Welcome Back-to-School: Mortgage School That Is
Yes, summer is rapidly coming to a close, and it seems appropriate to reflect upon the childhood tradition of going back to school. For some, it was an exciting thought... new books, new supplies, new lessons, and new ideas. For others, it represented the end of everything pleasurable, our summer activities replaced with mind-numbing and sometimes boring hours in a school room.
If you really loved those returns to school, this reminder probably won't bother you. It might even make you happy. However, if you were the type of child who wanted to "do other activities" instead of "learning," what we are about to cover might not sound quite as attractive.
The day you decided to become a Mortgage Professional and in effect, run your own business, you automatically enrolled in classes again. I'm not just talking about reading this article, or surfing the internet in the evening.
Your commitment was much more significant than that. It started the day you declared yourself a Loan Officer/Mortgage Broker, and won't end until the day you decide to leave the business or retire.
This school's classroom is right where you're currently sitting. There are neither set hours nor required books, but you're expected to read voraciously. You'll want to keep up on over-all social trends, new developments in internet activity and technology, changing marketing strategies, lender availability and demise, loan programs and availability, credit, and much more.
You'll find yourself searching and exploring niches to which you are marketing and about the process of marketing itself. You'll also have an on-going finance class. You will learn about reinvesting in your business, handling your taxes, accounting, making wise business decisions, paying yourself, handling benefits and preparing for eventual retirement.
That will, of course, lead you to your social science courses. Your desire and passion to help others will play a huge part in your success in the mortgage business. The most successful in our business have an un-ending desire to train, explain, and assist others about mortgage, finance, and credit.
As a self-employed person, current events that once seemed distant and fairly meaningless will all of a sudden be extremely important. You'll be studying tax changes, credit issues, identity theft, compliance regulations, licensing requirements, how governmental decisions could impact your markets, and a host of other topics.
In the last year or so, we have seen a huge fall-out in the number of active loan officers and mortgage brokers. Even more will follow in the months to come. Most if not all of these folks thought they could make a quick dollar during our recent refinancing boom, and some did.
However, none thought they had to re-invest in their business and themselves with new programs and tools to improve that business. None of them thought that they had to go back to school.
Yes...there is no doubt that running your own mortgage business is a constant, on-going learning experience. Welcome back to school!
About The Author:
Tom Domin is the author of "Tom's Mortgage Tips" a twice monthly Mortgage Newsletter that is geared for Mortgage Professionals. You can sign-up by visiting http://www.mortgagemarketingtoolkit.com.
