Latest / Mortgage Marketing Radio / Ep #28: How Robert Deiorio Went from $0 to $40M

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Ep #28: How Robert Deiorio Went from $0 to $40M · Mortgage Marketing Radio

0:00
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Hey loyal listeners, Jeff Zimper, thanks for tuning into this episode of Mortgage
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Marketing Radio.
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I am so glad you're here.
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You know, it's been a crazy time over the past few weeks and I haven't been able to
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get the podcast back up and recorded, but we're back at it now and we've already got our
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calendar built out for the first quarter of 2017.
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So some really exciting things happening for 2017.
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So we want to make sure you stay tuned, add these podcasts to your favorite playlist, subscribe
2:04
so you make sure you get the updated podcasts every time we release them.
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And I have to tell you on today's episode, if you are at a point in your career, it's
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at the end of the year here where maybe you're looking for that extra shot on the arm,
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that boost of motivation, that renewed vigor and spirit drive to continue with the success
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you've had this past year or maybe to go to that next level in the new year in your business.
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And if you're looking for somebody to help you believe that it's possible because they've
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done it, then today's podcast is really for you.
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My special guest this week is Bobby D. Robert Diorio or Bobby D. as he likes to be referred
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to.
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Bobby's just an amazing bundle of energy, focus, positivity and success.
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And I really enjoyed this interview with him because Bobby D. he's been in this business
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for over 18 years.
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And when you hear his story, you'll understand why it's so inspirational having to basically
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start over in the business back in 2008, if you can imagine.
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What a time to be able to have to start over with no real-to-relationships, no-before-relationships
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or any of that, and able to be able to grow his business.
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And this year, I think he said he's going to do like 150 units, something like that, about
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40 million in production.
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He's on pace to do 5 million this month.
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So he's closing out 2016, very strong.
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And Bobby's not only a branch manager, producing branch manager, he's a coach, meaning he's
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coaching his team.
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He's bringing in people with zero mortgage experience and coaching them to success.
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And you're going to hear some of the ways that Bobby's done this and believes that it should
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be done in business today, both what's worked in the past that still works today.
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And also some of the new technology and social media type platforms that are working for
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even Bobby as an 18 plus year veteran in the mortgage business.
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So I hope you'll be as inspired as I am by listening to Bobby.
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I'm going to go back and listen to Bobby's podcast anytime I need to be motivated and just
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get up and get off my butt and get back in the market because sometimes all of us need
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that little kick in the pants, that little bit of motivation, that little bit of reminder
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that, hey man, you can do this.
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It's possible.
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And I know it's possible because I've done it and I'm doing it every day.
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That's essentially Bobby's message.
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So enjoy today's podcast.
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I appreciate you as a listener and I look forward to seeing you on the next one.
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So without further ado, let's get into the show.
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Hey, Bob.
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Welcome to the show.
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Hey, thanks Jeff.
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Thanks for having me.
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It's a pleasure.
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We've been on each other's radar for some time and crazy calendar.
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So it's great to finally be able to connect with you once again.
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If you would, I know for those listening, you know, one of the questions they always have
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running through their mind is, okay, so who is Bob, Diorio, what's y'all about out of
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you getting the business?
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Do you mind giving us kind of a high level overview?
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Oh, sure.
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I'll give you the reader's digest version because you know how much more it's guys like
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to talk about them.
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So I started back in the day.
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I actually was in a, in a men's retail industry and I had known that I'd like to work with
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people and I used to be called a salesman all the time and I was used to look at it as
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like a negative connotation, but I knew I was going to work with the general population
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in one capacity or another, but a dear friend of mine's brother owned a small mortgage
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house fit a couple of towns over and, you know, on the weekend, he was getting a new
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gauge.
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He invited me down to celebrate with his family and he introduced me to his brother and
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his brother on the mortgage company and he kind of rolled it out to me and said, hey,
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you know, I'm always looking for talented salespeople and I didn't know what that really
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meant.
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And that was back in 97 and the rest of history is basically.
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So obviously you're a war torn veteran with battle scars and all that, but I know when
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we talked before, you know, Bell and kind of a journey because I remember you started
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at a subprime shop, right?
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I did.
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The first two jobs that I had in the industry were subprime based.
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They were working with some of the some of the hard money guys back 97, 98, 99 and then
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I left and I went to one of the big banks to head up a subprime platform that they were
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developing and, you know, it was there for five years and did a lot of business.
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We built a massive platform and a lot of guys right in subprime, but, you know, by way
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of the dinosaurs, we know everything that starts off great and has a great run.
