This episode is brought to you by Fuse 2025

Join us for the SEASON FINALE of the Broker to Broker podcast, featuring AIME Chairman & CEO, Jonathon Haddad! Join us in finding out all that the broker community has accomplished over 2024 with surprising stats that prove once again, that Brokers Are Best.

Jonathon has had an absolutely unbelievable year. Since being announced as AIME’s new CEO in January, Jonathon handled a massive amount of initial criticism and outrage with grace, as he directly addressed each community member’s concerns as they were presented to him. From there, he got to work, and AIME had a banner year, leveling up its tangible resources and support as THE association supporting the wholesale mortgage channel.

The numbers, stats, and wins don’t lie. The AIME community has been on an incredible roll all year, and while Jonathon and Marc were happy to engage with 2024’s wins, they’re even more focused on making 2025 another banner year of stepping up the wholesale channel’s strategy, support, skills, and influence.

Jonathon breaks down his mindset for the start of 2025, breaking down exactly how he’s able to keep going and growing:

“You must learn to be overly confident, but have somebody in your corner that keeps you logical. But there’s no reason why you can’t look at each day and be the most confident human being you possibly can be. You know what you need to do. You know how to do it. The biggest piece of it all is to have someone hold you accountable. To hit your goals, but also, to go after things that have a high likelihood of failure. Go after them and just see where you land. You’d be surprised how many times you end up crossing that finish line, even if you fall short of something. See how short you fell. If you’re not going to try for something that has a high likelihood of failure, you’re going to be stuck in the same situation you’re in every single year. That’s a waste of time for all of us. We all think about how great we can be. We all know we could be great. We all know all the things to do. Yet we hinder ourselves constantly because we’re chasing perfection or we’re chasing the perfect conditions before we do something. Stop it. Be excited for it, and get ready to make the changes that you need in order to adapt and win coming in 2025.”

Key Points:

1:46 – Intro / Jonathon’s Fuse experience

10:55- Looking Back at 2024

25:18 – AIME By The Numbers

30:25- Looking Ahead to 2025

This episode is brought to you by CoreLogic

Don’t miss Broker to Broker, Episode 211! Learn to make the most successful change from retail to the wholesale mortgage channel, with Sr. Mortgage Broker at HI FIVE Team and featured Fuse 2024 Panelist, Rylan Maddox.

Rylan has been featured in numerous AIME projects and resources over the last couple of years; and for good reason. He made an incredible transition from the retail mortgage channel, quickly making waves in the wholesale channel, and within the community. Within three years of attending Fuse as a retail LO, he found himself on the very same stage that helped influence his transition to the wholesale channel.

Rylan lays out the comforts of the retail channel, noting that these are actually the pitfalls of remaining a retail LO instead of working independently in wholesale:

“Anything that retail might have for you that a company is saying this is a perk of being an employee of ours, now exists in the wholesale space at this point. As a self producer, if you are an entrepreneur and you run your business more efficiently (and I would I would wager that almost any entrepreneur in our industry can run more efficiently) than a large box retail shop, not only are you going to have more commission in your pocket for your family, but it’s not going to be at the expense of your client. Your clients client’s going to get a better rate and lower costs as well.”

Key Points:

2:07 – Intro / From A Decade In Retail

10:36- “The Cycle of Kindness” of Retail Mortgage

25:36 – Why & How to Make the Wholesale Transition

34:53 – Advice for Current Retail LOs

Don’t miss Broker to Broker, Episode 208! Learn to easily & directly streamline your brokerage’s operations for exceptional client and worker experience with the Strategic Operations Explorer at CMS Mortgage Solutions, Dora Gonzalez!

Catch Broker to Broker, Episode 207! Learn how a history in mortgage law and retail leads to the fast track of wholesale success with Sr. Loan Officer at GoRascal and featured Fuse 2024 Panelist, Philip Lucrezia!

*NOTE: We apologize for the audio quality in this episode. Due to technical issues during recording, the sound may be less clear than usual. However, the insights shared by Philip Lucrezia are invaluable, and it’s still well worth a listen.

