AIME Podcast Network

On this very special episode of Broker to Broker, we take you to Fuse 2024 in New Orleans to hear the keynote from AIME Chairman & CEO, Jonathon Haddad. Titled We Lead United: Revolutionizing the Market as the United Broker Community, hear Jonathon take the stage to outline his vision for the broker community and the mortgage industry’s future under his leadership.

Listen now to catch Jonathon as he doubles down on AIME’s mission to empower mortgage brokers to be the best versions of themselves for consumers and their community, and exactly how he elevated AIME’s old slogan from “Brokers Are Better” to “Brokers Are Best.” 

The post Fuse 2024 Special: Keynote – Jonathon Haddad, AIME Chairman & CEO (Episode 201) appeared first on AIME.

Brought to you by Fuse 2024 in New Orleans

Register for Fuse NOW w/ code: letthegoodtimesroll

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It’s Broker to Broker’s 200th Episode! Join us for a celebration, as host Marc Summers is joined by special co-host AIME Chairman & CEO Jonathon Haddad as they look back at 200 episodes and discuss the broker channel’s past, present, and future.

To toot the podcast’s horn a bit because Marc’s quite humble, here are some of the accomplishments of Broker To Broker, since its debut in 2019:

We can’t thank the broker community enough for listening and tuning in all these years. We’re looking forward to 200 more episodes of talking to, highlighting, spotlighting, and celebrating the wonder broker community. May we keep fighting the good fight to support each other, our communities, and the homebuyers who need us the most.

Key Points:

1:34 – Intro / The Current Wholesale Landscape

8:11 – Broker Community Leadership: Lessons from the Top

19:12 – Podcast and Broker Community Stats: 2019 – Now

26:00 – Marc’s Host Reflections

30:42 – The Future of Wholesale

36:13 – Fuse 2024: Pivotal Moment in Broker History

The post Episode #200: Special Co-Host Jonathon Haddad appeared first on AIME.

This episode is brought to you by Fuse 2024 in New Orleans

Register for Fuse NOW

Join us for another special AIME Board of Directors spotlight episode of Broker to Broker! Learn the wholesale channel’s long-term goals for growth and scaling, featuring the Director of Growth, Julie Yarbrough!

Learn more about AIME Leadership and the elected Board Of Directors: https://aimegroup.com/about-us/

Already a leader in our industry, Julie is a Founding Partner of Empire Home Loans, a nearly four-decade industry expert, and a Hall of AIME inductee for her incredible career of giving back to the broker community long before she took on the role of AIME’s Director of Growth.

Julie shares her incredible knowledge and history in the wholesale channel to help predict broker futures. Don’t miss her invaluable knowledge and wisdom, as she’s charting the future trajectory of our industry!

Key Points:

1:30 – Intro / An Incredible Career, still In-Progress

4:38 – Selflessness as a Business Model

10:00 – Setting a Scaling Plan within the Broker Community

20:14 – Education as Growth Initiatives

29:26 – The Future of Wholesale

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The post AIME Board Of Director Spotlight: Julie Yarbrough – Episode 199 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is brought to you by Fuse 2024 in New Orleans

Catch Broker to Broker, episode 198! Join host Marc Summers and learn how to set a healthy work-life balance, give back to your community, and maintain top origination numbers with the Broker Owner of Montana Family Mortgage, Dave Krueger!

Learn more about Dave’s nonprofit, Heroes 4 Kids: link

Dave’s career has been an incredible story so far: from working as an undercover narcotics officer in Missoula, Montana, to starting a home healthcare company with his high school sweetheart, Denise, and finally, entering the wholesale mortgage channel. Dave has lived and practiced a heart-forward life and career, and he shares his secrets to enjoying BOTH high levels of happiness AND success with us.

Dave shares his time, and work-life balance strategies, but also, how his business doesn’t just serve his local community, but in the operation of his business, has structured it to give back to the same community:

Key Points:

1:08 – Intro / Transition from Law Enforcement to Wholesale Mortgage

5:45 – Getting Help & Guidance from the Broker Community

8:00 – Time Management and Work-Life Balance

17:15 – Giving Back to the Community

21:45 – The Broker Community: The Edge Over Retail

“When we first started this mortgage company, my wife and I decided, okay, how are we going to lend to ourselves and what’s important to us? So we started a 501c3 called Heroes 4 Kids. We provide scholarships for sports, sports related activities, and tutoring to local student athletes. A portion of every single loan my wife and I close is put into that bucket.” Dave States, “I sponsor all our events with Montana Family Mortgage and that’s by design, right? People come to these events, see who the sponsor is of everything, and it helps me get more deals. At the end of the day, those ‘more deals’ fund more money into the 501c3, helping more local kids. Guess who are the first people that I invite to every one of my events: realtors and referral partners. I say ‘Hey, this is Dave Kruger reaching out from you on behalf of Heroes 4 Kids, and this is what I’m doing. Please come & support our local kids.’ They see me as the mortgage broker who directly supports the community. It fills my bucket. It makes us feel good. It makes a difference. It also drives business, because people want to do business with people they like, people they respect, and people who are helping out their community.”

