As the weather cools and the leaves begin to change, many people find themselves engaged in watching America’s most popular sport: football. While it might seem like there aren’t any similarities between a National Football League team and the relationship between mortgage brokers and their small-balance commercial lenders, you’ll see that thriving on the gridiron and succeeding in the mortgage industry both require determination, strategy, and a keen knowledge of the game or business. So, if your small commercial mortgage lender was a football team, what position would each employees play? And how do you fit into this team?

• The mortgage broker is the quarterback. The quarterback of any football team is the leader, just as a mortgage broker is the leader when they submit a loan scenario. The QB sets the strategy for each play as soon as he takes the snap, just as each mortgage broker sets the tone for how each deal will progress. Because their role is so important in the mortgage process, it’s important for brokers to stay focused and work with the rest of their team to make sure each deal closes.
• Your account representative is the wide receiver. The relationships between quarterbacks and their wide receivers are incredibly important on the football field. Quarterbacks needs to trust their wide receivers when the football leaves their hand, just as you need to trust your account representative when you hand off your deal.  In order to get borrowers the commercial mortgages they need, you and your account rep need to build a good relationship, and you both need to trust and listen to each other.
• The underwriting team is the offensive line. A good offensive line is a major difference maker in the game of football. They take on the defense in order to allow the other offensive players to move the ball down field and eventually score. Likewise, your commercial lender’s underwriting team is taking on any obstacles head on in order to get your borrower the loan they need and to get you your commission.
• The processing team is the running back. Running backs are the true workhorses of any football team’s offense. They’re sturdy, smart and are able to find and exploit any holes or weaknesses in the defense to advance the ball down field. Likewise, the processing team is able to work through the issues your borrower faces in order to close the loan.

A football team has to function as a team in order to win each game — all of the players need to work together. Likewise, when working to close a mortgage, each member of a commercial mortgage team needs to play his or her part. If everyone does their job, every good commercial loan you submit should be a touchdown.

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