Pulling Weeds


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Problem solving is like pulling weeds

pulling-weedsHey! We’ve all have something in common…problems. It should come as no surprise yet what some struggle with is the ability to face our problems leaving them unsolved.

Last weekend as I was pulling weeds out of the rock bed in our front yard a thought hit me. Could this have been prevented? Absolutely it could have been. While I actually enjoy the occasional 6-hour workout doing yard work, I didn’t enjoy pulling out my weeds, my problems. I could have prevented this back-breaking task by simply applying a weed repellent every three months; something I had failed to put on my calendar.

Unresolved problems are more than a distraction, they can negatively impact our health, mental focus, and personal relationships. So here are a few things to keep in mind as we face our own flavor of problems.

1. Be brave. Being honest with yourself requires courage. Have the courage to ask, ‘could this have been avoided in the first place’?

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A Four Day Work Week?


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Steps for a 4-Day Work Week or 1 Day of Sanity!

reverse mortgage newsWould you like a four day workweek? While this may not be possible for many wouldn’t it be nice to have Friday’s as your day to catch up, strategize, and plan for the following week?

Planning has its benefits, yet the demands of our daily work life often usurp our best laid plans. Perhaps if we better structure not the work that we do, but how we do it we could free up one day in the interest of our continued sanity and productivity.

1. Start with the important stuff…first!

Begin your workday with the most important tasks. Truth be told we are creatures that run on cycles of energy and focus, what some refer to as ultradian rhythms. These are the 90-120 minutes brain cycles when our minds are most energized and efficient. If you’re ‘not in the mood’, it may be because you’re out of rhythm.

2. Break it up…into pieces

Do you have a big gnarly project or task? Reduce the fear factor by breaking it into pieces. You can assign these smaller tasks as time blocks to your calendar naming each event for…

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What People Love to Talk About


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The Social Hack for Conversations

Do you want to make a memorable impression, win over a new friend, be someone that people seek out? Learn this one social hack and you will!

Last evening I attended a friends going away party. Arriving at a local eatery I walked into a room of over two dozen well-wishers, two whom I knew. After buying my buddy’s drink and sitting down to enjoy my own I sat downreverse mortgage news surrounded by a table of complete strangers. We shared two things in common, a mutual friend and our shared interest in cycling advocacy. How does one expand their social influence? How can you make a lasting impression when meeting someone?

My seat mate looked familiar from previous political meetings where we had argued for protection of bike trails and transportation planning. After introducing myself I asked the typical questions of ‘what do you do‘ and how did you meet our mutual friend?‘ Our conversation lasted 45 minutes and a new friend was made.

Rule #1: People love to talk about themselves

You know everything about yourself already, right? Of course. Ask them about their interests, what they are passionate about, or their favorite free time activities. Listen closely for details.

Rule #2: Ask follow up questions

In this situation my new acquaintance is a teacher at…

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Winning Hearts & Minds


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Give, Take & Win!

reverse mortgage newsChanging someone’s mind is no easy task, but it is in fact your chosen profession if you are a salesperson. That’s our reality. Quite frankly, unless you want to be walked over you are probably trying to change people’s minds every day, friends, a loved one, family members and other salespeople.

“Everyone should think like me!” If we are honest, it’s a thought we often have when we run up against those with opposing views. Thankfully our world is filled with diverse opinions, viewpoints, and preferences. Let’s be honest if we are frustrated when doesn’t agree with our ideas is it because they won’t budge or the fact that we just don’t know how to persuade them? Consider that for a moment.

Here are some points to remember when trying to persuade others in your professional sales career or outside of the office.

1. Don’t correct them. Research has shown that correcting someone often leads to them doubling down on their position or even worse feeling embarrassed and consequently adversarial. Try the feel, felt, found approach that we’ve discussed on previous episodes. Remember, we are emotional beings and do not operate on logic alone.

2. Make it personal. Be sure to…

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Stop Fighting with Yourself


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When giving up is winning

reverse mortgage newsPerhaps you’ve attended the same classes I have. Self improvement, time management, fitness training, or business coaching. While it is exciting to embrace the idea that we can in fact improve, often times we are setting ourselves up for disappointment because we are in fact, fighting with ourselves. Welcome to Friday’s Food for Thought, brought to you by Open Mortgage, where better is possible.

