Wherever we can, we automate the automatable. If we didn’t, how could we credibly sell an automation tool?

So, you’re in the mortgage business and looking for the perfect solution to level up your game. The question is: customizable or configurable? Now, don’t let these words fool you—they may sound similar, but they’re worlds apart.

CEO Jim Paolino reflects on ten years in business.

It’s been said once or twice that the mortgage industry tends to “eat its young,” when it comes to development and mentorship. There’s not enough emphasis on recruiting or, especially, developing the next generation of thought leaders.

I remain optimistic that there are better times just around the corner. We have yet to experience a market downturn that wasn’t followed at some point by a rebound. But after a couple of quarters of depressed volume, widespread layoffs, and an overall conversation centered on doom and gloom, it is a little exhausting.

The first milestone in sending a direct marketing email is, of course, to get the reader’s attention. Mission accomplished. But small victories don’t always lead to larger victories. The main point of any marketing email, for the most part, is to turn the unaware into the aware and get people to buy more of your stuff, eventually.

There are any number of title agencies, mortgage companies or even appraisal management firms that have, rather than seeking out the right fit (or, sometimes, in the absence of any useful technology for their needs), have created their own.

Babar and I had a lot of fun digging into what the word “automation” really means. And I love his definition: “If you left the office and turned off the lights, everything should keep working as-is.”

Think about how Chat GPT-like technology could help us in the mortgage industry, especially with one of my favorite targets, the borrower experience.