Running a mortgage business is no easy task, especially if you’re going it alone. That’s a lot of mental, emotional and physical energy required from just one person to get the business up and running, maintain the flow of new clients and nurture existing relationships to ensure you get repeat business and a glowing reputation. This doesn’t even include the actual work of setting up the mortgages, the admin, building and managing a team (if you have one) or the marketing of the business. Therefore, some effective management and organization is essential to ensure your success.
Follow our top tips to help stay organized and meet the demands of running a mortgage business.
Don’t be afraid to delegate
The art of delegation is a tough one to master as a business owner. The thought of relinquishing control and trusting your team or collaborators with tasks you know exactly how you want completed can be a daunting, if not seemingly impossible task. However, if you fail to implement this ‘golden ticket’ of a skill into your business management toolkit, you are likely to reach burnout quickly and then find it even harder to delegate when you’re stressed. Do this early on. Automate as much as you can. Build a productive and dependable team and then trust them. Spending time micromanaging will be counterproductive, so be sure to build a team capable of doing the tasks you plan on assigning and briefing them well.
Don’t rule outsourcing out
Paperwork piling up? Team already busy with clients and tasks you’ve delegated? Don’t think you have to pick up everything else yourself. Hire an admin assistant to take care of filing and organizing, or even your email inbox. There are a wide range of assistants and virtual assistants available online at the drop of a hat these days, with an unbelievable range of skills. Don’t underestimate what you can hire someone to help you with to get back on track.
Work smart
Make sure you have your project management tools in place, whether that be Asana, Trello or something similar. As well as your CMS, such as Pulse CRM. These will ensure that you are not making more work for yourself when you are managing your client base. Having everything up to date, clearly tracked and all information readily available, you will save time trying to find old email threads to see what the last update was, or when you said you would follow up with a client next. You will be able to identify cases that are on hold and once that require your immediate attention, meaning you can prioritize quickly without delays.
Set routines and realistic deadlines
Having a routine will help to manage your workload and timeline within any given week. For example, invoices are looked at on Monday, team schedules and workloads are reviewed on Wednesday, referred mortgage applications are chased on Fridays, etc. Create a plan that works for you and stick to it. This process will help you see what time you have left each week to fit in other tasks. Not only do routines help boost productivity, but so do realistic deadlines. There is nothing more damaging to your team and your business than unrealistic and unachievable deadlines. This will lead to rushed work, wavering trust and dented quality.
If a task needs time to complete, give it the time required. Taking an extra day to deliver something at the level of quality you expect from yourself and your business is much more rewarding than having to explain yourself and revisit work, by which time the client may have already lost trust and decided not to work with you again in the future. Realistic deadlines will also ensure you and your team have time to take in order to create a healthy work-life balance for themselves.
Recharge your batteries
Your wellbeing is just as important as every other point in this list if you plan on running a successful business for a long time into the future. This is also true for your team. Working hard at all times, with passion and dedication, may require you to work long hours and pick up tasks that have tight deadlines. Taking time out to recharge your batteries and look after your wellbeing is essential to avoid burnout.
Anything still seem a bit of an impossible feat without a solution? Join the discussion below and share your experiences.
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