Mortgage executive on how he transforms relationships into a steady stream of business
The mark of a true industry leader lies in their ability to continually adapt, innovate, and empower others. Baret Kechian (pictured) has not only risen to the ranks of a top originator and branch manager at loanDepot but has also achieved remarkable certifications as a mortgage coach, mortgage advisor, certified renovation specialist, and divorce lending professional.
In this Q&A interview, Kechian unveils the secrets behind his remarkable achievements, shedding light on the methods he employed to construct a thriving enterprise and his ambitious goals for the future. Join us as we delve into the mind of a true industry visionary and discover the blueprint for building a mortgage business that stands the test of time.
Mortgage Professional America: Can you tell us about your mortgage journey? How did you come into the industry?
Baret Kechian: I got into the business 27 years ago, right after graduating from college. To be honest, it was one of the few offers I had at the time. The mortgage company I joined, loanDepot, offered about $1,000 more in salary than an insurance company did, and I said, 'Alright, guess this is it. I don't have to go to New York City, and I'm going to give this a shot.'
I learned most of the mortgage business on the job. I graduated from Rutgers and didn't know a thing about a mortgage, so almost everything I learned was at work from the beginning. And it was a business that worked for me. I liked working with people. I'd always done sales and stuff when I had college jobs and things like that. It was always either telemarketing or something along those lines. I had all those types of work, so it seemed like a natural fit, and I found working with people easy, like being able to explain things. People were easy to understand, and it kind of grew from there.
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Last year, I hired a manager. He takes care of our processes and operations, so he's way better than I am. That whole thing is that I wasn't hiring somebody to get more production. It was just hiring somebody to ensure I don't get screwed up, because if I get screwed up, everything else goes to hell. We don't get the opportunities to do the refinances that are so big. And now, all of a sudden, we have a manager. He's taking care of everything. I'm actually working on how to make it better every day now instead of just trying to catch up.
MPA: What methods do you primarily use to generate business, and how do you support and manage your team in the process?
BK: Sometimes you're just driving, and that's not good. You need to kind of know what's going on. And so having everybody watching and we didn't put systems in for the whole branch, I take most of my time managing my team. As a branch manager, I'm probably not the RAH branch manager, but it's still like I'm somebody they can go to because they know I'm also in it with them.
Therefore, if they need help on a program or a situation or scenario, they know I'm not on the golf course. I'm still fully engaged. So, I think that's where I can help the team. But we've also like expanded to really help the rest of the branch in that we're sharing everything. We have a weekly email that we send out to the group. I send them the exact email I sent out to my Realtors every week to update them. So, if they want to copy, they can too. Like they can send something similar, trying to help them. Build their business at the same time."
And you're saying referrals are the number one method of getting business? With your new operations manager now looking at data and systems, are you looking at your website, social media, and other areas of marketing?
We have a little presence on social media. I know I'm not there yet. It's almost like you have just enough to know that you're there, but I know that's not my main source. I think, luckily, we're in an area where the reputation and the fact that you can get deals done is really important, especially because… not everyone can, and that's helped us a lot, and it's all word of mouth for us between, attorneys, real estate agents, and things like that.
We have some marketing things that we do with people. But overall, that's more to enhance both our opportunities in front of people. But we’re not buying leads. I know loanDepot provides some because they have so many people calling on their website. My team and I don't really participate much in that because we're already so busy with the stuff coming in.
Even now, we're doing just as much work as we did. It's just that there are not as many deals closing simply because of the lack of inventory and lots of competition for properties. Obviously, some people may have gotten a little scared off by the interest rates lately, but we're doing the same amount of pre-approvals we always did, just there's no refi activity, and there are not as many closings that come out of those things pre-approval.
MPA: What are your goals over the next year or so?
BK: My biggest goal next year is to keep picking up market share. That's what we've done the last two years because if we keep bringing value, we're not the type to ask for business. So that it's coming, and they know that every time we're trying to reach out to people, it's to provide some sort of value and give them information. 'Hey, by the way, do you know about this condo? We just did a loan there and just want to let you know this exists in case you pick up a list.' Just positive stuff that will help them.
I feel like that always comes back in the end because you become that expert in the market that they all turn to. And I think that we do have that reputation as the expert in Hoboken, so there's a question they're calling me. That's good that you have that. We don't ever sacrifice it. Our reputation means everything to us, so that's always been our number one priority, and just making sure our clients are always well taken care of.
I think the biggest goal I have, I guess further out, would be [that] I'd love for the branch to be able to run without me. Meaning that if you know it's running equally efficiently, things are happening, nothing is going wrong, and you're not even there. That means you put together a great team and a great business, and I want to test that for longer periods of time to see how it works.
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I went away for 10 days this year. My team handled everything. I didn't even take my phone with me, my business phone. I left it here with one of the guys so they can answer the text messages and stuff, and not a single negative thing happened, so that's all you can hope for: that you're building something strong enough that it works without you. So, when you're there, you can really just enhance it as opposed to being the constant person doing it. Six of us are licensed to originate, and then I have one unlicensed assistant and one other assistant that helps out many more people than just me.
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