Today Skip welcomes back Dr. Bruce Lund to podcast to discuss sales coaching across commoditized industries and why “sales is sales” despite market nuances. Bruce shares his background launching 90 Day Sales Manager nearly 10 years ago, moving from academia with a PhD in human performance into coaching loan officers, real estate agents, and finance professionals. They explore why people claim their market is “unique,” how that mindset becomes a crutch, and why coaches don’t need to have personally produced $100M to be effective. 

Bruce outlines Accountable CRM, built to drive daily activity, accountability, and KPI visibility with high adoption through simplicity and gamification, especially for community banks and credit unions. They close on being a proactive “mortgage advisor” and share how to connect via AccountableCRM.com, 90DaySales.com, and @brucelund. 

Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Rebecca Costanzo, a 20+ year mortgage veteran and new Director of Mortgage Originations at United Community Bank, about leading retail teams through shifting markets. Rebecca shares why she values community banking impact, including seeing homes her teams financed, and discusses how the post-2020 market has exposed weaknesses in loan officers who relied on easy volume while highlighting professionals who consistently practice fundamentals. 

She explains what leaders can learn in their first 90 days by listening, observing, and improving systems without just “checking boxes,” and how to separate market effects from people and processes. Rebecca uses tools like a team book club to assess resilience and growth mindset, emphasizes emotional intelligence and role fit. She and Skip talk about decisions by top producers between pushing for more volume or prioritizing work-life harmony.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Meet Rebecca

00:56 Why Mortgage Matters

02:06 Community Bank Impact

05:14 Market Reality Check

07:06 Pros Thrive Now

08:56 Building Better Systems

10:13 First 90 Days Leading

12:47 Reading Teams Better

16:03 Caring Yet Reassigning

18:43 Top Producer Trait

21:12 Legacy and Harmony

23:32 Connect and Wrap Up 

On today’s show Skip interviews Connor Bartley, National Recruiting Manager at Lower Mortgage and host of The Lowdown Mortgage podcast, about what separates top mortgage loan officers from average producers and how to scale beyond personal capacity. Connor outlines three common traits of top performers: making strategic hires for leverage, forming strategic referral partnerships instead of relying on coffee-and-lunch “rented relationships,” and operating under an economic model that enables real-time business decisions. 

They discuss the mindset shift from originator to business owner, the humility required to delegate, and creating consistent, repeatable processes that build Realtor confidence. Connor shares a free diagnostic tool to quantify time and money lost to admin work, identify the next best hire, and determine growth stage based on goals. 

#mortgage #loanofficer #mortgagebroker #mortgagetips #mortgageindustry #realtorpartners #referralpartners #leadgeneration #databasemarketing #crm #mortgagemarketing #personalbrand #socialmediamarketing #loanofficertraining #salestraining #scalingbusiness #teambuilding #delegation #businessowner #topproducer #mortgagepodcast #realestatepodcast #financialplanner #cpas #lower

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome and Intro

00:26 Connor Background and Mission

02:56 Three Keys to Scaling

05:46 Delegation and Repeatable Process

09:19 Diagnostic Tool for Hiring

13:46 Strategic Referral Partnerships

16:40 Articulating Your Value

19:38 Stay Go or Get to Work

24:20 Marketing and Personal Brand

26:28 Outgrowing Leadership

27:59 Wrap Up and Spurs Talk

Skip interviews Rick McKinley, a Plaza Home Mortgage account executive and CMB (certified in 2018) with 30 years in lending, about strengthening the account executive–loan officer relationship through fundamentals. Rick argues top AEs should lead with knowledge, clear expectations, and process transparency—not swag—while adapting to increased complexity from compliance, technology, and product options. They discuss the two-stage sales process (signing accounts, then earning loan flow), the importance of follow-through to help loans reach the finish line, and how speed and ease of execution can beat pricing. Rick shares a responsiveness standard of returning messages within two hours when possible, while maintaining boundaries. He recommends asking AEs to explain the end-to-end process, identify what they truly do well, and support business growth via training, marketing ideas, and VA loan referral tactics through VA liaison offices. 