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It also came to an end so quickly in, you know, 2007, pretty much everybody had exited
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the business right before the implosion.
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Right.
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Right.
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So when did you switch over to your current company?
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Well, I tell you, so I did subprime for that period of time and then I went out on
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the street and I was looking for a job and I had gone to another big company and I
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said, listen, you know, I've got this great resume.
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I've been number one at every company I've ever worked at.
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You should hire me and the gentleman's name was Scott Hagen.
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He was running an area for countrywide at the time and said, you know, I like your story,
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but you have to rewrite it.
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You know, you've done subprime, you've done great things, however, the business is gone.
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So you've got to re-involve yourself into what you did in the beginning.
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So my evolution really started with that conversation and that was in 2008 and I remember sitting
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back thinking, wow, okay, I got to learn this all over again.
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So I picked a little slice of heaven, Warren County, New Jersey, which is about eight miles
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from my house.
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I had been in the business for a long, long time before that, but I had never written
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a loan in the county and I planted my stake down and said, you know, I'm going to go
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after the agents who do the business, I'm going to engage myself in the community and
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involve myself in their programs and their stuff that they do for their people and that
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was eight years ago, you know, and I've been here ever since.
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Wow.
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So obviously eight years ago, 2008, it was a whole different ballgame.
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It was ugly.
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There was blood in the streets.
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You're coming out of a situation where you didn't have to hit the bricks, so to speak
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and chase rail pairs to go get business, right?
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Right.
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I came out of the other side thinking life was going to be easy because I was making so
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much money for such an extended period of time that all of a sudden I knocked on my
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first door and there it was, you know, like I knocked on my first door.
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Oh, yeah.
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Let me tell you they were not happy to see me.
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They had no idea who I was.
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They probably saw five other guys that looked like me, you know, with Ripsinger James,
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we're more of these guys and we were dying, you know.
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But when I tell you, I came every single day, every day with something different to say,
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a new smile or something to talk about.
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And it took, I think, eight months of me doing that before I got my first deal.
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And I only got it because the guy who they used messed it up and it started with one.
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Yeah.
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It started with one.
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All right.
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So I want to unpacked it a little bit.
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I've been there as well.
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You know, a lot of listeners have it out in the streets, you know, quote unquote door knocking
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and all that kind of stuff.
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So did you like, you hit a bunch of offices and you had kind of like your route that you
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would show up and drop off stuff of value and things like that?
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Is that kind of what it was?
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I was a paper delivery boy.
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I would go from office to office with the same, I never get a rate sheet because I hated
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that.
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I hated the, what's your rate?
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I hated that.
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So, but what I would do is I would talk about things like emerging markets and I would
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talk about the impact, you know, for the African American, Spanish buyers in our marketplace.
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And I talked about where these people with subprime credit scores were going to go to get
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money to buy houses because that is an emerging market now, right?
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The bubble burst.
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So people with bad credit are never going to buy houses again.
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Well, I aligned to myself with bankruptcy attorneys and of course, divorce attorneys
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because those credit, bad credit, those ones kind of go hand in hand and I got the pipeline
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of people and started watering those flowers knowing that at some point with some rehabilitation
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and some help they'd be able to buy and that's kind of what it did.
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So eight months of that consistent and persistent prospecting, eight months till you finally
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get somebody who's like, all right, I'll give you a shot.
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My favorite story of 2008 was I made $35,000, literally 9% of what I had made the previous
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year.
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Yeah, it was groundbreaking for me, but what I did was I just, I decided that in telling
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my story, that advice that I had gotten from that other gentleman, that what I would
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do is I would tell it the right way, which was different self-involves.
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I joined a network in group, you know, I joined a board of realtors.
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I went to all the functions.
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I became kind of the guy that nobody knew, but everybody saw my face.
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And then I built my reputation kind of from the ground up.
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And one of the things that worked is I had a little bit of management, obviously background
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from working for the big guys and and running a group of large group of people.
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I knew how to put together a routine and stay in it, you know, I have a saying now for
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this day that I use with my young guys that, you know, the guys that worked the hardest
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on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Sundays get to do whatever they want on Saturday nights.
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And what I mean by that is in my marketplace, you know, Tuesday and Thursday are broker
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opens and on Sundays are open houses.
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And I didn't miss any of them.
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I hit every one of them.
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And because these same realtors saw my face over and over and over again, they realized
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that I wasn't going to go away.
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And then I showed them what I could do.
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And that's kind of when they've ever met the route.
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Yeah, that is such a great story on a number of fronts.
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I mean, one, just this sheer will and persistence of that, that, you know, you obviously entering
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a new market, being a complete unknown had to become known.
