Mary Vaca, a loan officer at Movement Mortgage in South Carolina, is no stranger to success. In fact, she achieved President’s Club level status ($25M+) in just her second full year.
Vaca loves what she does — and not only because she gets to make people’s dreams come true. She also enjoys the improved flexibility she now gets in her work.
“I became a loan officer after spending 15 years in corporate America,” she said. “I realized I needed something different to suit my lifestyle. I really wanted more flexibility in my day, rather than being tied to a desk 24-7.”
In large part, Vaca’s rapid success can be attributed to her steadfast commitment to her customers. “I wanted to help people achieve the dream of buying a home. It’s fun to do something that is tangible and delivers results from day one.”
But dedication can only get loan officers so far, especially when they’re tethered to a desk and swamped with manual, paper-based processes.
There are three additional elements that have influenced Vaca’s success: efficiency, productivity, and the delivery of great experiences. Get a closer look at the tools and tactics behind Vaca’s thriving business as we dive into these three factors.
Exploring Vaca’s three keys to success
Vaca and the wider team at Movement Mortgage have optimized their efficiency and productivity in service of delivering great customer experiences. See how they’ve been able to unlock these capabilities — with a helping hand from technology.
1. Digital accessibility improves efficiency
Historically, Mary and the team at Movement Mortgage had been held back from doing their work efficiently.
“I found it difficult to access the data I needed quickly,” Vaca said. “Oftentimes we’d run into downtime on our servers with our LOS, and I couldn’t get into it. Even our mobile solutions weren’t fully integrated with our LOS, so two systems weren’t always talking to each other. As a result, the data I had wasn’t always necessarily the latest and greatest.”
That’s why they chose to introduce Blend Mortgage.
“Today, by having Blend mobile, coupled with the application itself, I know that everything I’m looking at is a 360 degree view of data and it’s real time,” Vaca said. “So, before, I was at the mercy of whether our LOS was working properly, whether or not it had too many users on it and was taking too long to load.
I don’t run into any of that latency anymore because everything I need is web-based and it’s available in Blend. I don’t even have to visit my LOS to get the information I need. I really value the flexibility I’ve now achieved. I certainly could not do this job if I didn’t have Blend’s platform available to me.”
2. More efficiency leads to greater productivity
With the efficiency benefits that come with Blend Mortgage, Vaca is able to become far more productive. Not only can she work from anywhere, anytime, but she can also close quickly and effectively.
“Having technology with me, no matter where I go, is huge,” she said. “I can work virtually from home, from a coffee shop, even in the car while I’m waiting for the kids to finish school.
This improved productivity is what Vaca believes sets her apart.
“Getting back to people in a timely manner truly is the key to this business,” Vaca said. “Having the right tools to be able to do that helps you be the best loan officer at the end of the day.”
3. Better access to information helps Vaca deliver a great customer experience
Now that Vaca now has information available at her fingertips, she’s able to deliver an improved customer experience. That’s because customers benefit from faster response times, more personalized support, and a faster loan cycle.
She’s also able to strengthen her relationship with referral partners in the real estate community and beyond.
“I can deliver better service, not only for my clients, but for the realtor community,” Vaca said. “They know I can give them the information they need on the fly. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or what day of the week it is, I’ve got it in my hands, so that’s been a total game changer for me and has allowed me to really succeed in this business in a fairly short amount of time.”
What Vaca’s story tells us about how to be a successful mortgage LO
Ultimately, Vaca believes that Blend’s tools help her to be the best LO she can possibly be. “To stand out as a LO you need to be a good communicator, be available, and to give great customer service,” Vaca said. “The number one reason why people fail at the job is because they are unable to do these things.”
Vaca isn’t alone in her experience with these tools. Blend engaged Marketwise Advisors to conduct a survey of our customers¹. Respondents reported:
- Shaving an average 11.9 hours of work from each loan
- Shortening the loan cycle by 7.3 days
- Increasing their closed loan volume by an average of 1,379 loans per year
“To be able to give people answers when they want them, and to access the data when they need it, is key. And by having Blend in my pocket, I can do exactly that,” Vaca said.
¹The results of this survey are based on an independent study performed by Marketwise. All data in this report was obtained from customers who used Blend Mortgage as part of their origination process. Individual results may vary.
All data, reports and analytics are provided for informational purposes only. Individual results will vary. Both MarketWise Advisors, LLC and Blend Labs disclaim any liability and provide no warranty or representations as to performance or accuracy of the data.