AIME Podcast Network

Growing up, New York Mortgage Broker Sean Caufield had only negative connotations associated with the mortgage industry. As a kid, his parents’ house went into short sale and his grandmother took out a reverse mortgage without telling anyone, resulting in a hefty balloon payment. Sean’s first introduction to working through the loan process wasn’t much different. He was thrown into the industry as a telemarketer, and with no guidance, was tossed a book of random leads. Not enough knowledge led to no confidence, and no deals. Discouraged, he left the industry to help down syndrome adults in assisted living. And this is where Sean learned what he does best. He helps people. 

Returning to the industry, Sean became a shining example of what AIME is all about. He built his resume through five and half years as a Loan Officer Assistant and built the confidence to consider himself one of the best LOA’s in the country. His biggest piece of advice is not getting hung up on the word assistant. “Assistant” can have some negative connotations of its own, but you get as much knowledge and experience from the position as you put in. Show up early, stay late, and always be ready to learn. Sean treated his LO’s business as his own, learning every in and out from application to close. He learned how to communicate, to set proper expectations, and to underpromise and overdeliver. He learned that organization is everything, and to always PICK UP YOUR PHONE. He now pairs up with green LOA’s and helps train them using the same tactics that got him to where he is today. Over-the-shoulder mentorship has adapted to screen-sharing during COVID, but the fundamentals are still the same; watch and learn. But it’s also the Broker’s job to invest in their team. LOA’s are an extension of the brokerage. Invest in the person, provide proper training, and pay everyone accordingly. A few well-trained and respected LOA’s can completely transform a Broker’s client and referral list. 

A lifelong athlete, Sean understands the significance of a proper team. This doesn’t mean always hiring the BEST. A single selfish player can undermine an entire team, but a group of people who trust and respect each other knows no bounds. When a group becomes a team, everyone knows their role. They can lean into their strengths, find their weaknesses, and lean on each other to help fill in the cracks. 

Growth is not a single player game. Respect and support each other for the benefit of the entire wholesale channel. A rising tide lifts all boats. 

Show Notes: 

The post Building Your Team With Ultimate LOAs (with Sean Caufield) – Episode 63 appeared first on AIME.

Now fully coming into her own as a broker, California Mortgage Broker Teena Broumand is taking the next step, with the help of AIME, Brokers Are Better, & Women’s Mortgage Network communities. Teena shares that before she found AIME, she felt she repeated her first year as a broker for five years in a row. She needed help, but couldn’t know what she didn’t know and she didn’t know who to reach out to for help. But a few years later now, and with many networking events under her belt, Teena is now reaching out to mentor others. 

Teena credits the very first AIME event in Irvine California in 2017 as her “A-ha!” moment. Close to leaving the mortgage industry entirely, Teena instead found a community teeming with support and passion. Even though she was somewhat reluctant to reach out to complete strangers at first, Teena is now an event networking expert. She shares many networking tips in this episode of Broker To Broker but her go to rules for getting the most out of any event is creating challenges for yourself. Show up with the intent to learn 3-5 new things, make 10 meaningful conversations, and walk in with 100% openness. 

The power behind a strong community, Teena mentions, is its diverse members. Especially in the wholesale channel, there are a thousand right ways to do business, but to customize your processes, procedures, and general loan experience, you have to learn about your options first hand. Once scraping by on the minimum, Teena’s production has quadrupled, but instead of being complacent, Teena is already working on the next steps to build her business even higher. 

Coming from a town of mostly retail, Teena now knows she isn’t alone in the mortgage industry. With multiple strong communities behind her, Teena is ready to walk into the unknown and come out on top. 

Show Notes: 

The post Optimizing Networking Opportunities For Long-Term Growth (with Teena Broumand) – Episode 62 appeared first on AIME.

A true mortgage advisor with over 20 years of experience, Florida Mortgage Broker Melinda Payan never says no to a potential client. In the most extreme scenarios, Melinda helps potential borrowers create gameplans that will eventually lead to a new home, but in most cases, borrowers were just given the wrong advice and fell victim to those that didn’t know enough about the process. By taking her time and using an extensive knowledge of mortgage guidelines, Melinda has been able to save many deals that were denied by other lenders. And when you’re able to save people in situations where their backs were against the wall, that’s when, as Melinda puts it, you turn referral partners into cheerleaders. 

