Art of Mortgage Marketing

How to Go from Zero to $92M in Just 3 Years w/ Chris Paliska

Entering the mortgage industry without prior experience can be an intimidating process. Where does one even begin to start looking for clients and partnerships? What are the steps you definitely don’t want to skip while building your business? On this episode, I talk with Chris Paliska about how he came into the industry with no experience and went from zero to $92M in annual funded volume in just 3 years!

 

Believe you’re capable of achieving your goals. Very seldom in life will you achieve that which you do not believe you can. -Doren Aldana  

 

Takeaways

• Be strategic with the Realtors you approach. Narrow it down and make sure you’re speaking to the people you want to work with.
  
  
• When you organize your first meeting with a Realtor, spend more time listening than speaking. Know exactly what they’re looking for before delivering your proposition.
  
  
• Customize your value proposition to the prospective client’s needs. This way, you’re not recycling a proposition that doesn’t serve their company.

 

At the beginning of the episode, I asked Chris for advice to newcomers in the industry. He outlined the importance of tailoring your value proposition to Realtor’s needs. We then began talking about database marketing and the best way to approach this integral part of your business.

We also discussed:

• Why you need to find your ‘why’ in order to meet your goals
• The importance of scheduling to keep yourself accountable
• That you have to give yourself the benefit of the doubt and believe you can achieve your goals

  

You don’t need to have years of experience to become a top producer in the mortgage industry. On the contrary, working strategically in the short-term can take you to the top of the ladder. Ensure you know what your motivating force is, then work to provide specific services to the top producing agents in your target market. Most of all, you need to believe you can do it: you are the only one who can limit your success.

 

Guest Bio

Chris Paliska is an excellent example of someone who managed to make it to the top of the mortgage industry without years of experience. After working as a valet at an upscale restaurant, Chris met the man who would become his employer and help him take his career to the next level. After putting in hard work and applying the coaching he received from Art of Mortgage Marketing host, Doren Aldana, Chris has managed to become one of the top 5 loan officers at New American Funding.

 

To find out more about Chris Paliska, head to:

http://www.newamericanagent.com/christopherpaliska

https://www.facebook.com/chrispaliskabranchmanager/

 

And for New American Funding, check out:

https://www.facebook.com/newamericanfunding/

How to Stop Being at the Mercy of Your Realtors and Take CONTROL of Your Pipeline

For many mortgage pros, the relationship they share with Realtors is one of complete dependence. This gets complicated when the Realtor doesn’t have the same level of motivation as the lender. How can you stop being reliant on under-ambitious Realtors and start attracting the top dogs whose motivation matches yours? Is there a way for you to stop using all your energy making appointments with bottom-feeding agents? On this episode, I outline the steps you can take to get the results you deserve.

 

 

Build a tribe of superstars. You’ll not only have a lot more fun, but also a lot more funds.- Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways

• Working harder is not always the answer. If you’ve been putting in the hard yards and you’re still not seeing results, you need to rethink your strategy.
  
  
• Aim to gain motivated, top producers as your partners. There is no use working with people if your ambition dwarfs theirs.
  
  
• Focus on what makes you unique and valuable. The best way to partner with top producers is by making them realize you’re not only the best choice, but the only choice.

 

On this episode, I share the story of a client whose hard work was not paying off. It turns out, nothing was working because she wasn’t proving she was indispensable. As I point out, highlighting your unique capabilities is crucial if you want to get ahead.

 

I also covered:

• The necessity for building relationships with your partners.
• Why you have to bring value in multiple areas.
• Why it’s more effective to have deep connections with a smaller group of top producers than weak connections with a wide database.

 

Traditionally, mortgage professionals have been taught that the best way forward is by making cold calls and setting up appointments with as many Realtors as possible. The problem is that you’re likely to spend more of your time, only to end up making weak connections with under-ambitious agents that don’t guarantee any loyalty. Why jump through extra hoops when modern technology provides an alternative? You can start establishing better relationships with top producers and begin to see better results. Identify what makes you uniquely valuable, and you’re already a step in the right direction.

How to Overcome Call Reluctance

For many mortgage pros, the idea of calling prospective clients or Realtors is filled with anxiety and general reluctance. Why is this the case? What’s causing your hesitation to pick up the phone and ask a Realtor to meet with you? You know you’re the person for the job, so what’s stopping you? It’s time to flip the switch on this. Let’s find out how you can stop avoiding calls and start seeing breakthrough results.