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And you have this appearance that you were everywhere, right?
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So you're at the Oprah houses, the broker previews.
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You're knocking on doors at offices when you can.
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And eventually, you know, I remember the old metaphor kind of like that.
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In airplane, I don't know, accurate it is.
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But the metaphor, you know, was it uses the bulk of its fuel, 60% of its fuel, whatever
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during, you know, take off and ascension into the sky.
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But after that, right, it's pretty much disgusting.
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And where you starting over and building that new business, I mean, that was a lot of
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fuel, a lot of burn rate that you're, you're going through.
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But then once you get to that level, you know, obviously it doesn't take that same level
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of effort to maintain it once you get there, you know, does that make sense?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And I would agree with you 100%.
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I think that one of the things that makes the ascension, the best part of the entire ride
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is I put together a business plan and, you know, one that I developed myself, because
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I didn't have some of the cool things that originators have today, even eight years ago.
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But what I did have is discipline.
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And you know, we talk about, you know, buzz words, you know, discipline.
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You really have to stay focused.
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Like a lot of people, I drive from fear.
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I have a wife, I've been married for 22 years.
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I have three children, a 15 year old, a 13 year old, and a nine year old.
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And you know, I look in the mirror every single day.
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It's something I, I keep on my desk and I know that some days you don't feel great and
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some days you kind of, you're missing a little something.
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But, you know, daddy goes to work every day, I hit the sled for my family.
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So family really wasn't an option and I got plenty of door sleds on my face.
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I still do.
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You know, it's funny, even being 35 and being in the business for 19 years and success
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and people know me, you know, I'll call on a new office with, you know, with one of
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the guys that I hire or something like that.
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And I'll hear no.
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And I still like come overcoming objections and you might say no to me today, Jeff, but
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I'm going to meet someone that you know that you've done business with and they're going
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to recommend me to you.
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And at one point or another, you and I were brick bread and we'll get a couple of coffee
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and I'll show you why myself and the company I work for now can make a difference in your
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career.
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So you're saying there's regards to your family and all that, you know, and you're holding
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yourself accountable.
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It sounds like that's your big why, you know, and it's not the money, the money's great
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and that of course, it's for the certain lifestyle.
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But it's more about you're doing all you're putting out that effort because how important
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it is for you to provide, I'm assuming, for your family.
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Oh, yeah, you're not, you're not, you're not wrong in assuming that that is 100% why I
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do what I do.
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So it's interesting.
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So what did you do during, you know, there's people at all different levels who listen to
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this pocket, you know, the new people coming in, trying to figure it out, there's the veterans
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who've been, you know, 20 years, well, they've jaded or whatever and the people middle of
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the way.
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And obviously, to like you said, along the way, hey, man, everybody gets tired, you know
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what I mean?
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So is there any advice you have for like, okay, when you're having those moments of
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depression, I'm going to go do this again.
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What do you do, man?
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Well, I'll give you a quick one, you know, this morning, I walked into the office, you
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know, it's fighting, right?
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Everybody's happy.
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I got my list of open houses for the weekend, you know, talking to my guys about what
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they're doing and what their sales activities are going to be.
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I'm in my office for 25 minutes and my processor walks in and resigns.
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She's like, I've decided to take a position closer to my house.
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Now you'd think that would derail me and potentially ruin the day, but to the contrary.
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You know, I'm looking at it now as another opportunity for me to add some talented
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individual to my team and to continue to move the ball forward, but what keeps me going
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in this business is each person is different.
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Each story that they tell is different and every transaction offers me a little something.
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That's sometimes, you know, I get this and I get found like everybody else does.
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And Jeff, do you want to know what I do?
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I go outside, I walk around my building, I come back to my office, I lift up my picture
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of my family, I take them up to myself in the mirror and then I go back to work.
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I mean, because that's what it comes down to and if you're bored, if you're jaded, if
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you're not challenged, then unfortunately that translates into probably the service
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that you give your client.
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So I would recommend one of two things.
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Do something like changing and I did three years ago.
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I made a decision that I was going to grow my business, I was going to grow my branch,
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I wasn't going to be afraid of the meltdown, right?
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Because I've been in the business the wrong time and that meltdown could have cost me
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everything.
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So I just wanted to fly into the radar, just be bobby, you know, just do enough loans
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to survive.
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And then all of a sudden I realized that was being selfish, you know, I ran teams, big
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teams of people for years and years and years in this business and I just got so jaded
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on a lot of them left because they didn't have the same drive that I did or maybe sort
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of same vision.
