Good morning, good afternoon,

good evening.

Wherever you are and whenever

you're listening,

I want to congratulate you on

taking the steps of bettering

yourself and making yourself the

expert in your field. Today,

we are joined by the one,

the only, Sherry Riano.

What's up, Sherry?

How you doing,

Again?

We are excited to have you back,

and we are excited for

today's topic.

We're going to be talking about

three actionable items

to improve your 2024.

Whether you are a real estate

agent, a lender, title,

no matter where you're at,

I think these three things are

applicable to you in your field.

so, without further ado,

let's kind of dive right in,

talk about it. Yeah. So,

first thing we want to focus

on is a business plan.

Got to have one.

You cannot run a business

without a plan. Right.

Aimlessly running around.

No plan, no action. None.

That's right.

And with a business plan,

it's all great to have just

things written down on paper

that you want to do or what you

want your business to do,

but without follow through,

without really committing

to that,

you're really just writing down

things and putting papering

is what. Right.

If you don't have a plan,

you don't know what

steps to take

or where to go to at least find

the educational piece to get the

steps that you might need

to take. That's it.

I think there's a lot of people

in our industry that they

love sitting down,

developing a business plan.

They love coming up with ideas

on how they're going

to be successful.

But it's really the follow

through point that I think a lot

of them get caught up on to

where they're not investing

in themselves.

They're not really doing the

things that they need to do

to perfect their craft.

They're more just, hey, look,

these are some things that I've

heard works for other people,

and I want to do that for me.

And that's it. Right.

And I think a lot of times,

it's reluctancy

with agents and lenders to

pick up the phone. Yes.

And one of the best ways to

start a great relationship

is picking up the phone,

talking to people.

There's so many ways that things

can get misunderstood in

a text or in an email.

And I find whenever I'm seeing

some kind of what I perceive

as unclarity, friction,

whatever you might want to call

it, I instantly pick up a phone.

That's right.

I just think that that's

something you got to do,

so don't be afraid.

Picking up the phone.

Phone is your friend,

not your enemy. Yeah.

There's so many things that get

misconstrued in a text message,

in an email.

Just your tone in general.

Maybe you just like me.

When I get busy,

I can get very direct and

just like, hey, look,

this is what I need.

And I'm not trying to be rude

or anything like that,

but I generally come across as a

little bit more extroverted.

And so when I'm not doing those

things, people think, hey,

is everything okay?

You having a bad day?

That kind of stuff.

But it also can be what's going

on in your world in that day and

how maybe you're not having that

great of a day. You left home,

you're fussing with your spouse.

It's not a great morning.

All the slow drivers came

in front of you.

You had to get to work.

By the time you get that text,

you are on, like,

mach nine anyway.

So you're already kind of.

And that right there can get

something going that was never

existed. That's it. That's it.

Next thing I think that really

is going to help you within

your 2024 is conversion.

knowing your numbers,

have you sat back?

Have you looked at your numbers?

Do you know where your most

successful leads come from?

Do you know how many times it

takes you to meet with a client

to get buyer's agency?

How many phone calls does it

take to get them to commit?

Do you see a significant

difference in you being with

your client for them

to place an offer?

Or is it better if they're by

themselves so they have time to

think? Just things like that.

It's got to go down to tracking.

You have to know from the moment

you get a lead to the point that

you're sitting at

a closing table.

What did it take to get there?

How many calls did

I need to make?

How many agencies did I need

to put under the contract?

How many times did I have to

show this set of clients homes

before it actually converted?

it's very interesting that a

lot of people have no idea.

They get so excited.

Somebody talked to me. Oh,

my God. Now I have agency.

Oh, my God.

And then they lose track and

they move on to the next thing.

But how can you hone a skill

when you don't know how long it

takes to go from point

a to point z?

So I think that sometimes

in our industry,

we tend to always look

for a shiny thing to make

that conversion work,

and that conversion necessarily

will not work based off

of that solely.

Everyone'S worried about

counting w's and no one's really

worried about counting.

How many times it takes

to get there?

How many letters did it

take you to get the w?

It's all about w's.

I read this book one time.

It's called working from the no.

And if you haven't read it,

you should.

But I love working for no.

You tell me no good the next,

because the next one's

going to be a yes.

Everybody won't say no.

Everybody won't say yes.

So that's part of our industry.