 

The single biggest reason why you have call reluctance is because you’re lacking compelling, unique value to inspire a conversation. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways

• Go into calls knowing your worth. You need to be compelling and unique to attract attention. This is something to remember when looking at your strategy and your selling points.
  
  
• When pitching to prospective clients, avoid overtly ‘selling’ to the person you’re speaking to. Approach the calls as conversations rather than strictly business.  
  
  
• Find systems that make attracting clients easier. This is working smarter, and it’s important to remember that in business, you want to find the easiest way to make the most money.

 

On this episode, I start with an example of cold calls being intentionally avoided. The reason for these calls being avoided was the irritation they caused for the prospective client. After identifying what caused the irritation for the person on the phone, I go into four areas you should focus on to avoid being sidestepped.

I also covered:

• Why it’s important to do more than merely pitch your services and discuss your experience.
• That you need to find what makes you unique to excite potential clients.
• The necessity to look at the core cause of your call reluctance- you’re probably working harder than you need to.

 

You already know calling Realtors is important for your business, but it doesn’t have to be something that makes you uncomfortable. With a few tweaks to your game plan, you can go from being the phone call that realtors avoid to being a valued conversation partner. Once you do that, success is imminent. Become the mortgage professional Realtors want to refer.

Why Realtors Don't Make You Their Exclusive Lender (And How To Fix It)

It’s frustrating to be in meeting after meeting with real estate agents without seeing any results. What could you be doing wrong? More importantly, what do you need to do right in order to attract the right partners? On this episode, I explain how to attract top-producing Realtor partners who make you their exclusive lender (while working on YOUR terms, not theirs), without begging, chasing or bribing.​

 

Become that which you are trying to attract - Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways

• Know what you want to attract and refuse to accept anything less. By the same token, remember that you’ll need to embody the same values you aim to attract.
  
  
• To establish business partnerships with real estate agents, it’s important to establish personal relationships with them as well.
  
  
• For potential partners to value you, you have to demonstrate that you value yourself.

 

At the start of the show, I talked about the frustration of trying to get an exclusive lender agreement and what we need to bring to the table in order to win agents over. I talked about the importance of not settling for less, and the power of approaching business relationships the same as personal ones. I also talked about the difference between wanting success, and actually working for it.

I also shared:

• The importance of knowing what you want
• Why you need to always deliver on your promise
• One way to ensure your success

 

Identify what you want and know that you’re capable of achieving it. Just be sure to keep putting in the "hard yards". Once you can identify your goals, it becomes easier to shut down any offers that deviate from the path to realizing your dreams.

Why Being "Realistic" and "Reasonable" is Death Rattle to Success

We’ve been programmed to believe that it’s foolish to believe in our biggest dreams, and that we should instead be realistic and reasonable. How does this get in the way of us actually doing what we were put on this earth to do? When people are realistic and reasonable, how does this manifest in their behavior, choices, and actions? How do the most successful and inspiring people respond to the pressure to be realistic? On this episode, I talk about why we need to break the paradigm of being realistic and reasonable if we want to achieve our Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals, and how to make the necessary shifts in perspective.

 

I can have it exactly the way I want it if I don’t settle. That is the champion’s mantra. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways

• Our loved ones tell us to be realistic because they don’t want us to get disappointed when we try to reach for higher ground. They’ve experienced disappointment themselves and project what happened to them onto us.
  
  
• Being reasonable reinforces our lack, scarcity and inadequacy and powerlessness.
  
  
• When we believe that we have to be realistic, we allow ourselves to be the effect and not the cause of everything that happens to us.  

 

At the start of the show, I talked about where the idea of being realistic and reasonable comes from and why it’s something we have to get away from if we want to succeed. Next I talked about the inspirational people who proved to us that the true path to success starts when we choose to do the unprecedented, the unreasonable and the unrealistic. I also discussed the true path mediocrity.

I also discussed;

• How to go after our goals without holding back
• How to shift our perspectives
• The danger of having a herd mentality

 

The truth about successful and inspirational people is that they brought unreasonable faith, effort, excellence and drive in order to achieve what they did. The true path to unstoppable and incredible success is being unreasonable and unrealistic, and going against what the herd says.  