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I decided to open my branch, open up a branch and not just be bobby or you originated
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by the branch manager and focus on my production.
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So I went out to Las Vegas, I went to the mortgage mastermind summit and I did it two years
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in a row and that first year, man, it got me so fired up.
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I came back and implemented five things and I was there for a week.
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I heard a lot of different things to do, but I took five that I wanted and I implemented
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them.
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And it started out with calling realtors on Mondays, I do text Tuesdays, I would send
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a text message out to all my refer partners to give them information about what I was
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doing.
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You know, on Wednesday, I did my gratification call that call, but all my clients are
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in my database that I was doing the loan for just to kind of give them an up to date
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on what was going on.
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But I would also take that opportunity to go to a listing agent and the buying agent
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and just say, hey, bobby, this is the story.
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This is where it all loans at and just through that, they started to come.
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You know, I went from having certain number of realtors to more realtors to more realtors
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and then I became known as the guy that could get the hard deal done.
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I was used to doing, you know, five, 60 credit scores, polishing them up and getting them
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done.
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And now I'm like the guy that people come to that won FHA loans or government loans or
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won't do five percent out of conventional but need a little credit help.
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You know, so, and that's me is exciting, you know.
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So those three things that I did that those were big and, you know, I did a quick staff
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call which we've become, we've gotten away from, but we did a staff call to go over pipeline
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review every Monday, make sure everybody was on the same page.
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And then the last thing that I did, the fifth thing that I did that was probably the most
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important, I think thank you cards to everybody, you know.
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Don't be surprised, Jeff, we had off this call, I'm going to send you a thank you card
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for your time because it's me on my days that I need to be the most amazing bobby.
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I want to be in that gratitude, I want that attitude to gratitude, I want to make sure
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that my mind's right.
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So I write a lot of thank you cards, they send them out.
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And then I'm going to be honest, I almost can't fail because I'm so grateful for counting
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my blessings all day that when it goes out to make that sales call and land up a account,
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you know, it's pretty easy.
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That's awesome, man.
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I love that, you know, the state of mind of gratitude because you're right.
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And it's funny, I know you're into working out and going to the gym and so that muscle,
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that gratitude muscle, that leadership muscle, that high standard muscle, it's like any
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other muscle in your body, it must be worked out, right, or else you lose it, it fades
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away.
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100 percent.
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100 percent.
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Yeah.
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I look at it to work it out.
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Yeah, man, I look at it this way, like I could have easily just, you know, I don't know
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that I couldn't have maybe been, you know, the next $100 million for those turn.
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I still may.
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I don't know, you know, what you're focused on and what drives you, you know, the key
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to this industry and being effective and not burning out is balance, okay?
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You got to, I coach my town, I'm active in politics, I'm active in my community.
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I work out.
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I'm a seasoned ticket holder to, you know, to a high local hockey team.
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Like I do things.
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I belong to a country called the playground.
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I balance myself and I think that God is going to listen into this.
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Mortist professionals would have been it long and short.
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If you don't have balance, if you, you get out of whack a little bit, it's easier, it's
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easier to rail.
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But if you keep yourself in check, you know, keep that mirror next to your, next to your
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face in the desk on the counter on your dresser and take a peek at it because what you see
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is what the world sees.
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And if you're frowning or you're cranky, believe me, they're not going to go to you,
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they're going to come to me.
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You raise a very good point there around balance and I've been talking with some people
20:32
lately who do some loan offers are coaching and I was overhearing them have a conversation
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about the frequency with which they hear from loan officers, they're coaching that these
20:41
loan officers are telling them they're out of balance and that their relationships are
20:45
in jeopardy.
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Now, I heard you earlier in how you outlined, you know, the five things you took away
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from the mastermind summit, you had a very specific action plan and one of the great
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things about that is it gives you some predictability and certainty.
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You know, is that the way you maintain balance is have an action plan?
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How do you do it?
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I have an amazing group of business partners, Jeff, and, you know, they got to check
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me every once in a while, you know, maybe I get too focused on work and too focused on
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the end, the end all, you know, whether it's my income or, you know, a number that I want
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to hit and through those efforts, maybe it derails me and, you know, maybe I've become
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a little more challenging of a person, but I got people around me, my wife, you know,
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my title partners, the people that, you know, I, you know, that I come around for business
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are great at reminding me why I do what I do.
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And we had it early in our call, it has nothing to do with money.
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I mean, the money is great, but, you know, I'm a statistic guy, right?
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I look at what I do by implementing things, Bobby, so you sent thank you notes, what
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did that mean to your business?
