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Index  Spotlight Article Taxes, the New Year, and Planning |
| Tips for a Successful and Profitable New Year |
| December 11, 2007 | |
As I do every December, I look back at the past year and reflect on what I could have done better to improve my business. The first thing look at are my projections from last year to determine how well I exceeded my goals. If you are not setting definitive and measurable goals, whether you are a business owner or an  independent loan officer, you are starting off each year at a HUGE disadvantage. For years I believed this was nonsense as I’m sure many of you may but, as my business grew in profits, this nonsense became a reality that I could not ignore if I wanted to continue to evolve as a mortgage professional. Many times, it was difficult for me to establish my goals because I was looking at my business from the wrong angle. Goals are meant to be set based on an ideal of how you want your business to be in it’s perfect state, NOT how you want your business to be better than the previous 12 months. This seems to be where many people get stuck when establishing their goals for the New Year.I have found these 4 factors of success to be extremely valuable when I establish my business plan for the New Year: 1) Eliminate Waste in Your Marketing- Aggressive marketing in the secret behind any successful company. That being said, aggressive does not mean wasteful. Any and all marketing must consider 3 factors equally. First, you need to know how much money you can earn from this marketing campaign versus the money you spend. This is known as the return on investment (ROI). Secondly, you need to know how long will it take to receive the profits from this marketing campaign. This is known as the “Turn Time”. Thirdly, you need to know if there is a way to recapture your marketing costs FAST if the “turn time” is longer than expected. This factor is by far the most important. Lat but not least, you need to be able to track the response to all of your marketing. This can be done with 800# call capture systems like Arch Telecom and Mortgage Marketing Websites like Mortgage Web Success. 2) Systematize Better-The most successful business I have been exposed to is also the businesses with the best systems. As with most new businesses, I had a hard time growing in my early years because I was focused only on sales and marketing. Even though I was producing a ton of new business each month, I had no system to manage it all and I felt burnt out all the time. I quickly realized that being successful meant growing profits while maintaining control of the process. What system changes would you like to see in you business next year? 3) Hire Cautiously- Too often, I see business owners hire staff to handle a flawed system. STOP! Figure out what your business needs systems-wise, implement the new systems and then go out and find the person or people that can manage these systems. DO NOT hire anyone until you have this figured out otherwise your will be creating MORE chaos then you had before. 4) Become an Effective Communicator- In today’s culture, instant response is not only expected, it’s demanded. The only way to do this effectively while keeping your sanity is to use tools and technology to leverage our time. The most effective tools I use to communicate efficiently are teleseminars and e-mail autoresponders. These powerful tools allow me to speak to hundreds of people at one time proactively so that I avoid unwanted inbound communication. It frees up a ton of my time and provides me the mental space I need to work ON my business instead of IN my business. Business is supposed to be profitable and fun. How often do we find neither? How often do we find both? By considering these four factors of success and implementing them in your business without delay, you can be assured of a successful and profitable year to come.
Ken Schreiber is a partner in LoanOfficerSuccess, teaching loan originators to become significantly more profitable with subtantially less effort. Ken has built a very predictible high six figure income while operating out of shared executive space with 1 part time assistant. Ken was selected as one of the original 5 loan officers in the world to be selected to Brian Sacks “Elite” Platinum Coaching Group, considered to be the “Best of the Best” in the mortgage industry. Ken is also one of the founding members of the National Association of Responsible Loan Officers and currently sits on the Board of Directors. |
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