Ben Anderson is one of the top originators in the country, and his secret is simple: Work harder than the other guy
Ben Anderson is one of the top originators in the country, and his business just keeps getting bigger. Last year, Anderson closed more than 550 loans for almost $216 million in business – a $36 million increase from his 2011 volume. And the secret to his success, he says, is simple: Work harder than the other guy.
“I spend probably 12 to 14 hours a day on the phone,” Anderson said. “I try to make a thousand outbound calls a day. No one can catch me if I’m making 10 times the calls they are. Maybe only one in every 100 or 200 will call me back, but that’s all I need.”
Anderson said there was no mystery to his success – just a willingness to keep his nose to the grindstone.
“Every time I do a loan, I ask the client for five referrals. I’ll call from a phone book, I’ll call from a phone booth, I’ll call from my cell phone,” he said. “I’ll do what most people aren’t willing to do. I don’t feel like I’m above chasing down loans.”
Anderson also warned against resting on one’s laurels; just because you’re ahead of the game, he said, is no guarantee you can’t fall behind.
“Most originators have a great month and a bad month,” he said. “Well, I can’t afford to have a bad month. The minute you start thinking you can, you can’t.
“My idol growing up was (NFL wide receiver) Jerry Rice, who wasn’t the fastest guy in the world – but he never got caught from behind,” Anderson said. “That’s not because he was the fastest – it’s because he was terrified of being caught from behind, so he ran like he was being chased. If you work like your back’s against the wall, you can do amazing things.”
Ben Anderson is one of MPA’s Hot 100 – the movers and shakers who are making waves in the mortgage industry. To find out who else made the list, check out the latest issue of MPA Magazine.
“I spend probably 12 to 14 hours a day on the phone,” Anderson said. “I try to make a thousand outbound calls a day. No one can catch me if I’m making 10 times the calls they are. Maybe only one in every 100 or 200 will call me back, but that’s all I need.”
Anderson said there was no mystery to his success – just a willingness to keep his nose to the grindstone.
“Every time I do a loan, I ask the client for five referrals. I’ll call from a phone book, I’ll call from a phone booth, I’ll call from my cell phone,” he said. “I’ll do what most people aren’t willing to do. I don’t feel like I’m above chasing down loans.”
Anderson also warned against resting on one’s laurels; just because you’re ahead of the game, he said, is no guarantee you can’t fall behind.
“Most originators have a great month and a bad month,” he said. “Well, I can’t afford to have a bad month. The minute you start thinking you can, you can’t.
“My idol growing up was (NFL wide receiver) Jerry Rice, who wasn’t the fastest guy in the world – but he never got caught from behind,” Anderson said. “That’s not because he was the fastest – it’s because he was terrified of being caught from behind, so he ran like he was being chased. If you work like your back’s against the wall, you can do amazing things.”
Ben Anderson is one of MPA’s Hot 100 – the movers and shakers who are making waves in the mortgage industry. To find out who else made the list, check out the latest issue of MPA Magazine.
