Total Expert Founder and CEO Joe Welu was featured in MortgageOrb’s Person of the Week section to discuss loan officer retention and what it takes to hold on to top talent.
PERSON OF THE WEEK: LO retention and recruiting has taken on new meaning in this second stage of the pandemic, as the mortgage market shifts to a purchase market. Soon, LOs will be playing a more critical role in helping lenders gain market share. That’s why lenders should be focused on retaining their top-performing and most experienced LOs. To learn more, MortgageOrb recently interviewed Joe Welu, founder and CEO of Total Expert.
Q: Why is LO retention more important than ever for lenders?
Welu: According to a survey of nearly 250 lending institutions by The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), LO retention is the most critically important issue to lending organizations today. And after dealing with sky-high volume for over a year, lenders are bracing for a 40% decrease in origination volume in 2022.
With warm leads at a premium, top-performing LOs will look to their employers for the tools and technology to help them be successful at their jobs. Employers that show they listen to and understand their LOs by delivering that technology will earn their loyalty as they weather next year’s drop in volume.
For example, say one lender asks its LOs to sort through lengthy contact lists for qualified leads. Meanwhile, its competitor provides a steady stream of well-qualified leads directly to their LOs’ pipelines. The latter lender shows its commitment to helping their employees be successful in their business and will be rewarded with better retention rates.
Read the full interview on mortgageorb.com.
