For this week’s episode of LLL, Jim chats with Leora Ruzin, Founder of Ruzin Creative, to talk about the mortgage industry, hiring and firing cycles, and why those are so unnecessary.

Content Marketing

In a tough market where lots of layoffs happened last year, and the spring market isn’t exactly rocking everyone’s world, content marketing is something lots of loan officers are turning to. With content marketing, you can generate new leads, leverage creativity, and make sales. Right?

Well, it depends. Is it the right kind of content? Leora is big on asking the tough questions: is the content too long? Too short? Is it targeted to the right audience?

Are you a loan officer trying to get leads on LinkedIn? In that case, you should probably stop. LinkedIn is best for getting referral partners, not borrowers. Try Instagram or TikTok—but don’t post 5-minute long videos. Keep it short and quick. Know your platforms. Know your audience.

Layoffs

The mortgage industry isn’t looking its best lately. Lots of people have compared this downturn to 2008, but Leora insists it’s extremely different. Whereas we were responsible for the Great Recession, we were part of the solution during the pandemic. We helped keep things going during total lockdown. Now, lots of companies that made tons of money in 2021 and 2022—on the backs of loan officers trying to be creative and stay afloat—are slashing their workforce left and right. We all knew what was coming on the other end of the refi boom. And yet…

Hire/Fire Cycles

Why not avoid unnecessary layoffs altogether? Sure, there will come a time when you have to let some people go, but the mortgage industry has a terrible habit—especially with large companies—of hiring literally thousands of employees, just to lay them off in a year or so. And this happens over and over again. The market has its ups and down. We throw what Leora calls “human spackle” at the problem.

Why not implement tech that can scale up or down to meet rising and falling loan volume? Why not scale your workforce to different kinds of markets?

Just a thought.

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