Successful Producing Managers Must Possess Key Attributes

By Darren McElroy

   Loan originators who aspire to be producing managers must develop a special skillset in order to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. For example, they need:

1. Impeccable Time Management Skills. Any good manager of a sales team must have very disciplined time management skills. However, it is even more important in the mortgage industry, as producing managers today are not only managing a sales team, they are originating loans, recruiting loan officers, determining marketing strategies, developing and maintaining a budget, solving customer issues, and interacting with operations personnel on a daily basis. In addition, producing managers in the mortgage industry must find time to carry out projects and other stringent demands of upper management.  So, they need to be very vigilant in how they spend their time, using it where the best payoff for them will be, while satisfying the needs of many others.
2. Top-notch Recruiting Skills. Recruiting skills and techniques are extremely important today with the changes that have affected the mortgage industry recently.  In speaking with several producing managers of late, this is their number one challenge right now. If you are not personally known in your market as a manager who is good to work for and is in it for the long haul, you can have a hard time attracting good talent. You must have a company name that is recognizable and tout an attractive compensation plan. Skills in retaining your production team members are critical, as top producers are being aggressively recruited to make a move. Many managers today have changed how they recruit. They are doing mail drip campaigns, joining industry associations and working social media sites in order to meet and attract new producers.
3. Respectable Industry Knowledge. This is another key component to a good producing manager.  Knowing what you’re doing is important in your recruiting efforts and customer transactional challenges. Industry knowledge builds respect from your superiors and subordinates alike.
4. Effective Coaching. As with good managers in the sports world, producing managers in the mortgage industry need to be able to coach their salespeople effectively.  Keeping your top performers happy is one thing, but managing up (or, in some cases, managing out) struggling loan officers who have been challenged in these past two years is important, too. You have to be able to recognize their strengths and weaknesses in order to help them survive in the tough market we have today.
5. Profitability Management. The need to manage and understand all aspects of your P & L and monthly budget items is critical for a producing manager.  Most branch expenses are being kept at a minimum these days and the ability to shift gears when the market is in a decline is critical -- not only to the branch’s bottom line (and senior management’s goals), but usually to the producing manager’s own personal compensation.
6. Strong Leadership. Another key attribute of a good producing manager is having strong mental toughness. The ability to keep your head up when things get tough and to keep teams motivated 24/7, is the basis for a great leader.

Darren McElroy is senior vice president at The Turning Point, Sedona, Ariz. and a former producing and area manager for Chase.