Richard Jefferson: I suppose that I am what some would call an industry brat. My mom was in the mortgage business for most of her working career. I spent many weekends as a child in her office, watching and listening to her with her clients. I funded my first loan during my freshman year of college while working for my mom’s mortgage brokerage. She taught me the basics of the business, bought me a nice shirt and tie, and set me walking down a street with about five banks on it. She told me to walk in and introduce myself to the loan officers on the floor and to let them know that I could assist with their clients that didn’t qualify for their products. I came back to the office with a bank turndown in hand. I funded that loan 28 days later and received the largest paycheck that I had ever seen. I was 18 years old and hooked for life.
MPA: What inspired you to take on a leadership role and specifically focus on coaching loan officers?
RJ: I have always had great leadership who inspired me to be a good leader. I spend a lot of time learning this industry, and it was a natural move into leadership for me. I suppose I earned a leadership role with my peers early in my career. They knew that I took my business seriously and would often rely on me to assist with products, scenarios, and, later in my career, some inspiration. I became better while coaching them to become better. I try to always lead by example, and my peers could see it.
MPA: As EVP of Production, you have a unique vantage point in observing the challenges loan officers face. What are some common hurdles they encounter, and how do you train and prepare them to handle these challenging scenarios?
RJ: I have been through many down cycles in our industry over the years. The most recent is so different in that we are coming off a manufactured rate event during the pandemic. A couple of common hurdles that loan officers today are experiencing are affordability and extreme competition. The historically low-interest rate environment that we are transitioning from requires loan officers to educate borrowers and referral partners about today’s interest rates. They must be very knowledgeable about the loan products available and which is best for their clients. The industry added tens of thousands of new loan officers during the pandemic, which is making competition fierce these days. There are many more loan officers competing for a much smaller piece of the pie. All we focus on is providing the best value and experience to our borrowers. We understand that we cannot win every opportunity that we see. We still win most of the time, but that requires us to always be on point with our value proposition, execution, and relationships with our borrowers and referral partners.
Source: mpamag.com