Key Points:

1:54 – Intro / From Law, To Retail, To Wholesale

12:09- Wholesale Misconceptions

20:00 – Mortgage Attorney Stories

26:05 – Philip’s First Fuse Experience

Philip has had an interesting journey towards becoming the successful broker he is today. After 15 years as a mortgage attorney, Philip realized his skills were leaving money on the table, so he entered into originating. Having worked in retail for multiple companies, Philip became frustrated with the limitations on the rates and services he could offer his clients, and chose to make the jump to wholesale.

It hasn’t even been a full year in wholesale, and Philip is already making massive waves in the market, and in the broker community; something that didn’t go unnoticed, when he was asked to be a featured panelist at Fuse 2024’s panel: Retail vs. Wholesale: Untold Stories of Brokers Who Made the Switch.

“Attending Fuse led to me to start hiring; I just didn’t feel like I was ready to do it until then.” states Philip, reflecting on his time at Fuse. “When I was talking with people at my company about Fuse, I really feel like it’s actually making me a better dad; one of the keynote speakers talked about how much your kids don’t do what you teach that day, but they do watch you go out, come home, putting the phone down, and being present in their lives. When I’m home, that’s just something that never really sunk in. That’s the last thing I expected that would come out of Fuse, was for me to come home and learn how to be a better dad to my kids… There’s some kind of magic that happens when brokers all get together. Seriously, when we get together and people are talking, the conversation and communication yields benefits you could never expect.”

Don’t miss Broker to Broker, Episode 206! Get guidance in how mutual sharing, education, support, and leveraging your broker peers is the secret to thriving in the wholesale industry with the Director of Sales at Next Door Lending, Gabi Wiartalla!

Don’t miss Broker to Broker, Episode 205! Learn how to grow, scale, and diversify beyond your own business for any market with the Founder & CEO of Homepie and Amerifund Home Loans, Brad Rice!

Catch Broker to Broker, Episode 204! Get a lesson in homebuyer service through Anthropology from Loan Originator at Lock It Lending and featured Fuse 2024 panelist, Melissa Tubau!

Don’t miss Broker to Broker, Episode 203! Learn the secrets to long-term success and 90% client retention from the Broker Owner of American Mortgage and Financial Services, George Burkley.

*Note: This episode was recorded before Fuse National Conference

George has been a mortgage broker for nearly 30 years, and he has the industry, association, and customer service skills & wisdom to show for it. He’s been a long-time beloved broker community member, as he’s always willingly shared his time, knowledge, and expertise to help ensure the success of his broker peers.

In this episode, George shares much of his hard-earned wisdom and discusses the system and business model he created. This model emphasizes relationship-building by providing thorough, long-term financial planning and education for his clients. These free, invaluable services, plus the additional non-mortgage financial services offered under American Mortgage and Financial Services, help George retain a large majority of his clients for return and repeat business.

“If you do business once with a client, you have a 30% chance of their return business. Twice is 50%, three times or more in 90%. So, sit down with a client and BUILD A RELATIONSHIP with them. Become their friend. Make sure they see you not as someone trying to sell them something, but as the person guiding them through buying a house, their insurance, and investments. Maybe someday down the road, you can show them how to retire with dignity. Then they’ll see you almost like family at that point. And that’s the best advice I can give to anyone entering the mortgage industry: You need to quit worrying about making money on your deals; the commission is just a byproduct, the relationship is the thing you need to build.”

Key Points:

0:40 – Intro / 28 years in Wholesale Mortgage

4:15 – Lessons and Relationship-Building

7:16 – Teaching Financial Literacy

14:55 – Anticipating Your Clients’ Needs WITH Market Changes

20:25 – Looking Ahead with the Broker Community

Join us for a special AIME Board of Directors spotlight episode of Broker to Broker! Learn the wholesale channel’s goals for local-scale brokers, featuring the Director of Membership (Local), Enrique Braunschweiger!

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.”