As you undoubtedly know, a career in the mortgage industry comes with a special set of challenges. Let’s take a look at some of the stressors that drain a broker’s energy and emotions and ways to handle them.

The need for mortgage brokers to separate themselves from the competition has never been greater. This is especially true when you consider the reduction in lending sources, the decrease in product offerings and the shrinking universe of qualified borrowers.

More than anything else, mortgage professionals ask me where they can get more leads. The answer is referral selling, the least-used marketing method in our business. There are four primary criteria to consider before ask for referrals.

One of the biggest mistakes mortgage professionals make is imposing their opinions on their clients. Brokers try to provide compelling reasons for why borrowers should take the loan, trust their advice and not buy elsewhere. In other words, they try to get them to act without providing choice.

Whether you are in sales or management in the mortgage business, the level of your knowledge is one of the most-important aspects of your success. To build your knowledge, you must educate yourself continually. This is a vital component to achieving excellence in sales and leadership.

Everything we do should be centered on ethical practices and customer-centric philosophies. Our work should be based on honesty and high moral standards, aimed at helping borrowers achieve financial freedom and improve their financial situations.

For professionals, particularly in the mortgage industry, it’s almost impossible to solve something that we don’t understand. By listening to your clients, however, you can learn their problems and take steps to finding a solution.

To achieve excellence in sales, you must start with an effective marketing plan. Without enough lead prospects, success is simply impossible. Even more important than the quantity of lead prospects is their quality. The key is to find the right combination of both.

If you are going to commit to being excellent at what you do, then you must first make a commitment to train yourself daily to be the best you can possibly be by following the four R’s of continual improvement: researching, reviewing, role-playing and repetition.

A common mistake I see with salespeople and managers is that they don’t ask enough of themselves or their employees. Early in my career, I learned an invaluable truth: you only get from your employees what you ask of your employees—and the more you ask, the more you get.

A simple credo to live by is “consistent excellence.” It might seem impossible. But by establishing this high expectation from the start, you never have to settle for low performance or mediocrity. As salespeople, this is the only level of expectation that will get you where you want to be in life.

To free up some personal time, you need to get more done in fewer hours. To accomplish this, start shifting your focus toward priorities that directly lead to success—personal and professional—and away from activities that don’t.

There are certain traits and habits that are key to being a top producer. Understanding and adopting these traits can help you achieve success during these challenging times and to cultivate a dynamic sales personality.

In today’s tumultuous mortgage market, everyone is looking for that secret marketing approach that will set them apart from everyone else. Well, here’s a news flash: There is no “secret” approach. The key to marketing success is not in looking for new ways to market. Rather, it is in being exceptional at ways that are already proven.