The odyssey of self-discovery and improvement has many rewards. What often is ignored is when we should quit pushing the same rock uphill and instead reevaluate if we are forcing ourselves into someone else’s ideals or or own.

Time is more than a sequence of events or controlling how we interact with our daily obligations. Chaos, abnormally long hours, diminished health, strained relationships, and procrastination are all good indicators that the wheels have begun to fall off the wagon. One of the biggest traps we can fall into is the quest for efficiency versus being strategic. Let me give you an example.

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When They’re Ticked Off


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angry-happy6 keys to win back angry customers

It happens, or as a bumper sticker says… Despite your efforts, systems and organization it will happen- your clients will get ticked off- at you! It’s a mix of disappointment that all your safeguards didn’t prevent the situation in the first place coupled with the stress of dealing with an angry homeowner. How do you mend the relationship?

How can we effectively deal with unhappy, angry or disappointed clients? Here are a few tips:

1. Isolate the issue. What is it specifically that triggered an angry reaction? Was it a lack of communication? Unmet expectations? A misunderstanding of the reverse mortgage? You must first know what the cause is before you jump in to fix it.

2. Lose the ego. It takes a strong person to admit when they…

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Persuading with Questions


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3 Tactics to Overcome Sales Objections with Questions

reverse mortgage newsOne of the earliest lessons I learned in sales was ‘if you say it they will doubt you, but if they say it, it is true.” As reverse mortga ge professionals we practice the art of educating and persuading. When faced with borrowers or family members strongly opposed to a HECM, try one or several of these approaches.

1. The Socratic Method.

The Socratic method seeks to open dialog, stimulate critical thinking and potentially get the other party to abandon their biases and presumptions. Basically, it is answering a question with another question. The borrower may state: “reverse mortgages are too expensive.” You could reply, “what makes them too expensive?” or “could you explain that a bit more for me so I understand?”

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I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind


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Dealing with and overcoming the daily grind

reverse mortgage news“I pledge allegiance to the grind, and to the exhaustion for which it stands. One professional, over worked, with burnout and frustration for all.”

A recent blog post entitled “I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind” got me thinking. How many are dissatisfied, not because of what they are doing, but because how they are doing it?

You’ve probably heard about the doctor who is burned out after a decade in practice, who just wants to ‘do their own thing’. Can you blame them? Burnout is a result of ‘the grind’. Here are some ways we can step back, reevaluate and regain some semblance of perspective.

1. Start at the beginning. What got you into reverse mortgage lending? Being a business owner, spouse or partner? Think back and remember the ‘why’ when you first began.

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10 Hacks to Get More Done


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A practical approach to getting things done

What’s a lifehack? It’s the term used to describe a strategy or method to increase one’s efficiency. Something each of us can benefit from as mortgage professionals. Is your schedule hectic? Is your anxiety building up?reverse mortgage news Then try these 10 tips.

Lifehack is one of my favorite go-to sites for inspiration, motivation and productivity strategies. Something I find valuable when the paralysis of being overwhelmed sets in.

A recent post from Carles Sabarich gives us 10 practical ways to get more ‘stuff’ done every day.

1. Set your priorities. Figure out what’s most important. One strategy I use is the ABC method prioritizing task in the order of their importance, A- most important, B- should do, and C- would be nice to complete.

2. Take charge. Take control by time-blocking tasks that require more than 5 minutes to complete. If it takes less than a few minutes don’t write it down, just do it!

3. Ditch procrastination. One way to overcome procrastination is to ‘eat the frog first‘

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Are You at Capacity?


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A Better Approach to Task Management

reverse mortgage newsIs your workload unmanageable? Does your to-do list far exceed your available time? You could be getting a reality check. In our ‘do-more’ society being busy has been mistaken as the hallmark of success.

While I have personally touted the benefits of time management in past episodes, perhaps we are missing a more important consideration, our capacity. If you’ve ever hired a contractor for a home improvement project or hired a website developer you’ve most likely run into the issue of cost overruns. In such situations, the contractor fails to account accurately the time, materials, and money required to complete the task leading to frustration, anger, and unmet expectations. However, if we’re honest, we often do the same to ourselves.

To avoid this common pitfall we must accomplish two things…

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