What's Inside for October 2004
Announcing the July 2004 Class of Certified Loan Officers
The LendingTree Gold Leaf award is presented to an elite group of Loan Officers who provide exemplary service to LendingTree consumers, adhere to LendingTree best practices and meet loan production performance. It is the cornerstone of our loan officer certification program, which is designed to recognize outstanding loan officers.
LendingTree is pleased to announce the sixth class of Certified Loan Officers. This class is made up of more than 200 loan officers who have consistently provided LendingTree consumers with an outstanding customer experience. Certification is valid for one year.
Certified Loan Officers are entitled to the following special benefits:
- Their name will be added with the Gold Leaf designation to the Lender information on the LendingTree Lender Scorecard at www.lendingtree.com.
- The Certified Loan Officer seal will be displayed in the signature line of emails generated via automated email. In addition, loan officers may request to display the seal in their custom emails to LendingTree customers.
- An invitation to attend the 3rd Annual Certified Loan Officer Summit to be held April 7th, 2005 in Las Vegas.
LendingTree is dedicated to rewarding the efforts of outstanding loan officers. Congratulations to all of the prestigious Gold Leaf Award winners. Please feel free to contact loprograms@lendingtree.com with any questions concerning this program. To learn more about qualifying for this program, visit our website at http://www.lendingtree.com/stm/certifiedloanofficer/default.html.
5th Annual LendingTree Summit Award Recipients
The highlight of the Summit was the 2nd Annual Partner Recognition Banquet where numerous awards were given to recognize superior performance. Click here to view a partial list of award recipients.
Special congratulations to eSmartloan.com who received the inaugural Rick Stiegler Innovator of the Year for their innovative use of technology within the LendingTree channel.To see more about the 5th Annual LendingTree Summit, as well as view some of the presentation material from the event, visit our website at www.lendingtreesummit.com.
Use the "Find a REALTOR®" Program to Close More Business!
In 2004, more than 50 additional Lenders have begun using the "Find A REALTOR®" tool to close more purchase leads, and great close rate performance has resulted. When Lenders make a "Find a REALTOR®" referral, they close an average of 10% of their purchase referrals versus an average close rate of 2% when the do not make a referral to the "Find a REALTOR®" programs.
The chart below shows the Top 10 Performers for Q1 2004 by close rate. “Find a REALTOR®” can make a huge difference in your purchase success! To learn more about the program, sign up for one of our webinar programs by visiting www.lendingtreetraining.com.
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In addition, congratulations to the 2004 LendingTree Realty Services Award winners announced at the 5th Annual LendingTree Summit. The awards were based on highest referrals and close rate using the "Find A REALTOR®" program for the first seven months of the year. The Top Performer Award went to First Franklin, and the Outstanding Performer Awards went to FlagStar, First Commonwealth and Concorde Acceptance.
LendingTree Launches Training Website
LendingTree is constantly working to provide training opportunities for our Network partners. In an effort to provide you with up-to-date information for all of our training programs, we have established www.lendingtreetraining.com. This website is your one-stop destination for information about all of our training programs including: Webinar Training Programs, Regional Loan Officer Training Programs and Sales Excellence Programs. At www.lendingtreetraining.com you will not only be able to access a listing of all training events and read a description of the programs, but you can also register for the programs that are of interest to you. We are always interested in providing you with training programs designed to make you more successful working with the LendingTree channel. If you have any suggestions for additional training programs, please email loprograms@lendingtree.com.
LenderWeb Apex Tip of the Month
How do I create notes?
From the QF management page:
• Click on the Note link and The Create/View Notes page will open as a pop up
• Enter the note into the text box provided and Click ‘Save Note'
Notice that the number of notes increases by one. If you re-enter the Create/View Notes you will see the added note below any already created. If you close the Create/View Notes page, before you have saved, a warning box will open to verify your intent. Simply click ‘OK' to continue and lose your changes, or ‘Cancel' to continue working on your note. Pop up blocker programs in your computer will hinder the calendar from coming up.
Alysia Talks about... getting Scared Straight
Halloween is a scary holiday. It's scary for kids but even scarier for adults who realize that holiday shopping is right around the corner. Pull out your last pay stub … go on and get it.
Now, take a look at the Year-to-Date total. Are you satisfied with the total? Or, is it too scary to look at? Have you ever heard the expression, “scared straight”? Well, some of you just got scared straight. The good news is there is still enough time to make money for holiday shopping.
It is up to you to decide not just what you want,
but what you are willing to DO to get it.