And I will be honest.

Whether you are a realtor or a

lender or you work in

the title side,

I don't care where you work.

If rejection bothers you,

do not get into this business

because you're going

to be rejected.

But it is not personal.

It is just business. That's it.

And along with that,

I think knowing your numbers,

but also investing in your

skills and developing

your weaknesses.

it's good to know exactly what

you're good at and what you

can naturally rely on.

but at the same time,

if you just enjoy the points

that you're good at and you

don't develop the areas that

you're not good at,

your game will always be

missing something.

Maybe you're great in the paint,

but you can't shoot a three

to save your life.

Where are you needing

to put more time?

If you're not growing,

you're dying. That's it.

Guaranteed.

If you're not investing

in yourself,

no one's going to

invest for you.

And then taking a snapshot every

six months and seeing what

worked today will not work

tomorrow. For whatever reason,

no matter whether it's rates,

inventory,

there's all different facets in

our world that could make that

change every six months.

So take a reset every six months

and just look at where you're

going. That's right. Plus,

it'll help your whole year

because maybe you're off your

game for six months. Okay, well,

you still got six more months to

make the game happen, right?

so you want to take a.

Look at that as well,

especially for our lenders.

rates are so seasonal and how

you need to give advice in a

market where you're seeing,

like right now,

we're going into a year where

we're seeing a lot of potential

rate reductions. I mean,

the Fed says three but we think

it could be as much

as six this year.

you're not wanting to recommend

someone buy down a ton

of points I mean,

if you go to an online lender,

you're going to get very a to b

lending when you go have that

conversation, hey, look,

I'm under contract with

that rocket ship,

but I want to give you a shot.

Well,

do you know how to have that

conversation with a client where

you're not going to ever benefit

from this long term because

you're refinancing in 18 months,

you're never going to see the.

Buy down,

you're going to have your break

even point. That's it.

But that's the difference

between being a professional and

being someone that's an order

taker. That's right.

And I hate to say it,

a lot of order takers

in our business.

So when you're out there

shopping, don't just.

If somebody sells you a

rate and says, okay,

this one lender said

they can give me,

I'm just going to use this

abstractly, of course,

2% and this other lender is

going to give me two and a half,

but the 2% is costing me

$30,000. Hello? That's right.

I mean,

you better hold on to that

mortgage for 15 years.

And most mortgages convert and

turn over every five years.

So you just need to make sure

that you've got sound financial

advice and make sure that no

matter who you work with on the

lending side is that they really

understand your full picture.

That's right. And realtors,

if your clients are willing to

share their numbers with you,

this is something that you can

help them identify as well.

Where? Hey, look,

there's a ton of buy down.

I mean,

my local lender says not to

buy down a ton right now.

Maybe giving them that little

piece of information,

helping them understand why this

is not the best deal for them

you're going to come out

smelling like roses if you can

save somebody thousands.

Of dollars,

makes you look like the expert,

and that's what they hired

you for as an agent.

So it's just another notch in

the crown. That's it for them.

Another reason to come back.

So let's talk about people

coming back.

What that is drilling down that

database. Database man.

Actively working your database.

I have this conversation so

often with agents like, hey,

look for the clients that you

closed last year. Clients,

did you close in 2022?

they heard from you lately,

and it is

shocking how little you hear.

You've developed a relationship

with this person over 30 days,

six months, possibly a year,

to where you've tried to find

this person a home.

They have considered you in that

moment to be their source for

home ownership. Absolutely.

And for you to just end the

conversation the day they close

for one on a buy side,

for a buyer,

it's going to make someone feel

just like a means to an end.

There was no true relationship

there.

There's a lot of trust from the

buyer there. Transactional.

There you go.

Versus relationship. That's it.

You'll make a lot of money in

this industry if you

were relationship.

But if you were transactional,

you're only as good as that one

transaction and they never

come back to you.

So what are you doing

after the fact?

Do they still know your name?

Well,

they can if you never

contact them. Right.

Tell them how much value has

happened in our area.

They don't know right now.

They got their tax bill.

They know about that,

and I'm sure they're excited.

But what they don't realize is

all the value they gained with

it. Right. And so right now,

historically,

we got a lot of credit card debt

back out there. Again,

people could tap into their

equity in that house,

get that paid off,

save themselves a lot of money.

