I copied a top producer's strategy / How it almost killed my business

Some years ago, I was at a mortgage conference and watched a top producer give a presentation on how he was crushing it with social media.

This guy was doing 100+ loans a year, and he attributed most of his success to his content strategy:

Posting 3x a day (yes, a day) on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Market updates, educational videos, client testimonials, the whole nine yards.

He showed his analytics, his engagement numbers, his lead flow from social media. It was impressive.

So I thought:

"If it's working for him, it'll work for me."

I went home and immediately started copying his playbook.

I started posting 3x a day.

I created a content calendar.

I filmed videos in my car talking about interest rates.

I shared market stats.

I posted client success stories (with permission, of course).

For the first month, I was ALL IN.

Then month two hit, and I started to feel it:

The burnout.

Creating content 3x a day while also running a full-time loan business was exhausting.

I was spending 2-3 hours a day just on social media…

Writing captions, filming videos, editing, scheduling posts.

But I kept going because "this is what that one guy does".

Month three, I checked my results:

Leads from social media? Maybe 2.

Closings from social media? Zero.

Engagement on my posts? Crickets.

How cool people thought I was? VERY COOL.

But dopamine does not equal dollars.

Meanwhile, my actual business was suffering because I was so focused on creating content that I wasn't calling past clients, prospecting new Realtors, or improving my initial and rate lock consultations.

I was doing what worked for someone else and completely ignoring what worked for me.

One day, my wife asked me: "Why are you spending all this time posting on social media when it’s not generating you business?”

That question hit me hard.

So I did something that felt like giving up at the time…

I scaled it back.

I posted only once in the mornings.

I created better quality content.

I engaged with other people’s content.

And I took those 2-3 hours a day and reinvested them into what I knew worked:

→ Calling 10 past clients a week

→ Taking 3 Realtors to lunch every week.

→ Tightening up my initial and rate lock consults.

Within 60 days, my business was back on track.

Within 6 months, I had my best year ever because I stopped trying to be someone I wasn't.

Here's what that experience taught me: what works for a top producer with a team, a marketing budget, and a different personality than you might not work for YOU.

That guy at the conference?

He had a full-time marketing assistant creating his content. I didn’t at the time.

He had a massive database he'd built over 15 years. I hadn’t gotten there yet.

He had a personal brand that was already established. I was still working on building mine.

I had none of that (yet), but I tried to copy his strategy anyway and almost burned out in the process.

The issue is, the mortgage industry loves to sell you on "if you just do what this person does, you'll get their results."

But that's not how it works, because you're not them.

You don't have their personality, their resources, their market, their timeline, or their strengths.

Knowing what to do and when is the right time for you to do it is a skill in itself.

So here's what I want you to do this week:

Think about a strategy or tactic you're currently doing because "everyone says you should" or because you saw another LO crushing it with that approach.

Then ask yourself:

Is this actually working for ME?

Is this sustainable for MY life and business?

Or am I just copying someone else and hoping it works?

If it's the latter, give yourself permission to stop and go back to what actually works for you, even if it's not flashy or trendy or what the top producers are doing.

Because here's the truth: the best strategy isn't the one that works for someone else. It's the one that works for you and that you can actually stick with long-term.

Stop copying.

Start optimizing for your strengths.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you!

1. Book a call to speak with one of our advisors about joining the Growth Only Community.
2. Join our Facebook group for Top Producing Modern Loan Officers.
3. Connect with me on social.