Melinda works with many borrowers who were previously denied a mortgage or are under the belief that they just don’t qualify for a loan. 80-90% of those borrowers end up in A+ loans. At the end of the day, it just comes down to knowing your guidelines. It takes time, but do the research and take advantage of the many resources at your disposal. Many people don’t know you can call the FHA, HUD, or VA directly with specific loan scenario questions. There are also many training opportunities as well. 

Melinda sends all of her green Loan Officers through many different training courses, both internally and externally. Utilizing lender training like UWM’s Success Track or the various mortgage insurance companies training (Melinda specifically uses MGIC’s) helps her LO’s become more independent over time. Onboarding staff also buddy up with more experienced LO’s and get a script with questions to ask. With six operations personnel, including three Processors, an Opener, a Production Manager, and A Sales Manager for 20 LO’s, Melinda’s brokerage is overstaffed by design. She knows that when rates go back up, that’s when the Wholesale Channel truly shines, and she wants to be ready when that happens. 

Melinda ends the podcast by sharing that now is the best time to be a broker. With AIME, the Women’s Mortgage Network, and the various products and training at a Broker’s disposal, Broker’s aren’t just better, they’re best. So take advantage of all the Wholesale Channel has to offer and always do right by the consumer. 

Show Notes: 

The post The Key To Longevity, Knowing Niche Guidelines, & Non-QM (with Melinda Payan) – Episode 61 appeared first on AIME.

EXPLETIVE WARNING (NSFW)

Michigan Broker Owner Amer Bally’s most important principle to success is Authenticity. Customers know when they’re being sold to, and they don’t like it. Be up front, be straightforward, and be yourself. 

The client is the be-all end-all for Amer, to the point that he diverts his time and money away from social media and realtor referrals, and has put it all towards the client relationship. Relationship being the key word. It’s not just about their experience from application to close. It’s about the long-term benefits, for both Amer and the borrower. As a part of his 5 yearly touchpoints with each consumer, Amer sends out letters thanking them all for trusting him and his team with such an important part of their lives. “Treat every client like they are your first” Amer shares. It’s easy to get comfortable in this business and to forget the importance of each and every person you interact with. 

Amer attributes his success to having a winner’s mindset. With some small mentoring from UWM President & CEO Mat Ishbia early in his career, Amer built the drive and confidence to outwork everyone. But he also makes it clear to not get caught up comparing yourself to others. You don’t need to close the most loans to be a winner. As long as you are happy and doing right by the consumer, everybody wins. 

Show Notes: 

The post Adapting A Winner’s Mindset (with Amer Bally) – Episode 60 appeared first on AIME.

Ivy League Graduate Adriana Bates knows exactly what she wants. She’s worked her entire career to chisel down and fine tune every process and system to perfection. From prospecting clients to working through her loan pipeline to post-close, Adriana leaves no stone unturned. Tune into this week of Broker To Broker as Adriana shares her secrets to success.

Trying to simplify a complicated process, Adriana realized that we think better when we break down everything into tangible pieces. But that’s not possible without KPI’s. With measurable KPIs you can lean into the actions that are working well, and you can put money and support behind those that aren’t. Adriana also hosts weekly 15 minute one on one meetings with her staff, so they can review their KPI’s and make real time adjustments, instead of waiting for quarterly or yearly reviews. 

For example, Adriana found that of the clients they lost, most left after applying, but before they found a house, or while they were still crunching refi numbers. As a result, Adriana ramped up and revitalized LO-to-client communication during this time frame. She increased touchpoints and tried different types of communication, including text and social media. Keeping them engaged during this entire process led to stronger client retention. 

This doesn’t happen overnight, and no two brokers are the same. Take your time and learn what works best for you, but be purposeful in your actions. Listen to this week’s episode of Broker To Broker to find out how you can customize your processes and systems for optimal success. 

Show Notes: 

The post Putting Systems & Processes In Place FOR EVERYTHING (with Adriana Bates) – Episode 59 appeared first on AIME.

Grant Botma runs a brokerage, insurance agency, and investment firm. He owns a software company, hosts two podcasts, releases two videos and a blog every week, and takes 2 full months off a year. The one single entity that allows for Grant’s success? His team. But it’s not just a team to Grant. His “team” is his family. They care about one another, they have trust, and they hold each other accountable, all to benefit the overall goal of Stewardship Mortgage; to serve their community with wisdom and love. 