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Well, I can tell you, because I track everything, I track my applications, I track my closings,
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I track my fundings, obviously, I, I know how much I make up basis points per loan, how
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much of it's purchased business.
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And I do this myself because how can I know where I want to go if I don't know exactly
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where I am right now?
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What do I do?
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I mean, probably, probably to a fall, you know, but I definitely do.
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I know where I'm going and I know exactly how to get there.
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Is there a tool, a software or anything like that that, you know, you can't live without
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that you use?
22:24
Well, it's funny that you say that I actually have a personal created business plan.
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I've been using it.
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I told you for three years, I started in 2013 and I track some of the person, how many
22:37
loans I want, right?
22:38
Jeff, if you're one of my business partners, and I believe in you, and you believe
22:42
in me because you said it all right, we've had coffee together and we're going to do
22:46
something together.
22:47
Well, I put an action plan in place for each person like that and I assign units.
22:52
I need five units from Jeff next year, whatever I got to do, I've got to get five units
22:56
from Jeff.
22:57
So how many times do I have to see him?
22:59
How many times do I have to take him out for coffee, talk about business?
23:03
What is going on in his life?
23:04
How is his family?
23:05
Do they need a partner at the gym?
23:07
What are we doing?
23:08
Do you want me to walk the 5K with you?
23:11
It's all of those things that helped me and honestly, it had to be something from me
23:17
because it's my business.
23:18
It has to look like me, feel like me, and I track that stuff.
23:24
In the last two years, I've had a great amount of growth.
23:27
I was doing 20 million, I was always like that 20 million dollar guy where I was writing
23:32
a lot of purchase, doing some rep 5, blah, blah, blah, blah.
23:36
This year, there's, well, we got three weeks left in the month, I'll do $5 million this
23:42
month that will put me right on the edge of 40 million last year, I was at 26, that jump
23:50
is in an accident.
23:52
I'm the believer, I'll share that secret sauce with you and your listeners because there's
23:58
no secret sauce I've learned from guys that were kind enough to sit with me and share
24:03
what they did, so I'm not about to not share with anybody who wants to know.
24:08
So the bulk of your business right now is purchased, referred by real estate.
24:11
80%, at least 80%, and the other reason it may tip a little heavier towards the purchases
24:18
because I'm trying to close 15 units this month and a couple of them are big ones, so that
24:24
percentage might go up a little bit this month, but 80% is always been my target, I really
24:29
wanted it to be around 85, but as we kind of peel back this end in a little bit, you'll
24:34
see why it went up a little bit this year.
24:36
All right, here's a question to pop in my head, because I'm thinking back to when you
24:40
hit the bricks after coming out of the subprime, you know, 2008 and 9-ish, there wasn't that
24:45
huge prevalence of MSAs and closed offices and all that stuff, and I know MSAs are, you
24:51
know, under scrutiny and all that, but I'm assuming, and you and I, you know, we don't
24:55
have notes on this, so two part question, I guess.
24:59
One, were a lot of the offices you're calling on, were they closed offices, meaning they
25:03
had an in-house lender?
25:04
They were.
25:05
Yeah.
25:06
Oh, they were.
25:07
Okay.
25:08
So how did you circumvent that, man, just hammered persistence?
25:11
Hammered, hammered, and we needed to figure out what the routine was.
25:16
If just my competition, and he's in my office, but I know that on Thursdays and Fridays,
25:21
he's in another county where the loan amounts might be bigger, but Thursdays and Fridays
25:26
I'm probably spending a great deal of time around that office.
25:29
And I listened, you know, I was the rudder cooler guy, you know, I tried not to laugh
25:33
with too many feathers, but I listened to who, how so-and-so lost the loan, how it could
25:38
have lost the buyer, couldn't get the deal done because so-and-so couldn't do it, so I
25:42
would call them.
25:43
I'd be like, hey Jeff, you know, I heard from so-and-so that, you know, you couldn't
25:47
get that loan done.
25:48
What happened?
25:49
Oh, why?
25:50
Can I take a look at it?
25:51
Can I talk to the client?
25:52
And that's really how it worked.
25:53
Let me give you a fresh set of eyes.
25:55
All I will have to do in business with, you know, with this one for three or four years,
25:58
now, well, that's great.
25:59
But, you know, I've been in the business at the time for, you know, for 15 years,
26:03
or 16 years.
26:04
Let me talk to them, you know, 12 years, whatever the case may be, and let me talk
26:09
to them.
26:10
Just a fresh set of eyes, and that's how I open the door.
26:11
All right, so let's bring this current day, because I know you have a team that you
26:14
oversee, you're a producing manager, what are some of the top things you, you coach
26:19
on or advise your team to do nowadays to go get realtors?
