Mortgages. Money. Life.

New year means you're starting to set all of those big, brave goals around what you want to accomplish by the end of 2025. We're not here to say you shouldn't, but let's go a little bit farther with this one. If we set our THREE year goals, then the progress I make this year is much more likely to be in line with my "down the road" goals. 

This episode is not only for our Mortgage Advisors, but also for the clients that they serve. Go teach people how to set and achieve money goals, you'll set yourself apart in no time. 

Thanks for kicking off the New Year with us, excited to spend 2025 sharing value with you all! 

- T & V

Have you ever heard of the "last mile problem?" The concept is this; When it comes to online sites like Amazon, the most difficult yet most crucial part of the entire experience is the last mile. That's when the customer gets the product in their hands, and realize they're either happy or dissatisfied with the product. It doesn't matter how amazing the process was the create this product, if that last mile is unsuccessful, your product is doomed. 

Our last mile in mortgage is the client consultation. When you sit down with a client, are they blown away by the value you're creating for them, or are they just comparing you to the lender down the street? 

In this episode, we're joined by Craig Davis, founder of Ascend Xperience to talk about what he's seeing from a coaching perspective. We dive into what Mortgage Advisors are missing the mark on right now, where the industry is headed and his journey from Mortgage Professional to being a successful coaching entrepreneur himself. From battling cancer and losing his leadership position in the industry within 6 weeks of each other, Craig found himself at a crossroads that led him on the impressive journey he takes us on during our time together.

Craig Davis has been in leadership, management, and sales for over 20 years serving the Mortgage Industry.  Early in his career, he discovered that focusing his unique talents on helping his clients and team succeed fueled his success.  He founded Ascend Xperience with that same purpose and passion as an Executive Coach, Fractional COO, and Speaker who keenly understands how to help his clients succeed on purpose, and in their design.  He is a conqueror of cancer, a family man, a buddy, and in his own words, just a good human…
 

Connect with Craig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-davis-ascendxc/
Visit Craig's website: Ascend Xperience (ascendxc.com)
Follow Craig on Instagram: Instagram

Thanks for listening, folks!

Trev & Val

1 whole year of learning, growing, and sharing concepts that don't get talked about nearly enough in our industry. We've had a BLAST over the last 365 days, so during this episode, we chose our favorite episodes to reminisce and reflect on the lessons talked about in each one. 

If you're a new listener, this is the perfect episode to tune in and get a high-level view around the concepts we love most. Our new season will feature some of the most impactful and trail-blazing leaders that our industry has to offer - we can't wait for you to hear more! 

We appreciate you being here and listening, thanks for an awesome year!

- Trevor and Val

For the first time ever, we welcome on a very special guest to join the show, none other than industry legend Todd Ballenger. Todd has been a coach and mentor to Trevor for many years as you'll hear in the beginning of the episode, and someone who has instilled a lot of the concepts that we talk about today into the way Trevor has done business.

Todd joins us and shares his upbringing, how he eventually found his way into the mortgage space, and ultimately the 7 steps he's identified that lead a "Loan Officer" to grow into a Mortgage Advisor and eventually a Certified Liability Advisor.

Listen, learn, implement! Thanks as always for joining us - enjoy the show!

- Trevor and Val

To learn more about Todd's coaching program and becoming a Certified Liability Advisor, visit borrowsmartuniversity.com, or reach Todd directly at [email protected]. 

Being in an industry where people metaphorically "get naked" for us when it comes to their finances, it's very clear that we have a massive lack of financial education in our society. It can be hard to articulate all of the short comings that many people have in their financial lives, and even harder to instill some of these lessons into your client's minds during the time you get with them. 

Trevor has identified 4 "blind spots" that almost everything boils down to, that keep people from reaching their full financial potential, and ultimately, financial freedom. We dive into these 4 blind spots and how to have conversations with your clients that are 10x more impactful. 

Listen and absorb the information for yourself, and ask yourself which blind spots YOU experience in your own life. This will make it that much easier to articulate and relate to your clients. 

Thanks for listening!

- T & V

We set BIG goals - everyone likes big goals, right?

But what happens when we don't reach them in the time limit we set for ourselves? We beat ourselves up, we deem it a failure, and we have less confidence than before. What if we aimed to accomplish those goals over a 25 year time span? How would that change our perception of ourselves and our successes?

Of course, we have to set goals within that 25 year timespan, but they're all leading up to our main objective that we decide for our next 25 years. 

Listen to this episode if you're feeling too hard on yourself and need a perception shift - that's what we're here for!

- Trevor and Val

Stress & Mortgage?! Can't have one without the other - but are you managing it in a way that allows you to operate at the highest level and actually use your stress as an advantage in your business?

The first step is acknowledging your stress and the relationship you have with it. During this episode, Trevor and Val talk through how to view the feelings you're going through and effective ways to manage them. 

This business IS stressful, but there are good, healthy ways to cope and use stress to your advantage. Thanks for listening, send this to your stressed-out friend who needs to hear this!

- Trevor & Val

It's easy to intake an application, calculate DTI and hand out a Pre-Approval letter based on income, assets and liabilities. What moves you to the next step of being a Mortgage Advisor is finding out if that mortgage or home is suitable for the client. What are their current and long-term goals with finance and real estate? Do they have kids they want to send through college in the next few years? Is this loan helping them with the leverage and financing they need to achieve those goals?

Going from a place of eligibility to suitability will, rest assured, move you closer to being a Mortgage Advisor rather than just another Loan Officer. During this episode, we talk about the different aspects that take a client from eligibility to suitability and how you can start to implement these things into your mortgage practice. 

Like, subscribe and leave a review - we'll read it live on our next episode! Thanks for listening, 

Trevor & Val

You get on a new kick - you want to implement something new in your business, achieve a new big goal in your personal life, or start a healthy habit. You think about it for a week or two and nothing ever gets implemented or changes in your life. 

Enter the 4 C's!

This way of thinking about starting anything new will make you more intentional and change the way you look at many new things in your life. If you follow this framework, you're far more likely to see change and stick to habits that you were never able to stick to before! Along the way, you'll start to see how you've been implementing this framework.

Thanks for listening, we're glad you're here!

- Trevor & Val