The post Time Management: The Secret Sauce of Broker Success and Happiness with Dave Krueger – Episode 198 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is brought to you by AIME’s Board Of Directors

Join us for a special AIME Board of Directors spotlight episode of Broker to Broker! Learn the Board of Directors’ annual goals and the regional initiatives for the wholesale channel, featuring the Regional Director of Membership, Russell Petty.

Learn more about AIME Leadership and the elected Board Of Directors: https://aimegroup.com/about-us/

Russell was elected earlier this year by the broker community to hold a position at AIME as the Regional Director of Membership. In this episode, we cover his goals in his new position, how he intends to unify and empower the broker community with tangible resources, and what he and the rest of the board members expect for the entire wholesale industry for the rest of 2024 and into 2025.

Key Points:

0:40 – Intro / Russell’s Re-Introduction

3:50 – Finding the Right People + Wholesale Tech Stacks

9:39 – What it Means to be Elected a Community Leader

12:16 – Regional Director of Membership Goals + Overall Board Goals

19:54 – 2024 & Beyond for the Broker Community

In his new position, Russell answers the direct questions of many in the broker community, giving them advice on how to grow & scale business, just like he did. Russell breaks it down to the simplest form, and the model he himself works with:

“Brokers should be setting goals.” states Russell, “Many brokers don’t know how to set goals; they say ‘Oh, I want to grow.’ well, Okay. From what to what? Ask yourself: what do you want to grow to? Now work backwards. Lay out how you’re going to get there. And start laying the steps to go through them. A broker recently reached out to me said, ‘I want to I want to scale my shop.’ I go, ‘cool, to what level?’ he says ‘I want to be. Number one.’ I go, ‘do you really? Because that’s a lot. Do you got your number one? You’re going to try and compete and catch up to industry leaders…. what specifically are you going to do?’ So, just set your goals. Actually write it down instead of saying, ‘I want to grow,’ say, ‘I want to have X amount of units per month that we close by this date.’ That’s a lot easier to accomplish now. We all want to grow. I want to get bigger, I want to get scared. But if there’s no plan, there’s no daily actions. There’s nothing being tracked. There’s no actual unit of measurement to know if you’re hitting metrics. Without a goal, most live the same six months over and over and over and over again… So, have your goals solidified with steps on how to get to them, and if you’ve worked it all the way backwards, you’ll wake up every day working to check off those items.”

The post AIME Board Of Director Spotlight: Russell Petty – Episode 197 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is sponsored by NMBD: CONNECT – coming to Tampa and Detroit THIS WEEK

Anaheim, CA – July 15th – PASSED – See you next year!

Detroit, MI – Tuesday, July 17th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Detroit

Tampa, FL – Thursday, July 19th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Tampa

NMBD CONNECT presents: A special National Mortgage Brokers Day (NMBD) episode of Broker To Broker! Join host Marc Summers and the Broker Action Coalition (BAC) leaders Katie Sweeney & Brendan McKay, and learn how YOU can support the broker community in your own way.

The easiest, fastest way to start supporting your fellow broker is by following these quick & easy steps: https://www.brokeractioncoalition.com/how-to-get-involved

Key Points:

2:11 – The Importance of Broker Relationship-Building

12:30 – How NAR’s Settlement Affects Brokers

17:54 – Getting Started in Broker Advocacy

22:14 – The Current Broker Advocacy Issues

28:33 – Broker Advocacy isn’t Left or Right, it’s Pro-Housing

“There’s a lot of different political opinions, a lot of people with different perspectives. But when it comes to broker advocacy, our job is not to give guidance on unelected officials’ political stances on anything outside of housing. Our job is to consider what somebody’s perspectives are, what their voting records are, what their stance is when it comes to housing policy, and what that means for financial services, what that means for the mortgage industry, and what it means for helping consumers get into homes.” States Katie, “Our legislative focus is purely on helping people understand the opportunities of homeownership, helping the industry move forward in creating parity between channels so that mortgage brokers have the same advantages that every other loan officer has, helping more people get into homes, and making sure that the wholesale mortgage industry is well represented in ongoing policies.”

“We’re not we’re not Republicans and Democrats. We’re pro-housing. That is that is that is our platform.” States Brendan, “For getting involved, I would love for everyone to just have natural altruism right off the bat. And I think we can get people there. The work that we do, it’s the best insurance policy that a broker can buy. There’s nothing that can ever stop the growth of the mortgage broker channel other than the badly written regulations that we did not have an opportunity to weigh in on until now.”

