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My 5 year old has a better curriculum than you
Amir Syed
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August 22, 2026
My daughter starts kindergarten this month.
Somebody I have never met has already mapped out her entire year. What she learns in September. What she learns in March. What happens if she doesn't get it the first time.
She's five. She has a curriculum.
You don't.
It's back-to-school season for you, too.
Get on the bus because School of Sales is in session.
The Fall Semester
Six periods. 26 items. One per week gets you through February.
Period 1 — Buy-lingual (Language Arts)
The words. This is where most LOs bleed out and never know it.
1. Have scripts for everything. Not to sound canned — so your brain is free to listen.
2. Scripts don't work without sensing. