Analyzing opportunities: A 26-point checklist for success for mortgage professionals
When
Sarah
Middleton
joined
Supreme
Lending
as
Chief
Marketing
and
Growth
Officer,
she
brought
with
her
not
just
an
impressive
track
record
of
leadership
—
but
a
26-point
checklist
she
uses
to
evaluate
every
opportunity.
In
her
recent
Power
House
podcast
appearance,
Sarah
revealed
how
this
detailed
framework
helped
her
make
one
of
the
biggest
career
decisions
of
her
life
—
and
how
it
can
help
loan
officers,
branch
leaders
and
industry
professionals
assess
what
really
matters
when
building
for
long-term
success.
Whether
you’re
considering
a
new
role,
evaluating
your
current
company,
or
just
looking
to
sharpen
your
focus,
this
checklist
is
a
must-read.
Leadership
–
The
CEO
has
to
be
active
in
the
business
day
to
day
-
True
humility
is
something
that
doesn’t
need
to
be
shouted
from
the
rooftops;
you
just
do
it
without
fanfare
or
telling
everyone
how
humble
you
are. -
Wants
to
genuinely
help
others:
It’s
easy
to
write
a
check,
but
when
you
say
you
want
to
enrich
lives,
what
do
you
actually
do
that
doesn’t
need
to
be
broadcast? -
Spouse/Partner/Friends
matter.
If
they
can’t
maintain
relationships
with
quality
people,
your
circle
matters.
I
wanted
to
know
who
was
in
your
circle. -
Do
you
allow
teammates
to
speak
into
you
when
the
path
you’re
on
is
wrong?
Better
said,
“How
do
we
get
to
the
right
answer?”
no
matter
who
has
the
answer.
Culture
-
Culture
of
excellence:
I
want
to
play
for
the
Mets,
not
the
Rockies.
I
made
the
decision
to
be
around
champions.
Is
mediocre
play
acceptable
in
the
organization? -
Bigger
isn’t
better
if
you’re
just
losing
money.
I
want
to
be
somewhere
financially
responsible
to
themselves,
but
also
to
the
“Smart
Branchpreneur.”
I
lived
in
the
P&L
world.
You
can
do
really
well
if
you’re
smart
with
expenses;
the
same
goes
for
corporate. -
Bloat:
Corporate
overhead
that’s
unnecessary
can
crush
your
rates.
Operations
must
be
efficiently
run.
You
can
do
this
if
you
hire
the
best,
as
they
often
do
the
work
of
2-3
people. -
Layers
only
work
in
layer
cakes;
I
wanted
a
flat
organization.
The
2:1
ratio
was
important,
or
at
least
close
to
it.
Sales
should
be
2x
vs.
Support
staffing
at
1x.
This
tells
me
if
you’re
bloated
and
if
your
rates
are
suffering.
Product
savvy
and
time
in
the
chair
-
Product
tactics
and
strategy
matter.
You
don’t
gain
that
without
depth
and
history
with
investors,
and
you
have
to
dig
for
the
next
thing
to
help
LOs
win. -
Again,
revisit
champions.
Do
you
have
the
best
in
this
chair?
You
can
win
a
lot
of
deals,
and
LOs
can
crush
it
if
they
understand
how
important
products
are,
especially
today. -
Products
must
also
onboard
new
products
quickly.
How
fast
can
you
get
a
product
to
market
to
compete?
Servicing
-
“Smart
servicing”:
Can
you
read
the
markets?
Get
in,
get
out,
and
play
the
markets
to
your
benefit. -
Full
seller
servicer:
If
you’re
a
sub-servicer,
you’re
in
a
perilous
position,
and
I
saw
it
way
back
and
still
see
it
today. -
Warehouse
lines
matter.
They
need
to
be
the
best—gold-star
level.
Have
you
ever
triggered
your
covenants?
Most
never
ask
this
really
important
question.
Technology
-
Tech:
What’s
the
deck,
and
how
are
you
adapting
to
change
to
become
more
efficient
and
cost-effective? -
Most
CEOs
don’t
have
a
clue
about
tech.
I
wanted
to
see
if
there
was
a
CEO
who
had
this
as
an
expertise.
It’s
tough
to
find,
but
yes,
it’s
out
there. -
Cisco:
So
undervalued,
but
if
you
don’t
have
it,
wait
until
it
happens.
Operations
- Operations:
-
Best
in
business -
Speed
and
efficiency -
How
many
touches?
The
fewer,
the
better.
Fewer
touches
mean
lower
costs.
-
Extreme
ownership:
Seasoned
underwriters
who
know
their
craft
and
also
specialize.
The
same
goes
for
closers
and
processors. -
Attitude
from
the
top
down:
How
do
you
really
feel
about
LOs
in
operations,
and
how
do
you
work
together? -
Speed:
If
you
can’t
get
an
answer
quickly,
deals
die.
Expectations
on
turn
times
—
are
they
person-to-person,
or
does
your
ops
team
hide?
Branch
Support
-
Branch
support
matters
—
most
don’t
get
it. -
I
grew
up
with
branch
support
going
way
back,
and
most
companies
don’t
support
nor
see
the
value.
If
it
takes
your
IT
desk
hours
or
days
to
respond,
you’re
going
to
lose.
Compliance
and
risk
-
Compliance/Risk:
Two
words,
and
this
is
really
important.
Do
they
apply
“common
sense”?
What
is
truly
the
risk?
I’ve
seen
great
compliance
people
and
awful
ones
who
literally
run
people
out
of
organizations
because
they’re
so
mean. -
Lawyers,
lawyers,
lawyers:
Getting
sued
is
part
of
our
business
today,
sadly.
You
better
have
“fire-breathing
dragons”
on
staff
and
zero
fear
of
lawsuits.
On
the
flip
side,
are
you
a
sue-happy
company?
If
you
are,
that
was
a
deal
killer
for
me.
Lawsuits
benefit
only
one
person:
the
lawyers.
Financial
-
Lastly,
can
you
play
with
the
big
dogs?
Meaning,
do
you
have
the
capital
to
play
the
game?
You
can’t
necessarily
get
there
if
you
haven’t
been
around
for
a
good
bit
of
time.