But that starts at the team level first. When hiring, Grant looks for four main characteristics; innovation, transparency, humility, and love. Loans are a complicated process, and creativity is needed to personalize the loan process to each individual. Transparency creates social accountability. You work harder for your friend rather than just some random co-workers. Humility breeds confidence without arrogance, and love allows you to put other people’s needs ahead of your own.

Once he brings new staff on board, he doesn’t retain them with money. Grant believes that if money is all that motivates someone, there is nothing stopping them from leaving for a higher paycheck somewhere else. Instead, Grant offers his staff freedom, real time affirmations (positive and negative) and accolades. But at the end of the day, Grant has chiseled down the key to talent retention to a single question: Does your boss genuinely care about you? If they can’t answer this question with a resounding “Yes!” then Grant believes he isn’t doing his job. 

Grant sets goals using unique language. He doesn’t measure the amount of paper pushed, but instead, the amount of lives changed, the amount of families educated and impacted. And he doesn’t measure this individually from each team member, but instead from the team as a whole. When all goals are team based, and the team trusts each other like a family, this creates a social accountability that makes each team member want to be better. As Grant puts it, “our mission isn’t about appointments, our mission is about making a positive impact on real people.“

This all trickles down to the client experience. For many families, a home loan will be their biggest financial risk of their lifetimes, and sets up their family with wealth that spans generations. Understanding the importance and impact a single translation can have, Grant’s objective with each new client is to build trust. From a financial perspective, this includes a unique fee structure. Stewardship Mortgage caps income, and only charges a flat fee or percentage (whichever is lower). Not only does this build trust with a potential client, it also ends up bringing on borrowers with more wealth and easier loan processes, which then opens up more time to help more potential clients.

In this week’s episode of Broker To Broker, Grant goes over his hiring process, his staff retention plans, and the key characteristics it takes to always do right by the consumer. 

Show Notes: 

The post Hire Right & Lead Better: Attracting (and Keeping) Top Talent (with Grant Botma) – Episode 58 appeared first on AIME.

Having transitioned from retail to wholesale just three weeks before COVID hit, Mortgage Broker Wade Betz has continued to thrive under pressure. Wade credits his success to keeping it simple, utilizing technology, and staying top-of-mind with realtor and borrower referrals.

“Every month you’re not touching your database, you’re losing 10% of your influence with them”, Wade shares, “so if you go a whole year without contact it’s highly likely they’ll forget your name. If you’re not staying top-of-mind with your past clients, they’re someone else’s prospects now. You worked hard to build a book of business, so protect what you’ve earned and take care of your clients. Be respectful, stay loyal, and build trust. It’s a simple system, but it works.” 

The most valuable asset at your disposal is technology. Brokers used to have no options when it came to FinTech but now they are on par with the big banks. And better yet, you can customize your tech stack to your niche. Wade uses a trifecta of Brokers Are Better Network partners; Homebot to stay top-of-mind with realtors and borrowers, MBS highway for education and video marketing assistance, and Art Of Homeownership as his CRM. Don’t be afraid to encounter some trial and error, and know that it will only work out better in the long run. If you need help perfecting your tech stack, Wade advises to experiment with the programs that prioritize saving your well earned time and money. Listen to what other top producers recommend, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. 

Life finds ways of throwing wrenches into plans, so be prepared. Flexibility and freedom is a big part of what makes brokers better, but none of it would be possible without a structured system in place. As Wade puts it: system stands for “Saving You Stress, Time, Energy and Money.” Tune into this week’s episode of Broker To Broker to learn more about how to perfect your loan process.

Show Notes: 

The post Mastering The Basics & Staying In Front Of Your Referrals (with Wade Betz) – Episode 57 appeared first on AIME.

Coming from an entrepreneurial family, Idaho Mortgage Broker Melissa Puckett has always known one thing above all else: Authenticity wins every time. And this idea has only proven itself more over her last 17 years in the industry. Having built a business on exclusively organic word of mouth and realtor referrals, and having never bought a single lead, Melissa has found success, and she’s done it her way. 

But she makes it clear, it wasn’t easy. Early on in her career, she played by the rules, but quickly learned it just wasn’t for her. It wasn’t where her passions lied. By throwing out the traditional tactics; cold calling, country club meetings, wine and dining, and just straight-up selling, Melissa was able to lean into her passion: education. 