The post NMBD Special: Start Where You Are – How To Get Involved in Broker Advocacy ft. BAC Leadership – Episode 196 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is sponsored by NMBD: CONNECT – coming to Anaheim, Tampa, and Detroit

Anaheim, CA – July 15th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Anaheim

Detroit, MI – July 17th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Detroit

Tampa, FL – July 19th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Tampa

NMBD CONNECT presents Broker to Broker Episode 195! This is an essential listen for mortgage brokers in 2024. Today, we learn how brokers must navigate the looming industry shifts from NAR’s settlement, with vital guidance from the Broker Owner of Left Coast Leaders, Amir Nurani.

Amir has his finger on the pulse of the market and industry fallout from NAR’s recent lawsuit settlements. Amir breaks down what the settlement means, how it will affect LOs and their clients, and what proactive action brokers need to take to navigate the changing market. Amir gives us the exact steps for how brokers can adapt to a consumer-direct business model to future-proof brokerages.

Key Points:

1:27 – Entering, Leaving, and Finally Returning to Wholesale

10:50 – Left Coast Leaders: Returning to Wholesale After 15 Years

13:57 – NAR Lawsuit: How it Affects Brokers & Consumers

17:43 – The Current and Future Market: Why it Needs Consumer Direct

34:05 – Play Where the Puck Is Going to Be: Converting to a Consumer Direct Model

“Companies like Zillow and Redfin offer services at a fraction of agent costs. They are 100% going to go after customers before it ever gets to the realtor and offer their service at a fraction of the cost.” Amir breaks down what brokers can do to adapt: “What do you think the world of real estate mortgage will look like in five years? Not what it looks like today. What will it look like in five years? Is your strategy conducive to that vision? When you look at what a consumer direct model means, it’s getting to the customer first. Get them early in the funnel, not waiting for somebody to bring it over to me. Get in front of things like social media, buying leads, running ads, and get there early. So you are capturing the data first. The next step of our business is going to be data aggregation and conversion, whether you like it or not. That’s where we’re going. If you’re still functioning with an Excel spreadsheet or a great piece of paper and writing out all your contacts, you will be extinct. It’s not even a matter of if. It’s just a matter of when.”

The post Consumer Direct: The Brokers’ Guide to NAR’s Lawsuit Impact with Amir Nurani – Episode 195 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is sponsored by NMBD: CONNECT – coming to Anaheim, Tampa, and Detroit

Anaheim, CA – July 15th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Anaheim

Detroit, MI – July 17th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Detroit

Tampa, FL – July 19th: aimegroup.co/NMBD-Tampa

NMBD: CONNECT presents: Broker to Broker, Episode 194! In this incredible episode, learn to make & create successful retail-to-wholesale channel transitions for yourself and others, as host Marc Summers is joined by the President & CEO of Integrity Home Lending, Jennifer Gormer.

Jennifer is a master of many. A former retail training expert and ballerina, Jennifer is now a Broker-Owner, a Learning & Talent Development Leader, Educator & Scholar, a three-time best-selling author, an executive board member, keynote speaker, and so much more. Don’t let those titles fool you; above all, Jennifer is an accomplished educator.

Using her skills as a retail and wholesale educator, Jennifer now shares her expertise to guide retail LOs in their journey in the wholesale channel, granting them all the most important tools and training for even more successful careers as independent mortgage brokers.

Jennifer embodies the abundance mindset of our community, by sharing her best, most successful strategies for recruiting and transitioning from retail to wholesale, which regards having your own expectations and processes in place, before you’ve even initiated outreach:

“I’m 20 years in the mortgage industry this year. I’m very selective about the people that I hire. I’m going to be honest, I’m looking for junior Jennifers. Everyone has their own recruiting philosophy. If if a Broker Owner does not have a profile, a model of the types of candidates that they’re seeking, I encourage them to do so.” Jennifer states “If you don’t have your sales funnel, if you don’t know your sales process, if you don’t have an actual guide and a template of the person that you’re seeking to hire, you’ve got to pause and step back. I know who I’m hiring because I’m looking for junior Jennifers. I’m not the broker for someone coming in brand new. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it. I’ve trained them for years. I’m looking for the junior Jennifers that are ready to sell their business. I’m looking for the junior Jennifers that have had that experience in retail. And they finally figured it out after we had a some phenomenal interviews, and they say ‘You know what? I’m closing 10 or 15 loans and I can make $20,000 – $40,000 a month. And it’s not about the numbers; I want to support my customers better. I want to give them better products, better services, better service, better communication. I want to close them quicker.’ I’m looking for that originator. And when I find that originator, we’re ready to go.”

