For loan officers striving to improve their business, there are countless tips and strategies out there to do so. While these can be valuable, it’s equally important to focus on more foundational elements as well. This week, I wanted to talk about the importance of strong organizational skills. It might not be a trendy new marketing tip, but this skill can power all areas of your business to run more smoothly and effectively. Here’s why I think it’s so important:
Create a Streamline Experience for Clients
When you’re organized, there’s no time lost looking for that piece of paperwork or scrambling to consult a cluttered calendar when scheduling a follow-up. When a client sends you an email, it doesn’t get lost among hundreds of messages if you’re inbox is well organized. Staying organized in these ways certainly makes the job easier for loan officers, and the effects are equally felt on the client end. When you’re organized, you demonstrate your calm confidence in your work. This helps put clients at ease and make them feel they can trust you.
Reduce Distractions
Disorganization breeds distraction. A messy office can make it challenging to focus, with other tasks constantly catching your eye. Beyond your physical space, an organized digital space is also important. Giving yourself a clear window for social media and then logging out after that can keep notifications from intruding on your work. Keeping desktops, inboxes, and other online storage systems organized is key. An organized schedule is also valuable. Rather than consulting a hectic to-do list countless times throughout the day, clear schedule can keep you on track and help you move efficiently from one task to the next.
Increase Efficiency
Disorganization slows you down. It does this in the obvious ways mentioned above, like making it more difficult for you to find the things you’re looking for or sabotaging your focus, but it also creates a more chronic drain on efficiency. Disorganization often leads to stress, and stress reduces productivity. If you want to work at your best, you need an organized environment to support that.
Break Down Goals
Organization can also help you reach your goals. When we set large goals for ourselves, it can be difficult to know where to start. When you’re organized, you know how to break goals down into the daily steps necessary to reach them. Because you have an organized schedule, you can include those steps in your plan for each day. Organization supports consistency and wards off procrastination, accelerating the achievement process.
How organized do you feel in your daily life? Whether you need an overhaul of your organizational systems and want to start from scratch, or you simply want to make a few tweaks, paying attention to your organization highly valuable. When you realize what a foundational role organization plays across all areas of your business, you see that it’s worth the investment to get it right. For most of us, great organization requires some maintenance to stay up to par. So, once you get to a good place, don’t forget to check in from time to time and ensure everything is running smoothly.
