Being a source of strength and going the extra mile for her referral partners led this top originator to closing $161 million in 2019
The answer is simple. More calls = more deals.
Lauren Maxwell joined Cross Country Mortgage almost two years ago. Since then, she’s grown her team and steadily scaled her business to maintain her loan volume and continue to provide unwavering customer service to her borrowers and referral partners. Before her move, Maxwell said she had always been the best, and now at Cross Country, she is surrounded by other originators that can help her continue to grow.
“Being a part of a company with so many successful originators has been a gift,” she said. “I started looking for who were the top producers and asked them to share with me the different ways they did business, so I could learn from them.”
Something that always stuck with her was advice from one of her peers. He said doing business over the phone is always going to allow for a greater connection compared to online. So that’s what she did. In 2019, she hired an assistant to help her increase her call volume. Turns out over half of her clients prefer filling out an application over the phone versus doing it online, contributing to her dynamite $161 million in closed loans last year. Another key reason Maxwell is able to continue growing her business is the fact that loan size doesn’t matter to her.
“I’m not money motivated and that’s a big difference between me and the next person,” she said. “I’ll do a $70,000 manufactured home and a $600,000 condo and it’s no difference to me. I work in quantity.”
Having support from Cross Country Mortgage has also been a stepping-stone to her growth. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Maxwell had to make a lot of changes to her work structure, but unlike many other mortgage companies, Cross Country’s credit score requirements have stayed the same.
“We are busier than ever because I can still do loans that others can’t. People are being turned away from other companies are coming to us,” she said.
Maxwell has been in the mortgage industry for almost 34 years, and she says she works just as hard as the day she started, if not harder. With the tighter restrictions and guidelines, the job has only gotten more difficult.
“I’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices; I don’t leave work to go on extended vacations, or take breaks after I’ve had a good month,” she said. “I am your rock and my clients and referral partners know they can depend on me.”
Even though Maxwell wasn’t home for every bedtime, she still prioritized time with her three children and instilled in them the power of hard work and discipline, no matter their chosen career path. Her son however, ended up choosing to follow in her footsteps.
“I was happy he wanted to be part of my business, but he knew from the beginning there would be no special treatment and I wasn’t afraid to fire him,” she said. “He started out like anyone else, but I told him if he was willing to put in the time and effort, I’m happy to have him grow in the business.”
Maxwell says he started at the very bottom and worked his way up to running her whole disclosure department. Her best piece of advice to her son, and to all young mortgage professionals looking to grow in the industry: be consistent, learn fast, and don’t give advice to people when you aren’t sure.