26:22
All right, so we covered the Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday thing, and I'm a firm believer
26:28
of that.
26:29
So, get out, get out on Tuesdays, know you're inventory, know the house is better for
26:32
sale, and it helps you in a lot of different ways, because there's a new loan producer or
26:37
maybe a seasoned guy who's trying to find his way and never really broke through.
26:42
Knowing the inventory, it not only helps when you have a conversation with someone in
26:46
the real estate professional, whether it be a realtor, an attorney, or a potential buyer,
26:51
you know, whether that house is going to work, FHA or VA, if it's in the USDA area, that
26:55
have to go conventional, if it's septic or sewer, that's number one.
26:59
Number two, the people you're going to run into aren't those brokers open for realtors,
27:04
that those are the people you want, their attorneys, the people who run the market, you want
27:08
to be around them as much as possible.
27:11
I show up at those things, not necessarily invited, because they're open to the public,
27:16
but I go as a real estate professional, bring water, bring chips, plenty of business
27:21
cards.
27:22
So Tuesdays, Thursdays, that's like a mandatory, you got to do that, especially start now.
27:26
You got to shake things up, let people know that there's a new player in town, and then
27:30
on Sunday, you better be out there, brushing your butt and working when they are, because
27:35
nothing worse for a realtor is that they call me, I'm sitting on my sofa on Sunday watching
27:41
the game that they want to watch, and I'm too busy to answer the phone.
27:45
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, get in the car, let them see that you're out and about,
27:49
and in your clothes, when you're walking away, you let them know that you're there, working
27:54
just like they are, all day Sunday.
27:56
That's important.
27:57
Yeah, it's funny you say that, because I remember doing that, and it's interesting how
28:02
impressed the agents are by that, because the truth of the matter is there's very few
28:06
that are out there doing that.
28:08
Oh yeah, thank you.
28:09
What I do with my guys, we don't have our company swag, we got the logo of my company
28:14
on it, it's got their name already pre-printed on it, the reason being, people are going to
28:19
know your name, be memorable, you know, my name is Bob Deorel, Robert Deorel, I go by
28:24
Bobby D, and everybody in my community knows me that way, and they know that I'm a giver,
28:29
and they know that I'm the funny guy, and I'll be there to help if somebody needs it.
28:33
But more importantly, when I set this branch up, again, being a statistic guy, I knew that
28:38
the average age of a loan officer in the state of New Jersey is 54 years old, 54 or just,
28:45
which means in the next 10 years, we got problems, because at the average age is 54, there's going
28:51
to be a lot of openings.
28:53
So I decided, as part of my business plan, to get young, and get young quick, and you
28:58
know, over the last three years, I've developed four super studs that are going to be the
29:04
future of the business.
29:05
You know, two of them are with me, and two of them have moved on, not because they didn't
29:09
like me as a manager, or like my company, but they've got really good in-house opportunities
29:14
with some competition of mine, that they felt might help finish their training.
29:18
So if I was Mr. Miyagi, I'd talk to him with Blastix, and then they went to Chuck Norris
29:22
to learn how to kick it out.
29:24
I love it.
29:26
Mr. Miyagi, a man of wisdom.
29:28
That's right.
29:29
That's right.
29:30
Okay.
29:31
So I get to ask the Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, saying that makes a lot of sense, and then
29:35
so let's look at the other side of the coin for those more, you know, quote, leveraged
29:39
activities.
29:40
If I remember correctly, you've also done a number of agent classes and stuff, too, right,
29:45
getting in front of the law of large numbers, right?
29:48
We do.
29:49
You know, if there's a class going on, there's CE, there's, you know, the people that are
29:54
coming out in your community that want to be realtors, you want to be the expert.
29:59
And when you stand up in front of them with a handful of business cards and answer questions
30:03
from, you know, we're being realtors, the people in those rooms, and even if 80% of them
30:09
wash out, 20% of them will be looking for somebody.
30:13
And if you're the first face to see and you make it memorable for them, they will call
30:18
you.
30:19
I mean, eight years ago, I partnered up with a kid, a young guy, Marine, you know, family
30:24
men married, had one child at the time.
30:28
You know, he has then since had another child.
30:30
And him and I have kind of grown up to get an, I'm significantly older than him.
30:34
And I'll define that by 11 years, his senior.
30:38
But we built a friendship, but a partnership and he got me into a B&I group and I became
30:42
a networker and he introduced me to everyone.
30:45
This kid will be the first in the history of Warren County, New Jersey to make platinum.
30:52
This kid is a monster.
