions, ask questions to ensure comprehension and reset the tone for the next week.

Remember, nothing is a bigger turn-off to a great, new employee than to see their boss scrambling, frustrated, disorganized and short on time. By providing your new Assistant with a daily training plan during their first 30-days of employment, not only will you be better able to deal with your own competing responsibilities, but you’ll set a tone for success and more quickly gain the value from investing in a Loan Officer Assistant.

Jun 13
0

Are You Sure You’re Hiring Sales-Capable Loan Officers?

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Are you tired of filling the seats with warm bodies instead of filling the seats with actual topsalespersonSales-capable Loan Officers?

If you aren’t necessarily focused on recruiting top producers whose production is obvious but instead are willing to bring on individuals whose work history may show gaps of time where they weren’t originating, or who are not as seasoned or come from a different industry, than you need to make sure that you are asking questions that will unearth whether your candidates actually have what it takes to make it in Sales or not!

The fact is that charisma and charm or someone vivacious, honest and good natured cannot be the predominant reasons why you hire them to be a Loan Officer on your team.

Of course we want these positive characteristic in our employees, but my point is just because someone’s personality type seems to fits the mold of what most believe to be a, “good sales person,” does not mean they will succeed in Sales.

Succeeding in Sales has A LOT to do with the following:

  • Discipline
  • Communication
  • Creativity

To uncover if your candidates are actually disciplined in their work lives, communicate their needs and can identify and create opportunities, integrate the following set of open-ended questions into your interview process. You may even want to send these questions ahead of time in order to give your candidates a chance to really think through them prior to the interview.

Discipline questions:

  1. Describe your daily work routine and work schedule.
  2. Explain how you use your calendar and what type of calendar system you use.
  3. What other types of tools or systems or resources do you rely on to stay on task?
  4. Describe the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of this year or last year.
  5. What do you feel are your biggest challenges as a Loan Officer?

Communication questions:

  1. How do you entice new referral partners to meet with you?
  2. When and how do you ask for referrals from your clients?
  3. Describe what you said to a borrower the last time you had to communicate, “bad news.”
  4. Have you ever had to confront a referral partner or discontinue a working relationship with a referral partner? What did you say?
  5. What do you say to a customer who tells you they are going with another Lender?

Creativity questions:

  1. What types of marketing efforts have you engaged in with potential referral partners?
  2. Where and how often do you show up to meet new potential referral partners?
  3. What are some of the ways you have attempted to market yourself?
  4. What groups, associations, charities or organizations do you belong to?
  5. Describe how you go above and beyond for your customers after the transaction is closed.
Jan 10
0

Interview Questions to Uncover the Best Assistant for YOU!

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If you’ve come to that pivotal time in your career where your level of activity, focus and production warrants hiring a part-time or full-time Assistant, let me be the first to congratulate you!interviewingpeople

Hiring an Assistant may feel like a daunting task, but it is the only way you will be able to move your production to the next level. However, if your systems are not in place and you do not have a clear plan written down as to how you will best utilize an Assistant, you run the very real risk of wasting your time and money and taking a step backwards in your production, instead of forwards.

Always Remember: systems come first, and then people resources, when it comes to growing a business.

In the excitement, rush and sometimes desperation to get an Assistant on the team, there’s a tendency to see what we want to see in our candidates instead of what’s really there.

In order to combat this common mistake, it’s very important to prepare insightful interview questions that will lead to the candidate talking 80% of the time and you talking 20% of the time. You also want to be able to ask the types of questions that will uncover the following:

  • Previous work experience
  • Customer Service & Professionalism
  • Motivations & Expectations
  • Commitment & Interest

To aid you in this very worthwhile endeavor of hiring the best Assistant for YOU, I’ve included my, “Uncover the Best” set of interview questions to DOWNLOAD and use as you see fit.