Growth Notes

Document and Reverse Engineer Your Loan Closings

On Growth Notes, Frazier explains why documenting your day and especially tracing each closed loan back to its origin is critical to understanding how you make money. He argues that, like major companies, business owners should use data to identify what actions actually created opportunities, not just the “last mile” interaction such as a landing-page click. For every closing, he recommends reverse engineering the full path—referrals included—by noting who you contacted, what you said or sent, and how the relationship was developed. This documentation becomes a personal playbook of success that can be systemized, structured, repeated, and used consistently to avoid cycles of uncertainty about where the next deal will come from.

Join my DIFRNT community!

Showing Up and Demanding 10x ROI From Tools

On a chaotic Wednesday with a basement leak, Frazier records Growth Notes later than usual to keep his daily commitment, emphasizing that life happens but you should still show up unless it’s impossible. He recaps a Mortgage Mornings West Coast call with DC, who demonstrated using Redder for agent outreach by understanding agents’ business and using data to build a strategy, rather than just sending generic emails, calls, or texts. Frazier’s key takeaways are to define a clear strategy before adopting any tool and to invest time learning tools you pay for, since many people subscribe and never use them. He recommends evaluating tools, coaching, and other monthly investments by aiming for a 10x ROI, because businesses should pursue profit, not merely break even.

Join my DIFRNT community!

The Magic of Remembering Names

On Growth Notes, Frazier explains that one of the simplest yet most important relationship skills in business is learning and using people’s names, citing Dale Carnegie’s idea about the “magic contained in a name” from How to Win Friends and Influence People. He describes how hearing your name used naturally makes you feel seen and important, especially in a distracted world where people half-listen. Frazier admits he is terrible with names and often focuses on what to say next, leading to weak connections, but argues that remembering a name signals presence, attention, and that the person was worth remembering—critical in a trust- and relationship-based business. He challenges listeners to learn every person’s name, write it down if needed, repeat it back, and use it naturally, noting it costs little time but can outperform much marketing.

Join my DIFRNT community!

Lean Into the Talk: Proof You’re Making an Impact

The speaker shares a short “growth note” about how criticism, gossip, or attempts to cut you down often indicate you’re doing something right and operating at a higher level, since people focus on those making an impact. He notes this has happened to him due to his content, acknowledges he was more ego-driven from 2017–2020 but has spent the past six years rebuilding and refocusing on helping loan officers with what actually matters. He encourages listeners in similar situations to own it, not get mad, and lean into competition as motivation. He asks his audience to help spread the word about Growth Notes if it resonates, aiming for a reputation centered on growth, advocacy for brokers and loan officers, and building sustainable businesses.

Join my DIFRNT community

Talent Needs a Plan: Simple Weekly Blueprint for Loan OfficersOn a Sunday episode of Growth Notes, Frazier argues that the biggest thing holding loan officers back isn’t talent, market conditions, rates, company, or leads, but the absence of a written plan. He describes how motivated, hardworking officers “swing at every pitch” by reacting to emails, calls, and distractions, then wonder why results don’t improve. Using a house-building analogy, he says talent without a plan is only potential and potential doesn’t close loans; a plan provides direction, structure, focus, and measurement. Frazier emphasizes keeping plans simple but real, written down, and followed daily. He recommends answering three questions before Monday: which five people to reach out to, one daily action to do consistently, and what a win looks like by Friday.⁠Join my DIFRNT community!

Beyond Fortune-Cookie Wisdom: The Reality Behind Work, Sacrifice, and Family

In this Growth Notes episode, Frazier challenges “fortune cookie” advice about work-life balance, especially the idea that people won’t wish they spent more time working when they’re older. He argues this oversimplifies reality because work and sacrifice can create stability and options when life happens, such as medical issues, caregiving responsibilities, bills, or recovering from major financial loss. Sharing his experience as a young dad, he explains that the time he spent working in his twenties helped protect his family later, so he won’t regret sacrificing some weekends and quality time. Frazier emphasizes looking deeper at why you work, avoiding judgment of others’ effort without knowing their circumstances, and accepting that choices are hard either way—so “choose your hard” with the bigger picture in mind.

Join my DIFRNT community

Treat Employees Like Investments: Quantify Economic Value and ROI

In this Growth Notes episode, Frazier argues that companies won’t get the results they want if they treat employees as an expense instead of an investment. He challenges leaders to define and quantify the economic value each role should bring, referencing Cody Sanchez’s approach of setting specific value expectations for hires beyond just sales. Frazier ties this to building a team the right way—understanding onboarding, training, and management—while also measuring how each employee’s activities and actions impact the bottom line. He compares hiring to choosing coaching, tools, or subscriptions: investments require a planned return, while expenses do not. By setting clear value targets, leaders can manage and measure performance against outcomes that positively affect profitability.

Join my DIFRNT community

Stop Setting New Hires Up to Fail: How to Manage and Hire Winners

The speaker invites listeners to a monthly public version of members-only office hours at 1:00 PM Eastern via a link in the show notes for help with sales, marketing, mindset, and obstacles. He argues that some people should not manage others because they invest little time in effective onboarding, training, and a 90-day plan, often relying on “sink or swim” approaches common in the mortgage industry. For hiring high performers, he advises paying a premium, clearly defining expectations and 90-day results, giving them the plan, and then getting out of their way rather than creating barriers. He warns that leaders who haven’t learned to train, mentor, coach, or lead set hires up for failure. He recommends hiring for personality, enthusiasm, work ethic, and core values, since skills can be taught.

Join today's Office Hours!

Gratitude as a Business Strategy for Building Loyalty

On a Wednesday episode of Growth Notes, Frazier explains that his note is coming later due to an unplanned busy day, but he’s committed to delivering one every day. He shares an often-overlooked business strategy: using gratitude as a practical loyalty-building tool rather than a feel-good concept. He argues that genuine, unexpected, heartfelt gratitude messages build loyalty faster than any marketing campaign and cost almost nothing compared to paid tactics like social media posting, mailers, and market reports. Frazier urges loan officers to stop ignoring their existing database of people who already know and trust them and instead make those contacts feel remembered and appreciated. He challenges listeners to send five gratitude videos today, emphasizing that loyalty compounds over time.

Join my DIFRNT community!

Set Expectations, Define Needs vs. Wants, and Commit Before Buying New Tools

The speaker shares quick advice for loan officers choosing tools like CRMs, NBS Highway, or Mortgage Coach: start by defining clear expectations for what the tool should do before taking demo calls, then create separate “needs” (non-negotiables) and “wants” (nice-to-haves) lists. They warn that many people buy tools based on what others recommend rather than their own business requirements, and note that many successful loan officers run low-tech stacks with strong systems and processes. After selecting a tool, the key is committing time to learn the features tied to the needs list to get real value. If someone doesn’t know what they need or want, they should seek a coach, mentor, manager, or colleague for guidance, be vulnerable about starting from baseline, and avoid abandoning subscriptions after 30–90 days due to lack of effort.

Join my DIFRNT community