Whether you’ve been in the business for six months or twenty years, there’s always something new to learn. If you want to see consistent growth and continue to thrive in the industry, it’s necessary to seek out new information and updated strategies to support that. Sometimes, seasoned professionals become complacent over time — they know the business, they know the clients, they’re comfortable with their work, and business has remained steady. But no matter how confident you are with your business, there is still enormous value in learning new things:
Resources
There’s no shortage of resources available to further your education. In addition to workshops, classes, and conferences, there are podcasts, blogs, TED talks, all which can be found within a couple keystrokes. They’re a great way to pick up new information about the industry and about business more generally. The best part is that these can be consumed daily — on your commute, during a jog, while you’re cooking dinner, etc. While attending an event is valuable, it’s not always possible with a busy schedule. Online resources make it possible to get new information as often as you want. I’ve written before on the importance of positive habits, here, and this is one of the best habits to adopt if you want to further your business.
Strengthen Your Skills (and build new ones)
When you actively seek out new information, you provide yourself with the opportunity to strengthen and refine your existing skills, while also building new ones. As a mortgage professional, there’s a wide variety of useful skills worth investing the time to develop. Maybe your network needs attention, and you’re looking for tips to make stronger connections and more meaningful relationships. Or perhaps your marketing efforts aren’t delivering the results you want. Whatever it is, it’s never too late to learn. These newly acquired skills will support you as you continue growing your business.
Keep Current
Things change quickly in a fast-paced world. As mortgage professionals, if we want to deliver the highest-level service to our clients, we need to stay up to date. Of course, we need to know the latest information when it comes to mortgage options, but we can also benefit greatly from discovering the new tools and technologies that can improve our work. Whether it’s an app we can share with clients to help streamline the mortgage process, or a new time-management system we can use for ourselves to improve efficiency, keeping current is a key piece of being successful in the long term.
Boost Motivation
It’s easy for us to lose motivation with things become stagnant. Things that used to feel like a challenge or that we used to find interesting can become humdrum over time. That’s to be expected from time to time as we grow in our careers. If we want to preserve out motivation level, we need to continue giving our mind new information to engage with. When you commit to continue learning throughout your career, you’re supporting your motivation. When we discover new goals, strategies, and perspectives, we preserve our drive and keep our mind engaged.
There is always something new to learn — no matter what point we’re at in our careers. Loan officers who commit to being life-long learners are the ones who rise to the top and stay there.
If you’d like to talk more about the importance of continuing education, or if there’s another matter I can be of assistance with, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always happy to set aside some time to connect.
Also, if you’re considering a move, we have some terrific opportunities for loan officers, sales managers, and branch managers that I’d love to discuss with you.
Don Riggs
VP – Retail Market Leader
NMLS 132702
303.249.8274
don.riggs@apmortgage.com
