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[caption id="attachment_9654" align="alignright" width="150"] Dave Hershman[/caption]

Dave: I previously wrote about Ben's willingness to improve, which starts with his search to uncover his weaknesses. This may entail a wide search in which he probes deeply. If you are really interested in changing your results, you must enlist everyone you know in helping you to make these changes. For example, how do your files stack up against your peers? Do processors fight to handle your business, or do they run and hide when you bring a deal in the door?

We have been speaking about how you must improve yourself if you are going to improve your results. The key is knowing where to improve. But, knowing is only half the battle. If you don't implement a plan for improvement, then your deficiency will continue to hamper your efforts at success. Thus, the question becomes: how do you set up a plan? What are you going to have to change in order to achieve the progress towards the results you want to achieve?

Like any goal, you must start at the beginning. As the Chinese saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. If you don't take that first step, you will never get anywhere. You also need to be specific. A general statement such as "I am going to work harder" is not enough. How much harder? How many extra hours will this equate to? What actions are you going to eliminate so that you are going to have the time to work harder?

For example, you might start your workday 90 minutes earlier. You have just added 7.5 to 10 hours per week. What are you going to do during this time? What time-wasters are you going to avoid? How are you going to measure whether you are getting your bang for the buck for these hours? The hours themselves will not bring success—it is specifically what you do with these hours.

Whatever your need to improve, there has to be a specific plan implemented and it must be followed step-by-step on your journey to success. Finally, do not go it alone. Get with a mentor, buddy or accountability partner to make sure you stay on track.

Dave Hershman is Senior VP of Sales of Weichert Financial and a top author in the mortgage industry. He has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School. His site is www.OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..