Sales Shots

After nearly a decade in the mortgage industry, including years at Rocket Mortgage, Mike Ashkar is taking a new direction in his career.

In this episode, Ace welcomes Mike to Takers Brokerage to discuss his transition to the independent channel, balancing mortgage origination with running a family business, and what attracted him to Takers.

But the conversation quickly turns into an unexpected business coaching session. Ace identifies an opportunity Mike has been overlooking and shows how his existing customer relationships could become a powerful source of mortgage leads.

They also discuss the importance of mentorship, building a disciplined schedule, investing in your sales skills, and creating a mortgage business with room to grow.

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The first 30–60 seconds of your sales call can tell you a lot about how the rest of that conversation is going to go.

In this training, Ace breaks down how to start a sales call with confidence, read the person on the other end of the phone, handle early objections, and earn the right to continue the conversation.

He also explains why your opening starts before you ever dial the phone and gives you a framework you can adapt to virtually anything you're selling.

If you want stronger sales calls, better conversations, and more control from the beginning, start here.

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When the mortgage market gets tougher, urgency becomes even more important.

In this training, Ace breaks down how loan officers can recognize the urgency that already exists in a client's situation and communicate it effectively without relying on pressure or generic sales tactics.

When someone is reaching out for help despite everything they're hearing about rates and the housing market, there's usually a reason. Your job is to understand that reason, communicate the reality of their situation, and help them make an informed decision.

Ace also covers how to respond when a client thinks you're using “scare tactics” and how to confidently stand behind your professional recommendation.

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After spending the last 60 days auditing dozens of salespeople, Ace started noticing the same problems over and over again.

So he compiled the biggest recurring themes into one training.

From how you follow up and communicate with hot prospects to personalization, speed, organization, and taking ownership of your pipeline, these are the small execution gaps that can quietly cost salespeople deals.

And the biggest takeaway? Improving your sales results might have a lot less to do with learning another fancy technique than you think.

Watch the full training and audit your own sales process along the way.

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Could you handle a sales call if you had zero time to prepare?

During this Takers team huddle, Ace puts loan officers on the spot with live client roleplays to see who actually knows their sales script and who still needs work.

Because when the real client picks up, you don't get a practice round.
Watch the team get hot-seated, work through different client conversations, and see why preparation and repetition matter in mortgage sales.

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What your client says they want and what they actually need can be two very different things.

In this training, Ace breaks down one of the biggest mistakes salespeople make: taking a prospect’s first answer at face value.

Using a real conversation from his team, Ace shows how asking better questions completely changed the direction of a sales opportunity and uncovered something that would have otherwise been missed.

If you want to improve your sales discovery, understand your clients on a deeper level, and uncover more opportunities in the conversations you're already having, this is one you need to watch.

Subscribe for more sales training, sales psychology, objection handling, prospecting, and closing strategies from Acez Academy.

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⚡READY TO BUILD A REAL CAREER IN SALES, MORTGAGES, OR LEADERSHIP?
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Realtor relationships can become one of the strongest sources of long-term business for a loan officer, but sending the same generic pitch to every agent isn't going to make you stand out.

In this training, Ace breaks down how loan officers can take a more targeted approach to building Realtor referral relationships.

Instead of immediately asking an agent to “give you a shot,” start by figuring out what actually matters to that specific Realtor. Research their business, understand where they're trying to grow, identify what they need, and build your approach around value you can genuinely provide.

Ace walks through two strategies and explains how he would research a potential Realtor partner, develop a customized pitch, earn their trust with an initial opportunity, and turn that into a long-term referral relationship.

If you're a loan officer looking to generate more Realtor referrals, build stronger referral partnerships, and create a consistent source of purchase mortgage business, start by making your approach specific to the person you're trying to reach.

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What do you actually say when a prospect tells you no?

In this live sales training, Ace gets on the phone and works through real leads, real objections, hang-ups, callbacks, and follow-ups while coaching his team through each conversation.

You'll see how Ace responds when prospects say they aren't interested, want to wait, need to think about it, need to talk to their spouse, already received another offer, or simply don't want to move forward.

More importantly, you'll see what happens after the first objection.

Ace breaks down how to ask better follow-up questions, uncover the real reason behind an objection, pivot the conversation, challenge a prospect when necessary, and keep the conversation moving without immediately accepting the first "no."

One prospect goes from wanting to pass on the entire conversation to revealing she originally wanted to borrow $150,000, all because of one follow-up question.

If you work in sales and want to improve your objection handling, follow-up, confidence, and ability to think on your feet, study these calls.

In This Training:
• Live sales calls
• Sales objection handling
• What to say when a prospect says "I'm not interested"
• Handling "Let me think about it"
• Handling "I need to talk to my spouse"
• Following up with old leads
• Calling prospects back after a hang-up
• Asking better sales questions
• Pivoting after objections
• Creating urgency
• Sales follow-up strategies
• Turning objections into opportunities

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⚡READY TO BUILD A REAL CAREER IN SALES, MORTGAGES, OR LEADERSHIP?
Apply here and choose your track.

Already happy with your career? Grab the standalone products and trainings anytime inside the shop.

What do successful salespeople consistently do differently?

In this training, Ace breaks down the 14 pillars he uses to evaluate sales performance and gives you a simple way to audit yourself against each one.

From calling before texting and bringing consistent energy to every conversation, to creating urgency, following a proven call flow, staying organized, working the right hours, and knowing exactly why you're doing the work, these are the behaviors Ace looks for when developing high-performing salespeople.

Give yourself one point, half a point, or zero for each pillar and see where you actually stand.

The 14 Pillars of Sales Success:

Call before text
Time management
Energy on every call
Custom touch
Urgency on every call
Creative problem solving
Staying available
Maximize your effort metrics
Follow your call flow
Always have a Plan B
Move fast and stay organized
Work the odd hours
Know your why
Follow your rituals

Ace considers a score of 10+ a sign that you're operating at a high level. If you're below that, identify the areas you're missing and start working on them one at a time.

Subscribe for more sales training, sales psychology, communication strategies, leadership development, and business growth from Acez Academy.

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⚡READY TO BUILD A REAL CAREER IN SALES, MORTGAGES, OR LEADERSHIP?
Apply here and choose your track.

Already happy with your career? Grab the standalone products and trainings anytime inside the shop.

The mortgage market is tougher, leads are tougher, but that doesn't mean there aren't loans to close.

I started originating mortgages in 2015 and 2016, when rates were sitting around 6–7%, and was still closing 30, 40, and even 50 loans a month. In this team training, I'm breaking down what it takes to produce when the market isn't making your job easy.

You'll learn why tougher markets require deeper client conversations, stronger introductions, better objection handling, relentless follow-up, and a willingness to actively create business instead of waiting for the perfect lead to show up.

If you're a loan officer struggling with today's mortgage market, this is your reminder that difficult markets can create some of the strongest producers.

Topics Covered:
• Selling mortgages in a tough market
• Mortgage sales strategies
• How to close more loans
• Loan officer prospecting
• Mortgage objection handling
• Following up with mortgage leads
• Working old leads
• Creating more mortgage opportunities
• Loan officer mindset
• Producing in a high-rate environment

Subscribe for more loan officer training, mortgage sales strategies, objection handling, prospecting, and behind-the-scenes training from Takers Brokerage.

Support the show

⚡READY TO BUILD A REAL CAREER IN SALES, MORTGAGES, OR LEADERSHIP?
Apply here and choose your track.

Already happy with your career? Grab the standalone products and trainings anytime inside the shop.