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome Back Rick

00:38 Rick’s Mortgage Journey

01:12 CMB Credential Shoutout

01:30 AE Fundamentals Shift

02:55 Be the Information AE

05:06 From Schmoozing to Complexity

07:24 Two Stage Sales Reality

09:12 Sell the Easy Button

11:05 Responsiveness Matters

13:01 Phone as the Office

14:36 Know Your System Cold

15:38 Response Time Standards

16:15 Blocking Time Boundaries

17:16 Two Hour Reply Rule

18:10 Questions For New AEs

19:13 Deal Process Walkthrough

20:24 Products You Can Close

22:29 Helping Grow Business

23:12 VA Loan Marketing Play

25:31 Musician Side Hustle

26:15 Where To Find Rick 

#MortgagePodcast #MortgageIndustry #AccountExecutive #LoanOfficer #WholesaleMortgage #CorrespondentLending #TPO #BrokerOwner #MortgageSales #MortgageMarketing #MortgageTech #MortgageCompliance #RelationshipManagement #ClientExperience #LoanProcess #MortgageOperations #RateSheets #LoanLock #MortgageTraining #BusinessGrowth #VALoans #VAMortgage #VeteranHomeLoans #MortgageTips #PlazaHomeMortgage

Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Melissa Peregord, principal of Secord Consulting, about her mortgage and growth background and how she helps small to mid-size companies solve stagnating revenue and go-to-market challenges. Melissa shares her 12-year Rocket Loans experience spanning origination, capital markets, secondary marketing, and director of bank relations managing top investor and money-center bank relationships. 

She explains her move from C-suite roles to consulting after seeing how boards and CEOs can block strategy execution. She and Skip discuss leadership decision-making, balancing short-term vs. long-term thinking, and avoiding comfort-based delays by assessing reversibility, whether problems are metastasizing, who is impacted, and what information is actually needed. Melissa emphasizes diagnosing core problems versus symptoms, aligning incentives across sales, ops, and client success, and planning changes with a six-month gauge plus 30/60/90 milestones. 

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:17 Meet Melissa Peregord

01:12 Rocket to Consulting Journey

02:27 Why She Went Solo

04:21 Short vs Long Term Decisions

06:19 A Practical Decision Framework

10:02 Growth Consulting and Root Causes

15:18 Systems Over Blame

16:34 Incentives and Team Alignment

18:44 Common Client Challenges

23:36 Six Month Results Timeline

25:31 Contact Info and Wrap Up 

#MortgagePodcast #MortgageIndustry #MortgageLeadership #GrowthStrategy #BusinessDevelopment #DecisionMaking #ExecutiveLeadership #CLevel #Consulting #RevenueGrowth #GoToMarket #SalesStrategy #Operations #ClientSuccess #KPIs #OKRs #IncentiveAlignment #MortgageLending #RocketMortgage #QuickenLoans #CapitalMarkets #SecondaryMarketing #NonQM #Servicing #PrivateEquity

Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage Podcast, Skip talks with Dionne Bass (“Ask the Underwriter”), a former underwriter who now trains mortgage professionals and real estate agents to better understand the mortgage process. Bass specializes in proper loan pre-qualification, spotting issues that can slow approvals, and improving personal SOPs so LOs don’t rely too heavily on AI tools without understanding the inputs. 

She offers targeted trainings including FHA, USDA, and a popular self-employed borrower class that breaks down tax returns, income analysis, and the “why” behind underwriting decisions so originators can ask better questions. She highlights common pre-approval breakdowns tied to incomplete application and credit report review across FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional guidelines, and notes many struggle when switching between government and conventional self-employed reviews. She recommends bite-sized virtual training with case studies.

 #mortgagepodcast #mortgageindustry #loanofficer #mortgagebroker #underwriting #asktheunderwriter #preapproval #prequalification #creditreport #loanprocessing #mortgagetraining #realestateagents #selfemployedborrower #selfemployedmortgage #incomeanalysis #taxreturns #conventionalloans #fhaloans #usdaloans #valoans #manualunderwriting #loanorigination #mortgagelending #referralpartners #mortgageeducation

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome Dionne Bass

00:16 Meet Ask the Underwriter

01:55 Prequalify Beyond AI

05:25 SOPs and Front End Work

07:15 Credit Report Pitfalls

10:15 Deep Dive Self Employed

12:22 Agency Guideline Differences

13:27 Training Format Case Studies

15:03 Connect and Closing Thanks 

On today’s episode of Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Kortney Lane-Schafers, VP of Growth and Client Advocacy at MMI, about using mortgage data to drive production and reduce the LO rollercoaster. Kortney says the best part of the industry is relationships, while the biggest challenge is shifting market cycles. She explains MMI’s evolution into “MMI 1,” combining the MMI Data Center, a communication platform, and MonitorBase monitoring so loan officers can find opportunities, communicate, and track their database in one place. 

