Boni Lonnsburry: Mark, what is your referral source mix?

Mark Taylor: 75% realtor and 25% past client.

Boni: And how did you get started in the mortgage business?

Mark: A friend of mine told me that I would be good at it. I didn't actually believe him. He kept trying to persuade me, over many golf games, to come out and try it. So that is what I did. I started with him at a bank in 1998.

Boni: You've come a long way in just a few years.

Mark: Yes. I am very fortunate, very blessed. I have a loyal following of people.

Boni: Were you an immediate success?

Mark: It took me about five months. At the ninth month of being in business with the bank, I left to become a broker.

Boni: What mistakes do you see new loan officers typically making?

Mark: Chasing the deal for the money. It frustrates me. You ask them why they wanted to get into the mortgage business and they say "I wanted to make money." I don't think that should be their precursor for initiating a career change.

The compensation that we receive as lenders is a wonderful byproduct of being successful and doing what we enjoy. It shouldn't be the focus for the deal because the consumer gets hurt that way.

Boni: Do you have a team of loan officers working for you?

Mark: Actually, I have a wonderful team of assistants. I have a marketing assistant, a customer service assistant, and three people who don't originate but help facilitate the transition. They help me place the loan and help take the application. I'm the originator and the one who goes out and has to make sure that the front and the end matches.

Boni: When you look at veteran loan officers, what mistakes do you see them making?

Mark: Veteran loan officers, in my experience, still aren't doing the follow up. They are so used to having had the last five years of a wonderful economy that they are not that strong on following up with past clients.

They don't stay in contact with them. They don't derive their business from their previous investments. They spend their time and effort going after new clients as opposed to cultivating relationships they've already begun.

You tend to get distracted in this business, and taken away from some of your focuses, which should always be past clients and the referrals that they can give you.

Boni: How do you keep in touch with your past clients?

Mark: With a constant marketing campaign of value rather than just bombarding; something with a message. Follow-up thank you cards at three, six, nine and twelve months later. Birthday cards, anniversary cards, and a lot of what the In Touch Today program exhibits.

Also a lot of my own stuff like following up at the end of the year, tax information, and quarterly financial updates. Also calling them to let my clients know they may be in a position to remove MI, and giving them the information to do it without charging them. It's a whole campaign. I have a steady 6-month post closing campaign to stay in contact with them every month.

Boni: How did you get your Realtor referral percentage so high?

Mark: Very simply. There are a couple phrases that are used a lot. One of them is "We are only as good as our last deal." It is very important to demonstrate the understanding of that phrase to the Realtor by listening to them and asking them what they want as opposed to running around going "This is what I'll do for you and here is the rate sheet."

Actually listen to them and understand what their issues and problems and their hot buttons are. Even if that means taking XYZ Realtor's name and sticking it on a file and recording what this guy's hot buttons are, such as "Don't call me on a Wednesday." Try to personalize the service for that individual, give them what they want, because their business is easy to get.

The other phrase that gets used a lot is "The business is easy to get, it's keeping it that's hard." So if you can get out there, listen and talk with them, understand their hang-ups with the business and what you can do to alleviate them - that is how you'll keep their business.You've got to follow through and make sure it happens. If there is a screw up or an error, I put my money where my mouth is. If I have to write a check to fix a mistake, then that is what I'll do.

Seven months ago, on a construction loan, on a Friday evening, I called the client, locked the rate, faxed off the lock, put it in the file, sent it to the processor, and the interest rate actually moved against it at that point.

Later, the investor said the loan wasn't locked. I told him "No, I have a locked sheet here with a confirmation printed out." It actually said "Transmission Error." I hadn't bothered to read it and put it in the file thinking everything was hunky-dory.

I had to write a check for $4500 at title to close the loan and keep the rate. You have to be prepared to do that kind of thing. Most people who would call up the client and say "Oh, I'm sorry, I screwed up" and then make the client pay for it. I gained a lot of respect from the Realtor and the client for doing that…but my wife wasn't very happy.

Boni: Do you train your staff according to these principles?

Mark: Absolutely! In fact, the company that I founded, the Creative Mortgage Group, has a code of conduct. All the loan officers have to sign it. It is a guaranty that we give to the broker community.

For example, if a loan officer gets three complaints in a 12 month period, we let them go. If they keep blowing through closings, we let them go. If they promise a rate to a client and it is higher when it gets to title and they haven't signed off on it, we let them go.

We have to set a standard. As tough as that standard may be, and as many people as we may alienate because of it, at least our Realtors will know that something is being done. The loan officers have embraced this. They like the high standard of professionalism.

We even take it as far as saying that you do not take a loan application in a restaurant that sells alcohol. I'm as big of a party animal as the next person, but a lot of loan officers take their clients out for cocktails and sign a loan app. I don't think that is correct.

