How to Be a Successful Loan Officer With One Simple Change

If you’re wondering how to be a successful loan officer, one of the best places to look is what top producers are doing. Here at Jungo, we speak to many extremely successful loan originators every day. And many of them swear by one simple idea: calling. 

You probably already know how important it is to call, and call often. Whether it’s calling realtor partners, past or current clients, or leads, phone time is some of the most valuable time for top producers. Picking up the phone and calling is often the most effective and quickest way to make a connection and build a relationship. 

But actually picking up the phone to call your database is tough. That’s why you need to institute Power Hours if you’re wondering how to be a successful loan officer. 

What Are Power Hours?

You may be already familiar with the idea of Power Hours, even though some people use different names for them. Basically, it’s a focused hour or two during your day that is dedicated to solely doing one thing. 

By scheduling a calling “Power Hour” into your schedule, you’ll be less likely to get distracted by the other tasks on your plate. That’s why they’re called Power Hours–they’re a powerful tool to building your business. 

Why Should You Be Utilizing Power Hours?

Time blocking is a tried and true method for boosting productivity. Dedicating a portion of your day to exclusively making phone calls will make you more efficient with your time. Plus, it will help you earn more business. 

But, we get it, call reluctance is real. Distractions, like your overflowing email inbox, working with your team, or actually processing loan files, are everywhere. And they can make it feel impossible to make more than a couple phone calls in a row before something else pulls you away. 

Plus, when it comes to making calls, it can be a time consuming process to even figure out who you should be calling in the first place. If you use Power Hours, you won’t have to guess who you should be calling every day. After all, your next phone call will be lined up and just waiting for you to dial. 

Setting Your Power Hour Schedule

Now that you know why you should be using Power Hours, you now need to set up your new call schedule. First, decide which people you should be calling on a regular basis. For instance, you could choose to call realtors one day, new leads another, and pre-approved borrowers on a third day. Thinking this through will help you determine how to most effectively spend your Power Hours. 

Next, decide what time of day your Power Hours will be. Perhaps you choose to call in the morning, and block off your schedule from 9:30 to 11:00 A.M. How long your Power Hours are isn’t as important as having a plan and keeping the time distraction free. 

Lastly, determine what day of the week you will schedule each of your Power Hours. That way, on Monday morning at 9:30, you know that you will be calling your realtor database. 

Making Your Power Hours Successful

So, once you know who you will be calling from your database, and when, it’s time to make sure that your Power Hours are as effective as they can be. This is achieved through keeping your call time completely distraction free. 

There are many things that can pull you away from your phone. One of the biggest culprits is other forms of communication. If your email keeps notifying you of your unread messages, and your cell phone is ringing with texts, it will be nearly impossible for you to focus on the task that you had scheduled for yourself. Because of this, it’s critical to make your Power Hour completely notification free. By silencing notifications, you’ll be able to work through your call list with ease. 

How Can You Leverage Your CRM to Make Your Power Hours More Effective?

If you use a CRM, you have the opportunity to make your Power Hours even more effective! One of the first considerations if you’re wondering how to be a successful loan officer is to have a great database. A great database starts with your CRM. 

A powerful CRM, like Jungo, can be customized to help you stick to your daily schedule and make the best use possible of your valuable time. 

Creating List Views for Your Daily Power Hours 

The first step in setting up Power Hours in Jungo is to customize your account with your daily call lists. If you want to learn how to do this, watch this short video: 

Creating list views is an easy way to sort your database and just see the contacts you’re looking for. 

Adding Your Power Hour Lists to Your Homepage

Now that you have your list views created for each day, you can add them to your Jungo homepage so that you can tackle your calls as soon as you login for the day. 

By having your daily Power Hour call lists right on your homepage, you’ll have everything you need to start calling, without any distractions or excuses! 

Bottom Line

Picking up the phone is one of the most effective things you can do if you’re wondering how to be a successful loan officer. But, we get it–it’s tough to hold yourself accountable to do it! Instituting a daily Power Hour is a great way for you to take your business to the next level, and connect with more of your database in less time.