President sheds light on the qualities that define a top-tier mortgage professional
People skills aren’t just a buzzword in the mortgage industry; it’s the cornerstone of success. As Abe Bergman puts it, being a “people person” is non-negotiable.
This innate ability to initiate and nurture relationships sets the stage for a thriving career in this field, according to Bergman, who serves as president of commercial mortgage brokerage Eastern Union.
“[Mortgage professionals] have to be ‘people people’. They must have the gift of gab, and they have to talk,” Bergman said during a podcast interview with MPA Talk. “One example is, if you walk into an event and you’re the odd person out, and you don’t know anyone at the table, are you the kind of person who just sits there and looks at your phone, or are you gonna have made conversations with people sitting around the table?
“If you’re the kind of person who will introduce yourself and start a conversation, then you probably could be successful at being a mortgage professional.”
Read next: Eastern Union on state of the commercial market
Bergman also highlighted the importance of genuinely caring for clients, believing that “it’s about creating relationships that last for a long time.” This means sometimes directing clients away from your services when a better alternative is available.
“When your client has a better alternative than using you and paying you a fee, you should be telling the client [to] go with a better alternative,” he said. “So, I think those are probably the two key points that somebody needs to be successful. It’s being a people person and also caring about servicing your client and really putting your needs first.”
Stay updated with the freshest mortgage news. Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox, and always be the first to know by subscribing to our FREE daily newsletter.
