Atlanta-based Symmetry Lending, a home equity line of credit specialist, has implemented MortgageFlex Systems’ MortgageFlexONE loan origination system.

Symmetry, a registered credit union service organization, sought a system that could support their commitment to service, speed, and simplicity.

[caption id="attachment_11293" align="alignleft" width="175"] David MacInnis[/caption]

“Our commitment to the loan origination community, as well as our lender partners, required an end-to-end system with ultimate flexibility,” said David MacInnis, president of Symmetry Lending. “In our search for a technology partner, MortgageFlex was a clear leader in understanding and embracing our unwavering commitment to bring service, speed, and simplicity to an otherwise complex business. We look forward to working with MortgageFlex as we take our technology to an even higher level in 2019.”

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After evaluating several systems, Symmetry Lending found MortgageFlexONE to be the most advanced loan origination system for HELOCs and the best suited to meet their needs. MortgageFlex Systems focused on automatic workflow and real-time operations.

MortgageFlexONE’s flexible design allows Symmetry to tailor the solution to meet their requirements for data consistency, and accuracy. Symmetry deployed MortgageFlex’s new advanced system and proven quick deployment method to get everything done simply and timely.

“Symmetry’s business model provided some unique challenges,” said Craig Bechtle, COO of MortgageFlex Systems. “But we were confident in the technology and the team and, in the end, it was a smooth deployment. The flexibility in the product enabled the implementation team to easily address the unique business needs.”

Goodmortgage, the direct to consumer division of First Guaranty Mortgage Corp., and Blend have entered into a partnership with the aim of building a more intuitive online mortgage process.

"FGMC believes in thinking outside the box and is thrilled to embark on this journey to improve the digital mortgage experience for our Goodmortgage borrowers and mortgage loan officers," said Joe Hamilton, chief information officer at FGMC. "We are excited to begin our partnership with Blend, not only to provide our consumers with an improved loan experience, but also to build efficiencies and cost reductions that will translate into savings for the borrower."

Goodmortgage's plans to create solutions that are personalized to the borrower and help them to reach their homeownership goals.

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Blend is an online and mobile-based platform that’s designed to make the lending process easier, quicker, and more transparent for borrowers and loan officers. It is designed to simplify many of the complexities of the mortgage process for borrowers and loan teams.

[caption id="attachment_11270" align="alignleft" width="300"] Kneafsey: The partnership with Goodmortgage is designed to drive efficiency.[/caption]

With its intelligent flow of information and ability to connect the loan officer and the borrower, Blend allows loan officers to meet the needs of borrowers while delivering meticulous and timely results.

Also, it has developed a workflow that gathers a more complete and accurate financial profile of prospective borrowers that accesses the most updated and factual information while cutting down on paperwork and loan-approval timelines.

"Blend's goal is to create a more intelligent, data-driven lending ecosystem where consumers can get approvals in one tap," said Brian Kneafsey, head of client operations for Blend. "Partnering with innovative lenders like FGMC allows us to work together to provide a user experience that borrowers love, while driving major efficiency on the lender side."

By Pat Sherlock

For those unfamiliar with the Dunning-Kruger Effect, it is a psychological phenomenon where certain individuals have a cognitive bias that causes them to over-estimate their abilities--because they can't grasp what they don't know.

In simple terms, these people think they are smarter than they really are.

In mortgage banking, DKE individuals can be frustrating to manage because they are closed-minded when it comes to making changes in their sales models that would enable them to be more successful.

In my recent conversations with experienced mortgage executives, many were in disbelief that their originators didn't want to improve their selling performance by learning something new. Why wouldn't an individual or a group not want to do better? It seems incomprehensible.

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Although much has been written about this topic, current research in psychology has shed new light on it. Carol Dweck, a Stanford University professor, writes in her best-seller "MindSet: The New Psychology of Success" that success is a mental choice made early in life based on how an individual approaches new experiences.

According to Dweck, the good news is that mindsets can be changed. She notes that a fixed mindset is based on fear of failing. Conversely, individuals with a growth mindset are willing to learn and take action. If they fail, they don't take it personally.

[caption id="attachment_9789" align="alignleft" width="300"] Pat Sherlock[/caption]

Individuals with a fixed mindset have an internal dialogue that has them constantly judging themselves in a negative manner. As a result, learning something new presents a risk to their mental state and causes them to feel that if they don't understand what they are learning quickly, or it doesn't come to them easily, they are losers.

As a result, they avoid any circumstances that create this experience of feeling like a fraud.

As a sales trainer, I often see companies putting in a training class for fixed mindset sales professionals that will never properly correct the issues at hand. DKE sales professionals require personal attention by a professional coach to address their underlying problems. Even better, I advise my clients to determine during the interview process whether a sales candidate has a growth mindset before the individual is hired.

This made me think, is it even possible to have a sales organization comprised of fixed mindset individuals Where the environment is such that the sales organization does not accept or encourage individuals to learn and to fail? Where changing your selling techniques is not encouraged or invested in?

The simple answer is yes. I certainly see mortgage groups that are stuck in this holding pattern. They have chosen to stay the course while everything around them is undergoing dramatic change. They make minor adjustments to the group's practices but avoiding making any substantial changes. A perfect example is companies whose policies on social media marketing for their originators do not reflect today's selling methods. They resist social media like the plague and do not recognize that communication tools have changed.

Another example of stagnant thinking is when a company fails to prioritize continuing education and learning new selling skills. I have even seen companies boast to potential sales candidates that they don't have to attend any training, as if that were a good strategy! Their pitch is join them and originate loans, and we won't bother you by asking you to get better and improve your selling habits.

Learning something new by definition requires failing.

No one gets a skill right the first time when putting new learning into practice. As Michael Jordan has often said, the reason for his success was that he kept shooting baskets even when he was missing them initially in a game. He had the mindset to not take failing personally.

I think selling and sports share many of the same characteristics. Both disciplines ask individuals what behaviors they will deploy: Will they have a growth or fixed mindset? Both selling and sports require a commitment to changing and learning in order to win. Staying the same is not an option, even if the individual has been successful in the past.

With the decline of interest rates last week, mortgage bankers will be tested again to see if they have learned anything from the refinance years. At the company level, will the industry hire more originators to add warm bodies or will they chart a better strategy with something new and different? Will originators say they are too busy to learn new sales strategies and improve their results? Will they make social media part of their prospecting efforts even when their pipelines are full of refinancing volume?

In my view, DKE sales professionals won't survive long-term in our world of constant change. This is the ultimate quandary for every company and originator: Are they operating with a fixed-mindset or embracing a growth mindset?

About the Author: Pat Sherlock is the founder of QFS Sales Solutions, an organization that help sales organizations improve their sales talent management and performance. For more information, visit https://patsherlock.com