{"podcast":{"title":"Lending Leadership","slug":"lending-leadership-7056247","podcast_index_feed_id":7056247,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/lending-leadership/","website_url":"https://lending-leadership.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/a4c0362e-4757-49c6-a312-53891e88ff45/-pgWWzn8NanoCp6sRFcHn6_i.jpg","author":"HMA Mortgage","episode_count":92,"summary":"Welcome to Lending Leadership: the podcast designed for mortgage loan originators who are looking to elevate their careers and gain a competitive edge in the industry. Whether you're a seasoned professional or an aspiring loan officer, this podcast will have you clear to close with valuable insights, expert advice, and jaw-dropping stories from the cutting edge of the mortgage business. Lending Leadership is two powerful shows in one, alternating every week between The Mortgage Pros and The Creative Brief. In The Mortgage Pros, you’ll be guided by the three dynamic partners of HMA Mortgage—Tom Mills, Dave Holland, and Robert Fillyaw—through the real, unfiltered truth about the mortgage industry. With decades of combined experience and close to a million dollars spent on professional coaching (yes, you read that right), our hosts are ready to share their wealth of knowledge and hard-earned wisdom and maybe even reveal a few facepalm-worthy moments that loan officers will not want to miss. In The Creative Brief, we’ll take a step back from the front lines of the mortgage world and show you results-driven marketing processes that every loan officer will want to use on a daily basis.…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-15T16:19:52.326819+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lending-leadership-7056247"},"episode":{"title":"Answer the Damn Phone: The Simple Secret to a 50% ROI Boost","slug":"answer-the-damn-phone-the-simple-secret-to-a-50-roi-boost","published_at":"2026-04-08T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lending-leadership-7056247/answer-the-damn-phone-the-simple-secret-to-a-50-roi-boost","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lending-leadership-7056247","url":"https://www.hmamortgage.com/lending-leadership/answer-the-damn-phone-the-simple-secret-to-a-50-roi-boost","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/8b4fd5ad-2477-4b5b-a42f-1b4addbcd9a4.mp3","summary":"We all know how competitive the mortgage industry can be, and in this episode, we’re diving into the strategy that can immediately set you apart: speed to lead. That’s right, we’re talking about the game-changing impact of simply answering the phone. We break down the surprising stats behind conversion rates, explore the psychology of borrower behavior, and share practical systems that can help any loan officer, whether you’re a solo act or part of a team, win more business. Joining the conversation are Tom Mills and Robert Fillyaw, bringing our perspectives on building rapport, scripting collaborations with referral partners, and optimizing your business hours. Together, we get specific on what really matters most when that first call comes in, why responsiveness trumps rates and marketing, and how the right habits and structure lead to exponential returns. This episode is everything you need to know about why being first to respond isn’t just a good idea, it's the most underrated strategy in mortgage. Here’s what we cover: The hard numbers around conversion rates and the outsized advantage of being the first loan officer to connect with the borrower How borrower psychology dictates behavior and why most clients aren’t actually shopping with spreadsheets full of lenders Best practices for collaborating and scripting with your referral partners to increase conversion rates Smart systems, team structures, and time management tips to make sure your phone always gets answered Building trust fast, avoiding “corny” sales tactics, and how to make the most of that critical first conversation Key takeaways: Answering the Phone Increases Your Conversion by 50% We can’t overstate this: more than half of borrowers work with the first loan officer they actually speak to. It’s not…","meta_description":"We all know how competitive the mortgage industry can be, and in this episode, we’re diving into the strategy that can immediately set you apart: speed to…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1678,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lending-leadership-7056247/episodes/answer-the-damn-phone-the-simple-secret-to-a-50-roi-boost/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lending-leadership-7056247/answer-the-damn-phone-the-simple-secret-to-a-50-roi-boost.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}