It’s impossible to know when a turnaround in the mortgage industry will happen, but I can guarantee it is going to happen.

I think the real issue lies in the matter of setting expectations. Many times, especially in burnout cultures, we’re told one thing but quickly learn there are “unspoken expectations.”

More than occasionally, we all fail to get the result we want. We come up short. We make mistakes. And it’s here that we can truly take our lessons and develop judgement.

It’s time to take our industry’s conversation du jour beyond current market conditions. We’ve done that enough.

Saying “yes” to every last request doesn’t just hold the potential to strain resources. It also threatens to take a brand off of its mission, possibly even diluting what it does best.

I’d like to talk a bit about the etiquette of job seeking. I’m pretty particular about what I look for when I’m seeking new team members. Especially when it comes to consumer or client facing positions or sales people.

While market conditions may tamp down travel in 2023, there will still be onsite conferences, seminars and conventions. So I ask the question again, since it seems more than a few of us are asking it: why do we spend large amounts of money to attend conferences?

Now is a great time to rethink how well we pool resources and collaborate for mutual benefit. Especially in markets like this, our tendency is to cut expenses and then cut some more. While that’s a cry for even better use of technology, it’s also a great reason to explore strategic partnerships and scaled resources.

One of the best ways to gauge the true priority a company gives to client service is to deal with that company when times are good. Really good, in fact. As in, historic refinance origination volume good.