How Indecision Kills Your Success (And How To Fix It!)

Many people falsely believe that taking a long time with decisions, deliberating, and trying to be risk averse is going make them more successful. Why does indecision do massive and catastrophic damage to our goals and dreams? What is the law of diminishing intent, and how do we fight it? What does it take to become powerfully decisive? On this episode, I talk about how to beat the beast of indecision and get closer to the life of our dreams.

 

Indecision is a decision to prolong the problem and to allow it to persist. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways

• When we soften the problem, we stay stuck in a rut of stagnation and regression.
  
  
• Your income, relationships, and results are the effect of you and the action you do or don’t take.
  
  
• You have to make an intention and get into action before the procrastination and delay set in.

 

At the start of the show, I talked about how taking time to make decisions and being risk averse can actually slow down or stop our growth completely. I talked about the opportunities we are given each day to follow through on the discipline that will lead to our desired results. I discussed why it’s so important for us to build our decision making muscle. I also talked about the law of diminishing intent and how we can starve it of its power.

I also discussed:

• Delusional optimism and how it trips us up
• How indecision derails us from taking proactive action
• Our responsibility in the outcomes we get in our lives

 

Indecision will kill our success, momentum, leadership, and ability to create breakthrough results. To solve it, we have to feel the pain of a problem enough to take an action and stop using softeners to create a false sense of safety. We have to strike when the iron of motivation and inspiration is hot because that’s the moment it is most malleable to our dreams.  

If we leave it too long, the iron cools and we become victims of the law of diminished intent and it becomes easier to make excuses, procrastinate, and spend another day eating the bread of mediocrity.

The Difference Between Being Interested vs. Committed to Success

We all envy the people who seem to have an unlimited amount of motivation— the people who are successful both in business and in their personal lives. What makes some people so good at sticking with their goals? What’s the difference between being interested in changing our lives vs. committing to the change? And what are some of the ways we can push ourselves outside of our comfort zone? In this episode, I talk about how taking the first step towards massive success starts with making a big commitment.

 

The interested always find an excuse. The committed always find a way. -Doren Aldana  

 

Takeaways

• The difference between being interested and being committed to success is dedication. When we’re committed, we do what it takes every single day— even when times get rough.
  
  
• Softening the problem is a slippery slope to mediocrity. When we tell ourselves that those extra pounds are just our big bones, or when we diminish our problems, we avoid being committed to solving them.
  
  
• Daily routines make or break our success. If we don’t invest our time in our personal growth, we can’t achieve our goals. Every day of our life needs to be planned ahead of time.

At the beginning of the episode, I talked about the difference between being interested in something and being committed to something. Next, I explained how easy, yet dangerous, it is for us to soften our problems and make them seem smaller than they really are.

I also covered:

• Why we need to invest in our personal development to grow professionally
• The price we pay for success and how to avoid a lifetime of regrets
• How mentors can help us find shortcuts to success

The best way to find out whether we’re committed or just interested in achieving success is to ask ourselves if we’re willing to step outside of our comfort zone. Because commitment changes our priorities and the way we look at what happens around us, it makes us work hard regardless of our situation. When we’re just interested, we aren’t motivated enough to feel uncomfortable or make sacrifices to achieve our dreams.

Your EMOTIONAL HOME: The REAL SECRET Behind Your Success or Failure in Life & Business

No tactic can save us from living paycheck to paycheck if our mindset doesn’t change. The way we think is the root cause of our behavior -- and ultimately, our results. What is the definition of our emotional home? How do our emotions and mindset impact our work and personal routine? Why do we need to learn to be HAPPY NOW, even when what happens around us isn’t ideal? In this episode, I talk about the mindset of top achievers and how you can change the way you think to create an extraordinary life -- built by design -- filled with passion, purpose and prosperity.​

 

 

The achievers don’t achieve to be happy. They find a way to happily achieve. -Doren Aldana

 

Takeaways

• Our emotional home is where we are emotionally most of the time. It’s how we wake up every day— either being excited that it’s a new day, or dreading our work. This attitude impacts the way we perform as business owners.
• The way we see ourselves depends on our perspective. If we need external factors to make us happy all the time, we’re always in danger of losing our happiness.
• If we want to improve the quality of our life, we need to improve the quality of the information we consume as well as our environment.