Key updates include the MMI 1 mobile app with integrated Chat MMI voice-driven AI for fast reports and a real-time leaderboard. They discuss retention challenges and how monitoring alerts, opportunity surfacing, and consumer tools like Pathways Home and a branded private home search help deliver value, confidence, and proactive outreach.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:30 Meet Kortney Schafers

01:59 People and Market Challenges

03:44 Data to Beat Volatility

04:36 Napa Wine Interruption

07:01 MMI One Platform Overview

08:52 Pathways Home and Search

10:13 Mobile App Launch

11:00 Chat MMI AI Search

12:37 Export and CRM Integration

13:27 Conference Takeaways

14:02 Talk To Search

14:25 Real Time Leaderboard

16:35 Why Data Wins

17:22 Bring Value To Meetings

19:33 Retention And Monitoring

24:19 Predictive Opportunity Alerts

26:01 Remove Friction Take Action

27:36 Adoption Make It Easy

28:09 Connect With Kortney

28:44 Closing Thanks 

Today Skip welcomes Karley Bond, a First Horizon market manager for West Tennessee and North Mississippi with 20 years in mortgage lending and active involvement in the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and Tennessee MBA. Bond explains the value of industry association participation—education, advocacy, leadership development, and especially networking, mentorship, and relationships. She shares time management strategies like prioritization and time blocking while balancing work, volunteer leadership, and family. 

They discuss avoiding burnout by focusing on relationship-based mortgage banking and impact-driven service. Bond highlights the industry’s aging workforce and the need for recruiting through MBA’s Mortgage Banking Bound 100-hour certificate program and state Future Leaders programs. She also discusses pursuing the Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation and advises new loan officers to build systems, seek coaching, and commit to lifelong learning.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome and Intro

00:56 Why Industry Involvement Matters

03:46 Mentors and Saying Yes

05:52 Time Blocking and Priorities

08:34 Avoiding Burnout Through Service

12:09 Aging Industry and New Talent

14:01 Mortgage Banking Bound Explained

16:45 CMB Designation Journey

20:03 Career Advice and Systems

22:10 Connect and Closing 

Today Skip welcomes Ralph Remy, Senior Director of Client Digital Experience at National MI, about growing mortgage production by better leveraging bank and credit union branches as an internal referral source. Remy explains that poor branch leads often stem from lack of training, and urges loan officers to start with education that teaches tellers and bankers “cues and clues” to identify mortgage opportunities without overselling. 

His top advice: educate branch partners, be present and engaged in branch huddles, and clearly communicate a value statement so teammates can confidently refer. He and Skip also emphasize reciprocal referrals—sending deposit, credit card, or investment business back to the branch—to strengthen the partnership and generate mortgage referrals tenfold.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:58 Why Branches Are Gold

03:14 Educate for Better Referrals

04:53 Branch Huddles That Work

07:24 Three Tips to Start Today

09:32 Make Referrals a Two Way Street

11:45 Treat Branch Like Top Realtors

13:11 Tampa Bay Rays Trivia Break

15:10 Final Advice and How to Connect 

On the show today, Skip welcomes back a good friend and top producer Laura Witte, Co-owner/Founder and Loan Officer at Highland Mortgage in Atlanta, Georgia, recognized as the top producing woman mortgage originator in Georgia with 130+ million in volume and a career-high year. 

Laura and Skip discuss how she builds trust and puts borrowers at ease, emphasizing respect for clients at any credit or price point. She shares advice for loan officers scaling from 25M to 50M and beyond: maintain belief and persistence, adopt a growth mindset, stop micromanaging, build and trust a support team (including hiring an assistant early, even part-time), and rely on repeatable processes. 

She also stresses diversifying mortgage products, continuous education, protecting personal time, and connecting goals to a personal “why,” shaped by losing her childhood home to foreclosure. 

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome Back Laura

00:19 Meet Laura Witte

01:00 Top Producer Milestone

02:21 Comfort First Approach

04:04 Mindset to Level Up

05:40 Trust and Build a Team

08:28 Hiring Before the Chaos

10:21 Diversify and Keep Learning

11:54 Find Your Why

13:50 Working With Your Spouse

15:15 Dogs and Quick Laughs

15:42 Gamer Trivia and Favorites

17:26 How to Reach Laura

17:49 Final Thanks and Wrap