In 2019, there were two loan officers in Texas with similar backgrounds, each in his second year in the business. Both had played college football. Both knew how to work hard, take hits, get knocked down and get back up to keep grinding. They each closed out the year with about $10 million in volume.
Then, 2020 hit and rates fell through the floor. The floodgates of loans opened and both LOs nearly tripled their business. From the outside, they looked the same. That’s the dangerous part.
A good market can hide the differences between two businesses. One LO may be cultivating the soil while the other is only basking in the sunshine. One may have daily habits of investing in referral relationships, stewardship, discipline and prospecting. Th...
