NFM Lending’s Greg Sher sits down with Alayna Gardner to discuss the impact of social media, the need for true leadership, and which marketing and leadership strategies really make the biggest difference in today’s mortgage industry.

NFM’s Influencer Strategy

NFM launched an Influencer Division of over 14 people who are mortgage licensed. They are content creators on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram who make videos about their experiences and struggles as mortgage originators. Their content is reaching Gen Z, the first generation of true digital natives to enter the home buying process. Gen Z often base large financial decisions on content from people on social media, making it imperative for people like Jordan Nutter—a prominent influencer, NFM lender, and past Lending Leaders podcast guest—to create educational content. This allows lenders to make meaningful connections by telling stories on social media. It should be no surprise to anyone that many of the leads the Influencer Division acquires on platforms like TikTok turn into loans.

Supporting Each Other

In addition to championing new forms of communication and thought leadership, Greg is a big proponent of channeling our energy into creative a productive, supportive community. Too many CEOs would rather spend their time and resources fighting and suing each other. But the mortgage industry is a place where people need to band together to weather difficulties, market-related and otherwise. It’s tough enough to just survive a down cycle, let alone meet the challenges of ever-changing regulation. In Greg’s opinion, industry infighting is an unfortunate waste of time.

True Leadership

Instead of wasting time, leaders should devote their energy to becoming servant leaders. Greg insists that everyone knows the difference between a top-down leader and a true servant leader. Top-down leaders insist on the sacredness of their own authority, and they treat all their employees like they’re lucky to have a job. A servant leader, on the other hand, treats employees like people—because they really care. Servant leaders don’t just call when there’s a problem, or when they want a report on this or that business item. Servant leaders ask about your family, they check in just because, and they, in so doing, change the culture of lending for the better.

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