• Hard Work

Behind every big success story is hard work. Behind every top performing mortgage broker you see in those annual ranking lists is years of hard work. Often top performers, or the media, present their stories in a way that makes them seem like overnight successes – and it’s true that you can quickly rise in the ranks and become a top performer (I’m not saying you must do it slow) but in one way or another it will require hard work.

Now I should define “hard work” for you, just so we’re clear, because I’m certainly not an advocate of working 100+ hours a week, slogging it out the hard way – I do believe in building a flexible business that supports your lifestyle too.

When I say “hard work” I’m talking about the combination of working on smart high-value tasks, persisting in the face of challenges and set-backs, and being prepared to learn and do what it takes to get the results you want.

The harsh truth about the difference between the average and top mortgage brokers, is the top performers are willing to do more, and the average treat this industry like a part-time job – using Facebook half the day, working from home, getting distracted and not being willing to do what’s required to succeed.

If you think you’re working hard, but not getting the results you want – then perhaps look at the tasks your spending your time on (are they high-value or are you bogged down with admin?) and look at how you manage your time and structure your day. Many brokers I help are working hard, but they just need to work a little smarter – work on the “right” tasks.

Here are a few things to focus on when it comes to hard work:

  • Work a full-time week if you want to be successful. Don’t expect to become a top performer working ad-hoc, part-time hours, in between social and family activities.
  • Spend time each and every day on income producing tasks. Always be prospecting, networking, calling, meeting, selling and doing deals. This should be your number one priority every single day.
  • Activity creates opportunities and opportunities turn into results. Many top performers make 50-100 phone calls every single day to leads, referral partners, clients and more.
  • Hard work does pay off (assuming you team it with “working smart”) and it also has a cumulative effect: many things take time to produce results, so remember that behind every “overnight success story” is years of work and persistence.

– When you do something you enjoy, it doesn’t feel like hard work. Make sure you build your business and structure your day around tasks that you’re good at, you enjoy, and have the highest return for your time. When you do this, the hard work will come easy.

The mortgage industry offers great opportunity and flexibility to build a significant income stream, and it can be easy to write just one loan each week and earn $100k working part-time – which sure beats working full-time in a bank! But the top performers don’t see an easy way to earn a good wage, they see massive opportunity to create a high six-figure or seven- figure income and valuable business to secure their future… and they don’t mind putting in the hard work to achieve it.