Building a Better Loan Officer

When I think about my job as the Senior CRM and Digital Success Strategist at Southern Trust Mortgage, it really boils down to one thing: making sure our loan officers have the tools they need to succeed and helping them use those tools to their full potential.  

Our company is built "by sales, for sales," so everything we do is about empowering our team.  

The most amazing part is how the platform is intuitive enough that even our less "tech-savvy" loan officers can get in there and start using it. It's not a secret that some CRMs can be overwhelming. But with Total Expert, it feels like it was designed with our users in mind. It doesn’t take a tech degree to be able to get from A to B with a clear path.

From Lead to Lifetime Client: Automating Human Connection

One of the biggest challenges we faced was maintaining relationships with past clients. We pride ourselves on offering an exceptional experience during the loan process. But after the deal closed, it was difficult for our loan officers to stay engaged with customers.

This is where Total Expert's Customer Intelligence alerts changed everything for us. These alerts work like a personal assistant, letting our loan officers know when a past client has a life event, a rate change opportunity, equity options, or a credit pull. Now, our loan officers are empowered with a timely, authentic reason to reach out and reconnect.

I've made it my mission to automate as much as possible so our loan officers can focus on what they do best: building relationships and closing deals. I enjoy building custom Journeys in Total Expert. For one of our loan officer teams, I created a custom workflow that automates everything from lead assignment to document reminders and follow-up emails.  

So the loan officers just have to log the outcome of a call or a task, and the Journey moves things forward automatically. I've gotten so much positive feedback from them; it feels like we’ve created a personalized digital assistant for their team.

Now our teams have the freedom to do what they do so well—get out there and make the personal connections that matter. All the while, knowing the platform is working behind the scenes.

I believe in starting small and building on success. My advice to anyone is to pick one thing, test it, get good at it, and then add the next thing.  

For us, some recent wins are Customer Intelligence alerts. We had an astounding number of rate alerts hit in a single week. With that, we could give our loan officers a huge opportunity to re-engage with clients. When they see a small win—like a conversation sparked by a simple alert—it builds momentum. It gets everyone excited and encourages them to explore more of the platform.

A Partnership, Not a Product

When I think about our relationship with Total Expert, one word comes to mind: partnership. Our Customer Success Manager at Total Expert has been a huge help. He gives us the inside scoop on what's coming in the product roadmap, like the new mobile app and the Engage SMS functionality.  

Knowing what's around the corner allows us to be proactive, not reactive. We can start talking to our loan officers about new features and get them excited. Then, when the products go live, it makes adoption easier.  

The best part of my job is seeing that success firsthand. On a recent sales call, one of our up-and-coming loan officers shared how he just reads his daily email with his task list from Total Expert, makes his calls, and gets deals done. It’s that simple. He’s become an unofficial spokesperson for the platform, which is great! His success story is the perfect example of how Total Expert helps our team work smarter. It's a powerful tool that helps us build a stronger, more successful company one relationship at a time.