30:54
When I met him, he was just a kid and it was new, but he had it.
30:58
You know, I believe in everybody the same way until you decide not to do this anymore.
31:04
You know, I'm not a transaction based loan officer.
31:06
I'm a relationship guy, him and I cooked the world on him.
31:09
We destroyed it together and literally the two of us have just gone from the same level.
31:15
I was entry level to the top guy in my marketplace and I owe a lot of it to him because he's
31:20
young and exciting and I'm old and great.
31:25
But the one thing he did teach me was I knew I had to get younger fast.
31:30
You know, so my branch now is a training branch and what I do for those branch managers
31:35
that are listening to us is, you know, I've got 1,100 people that are in my database.
31:39
You know, I do 150 loans a year.
31:41
I bring new guys on, young guys, 22, 23, 24, I took my oldest prodigy right now is 26.
31:49
They call on my business, you know, when rates are good or just to do what we go on mortgage
31:54
check up and through that process of questioning, we want to find out.
31:58
I'm selling my house.
31:59
I'm buying another.
32:00
Let's bring it back to the realtor who gave him to me.
32:02
I need to refinance my kids going to Brown.
32:05
That's what happened today.
32:07
Someone sent a $50,000 out for their kids' education.
32:10
You know, but Jeff, I never did those things.
32:12
I was always chasing the next purchase deal.
32:14
So now I bring young guys in.
32:15
And I teach them how to do the business by using my client base.
32:19
So when they get out in the street, they don't make any mistakes.
32:22
You know, they're going to be refined.
32:23
They're going to be polished.
32:24
And they're going to know that they've got me behind them.
32:26
So in the meantime, they're making some money, helping me stay in front of my clients.
32:30
Because if I don't call them, Jeff, you're gunna.
32:33
So I got to make sure that they know that I'm still around.
32:38
And you know, they make their money.
32:39
I make mine.
32:40
And everybody's better for it.
32:42
And now I've got an army full of young guys that are good looking, hardworking, you know,
32:48
guys in gal.
32:49
And they're ready to trick on the world and be the next generation of loan officers.
32:54
Right.
32:55
That's just what I was going to say.
32:56
You're mentoring them.
32:57
Okay.
32:58
So I like that phrase.
32:59
You said time to get young fast.
33:00
And you're obviously very skilled at the, call it the blocking and tackling, right?
33:03
Out there in the field, belly to belly, where I'm a big believer in, if you're going
33:07
to succeed with agency, that's where you need to be.
33:10
If you're not out there in their face, you don't exist.
33:13
But with that said, I know you're also, you know, getting young, as you say.
33:17
And so what are some of the more, if you will, modern, right?
33:21
More sexy things that I know people sometimes fall prey to, but let's face it, right?
33:24
It's the social media thing.
33:26
We need to be there.
33:27
Do that.
33:28
I see you've got 40 reviews on Zillow.
33:30
So some comments around any digital type of marketing that you're doing.
33:33
Other animals.
33:34
These young guys are teaching me this stuff, Jeff.
33:36
That wasn't me.
33:38
I had a Facebook page so I could keep an eye on my teenage doors, you know?
33:42
But now, you know, I get eight years of a year off of that.
33:46
You know, I got like my nephew who's in the business, who came to work for me and
33:52
trusted me with this future.
33:54
You know, he said to me, you know, social media, social media, you know, he puts out
33:59
mortgage minutes on Fridays to kind of give blobs to everybody, always touching, you
34:04
know, he's always keeping himself around people, you know, he's Twitter, you know, Instagram,
34:10
the mortgage page is great.
34:11
You know, we do social survey goes out to all of our close clients so they know.
34:16
So we know what our people think of us and how we're doing.
34:20
You know, he's constantly Googling my name and his name and making sure that the feedback
34:24
that's out there is reflective of the job that we do.
34:29
It is amazing.
34:30
They got these apps now where clients can get pretty approved on their phone.
34:34
What do you think?
34:35
And then, and it comes to your computer or you nuts, I used to carry around a thing of
34:41
papers.
34:42
It was just like shoes, you know, unbelievable.
34:46
But I knew, I knew listening to these young guys that the world where technology is
34:53
king, these guys are the difference.
34:56
You know, I mean, I used to sit in the line to run someone's credit because there was
35:00
one computer in the office and there were 17 guys that needed to pull it.
35:04
You know what I mean?
35:05
These kids are doing it on their phone, looking at their client's information, going back
35:09
and forth, getting everything ready.
35:11
It's amazing to watch the work.
35:13
Amazing.
35:14
Yeah, I love that.
