Interview with a Winner:
Scott Kelsey
Arlington Capital Mortgage, Princeton, NJ
2003 Volume: $51,275,445
Average Loan Amount 2003: $295,000
2004 Volume: $42,900,000
Average Loan Amount 2004: $378,000
Software: Empower, Bite, Excel
Referral Source Mix: 20% Realtor, 20% Accountants/Financial Planners, 20% Matrimonial Attorneys, 25% Past Clients, 15% Past Client Referrals.
Boni Lonnsburry: How did you get started in the mortgage business Scott?
Scott Kelsey: I took a different route than most loan officers. After I graduated college, I played professional hockey in the minor leagues for five years. Kevin Kenyon, one of the principals of our company, has been a long time family friend. I’ve known him since my freshman year in college. When I started to think about moving back to the northeast, he talked to me about working for his firm in Princeton. It seemed like a good fit.
Boni Lonnsburry: Were you immediately successful?
Scott Kelsey: It took awhile as it would for anybody. I had to take my lumps and learn the ins-and-outs of the business. I was fortunate enough my first year in the business to work for one of the top producers of our company. I was able to learn the business from him and it helped me tremendously in progressing along the learning curve for that first 12 months. After the first year working with him, I started to bring more business in myself. After the first year and a half working on my own, I was in the top 10% in the company. In my second year, my volume went up over 300%.
Boni Lonnsburry: What position were you hired for initially?
Scott Kelsey: I was originating whatever I could on my own, but I was also helping with his overflow. I guess you would say I was in an assistant role that first six months to a year. I had my hands in a lot of other things as well, such as coaching youth hockey around the area. It burned a lot of hours but paid benefits later on.
Boni: What mistakes do you frequently see new loan officers making?
Scott: New people get too caught up in their volume. They try to originate and close as many deals as possible. They aren’t considering how beneficial each deal can be in the long run. Each closed loan should be seen as a source of future referrals. They have to do whatever they can to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.
Boni: How did you earn your 20% past client referral rate?
Scott: From year to year I’ve evaluated my business and decided where I wanted to steer it. When I first started out, many people thought I was going down the wrong path. No one else was involved with divorce attorneys back in 1998 and 1999; they were all working on Realtors as referral sources. But the nature of the business has changed. People are getting more involved with their financial planners and accountants. By the time they get to a Realtor or real estate attorney, most have already done their homework and have chosen a mortgage professional.
Any personal experience - whether you’re buying a meal, a car or real estate - is going to lead to referrals if it’s pleasurable. So I tried to get into the right circles of people and do a very good job for my clients. I was growing my network without doing any work because I could rely on my clients to do it for me.
Instead of pounding down a hundred different real estate office doors, or mass marketing to Realtors and builders, I see my most powerful referral source in my past clients. Whether you keep in contact with mailings, or find another way to ingrain them into your personal life, the effort can pay benefits that people don’t usually consider.
Boni: How do you ingrain them into your personal life?
Scott: Princeton and the surrounding areas are full of young professionals and big corporations. If you can get beyond the transaction and learn more about your clients - their past, their interests, their family, and their hobbies – you can attract other clients with similar interests. Birds of a feather flock together as they say. I can have a good conversation, see a hockey game or play golf with most of my clients. I’ve worked myself into their circle of friends and that leads to a lot of referrals.
Boni: Do you regularly ask for referrals?
Scott: Yes, and that is something newer loan officers seem unwilling to do. If you’re new in the business, you need to be willing to ask for help. If your clients aren’t giving you more business, then you need to go to other people who can refer clients (Realtors, Attorneys, and CPAs). You need to keep a database and stay in front of your past clients and referral sources. You need to let them know that you appreciate their business and are looking for more.
Boni: Do you see veteran loan officers making different mistakes?
Scott: When times are good, it’s very easy to neglect to thank your past and current referral base. When business dries up, or the market tightens up, it’s very funny to see how many other rate sheets and solicitations your database is getting. I think people get too tied up in current business and don’t look back to where it came from. You have to walk a fine line between managing the influx of new business and making sure you’re constantly taking care of the folks who’ve referred to you in the past. If someone doesn’t see you for a while, because you’ve stopped making your weekly or monthly phone call, it’s very easy for them to forget you.
Boni: Tell me what differentiates you from other originators out there?
Scott: I’ve tried to think “outside the box” so to speak, not relying on the normal channels of business. Typically loan officers have beaten down Realtors’ and builders’ doors looking for business. I didn’t want to be one of 20 or 30 loan officers going into every real estate office. I didn’t want to drop off rate sheets every day to keep pace with every other loan officer out there. So I tried to look towards other areas of potential referrals. I’ve tried to find doors to knock on that no one else is. I’ve tried to grow my business in areas that aren’t your typical loan officer areas – such as divorce attorneys and sports agents.
Boni: How did you begin working with divorce attorneys?
Scott: In the beginning, I was lucky enough to deal with two of the top matrimonial attorneys in our area and it snowballed from there. The first two attorneys I worked for have given my name to other divorce attorneys. It has taken time to nurture and develop the relationships, but once they saw the benefit that I can bring to their practice, the referrals began coming in. I probably should have taken more time to think about marketing to them, and plan to do so over the next 12 months to pick up more matrimonial attorneys for my database.
Boni: If you had a son or daughter entering the business, what advice would you give them?
Scott: I would tell them that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. There is a lot of talk about getting rich quick. Many people get into the business and burn out quickly. You have to be very persistent in order to survive. You have to take the time to develop your business to get to a level of success.
Boni: What was your most successful marketing campaign?
Scott: Networking has been the most successful “marketing” that I’ve done. Whether it’s just been luck or due to hard work and persistence, I’ve managed to get to a pretty good level without having to put out printed marketing materials. In the next six months I’m going to sit down and analyze where my business has come from and where I want to take it next. Being caught up in the way the market has been the past couple of years, I’ve been subject to not getting my ideas put to work. I’m going to change that over the next six to 12 months. I plan on developing some marketing materials and a more extensive plan for garnering bigger loans and more warm referrals.
Boni: Who or what was the biggest contributor to your success?
Scott: I would say our company itself. From day one I’ve had support - people willing to share information and advice as well as the tools to get out there and grow my business. You can be as persistent and dedicated as you want to be, but if you’re not given the right tools to sell your business, and the right support in processing and closing, you aren’t going to succeed.
Boni: If you had a magic wand, what would you change?
Scott: I’d like to have a couple people working with me as a team in order to handle a significant increase in my business. I’d like to get to 100 million dollars a year, and there is no way I can do it alone. I need to find the right people to hire, people who understand the business and are willing to spend time on a team approach. This would allow me more time to get in front of referral sources because I would be free of the daily paperwork that can bog me down. If I’m out there gaining new business, paperwork is piling up back in the office. So in order to get new business, and handle it, I need a support staff in terms of a team. That would be the ideal situation.
Boni: And what are your current goals?
Scott: I’d like to develop a team and reach the 80 to 100 million dollar range. With the right team, that would be achievable.
Boni: Is there anything else you’d like to say to other originators who want to be as successful as you’ve become?
Scott: There isn’t one equation that leads to success. In order to create your niche in the industry, you need to think outside the box and differentiate yourself from the hundreds of other loan officers in any given market. People have different ideas of what they deem is successful, but in terms of enjoying your profession, and getting the business in, you need to be persistent. Maintain contact with your current referral base and client base. Get more involved in every transaction. Take time up front to learn more about your clients, the details of their lives, and you’ll reap benefits that you wouldn’t see just completing a transaction.