We want to give the Realtors the assurance and confidence that these standards will be maintained. Unfortunately, these standards are the bare minimum that is out there.

Boni: If you had a son or a daughter entering this business, what advice would you give to them?

Mark: If you say you are going to do something, do it. Put your money where your mouth is. If you say you'll deliver something, deliver it. If you say you are going to be there, be there.

The handshake should be the contract. Approach your business that way. That is what I would say to my son, Colin. You are only as good as your last deal; you're only as good as your word. Your word is your reputation. You can't be changing sides all the time.

I think the biggest word we could use is integrity. Have integrity in your actions, have integrity in the way you conduct yourself and you'll naturally be successful. Standing by what you said, whether it is right, wrong or indifferent, is integrity. I'm not trying to be contrite or say something trendy - it is what I believe.

Boni: What was your most successful marketing campaign?

Mark: Following up with a letter to my Realtors thanking them for their time and expressing that I understand they are my customer and that I've listened to their hot buttons.

I ask my Realtors to think about designing the perfect loan officer. What would the perfect loan partnership be? Everything I do with my agents, I try to do as a partnership as opposed to the symbiotic relationship we normally have. What are their desires and needs?

I respond to that in the letter. I ask them when they want to be contacted, how they want to be contacted. Then I follow up with a call to re-clarify everything.

Boni: Who or what was the biggest contributor to your success?

Mark: A woman named Denise Crawford who is at my old company. She is my matriarch; she trained me at the bank and taught me everything that I'm telling you. I got a good foundation. She helped me get off to the right start.

And then, honestly, the thing that made me as successful as I am today is the fact that the gentleman who got me into the banking industry said to me "Go to your sphere of influence, any Realtors you know, and see if they will give you business." I went and did that.

The four Realtors that I knew told me I was crazy. "Why would I, an experienced Realtor, hand over my paycheck to you, a loan officer who has no experience? What makes you think, even though we are friends, that I would dare hand over my livelihood to you?"

That was probably the most motivating scenario I was ever given. That was it; I was going to prove them wrong. I asked them how many loans I had to do to be experienced enough to get their business.

Since then, I've sat down and spoke with my Realtors and listened to what they had to say and then did what they wanted, or at least tried to, in every situation.

Boni: If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your current business?

Mark: I would wave a wand and get rid of all the idiots charging outrageous fees. I had a client in my office this morning doing a streamlined FHA and they had 9 points on the loan at 7.5. If you can't make enough money at this business doing loans, don't disenfranchise our clients.

Just because you've got to pay the house bill and you haven't closed a loan in a couple of weeks, don't take it out on the poor consumer because they are unsophisticated and they don't know better. They are looking to us as professionals for guidance and counsel.

Predatory lending is abhorrent. I can honestly tell you that I get three to four transfer packages at the end of the month every month, and I always close the loans early so my end of the month is basically the 25th when I try and fund everything.

It is amazing what you see out there, good consumers who had a couple of late payments. And loan officers are telling them "You are a bad person because you had two late payments." They should still give them the best rate they can.

Boni: What are your business goals now?

Mark: My business goals are to pass on the successes that I have had to others. I do a lot of training in my company and I want to pass on my experience to other officers and enjoy their successes through me.

All my loan officers go to loan officers school and processing school as well. I have investors come in and do training, not on loan products, but on what is going on with Fanny and Freddy, what's going on with FHA and where the market is. I've got a tax advisor coming in, title companies, appraisal companies. I want everyone to have a little bit of something.

I want to get as much legitimacy, training and development as I can out there. The market is moving away from Mr. Vanilla calling up and saying "I just want a 30 year fixed" to someone who wants to know the advantages and disadvantages of different loans.

It is now a question of options and choices. The borrower is much more sophisticated so we need to be more sophisticated. There is a product out there called Mortgage Coach which is exceptional at what it does. That sort of conscious level of financial acumen is necessary in order for us to maintain relationships.

Boni: Are there any other thoughts you would like to leave with loan officers who aspire to the kind of success you've created?

Mark: The sky is the limit. There is no excuse for not being successful. As I've said before, the business is easy to get, it is the keeping it that's hard. You've got to find a balance between taking care of past clients and obtaining new clients.

Most importantly, don't let the business override your sense of humor. You've got to stay fresh, to enjoy what you do. You've got to show that passion to clients and that comes with humor and the whole nine yards. Just have fun at what you are doing.

My father always said "As long as you can get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and be proud of what you did the day before, that is an achievement." I absolutely love what I do and am so fortunate to have the Realtor partners and past clients that I have. 110% of my success is because of them. All I've done is facilitate their needs.

The mortgage business is a relationship business… Let us help you build, nurture and KEEP the relationships you have worked so hard establish! Mortgage Greeting Cards We have an extensive selection of Greeting Cards specifically designed for the mortgage industry. Send them to your potential clients, current clients and professional referral sources!