Key Points:

1:21 – Getting Started / Retail, Wholesale, and Everything In-Between

4:10 – Lessons from Banking & Dancing: The Power of Experience in other Industries

9:24 – Taking off the ‘Golden Handcuffs’ of Retail

17:17 – Setting your Recruiting Processes and Expectations

24:15 – Customer Experience = Client Education

The post Channeling Wholesale: Paving the Way for Retail LOs to Become Brokers with Jennifer Gormer – Episode 194 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is sponsored by Fuse 2024: New Orleans

Fuse New Orleans presents: Broker to Broker, Episode 193 with host Marc Summers! Today, we learn how to solve the hardest loan scenarios and close on the urgently needed homes faster than ever, all while supporting both underserved communities and your fellow broker peers, all from today’s incredible guest, the Chief Sales Officer of Safetrust Mortgage, Mackenzie Barrett.

Having previously worked at UWM, Mackenzie has had a lot of opportunities to work and train among the best in the wholesale industry. He shares his strategies and breaks down how he’s able to answer any question and solve any problem: through ‘Face to Face’ business. Going to the experts and asking for help or the opportunity to shadow them. Reaching directly out to lenders to see if they can work with more difficult scenarios. Meeting with his homebuyers to find out what’s going on in their lives outside of their mortgage in order to anticipate their needs and best set them up for long-term success.

Mackenzie shares not just the steps he takes to crack the toughest mortgage nuts, but he shares his approach to how he’s able to tackle the entire mortgage industry:

“There’s a few things that I kind of focus on, and what I try to do is keep everything bigger than myself.” Mackenzie says, “My pillars, if you will, are faith, family and finance. I let my faith lead my decisions and keep me focused on what’s important in that time, to really make a difference out there. I come from a background to where life can either be hard two ways: It can be hard, and you try to make something, or it can be hard, and you do nothing. So, I’ve just taken that challenge and say, I want my life to be hard, but to reap the rewards from taking the risks that I need to take. I was never valedictorian. I don’t have a college degree. I’ve just been a cool guy that loves people. I see myself with the ability to actually do good out here. There’s enough bad out there, to where if there’s just a few of us that want to do good, there’s a big difference that can be made. That’s kind of what motivates me and keeps my mindset on how I can be successful, because my success is going to be great, but it’s everything I do for everyone else that is really the reward. For someone to say, ‘wow, Mackenzie was a part of that and helped those people’ that’s what I’m more proud of than any award on my desk or dollar number in the bank. What matters is the fact that my kids can be proud to say, their dad’s created a positive environment where people collaborate, people help people, and families are getting homes.”

Key Points:

1:22 – Getting Started / Born Into the Industry

4:11 – Lessons from UWM: Relationship Focus

8:31 – Face to Face Business & Processes: Learning from the Experts

21:24 – Serving the Underserved and 0% Down Loans

28:00 – Success = Creating an Environment for Collaboration

The post Face to Face Business: Solving The Hard Mortgage Scenarios Fast with Mackenzie Barrett – Episode 193 appeared first on AIME.

This episode is sponsored by RCN Capital

Get the hard-earned customer and client service advice from nearly half a century’s worth of mortgage industry experience, as host Marc Summers is joined by the leadership of Dovetail Mortgage, Chief People Officer Craig Good, and Chief Experience Officer, Robert Benson.

Craig and Robert are an incredible team; they work together to lead Dovetail Mortgage by example, while relying on their incredible mortgage expertise and experience, but also taking full advantage of the freedom allotted to wholesale mortgage professionals. Craig and Robert break down their mindset, mission, vision, and application of an experience-centered business model, while driving home the need to be flexible and always looking for the newest improvements both internally and towards your homebuyers.

“I think we do everything together. We focus on the experience, but that’s not only the customer experience, but it’s the loan officer, the processor; we’re always looking at everything globally, and seeing how we can make it better.” States Craig.

“Everybody knows to focus on customer experience, but you must focus on the other things, too. LOs, Processors, Agents, they’re all different personality types. And making sure that they have everything they need. Give them your time and support.” Says Robert, “We always start off communications by saying. Call me, text me. Even this morning, we got a group text from a loan officer. And we both replied. If Loan Officers understand that the support is there, they’re going to have that confidence to go set a 2-3 week contract. We got their back. We always figure it out. Because of our support, our average clear to close rate is under ten days, and average touches right now are down to 3.5.”

Key Points:

1:16 – Getting Started / 50 Years Combined Experience

6:59 – Curating The Best a Client Experience

14:39 – Face to Face Business

22:43 – Trust and Motivation

31:47 – Putting People First, Internally & Externally

The post Transparency, Communication, and Ease: Cultivating Organic Wholesale Growth – Episode 192 appeared first on AIME.