Dale Vermillion never passes up on an opportunity to positively impact other people’s careers. A sought-after keynote speaker, Vermillion has helped a million mortgage professionals achieve their definition of success. 

Before he became the internationally recognized powerhouse he is today, Vermillion was at the helm of the mortgage firm Sears Consumer Finance back in 1992. Despite landing the top spot, he felt something crucial was missing, as he no longer had the time to do the sales training he enjoyed. So, Vermillion searched for an industry-specific sales training program, which was nonexistent at that time. 

With decades of sales and coaching experience behind him, Vermillion left the corporate arena and built his own consulting, training and speaking business: Vermillion Consulting. 

The key to his success, he says, is the drive to help mortgage lenders and professionals understand a system to improve profitability, productivity and efficiencies – that and a powerful and ethical approach to sales, customer service and leadership. 

“We built our business and company on our OthersFirst philosophy, which is based on my favorite verse, Philippians 2:3-4: ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in all things, with humility, value others above yourself, looking out for their interest and not your own.’ We apply this to our clients and their customers in everything we do,” he says. 

Since 1995, Vermillion has spoken at over 3,000 conferences and events across the US and is the official trainer for LendingTree University. Through his award-winning Mortgage Champions sales program, he’s trained more than a million mortgage professionals representing over 450 lenders. He is also the author of Navigating the Mortgage Maze (2009), an in-depth guide on how to obtain the best mortgage financing. 

Vermillion was forced to cancel events and quickly transition his business to digital during the pandemic. To his surprise, many of his company’s services improved as a result. 

“I have assembled an incredible team of brilliant millennials who have helped to digitize our training and move our services to a more virtual world to meet the demands of the industry and today’s culture, as well as scale the business nationwide,” he says. 

Vermillion’s 10-year plan is simple: continue impacting companies and consumers on a large scale, while doing keynote speeches and national media spots, and coaching key executives. 

His advice for originators looking to boost their production? “Seek out as much knowledge as you can from individuals who have succeeded in the industry and from companies that teach proven best practices. Build a selling system based on those best practices, and make your customers’ best interest. Remember, success is about people. Network and build a database of everyone you work with to ensure long-term success.”