Are You Fully Present?

[vimeo id=”155060962″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

Open-Mtg-2018-Find-Place


4 Steps to Intentional ‘Conscious’ Living

Do you grapple with the ever-present need to be connected to every tidbit of information? What’s going on with my friends social media accounts? What’s the latest political or economic news? What is the latest development in the reverse fully-presentmortgage industry? While the desire to absorb information is helpful to stay informed it can also take us directly out of the present moment.

Here are some tips I have learned from my friend and hard-earned personal lessons I’ve taken with me along the way.

1- Setup Filters. Ask yourself the question “is this information useful to me?”. Much of what we spend our mental energy on is fluff, filler and background noise. Will what you are doing help you be a better husband, wife, parent or coworker? Does this information encourage me or drag me down into cynicism and despair?

2- Just one thing. Seems odd but try to do just one thing at a time versus trying to mentally unwind one issue while your hands are busy doing something else.

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

Meetings: The Death of Productivity

[vimeo id=”153314714″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

Open-Mtg-2018-Find-Place


Getting Control of Meetings

reverse mortgage news
Have you ever done this in a meeting?

Meetings. If you work in a large company or have you can empathize with the statement that meetings are the bane of productivity. Meetings do not have to be a productivity killer with some simple, intentional pre-planning.

Meetings are necessary when working with a team of other professionals. They serve to shape strategy, improve efficiencies and address challenges. Ironically meetings can become time-wasters in their own rite.

20 years ago I was a marketing manager for a large nonprofit. Each Monday we would have a management meeting and every time I left feeling frustrated that I just wasted another 2 hours of my day that would inevitably push me into the late evening hours. That experience taught me several valuable lessons. Here are a few tips to get the most from your meetings or ideas to respectfully suggest.

1. Create an Agenda. Seems basic but many meetings lack a clear and defined roadmap or agenda and consequently end up in the weeds of the irrelevant. Laser focus is required for efficient meetings. The agenda should be specific enough so all participants now what is to be discussed. If someone gets off topic add it to a list of ‘parking lot’ topics which can be addressed in the future.

2. After Action Reports. One of the greatest tools for meetings is the…

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

5 Tips for Annual Review & 2016 Planning

[vimeo id=”149344530″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

A Once a Year Opportunity

The holidays being at the end of the calendar year give each of us the unique and limited opportunity for both retrospective insight and strategic planning. The question is will you take time this month to lay the foundation for the coming year? Welcome to Friday’s Food for Thought brought to you by Reverse Focus.reverse mortgage news

Unfortunately none of us have a Delorean time machine that allows us to go back in time to fix the world’s woes and ensure our future success. What we do have though is the opportunity to reflect on the past year and apply the lessons learned to the coming year.

Here are just a few ideas to help you plan for success in 2016.

1. Review your calendar. If you kept a good record of your time go back and review just where you spent your time in 2015. Look for meetings that yielded business referrals, conferences attended, marketing efforts and more. Write down what activities you wish to continue, enhance or discard in 2016. You may be surprised just how you actually spent your time.

2. Track your 2015 sales. Go back and look at your sales metrics by month. For example, the number of…

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

Tips for a Productive Holiday Season

5 Tips for a Productive Holiday: Friday’s Food for Thought from Reverse Focus on Vimeo.

5 Tips to Avoid the Holidays Sales Slump

The holidays are upon us. Christmas parties, company get-togethers and other events fill our calendar. Pastries, rich foods, and irregular schedules are all part of the American ritual of celebrating the holiday season. As a result, our productivity can slow to the pace of thick eggnog being poured into our favorite reindeer glass.

 

Let me say I am all for enjoying the holiday season. What should be avoided however is squandering this once-a-year opportunity for greater professional growth. Here are a few tips for each of us to put into practice in the coming month.

1. Don’t buy the lie. As salespeople, we often convince ourselves that our prospects don’t want to hear from us during the holiday. Sure, that’s the case on Christmas eve, Christmas day, or New Years’ but not necessarily the case for the entire season. For many of your potential customers, the holidays are a stark reminder that their financial situation is not all they wish it was. During this time at least engage your prospects, send out a quote or schedule a time to meet during or shortly after the holiday season. Don’t let your sales pipeline collapse unnecessarily.

2. Put a bow on organization. Springtime is often when we clean out the garage and organize our homes. The winter holiday season is your opportunity to ‘wrap up’ your…


Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

 

Stopping the Insanity

[vimeo id=”145586826″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

Mental Overload & How to Stop the Insanity

Mental sludge. It’s the stuff that gums up our though process leading to a mental vapor lock or worse, the paralysis of being overwhelmed. Quite honestly this is something that I have strove to master for years and even though I’ve won several battles I have realized it’s an ongoing war.

