Challenges and opportunities (in high-volume markets)

Jake Vermillion	Welcome to Up-Market Sales Success, a series designed to help U.S. Bank loan officers, just like you, make the most of high-volume markets. My name is Jake, I'm a member of the Mortgage Champions team, and we we are incredibly excited to bring this powerful offering to U.S. Bank thanks to Beth Ryan, Todd McFadden, and the entire executive team. Let's dive into the topic at hand, Challenges and opportunities (in high-volume markets), with Dale Vermillion. Hi Dale!
Dale Vermillion	Hey Jake, how are ya?
Jake Vermillion	I'm doing well. I'm doing well. In this first installment, we want to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by high-volume markets. Let's start with the challenges: in your experience, what are the greatest challenges loan officer face in high-volume markets?
Dale Vermillion	Well, I think the number one challenge that a loan officer faces is just the sheer volume of business and how it can derail you from your normal selling approach. In other words, it moves loan officers into a very order-taking mindset. And that order-taking mindset... the problem with that it's devoid of relationship many times, it's devoid of taking a full and complete application, and it can lead to not only losing deals at the end of the day, but putting deals in your pipeline that aren't as well put together, and as well-qualified, and as well-completed as you'd like them to be. I think the biggest challenge at U.S. Bank that we want to really focus on is the fact that we understand that, in this marketplace, our customers are really wanting to do business with us first; but, look, we can make the mistake to think that just because of that, they're going to do business whether we build that relationship or not. And that would be a terrible mistake to make. We want to treat every customer, and remind ourselves with every customer, that they're not working just with U.S. Bank, they're working with the independent loan officer. And therefore, you want to make sure you take the time to build that right relationship, treat them with the highest level of respect and integrity, and give them the best service you can. And make sure you're not just order-taking. You want to be obviously efficient in a high-volume market and move through with urgency. And make sure that you're getting to the point quickly. And getting through so you can get to your other leads; but, you also want to be mindful of , when you're in the process, you're not going so fast that you're missing those key opportunities to really understand their situation well, understand their goals well, build that relationship with them, and separate yourself from your competition. So that, we're sure that they not only stay with us, but they love the experience and send all of their friends and all of their relatives and you get all the repeat and referral business that comes with it.
Jake Vermillion	What about opportunities in high-volume markets? What should loan officers be trying to take advantage of?
Dale Vermillion	So, there's a couple of things that I think are critically important in high-volume markets to really look at when it comes to the opportunities. And number one is obviously you have a high opportunity for high-volume and high-production, which is going to lead to high-income. But again, you got to make sure that you do it right, that you're not shifting your entire focus and the way that you approach the business to this really low-rate, really-high volume markets so that all of a sudden you get all this business and the minute it turns, you're not going to have near the business because you've changed your approaches. Remember, everything you do every day creates new habits. And what you want to make sure is you're always building the right habits. So, the first thing is take advantage of the opportunities that you have with high volume, make sure you—as the old saying goes—"Make hay while the sun's shining," but do it right. And then, the second opportunity is to expand your partnerships. One of the most common mistakes that loan officers make in high-volume markets is they will tend to their applications, but they will not nurture the third-party relationships with realtors and builders and whoever else you're working with. Here's the bottom line: you want to make sure that if you're on the purchase side of the arena, that you're not just focusing on your referrals and your leads and your opportunities, but you're also making sure that you are focusing in on those realtors. Whether you're doing those through leads that you're getting or referrals that you're getting, those realtors create a substantial opportunity and they're underserved in high-volume markets. It's a great time to get great realtors to build out your business.
Jake Vermillion	Any parting thoughts on this topic Dale?
Dale Vermillion	I think the number one thing is just leverage the relationship and the loyalty and the trust that we have from that customer in the name U.S. Bank. Look, we are such a well-known, well-respected, and highly-reputed, um, organization that has been around for so long and customers want to work with us. So, make sure that you leverage that in your opportunities and build the best future opportunity with those customers that you possibly can.
Jake Vermillion	If this is your first time listening, know that this is the first in a 16-installment series you'll be receiving directly in your email inbox every morning, Monday through Thursday, for the next four weeks. That's 16 lessons covering Dale Vermillion's proven techniques for maximizing production in high-volume markets. Thanks so much for listening! Before you go, I'd like to take just a moment to reflect on just how rare high-volume markets can be, and how important it is to have an efficient sales methodology that converts at scale during these once-in-a-decade booms. I trust the strategies Dale shared in this installment will help you on your path to refining your own sales process. But if you'd like a little extra help, consider connecting with our team by emailing instructor@mortgagechampions.com, or by logging into your Mortgage Champions Online™ account, where you can view hours upon hours of additional training. Whatever your needs, we're here to help. Coming up next, Working well individually (and as a team).