And guess who told them

they had the equity?

Because maybe they didn't

know you. That's right.

Educating them on

the in between.

Maybe they do come back to

you two years later,

three years later,

and maybe they're one of those

people that 7 million

babies born a year,

3 million marriages,

one and a half million divorces.

Hopefully not,

but maybe they were

one of those.

But they're going

to be out there.

They're going to be out there

and educating your buyers,

your clients,

your relationships.

In between transactions not only

solidifies a relationship,

but also keeps you front of mind

if they hear somebody saying,

hey,

I'm actually thinking

about selling. Oh,

you've got to talk to so and so.

Not only did they help me out,

but they called me six

months ago, said,

we've had a ton of appreciation,

and maybe we were considering

doing that.

They remember we were doing

maybe a renovation or an

upgrade to the kitchen.

We don't have twins. Yeah,

or we were going to have these

twins and they said, hey,

I thought of you the other day.

you've got a ton of equity.

Maybe you should consider

tapping into that.

Maybe adding on that extra room,

adding that kitchen. Absolutely.

Making sure that they think

of you as not only just a

transactional relationship,

but this is an in between

relationship. Like, hey,

they're going to help me all the

time. I am on their mind.

I'm a friend to them.

And if I hear anything.

I want to help my friend.

I want to send my friend

more business.

That is so true.

I've seen that in this

market a lot.

There's a lot of great agents

out there that are really

horn into their clients and

making sure that they are known.

Yes,

their words are heard and they

continue to build their business

based off of that.

And it's a lot easier

than feeding the

zillow animal as they

call it out there.

I just had to say the name.

Everybody knows who it is.

There's nothing wrong with it.

I just did feed them at least

said rocket ship.

I didn't say it.

I didn't burn them down.

They don't get burnt down,

I can assure you.

But it is what it is.

But no matter where your

lead source is,

it's so much better to

get that referral,

that warm lead from someone that

you really poured into and

then call them up. Hey,

you know what,

it's getting ready to be spring.

I got a long escaping guy,

right?

I've got somebody that

can paint house,

clean the gutters if

you need anybody,

always be that source

of information.

We all have those people.

We use them in our own lives.

And of course when

you're an agent,

you've constantly got to have

your hands on somebody that

can help in that way.

And it's another way for you to

also get some referrals back

from those people.

So it's a win win.

And maybe you're out there

and you're like,

I don't even know where the hell

to collect this type

of information.

Like where can I get send

seasonal information to send

clients? Reach out to us.

Our agents get seasonal updates

on things that they can share

with their buyers,

resources they can share with

their clients all the ways to

help them in between

transaction and,

and eight during each

transaction. So reach out to us,

we would love to help.

And now it's time for market.

In a minute.

This is where we give you an

update on the conditions of

the market week to week.

No matter the topic of the show.

This week we saw an interesting

survey from Bloomberg come out.

236 housing economists revealed

an expectation of interest rates

to drop to 5.5% in 2023.

Now we saw a five and a half

percent expectation come out

last year sometime but then we

also saw a slight change and

maybe they're not going

to drop as fast.

We saw the fed kind of playing

duck and hide with this interest

rate expectation for

a little while.

So it's interesting to hear that

number come out once again.

Another article showed a 50 50

chance or expectation for the

Fed's first cut in March.

now,

we saw some fed members in

December and even in early

January saying that that may

have to be pushed back

a little bit.

So to see a 50 50 shot or 50

50% expectation in March

is interesting to hear,

especially as, you know,

rumblings of a possible

recession in the second and

third quarter starting to show

up as we get closer and closer

to this Fed announcement.

I do expect the Fed announcement

to be kind of mum on any

expectations in January,

but we'll kind of see.

Well this has been the mortgage

mindset with the Sherry Riano

team with Sherry herself today.

I want you to hit

that subscribe,

hit that follow button.

We want you to be the expert.

We're here to help you and we

want to make sure that you

understand what you're doing.

You're being the professional

out there.

And we'll see you next week.

Thanks.

The Mortgage Mindset podcast is

hosted by the Sherry Riano Team

at Clear Mortgage powered by

City First Mortgage Services,

LLC.

Share Rihanna's NMLs

id is 71774.

Visit us at

thesherryrianoteam.com for more

information about our team.

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or city first mortgage services.

Please note that the Clear

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