coach victoria fifield

Are you tired of filling the seats with warm bodies instead of filling the seats with actual Sales-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.