With a newfound focus, Melissa began to form real relationships with her clients, realtors, and with fellow brokers. By initiating relationships with the goal of learning and helping, and not expecting anything in return, Melissa’s brokerage tripled in business. She was surrounding herself with people who would lift her up, and push her to new heights. By focusing on a single niche idea, education, Melissa was able to completely transform her life. 

This business is difficult, stressful, and unpredictable. If you’re not able to find your passion, you can burn out so easily, so find the passion that fuels you. At the end of the day, you are your own person so don’t can’t compare yourself to others. Look inwards, and try to find what works best for you. 

Show Notes: 

• Intro To The Wholesale Channel (1:43)
• Referral Relationships (4:04)
• Educating Yourself & The Consumer (23:29)
• Mortgage Brokers Advice (31:19)

The post Authenticity: Unlocking the Key to True Partnerships (with Melissa Puckett) appeared first on AIME.

Climbing the ladder since 2005, Nevada Broker/Owner Elena Boland has found a recipe for consistent success. Noting that growth will be doubly important once the current refi-boom ends, Elena has made it a priority ever since attending an AIME training session in 2019. Elena also made it clear that she didn’t just start hiring right out the gate. 

After using her brokerage’s numbers to highlight key weaknesses and strengths, Elena created and implemented new processes and procedures to improve her business. Once she could prove it’s success, it didn’t matter if new hires were wholesale veterans or green to the industry. Once growth became the goal, Elena made teamwork a top priority. As Elena puts it, “you can have 200 great employees but if they’re not working together as a team, nothing is going to work right.” 

And once the loans started rolling in, Elena stressed the importance of putting the money back into her business. Whether it’s hiring more ops staff for LO support, or utilizing a Brokers Are Better Network Partener like Leadpops to build her a new website (that generates 5-7 leads for her a day), Elena says it’s a no-brainer. She breaks it down in detail during this week’s episode of Broker To Broker but as she sums it up simply: hiring empowers her brokerage, causing growth, which leads to more revenue, and then you put that revenue back into your business. It’s a no-brainer cycle that leads to steady success. 

Show Notes: 

The post Validating Your Success: Utilizing Data To Streamline Growth (with Elena Boland) – Episode 55 appeared first on AIME.

As AIME President Marc Summers puts it, top Broker/Owner Pablo Martinez keeps it simple. He looks for good people and retains them by giving them the service and support they need. This leads to a better client experience, creates a referral source, and in turn, becomes the catalyst for growth.

Pablo’s success is undeniable. The Equity Smart Home Loans leader has over 20 years of experience and survived the crash of ‘08. His Brokerage just closed 2,528 units last year, bringing in a total of $1,028,000,000. Now, not every broker or brokerage needs or even wants 120+ Loan Officers, but Pablo knows that growth comes in many sizes, and at the end of the day, any kind of growth can lead to more wealth for more families and potential homeowners. 

Pablo’s biggest hurdle in finding success? Letting go, delegating, and learning to trust his team. This is a slow and arduous process and requires a lot of patience, but in the end, everyone wins. Pablo suggests strengthening the base of your success and creating a plan before making any hiring decisions. But once it’s time to recruit, reach for the stars. While this is easier said than done, Pablo recommends creating the ultimate workplace. This includes a multilevel support system, a strong culture, and sky high goals. 

Equity Smart Home Loans LO’s each have their own mini eco-systems. Pablo lets each broker do what they do best, but supports them by providing tools and accessories. He gives them multiple CRM options, utilizes free training programs, like UWM’s success track or MGIC’s webinars, and has a large admin support staff. Most of the 120+ Loan Officers at Equity Smart Home Loans work from home, but the 20+ in-house staff members Pablo hires work exclusively as broker admin support. This includes skilled processors, book-keepers, I.T. support, and even social media experts. All new onboardees are assigned a “Success Specialist.” A Success Specialist usually oversees the first three to five loans a new Equity Smart Home Loans Broker works on, and goes through a thorough checklist of skills the Broker has to execute successfully before the Specialist can move onto the next Broker. 

Marc loves to say that there are a thousand ways to succeed in this business, and Pablo Martinez gives insight and helpful tips to Broker/Owners and LO’s at any and all stages of their success. But the one thing Pablo petitions against is chasing money. It’s the experience you provide for your clients and your staff that leads to riches, he shares, whether through financial success or personal happiness. 

Show Notes: 

The post Recruiting, Training, & Retaining LO’s & Customers (with Pablo Martinez) – Episode 54 appeared first on AIME.