If something is missing
Found something on the list you do not have? Before anybody talks about changing anything, it helps to know which kind of gap it is. Most of them are cheaper to fix than people assume.
The four paths
Most people jump straight to the last path. It is usually the third or fourth thing worth trying, not the first.
Fastest, costs money not permission
Free to ask, most people never do
When the gap is hours, not tools
Last resort, not first move
Straight answers
Ask one thing: does this cost money, or does it require permission? Anything you can buy with a card and run yourself is a build-it item. Anything that touches pricing, products, licensing, underwriting or compliance almost always requires permission, which means it lives at the company level.
It is the most underused option on this page. Most producers never ask, then assume the answer is no. Bring one specific request with a reason attached - what it costs, what it would do for your volume - instead of a general complaint. You would be surprised how often the answer is yes.
More than most people think on the marketing, CRM, content and assistant side. Almost none of it on the product, pricing, capital markets and turn-time side. That split is usually the whole conversation.
Then you are in a good spot and you now have proof of it, which is worth something the next time you are deciding anything. Send me what you have that is not on this list - that is genuinely how this thing gets better.
That says nothing about how good you are. Most of these live at the company level, not the loan officer level. Start with the two or three that are actually costing you deals right now rather than trying to fix all of them.
You tell me what is missing, I tell you which of the four paths I would take and why. No follow-up sequence, no list, no calls to anybody you work with. A large share of these end with me telling someone to stay exactly where they are.
Availability of tools, products, pricing and support varies by state, by company and by individual situation. Nothing on this page is a guarantee of any specific outcome. This site is an independent educational resource for licensed mortgage professionals.
Bring your two or three biggest gaps. We will put each one in a pile and you will leave knowing what to do about it - including when the answer is do nothing.
This stays between us