What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the year? A new house? A new car? Paying off debt? Some of you accomplished these things and more. Some of you did not. For those of you who are not where you want to be, ask yourself what you can do today to accomplish your goals? Maybe right now, you just want enough cash for the holidays to avoid creating credit card debt. If that's the case, figure out how much money you want to make by the end of the year.
Then, ask yourself,
“What do I need to do everyday going forward to reach my goals?”Be honest with yourself. If you are not going to make 50 calls a day, then don't promise yourself you will. Set a realistic action plan that you will implement. Remember, it is not the market that determines your success. It is the effort you put in everyday to generate and close business that determines your results. To accomplish what you want, you must be willing to do the work - mentally and physically. Often during difficult periods, we forget that we create our success. We create it by our attitudes, our mindset and our willingness to give our all especially when things are tough. This takes discipline.
Discipline comes from knowing what you really want. If you really want make enough money for holiday shopping then you will need to stay focused and “keep your eyes on the prize.” Chances are, you already work as many hours a week as you can work. So, more hours are not possible or even the best solution. The best solution is to work smarter during the hours you already work to maximize efficiency. This means focusing on high value activities. High value activities are the ones that yield the most return for your effort - outbound calling, taking control of the sale, and consistently following up with customers.
You only have a few weeks to generate income for the holidays and you are in control of whether you create that cash or not. This is a short deadline, but short deadlines are a good thing. Short deadlines wake us up. If you want extra money so you don't have to put gifts on credit cards or borrow money, then create an action plan and stick to it. Put your head down, focus and go to work. Ignore the distractions, negativity and any and all reasons to stop you from being successful and you will do it. Do it now so you can relax and enjoy the holiday season debt free!
ADE Tip of the Month
Want to pick up more business?
What if I told you that only 30%-40% of consumers log back into LenderWeb to see their offers? Do you realize what that means? If you're a loan officer who isn't calling every consumer to talk with them about the offers you've sent them, they'll never know! What they will know is that three of your competitors sent them offers…because three of your competitors called them. Don't miss out on 60-70% of potential business. With ADE, we'll send your offers out instantly, so you can get on the phone faster and do what you do best – SELL!
Remember, if you have a security issue, contact your Relationship Manager. If you have technical issues, please contact Lender Technical Services at LTS@lendingtree.com or by phone at 704-943-8686. As always, if you have suggestions for topics, please let us know.
Train in 2004 To Achieve Success in 2005!
Snap, clap woo-hoo to everyone who attended this year's final Regional Loan Officer Training Program on October 14th in Philadelphia, PA! Participants at this session learned Best Practices for using LenderWeb APEX, heard success stories from Network loan officers who have increased their purchase close rate using the “Find A REALTOR® ” product and learned about all of our Loan Officer Programs. In addition, they participated in a half-day Sales Excellence Training seminar led by Alysia Nealon. If you missed attending one of the Regional Loan Officer Training events in 2004, watch for dates announcing where we will be in 2005. We look forward to bringing you a new and improved Regional Loan Officer Training Program next year!
LendingTree will be offering a variety of training opportunities for the remainder of the year, which are designed to prepare you for success in 2005!
- Alysia Nealon will lead Sales Excellence Workshops in Boca Raton, Florida, Irvine, California and Detroit Michigan.
- Multiple Webinar Training Programs led by the LendingTree experts are offered on an on-going basis.
Loan Officer Kudos – Where LendingTree Customers Say Thank You!
Here are some direct customer comments received by our Customer Care team! Keep up the good work!
“It was my first time conducting such business online. The experience was one of the biggest and most important items one could possibly handle in this arena. The loan officer, Chris Lanning of Wyndham Capital Mtg, Inc. was a great help and stuck with us to the very final moment and we thank GOD for his guidance as well as that of our real estate agent Eileen Ermer of William E. Woods Real Estate & Associates who was a real trooper and was very knowledgeable and diligent in her efforts to help us find the perfect home.”
Kelvin J.
Virginia Beach, VA
Mortgage and Real Estate
Customer called in to say that he has chosen First Residential Mortgage as his lender and his loan officer, Michael Abney is doing a terrific job. He also says that he is very happy with LendingTree's service. Everything is GRREAT!
Robert T.
Florence, AZ
Refinance
“Thank you so much. I have already spoken to Phillip Laughlin with NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. He is doing a great job. Your company is amazing and we truly appreciate all that you have done.”
Sincerely,
Becky F.
Tyler, TX
Purchase Mortgage
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LendingTree in the News
Check out these great articles on LendingTree!
Save the Date – 2nd LendingTree Loan Officer Sales Rally
For more information about the 2nd LendingTree Loan Officer Sales Rally, please visit our website at www.lendingtreesalesrally.com! We hope to see you there!
REALTOR® -- A registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.