Happy Sunday Everyone:
Do you like losing? Me, not so much. Recently we had a loan officer resign to go work for another company. We tried to keep them, explaining our thoughts around their decision, while also reflecting on their “why” on the decision. In the end we couldn’t convince them otherwise and they left. On a different situation, inside of our own team, we had a client we’d spend a lot of time with leave for what they thought was a better deal (this one happens more than an LO leaving).
10 years ago, I’d more likely go scorched earth on these decisions from others. Telling the loan officer off, explaining how they were making the wrong decision and it would cost them in the end. For the client, hitting them with all that we’d done to get them to be in a position to write the offer and we deserved their business. With a bit more wisdom under my belt, I’m finally realizing the guilt trip retention program is the ultimate repellent to having any chance of staying in the game. At the point we realized we were losing the LO; we wished them the best and asked that we keep the door open in case anything isn’t what they expected. With the client, it was simply “if the other lender can do what they’re telling you, you should take the deal”, and we wished them the best and to reach back out if they had any questions whether we were involved with the purchase or not.
What do you think happened? Why do you think I’m writing this today? The loan officer is starting back up with us Monday. Not just because the grass wasn’t greener, but also because we acknowledged what wasn’t working for them in the first place and fixed it. We just funded the client’s loan in 11 days, after they called in tears (literally) because the other lender was quoting them a diff product than they realized. We’re all in sales, anyone that actually measures their numbers understands we’re similar to baseball. If you’re batting 300, meaning winning 30% of the time, you’re going to the hall of fame. Anything we can do to tweak our batting average, like understanding losing with grace and humility, can in the end lead to victory, is worth considering.
I’m a huge fan of Jack Johnson, one of my favorite lyrics of his is “what about those shoes you’re in today, they’ll do no good on the bridges you burnt along the way.” He’s singing about something a lot bigger than losing an LO or a client, but the warning still applies. Scorched earth feels good for about five minutes and then it costs you the bridge forever. Grace costs you something too, your pride, mostly, but it leaves the bridge standing. The LO coming back and the client calling us in tears both happened because we left the door open instead of burning it down. Next time you’re about to lose something, a person, a deal, a client, ask yourself which bridge you actually want left standing when it’s over.
Enjoy your Sunday!