 

At the beginning of the episode, I explained what our emotional home is and how it impacts our willingness to work hard and get results. Next, I covered why we shouldn’t rely only on external factors to be happy, and how we can achieve emotional freedom from life’s challenges and obstacles.

I also covered:

• Why living in a comfort zone prevents many people from reaching greatness
• Why building a business is all about problem-solving and how we can get better at solving problems instead of running away from them
• How we can stop feeding our mind with negative thoughts

 

Success starts with our mindset; with how we see life and ourselves in it. We can’t progress if we don’t have the mental power to look forward to life’s challenges. We can’t solve problems if we avoid them at all costs. There are two ways we can look at life. We can choose to be happy only when good things happen, which means we’re always dependent on what occurs around us, or we can make the decision to happy with ourselves regardless of everything else. We must accept the fact that in order to take control of our lives, we have to stop fearing and running away from challenges. As entrepreneurs, we’re problem-solvers, and that means we address problems head-on.

How Jason Cope went From Almost Nothing to $1M/month in Just 2 months!

We’re all told that massive success takes years of grind and personal sacrifices. How do some business owners reach their goals faster than others? What role does mentorship play in finding shortcuts to success? What are some of the most common sales tactics that aren’t worth doing? And what should we do instead? In this episode, Jason Cope shares how he learned to focus on effective tactics, enjoy his work, and grow his business from almost nothing to $1M per month.

You just have to work smarter, not harder. -Jason Cope

 

Takeaways

• Cold calling works, but it isn’t the best tactic. It takes a lot of time, and in the end, very few people are interested in working with us after cold calling.
  
  
• We should focus on prioritizing who we call. Not all of the people in our database have the same problems.
  
  
• If we choose our business partners only based on profit potential, we might end up miserable because we have to interact with people we don’t like on a regular basis.

 

At the beginning of the episode, we talked about why cold calling occasionally works, but also how it can make our journey to success more painful. Next, we talked about prioritizing certain contacts in our database and surrounding ourselves with people who energize us and make our job more fulfilling.

We also covered:

• Why we need to ditch the idea that only hard work and grind leads to results
• How automating mundane tasks can give us more free time
• Why we should strive for progress, not perfection

The first investment we have to make is in ourselves. Building habits that grow our knowledge and make us more confident are essential to success. We have to become more intentional with how we spend our time instead of using our free hours to watch Netflix. Reading more, meditating, and practicing visualization are all ways we can improve ourselves and become better in all aspects of life.

 

Guest Bio

Jason Cope is a loan consultant with a background in commercial real estate. He has experience in global financial markets, procurement processes, and loan valuations. His aggressive marketing tactics combined with a deep understanding of his market enabled him to help many of his clients get the home of their dreams.

You can learn more about Jason here.

How to Put an End to the "Income Roller Coaster" and Create Consistent Income Growth

Inconsistent income is the biggest nightmare for most mortgage pros. Yet, instead of fighting against it, many MLOs consider it to be “normal” and just learn to live with it. How can we escape this “average” mindset, and how does having low expectations impact our income? How can we become more consistent with our marketing efforts -- and results? Why do we need systems in our business to do the heavy lifting for us? In this episode, I talk about how to overcome one of the most common struggles: inconsistent income.

 

Success is not easy. If it was, everyone would be fit, rich, and happy. -Doren Aldana  

 

Takeaways

• Not having consistent income is a symptom of issues, not the root cause.
  
• When we see ourselves as winners, we do whatever it takes to make our vision a reality. When we see ourselves as average, we take an average course of action.
  
• One of the biggest reasons why we experience income inconsistency is the fact that we don’t have a daily schedule that includes lead generation.

At the beginning of the episode, I talked about why we need to have a winner mindset and how thoughts about prosperity lead to actions that create wealth. Next, I spoke about the importance of consistently generating leads.

I also covered:

• Why we need automated marketing processes to generate leads
• How a mentor can help us get to where we want to be faster
• The difference between dreamers and doers

 

The best way make our income more consistent and predictable is to put together marketing systems that generate leads on autopilot. This way, we free up some of the tasks that we have on our plate and create more consistency in our course of action. When we aren’t backed up by systems, the moment when we stop showing up, even for a day, the lead generation machine stops.

Another important component to making our income more predictable is having the right mentor on our side. It needs to be someone who already knows the ins and outs of the industry and can show us shortcuts.