Many mortgage sales professionals' business plans fail because they lack clarity, are not easily actionable, and are not properly designed to align with the life, habits, and character of the sales pro, notes a sales trainer.

"Wishing for great sales without consistent focused action, measurement, adjustment, and skill development will ultimately create mediocrity," said Ron Vaimberg, a trainer and coach who works with originators to increase their sales.

"If you want to take complete control over your sales and financial future, then you must be willing to do what the average or poor sales people will never do," said Vaimberg, who is also the founder of Ron Vaimberg International.  "Your success is not driven by the economy. It is driven by what you are willing to give of yourself to be the best at your chosen profession--selling."

Vaimberg teaches seven essential that every business plan needs to contain to be clear, actionable, and inspiring--and most important--lead to originating more loans.

1. Commitment to Your Income Goal. Most sales professionals write their 'dream' number. This is the number that they hope to achieve, but do not necessarily believe in. The only way to be crystal clear on what an income goal really is to answer: "What am I absolutely committed to earning in the next 12 months?
2. Clarity on your "Why." Goals without a driving force behind them are meaningless. The why is the force that pushes originators forward every day. It must be clear, inspire originators to act, and have longevity so there is no waning from the chosen path.
3. Know Your Numbers. The more the numbers are known, the more predictable business growth will be. To succeed in sales requires knowing the following: How many hours an originator spends prospecting daily, and the number of leads he generates. Also, an originator needs to know the number of leads converted to an active transaction, and the percentage of transactions that result in a final sale or closing. Understanding your numbers helps identify skills the originator needs to improve.
4. Strategy for Growth. Most sales professionals generalize their growth strategy. For example, they might say "I need to make more sales calls." Having a clearly defined strategy is critical. Define who to target, where  to prospect, and where business growth will come from.
5. Defined Tactics of Execution. Once a strategy is in place, define the specific actions that will be taken. For example, if the strategy is to network at industry events, then define tactics that maximize results.
6. Skills Necessary for Plan Execution. To get the most out of every action requires an honest self-evaluation. Reflect on the skills needed to improve to ensure the most effective execution. Then create a plan for education and mastery of those areas. It is a process of growth, so don't expect to master all the areas at once. Here's the good news: Work to improve, brings immediate positive results.
7. Scheduling and Time Alignment. This final step determines if the plan stands a chance: Ab originator needs to calculate the time needed and compare it to the number of hours he is willing to put toward working his plan.

These steps can help sales professionals gain real clarity, but it is critical that deliberate action is taken to help ensure that plans laid out in the business plan are attained.

After spending more than 20 years in the Navy and reserves, Ken Bates retired from the service in 2014. Today he serves as the Veterans Administration chairman for NAMB and is a passionate believer that our veterans have earned their VA benefits and works to ensure they receive them.

[caption id="attachment_7246" align="alignleft" width="150"] Ken Bates[/caption]

ML spoke with Bates, founder and branch manager of San Diego-based Military Home Loans, about new legislation in Congress that would affect VA loans if it were passed.

Is it possible that VA loan limits could be eliminated?

Yes, legislation in the House of Representatives (HR-815) would eliminate VA loan limits.  If that happened, veterans that are entitled, could receive 100% financing without county limits, meaning they could buy a $2 million home with no money down. Current VA county limits are set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s limits, which today are capped at $679,650. There are parts of the country, where the county limits place housing beyond their reach because they live in a high-cost area.

Could you give some examples?

For example, in San Francisco the median home price is $1.5 million.  A starter two-bedroom, two-bath house, located in a less-desirable neighborhood, costs more than $800,000. Over 25,000 veterans live in San Francisco, but there are only 206 active VA loans there. In contrast, in nearby San Joaquin county there are just over 35,000 veterans, but they have more than 3,400 active VA loans.

What would the effect be on veterans?

For veterans in high-cost areas, the impact could be massive. That’s especially true in the 66 counties in 12 states that saw their maximum entitlement slashed in 2015. Over 1.75 million veterans, 8 percent of all veterans, live in those counties and will have increased access to their VA benefit thanks to this bill.

California has 11 super high-cost counties with more than 680,000 veterans living there, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.

With the current rule, crossing a county line can mean a significant decrease in buying power: A veteran who's buying near Pomona, needs to know if the home's in Los Angeles County ($679,650 limit) or San Bernardino County ($453,100 limit). With this change, that same veteran wouldn’t need to worry about the county he's  in, and could focus on other more critical matters to his family.

A survey of down payment affordability, by state, showed that average down payment as a percentage of the purchase priced didn’t change in the third quarter.

"The average down payment on a U.S. home fell in the third quarter, though down payments as a percentage of purchase price remained about the same," said Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at LendingTree, and the firm that produced the survey. "We compare the average down payment percentages and amounts for conventional 30-year, fixed-rate purchase mortgage offers across the country.”

Average down payment percentages for conventional 30-year, fixed-rate purchase mortgage offers stayed about the same from the second quarter to the third quarter, rising 0.03 percentage points (18.02 percent to 18.05 percent). At the same time, average down payment amounts decreased nearly 10 percent in the third quarter, falling from $52,480 to $47,265. The average loan amount offered to potential homebuyers fell around $28,000 from $285,903 in Q2 to $257,749 in Q3.

Kapfidze breaks down how these findings impact those looking to buy a home, sell the one they're currently in or stay where they are:

Homebuyers

The data shows, the average down payment for a home is decreasing and loan amounts fell as well, which means homebuyers because they will need to save less money for the down payment. For borrowers that the down payment was a stumbling block, now might be an ideal time to review options.

Home Sellers

Recent data shows that home prices are not increasing as fast as they have been over the past few years. As a result, now is a good time to sell, because waiting, if the trend continues, could cost the homeowner money.

Staying in the Home

If home prices begin to fall, then homeowners might want to reconsider refinancing or taking out a home equity loan. Or if they plan on using their home as a retirement asset, then knowing its value helps make planning more accurate.

The lowest average down payments, by percentage

Alaska

Average down payment percentage: 15.41%
Average offered down payment: $36,476
Average offered loan amount: $236,643

West Virginia

Average down payment percentage: 15.44%
Average offered down payment: $21,415
Average offered loan amount: $138,696

Mississippi

Average down payment percentage: 15.78%
Average offered down payment: $22,964
Average offered loan amount: $145,523

The lowest average down payments, by amount

West Virginia

Average down payment percentage: 15.44%
Average offered down payment: $21,415
Average offered loan amount: $138,696

Arkansas

Average down payment percentage: 15.90%
Average offered down payment: $21,707
Average offered loan amount: $136,505

South Dakota

Average down payment percentage: 18.38%
Average offered down payment: $22,149
Average offered loan amount: $120,529

The highest average down payments, by percentage

California

Average down payment percentage: 21.44%
Average offered down payment: $97,809
Average offered loan amount: $454,146

Hawaii

Average down payment percentage: 21.32%
Average offered down payment: $69,923
Average offered loan amount: $328,046

Delaware

Average down payment percentage: 21.29%
Average offered down payment: $51,678
Average offered loan amount: $242,735

The highest average down payments, by amount

California:

Average down payment percentage: 22.44%
Average offered down payment: $97,809
Average offered loan amount: $456,146

Washington, D.C.

Average down payment percentage: 19.84%
Average offered down payment: $91,397
Average offered loan amount: $460,685

New York

Average down payment percentage: 19.85%
Average offered down payment: $90,318
Average offered loan amount: $454,968