2 Cents From The No.1 Loan Officer

Dear lenders, friends and people who don’t know what to do when everybody is singing happy birthday to them.

Grab your seat, courtesy of The Loan Originators Club, the newsletter that gives you epic LO stories to get your lending juices flowing.

Today, I’m talking about a guy who:

• Is the number one loan originator in the country

• Has originated $9 billion in loans for over 40k units

• Became a lender by accident

• Joined the industry when it was easiest to fail

• Is a sucker for Nike shoes

At first, I raised your eyebrows… now I have your attention.

Meet Shant Banosian.

The more I dig into his story, the more I start to think that maybe, just maybe, he was bred in a lab for this specific career. I mean, as a kid, he was looking at the real estate section in magazines when you and I were fighting for you-know-what.

Phase 1: Hitting the Road

Shant took an interest in the lending space in 2003 as a property manager working for Champion Mortgage. Like most of us, he was set on establishing his skin in the game fast.

He had it easy.

Just kidding, he had a f*cking hard time.

No sooner had he settled in than the great 2007 recession hit. The housing market was so battered, you had better luck trying NBA. He worked at 3 different mortgage companies between ‘07 and ‘08, just trying to survive.

He stuck through the storm. Shant was always available to realtors when everyone else had gone out of business.

Talking about hitting the road, he had to commute every week from Massachusetts to New Jersey, book a hotel for the week, for three months before they let him open his branch.

The Lesson? Commute 280 miles at the start of your career.

Phase 2: The Traction

It’s hard to believe that he facilitated only $9 million in sales in his first year, didn’t take a paycheck for six months, but still won. How? With the network he had created, he was already a top producer… kind of.

A few years down the line, he was already in the $50 million-plus league, yet he still felt like he had a long way to go. Humbled by the fact that some of his friends were doing 8x his numbers.

These top LOs really do fly, that or they are nuts.

Being a really hard worker, topping that with consistency, a team with the toughest skin in the game, and you understand why his team originated $110 million in May this year.
Fun fact: they are on track to do a billion dollars in 2024.

Here’s Shant’s 2 Cents on:

#1 Hiring

You are so capped as a person, you need to get people that are better than you. You’ll work less, make more, or both. The former takes longer.

Hire gradually, with necessity, and as the team grows.

Train your team and make them accountable for everything you taught them.

#2 Database Outreach

From a team that had 900 applications from database outreach last year alone, it should be a no-brainer recommendation for anyone.

You don’t need the happy birthday BS. You could, but tread lightly on that. “Nobody is doing business with you because you told them happy birthday.”

His approach? He sends daily emails to clients, on everything he's posted on socials and curated emails based on what he has seen in the market.

Did I mention he is a sneakerhead?

• He has a collection of sneakers, 60 to be exact.

• Teens drop their jaws when they see him randomly rocking collectibles.

I’ll wind up with his favorite quote:

“You educate, you attract, you inform, you motivate.”

Sexy LOs share! Whisper us to a friend.

P.S. If you are a Coach and enjoy my dance with words, you can leverage my pen and other skills to grow your personal brand here. Only 3 slots available.