Here are a few tips I have put to use in recent years that have freed up my mental capacity for greater efficiency, productivity and happiness.

1. Restrict decision making: Have your ever come home to say “I don’t want to have to make another decision today”? Perhaps you’re on to something. Every small decision we have to make in our daily routine taps our mental energy reserves needed for major decisions. Some examples are: what should I wear? What am I having for dinner? Am I working out enough? Planning, structure and routine can eliminate these unnecessary daily quandaries…

 

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

Attitude is Everything

[vimeo id=”141858476″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

Is the window through which you view the world muddy?

Several years ago I was wrestling to cope with life’s challenges. I was struggling to keep my attitude straight having just begun my career in the financial services industry. Seeking help I came across a book reverse mortgage newsthat changed my life, perspective and outlook. Little did I know I would need these tools a few short years later.

The book “Attitude is Everything” by Jeff Keller provided practical ways in which I could change the filter through which I viewed life; a good thing since I was and remain powerless to control my circumstances. Keller begins with this quote by William James, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind”.

As reverse mortgage professionals our attitude, or filter through which we view the world, is more important than ever before in the wake of numerous industry changes, regulator challenges and the financial assessment. How important is one’s attitude and it’s impact on those around them? Extremely. I have witnessed otherwise talented sales teams implode due to…

 

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

How to Write Emails that Get a Response

[vimeo id=”140719194″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

Tips to Increase Email Effectiveness with Reverse Mortgage Prospects

reverse mortgage newsWhether you are working in a call center or you sit kneecap to kneecap at the kitchen table email has become an increasingly popular way to engage your prospects in the early stages of the sales process. The question is how do you get the recipient to take the next action step, say return your call?

Our source of leads for potential HECM borrowers varies widely yet some leads offer us another avenue to communicate quickly and efficiently: email. The wide adoption of CRMs or Customer Relationship Managers has given many loan originators the ability to engage the homeowner by email. In fact as the average age of a reverse mortgage borrower trends lower more prospects will have and use an email account.

Here are some tips to increase your effectiveness when communicating by email with your potential borrowers:

1. Engage early and first. If you are receiving internet leads which almost always have an email address for the prospect send them an immediately with an email introducing yourself letting them know…

 

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

The Secret Lives of the Highly Organized

[vimeo id=”139650429″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

get-organized

Secrets of the Highly Organized Revealed

The highly organized. Love or hate them they have figured out how to manage the three ring circus of chaos that we call life. Were they the kid in class who always raised their hand having the answer? Perhaps but not all. Many highlyorganized individuals were not always that way. In fact most have developed their organizational skills over several years.

Highly organized professionals rarely preach their methods to others unless they are a productivity coach. But if you closely watch a colleague with such a skill set you will find many of these traits:

1. They address the mundane. Going through a stack of email or clearing your email’s inbox are not glamorous tasks. The highly organized understand such tasks are important as they clear the way for more important endeavors

 

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

You May Be Burned Out If…

[vimeo id=”138818892″ width=”625″ height=”352″]


Signs of Burnout and Tips to Help Stop the Insanity

reverse mortgage news

Burnout. It didn’t happen overnight. If you reflect you may find it was a slow burn that begin months or even years ago. Long hours, never ending changes, new regulations, technology and software issues all can contribute to acondition that is common in the American workplace. What are the signs of burnout and how can we avoid it? Here is what to look for.

1. Spaced Out. Mental lapses. Those suffering burnout may find themselves spacing out or going mentally blank. Just as your computer may occasionally show an hourglass telling you to wait our brains do not respond well to extended stress and mental overload. Try listing your tasks in an organized manner and time blocking to help clear your mind a bit.

2. Short fuse. If you find yourself losing your temper quickly at things that you would typically shrug off this may be…
Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.

Before You Send That Email…

[vimeo id=”137547621″ width=”625″ height=”352″]


Email. It has become our primary means of professional communication. Consider for a moment how many emails you send versus phone calls you make. Have I got your attention?

reverse mortgage news
Think twice before hitting that send button!

Since emails are the primary means by which we communicate with coworkers, processors, borrower and vendors we should first consider these tips before hitting that send button.

1. Keep it short. If you feel you must write a five paragraph email perhaps you shouldn’t be using email in the first place. The nuances, detail and tone of the conversation are often lost in written communication. If your email is longer than two paragraphs consider this: a phone call! That’s so old fashioned, eh? Seriously the time spent on a short phone call is often less than writing a lengthly message. Better yet reply back “can we schedule a short call to discuss this later today”?

2. Don’t be secretive. If you are replying to several individuals but don’t want them to know you’ve included a particular individual avoid using the BCC feature..

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today.