35:15
That's so awesome, man.
35:16
I know.
35:17
When you think about it in perspective, right?
35:18
You're like, oh my gosh, the credit comes down, your phone, you see, that's the problem,
35:21
though, too, isn't it?
35:22
As we get so close.
35:23
It is.
35:24
Yeah.
35:25
But get out in the field, you know, where the business still happens.
35:28
So let's even put on on that, right?
35:30
So I'm worried about the kid I'm talking to, Jeff, I'm trying to sell you a mortgage,
35:36
you've found a house.
35:37
You came to me for my best agent, John Crook, Mr. Platon, I'm here in R&D County in
35:42
Cologne.
35:43
He's also the mayor in Hope.
35:44
Like this kid is the perfect role model for young people.
35:47
Go out, do things, give back, be part of the community, coach.
35:52
He's a volunteer firefighter.
35:53
He referred you to me, Jeff, but you're 27 years old.
35:57
You've got a smartphone.
35:59
You're going to look up every mortgage rate in the country and you're going to believe
36:02
what you see because people looked at the election, people were looking at Facebook trying
36:07
to get news.
36:08
Are you kidding me?
36:09
But now they're doing it with their phones with my guys, my young guys, are both technologically
36:15
savvy and well educated and well versed on how to press flesh and land a plane, you know
36:21
what I mean?
36:22
Like make the client, make them comfortable, build rapport, listen to what they want.
36:28
Don't just answer questions, be consultative when you're working with them.
36:33
I mean, these young kids want to get to solving your problem before they know what your problem
36:38
is.
36:39
You know, I did a 45 minute conversation with a woman today who just wanted $50,000 for
36:45
her kid's education.
36:46
But I heard about everything that was going on in her life and I cared and at the end
36:51
when I got off the phone, I had a page of notes and I reiterated it back to her as I
36:55
got off the phone.
36:56
These are talents.
36:57
These are things that these people have, these young kids have to wear.
37:00
And if they have the technological advancement that we didn't have and their compassionate
37:06
and they listen, they're going to be unstoppable.
37:08
They'll be doing $300 million in production.
37:11
Right.
37:12
Right.
37:13
Put the combination up.
37:14
Hopefully for me, Jeff.
37:15
There you go.
37:17
Well, you're definitely doing some awesome things in terms of leadership and all that stuff
37:20
and I'm telling you, man, I'm inspired, you know, just listening to this makes me want
37:25
to go out there and, you know, kick some doors open and develop some new relationships.
37:30
So thank you for sharing your energy and your enthusiasm.
37:32
And this has been great.
37:33
No, my pleasure.
37:34
Listen, anytime.
37:35
And I'm always out here.
37:36
If anybody wants anybody has a question, listen, I'm accessible.
37:40
It's PC.
37:41
It's really easy to get over me.
37:42
Yeah.
37:43
So on that note, how would you suggest if people do want to contact you, email, phone,
37:46
will you prefer?
37:47
Well, I'll tell you what, email is the best way to go because I'm a task driven guy.
37:51
So if I get an email and I open it up and someone's got a question, I'll get an answer
37:54
back for you.
37:55
My email address is simple.
37:56
It's R, the Oreo.
37:57
It's spelled D-E-I-O-R-I-O at rhfunding.com.
38:04
And I can tell you right now what's certainly this is where I'm going to end my career.
38:08
I've been with eight years, long extent, I've had with anybody.
38:11
And the reason is they allow me to make the sauce, you know, it's my recipe here.
38:16
And it's really works.
38:17
It tastes really good.
38:18
And I think anybody has questions and they want to go a little further with me, go back
38:22
to you on there a little bit more.
38:23
I'd be more than happy to do it.
38:24
Oh, that's awesome.
38:25
I can't thank you enough.
38:26
It was great to connect with you.
38:27
And so once again, listeners, thanks for tuning into this episode of Mortgage Marketing
38:30
Radio.
38:31
If you like this podcast or the others, make sure you subscribe, iTunes, Stitcher, get
38:35
it on your mobile phone, like Robert said.
38:37
That's where I live in and breathe in these days, listen wherever you're at, put the
38:40
earbuds in, drive in, walk in, working out, you know, doorknocking, whatever it is you
38:45
do.
38:46
And be great if you can leave us a review as well, because that helps us reach more people.
38:48
So once again, this is your host, Jeff Zimper, thanks for listening this week, and we
38:52
will see you on the next one, eye for now.
38:56
Thanks for listening to Mortgage Marketing Radio, one more truth in Mortgage Marketing,
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get more free training and resources at MortgageMarketingInstitute.com.
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