Scotsman Guide - July 2009 Commercial Edition

The Case for Coaching
Whether you’re new to the industry or looking to boost your profile, a mentor often helps
By Craig Higdon, president, Excelsion Mortgage

Commercial mortgage lending is not the easiest profession in the world, and it’s not always easy to get started in the business. There are few easily accessible, organized bodies of information about the commercial lending business. The range of potential specializations — from multi-family to special-pur-pose owner-user to tax-credit finance — make the process of getting the right information to new brokers difficult. Thus, breaking into the commercial mortgage business also is filled with many stops, starts, dead-end transactions and failed closings.

But for new and existing brokers, success is attainable; sometimes, you just need someone’s help. Finding a mentor or coach to help you not only in your early days as a broker but also as you take your existing

business to a new level can help you avoid many stumbling blocks.

Coaching is the process of working with
students to remove obstacles that prevent
them from achieving
success. The best ex-
amples of coaching
are found in profes-
sional and amateur
sports. all top athletes
get to the pinnacle of
their games and stay
there with the help
of a coach or coaches.
This concept also has
been applied to busi-
ness at all levels suc-
cessfully — from solo
entrepreneurs to For-
tune 500 executives.
For the commer-
cial lending business,
it’s important to know

what to look for in an effective coach, as well as where to look. Before hiring someone from outside the industry, try to find an industry veteran with whom you can team up or a coaching program specifically designed for commercial originators.

“For the commercial
lending business,
it’s important to
know what to look
for in an effective
coach, as well as
where to look.”

This industry is complex, is subject to daily market forces and involves coordinating multiple participants to make a transaction successful. a coach or program tailored to the industry likely will help you find more success than a general business coach.

When seeking a coach, look for someone who has:

n Commercial origination experience. Working with someone who has been to a loan-closing table only to see the funding blow up at the last minute can give you far more valuable insight than working with someone who has not.

n Good general business experience. even if you work for a large company, as a mortgage broker, you are essentially running your own business. You are responsible for your income, expenses, marketing and operations. if you are a sole practitioner, you already know this. Finding a coach with a similar background can be invaluable.

n Good industry contacts. ideally, you’ll find someone who has good relationships with lenders, service-providers, experts and other mortgage originators. it is a good practice to refer clients to specialists when you have a request for financing that you

don’t handle. referrals often will come back to you from that person, and you’ll feel comfortable knowing that an expert is taking care of your client. Thus, a good, regularly updated contact database is another good coach characteristic.

n Financing or property specialties that match your interests. Working with a coach who knows and understands your desired specialty — be it U.S. Small Business administration loans, retail properties

Continued on Page 28

Craig Higdon is president of Excelsion Mortgage, a direct lender offering commercial, U.S. Small Business Administration 504, multifamily and construction financing. He has more

than 16 years’ experience originating commercial loans and has established educational and networking programs for loan officers seeking to get into or to increase their skills in commercial origination. Find information on these programs and a free report on avoiding common commercial origination mistakes at www. CommercialLoanCoach.com. Reach Higdon at CraigH@CommercialLoanCoach.com.

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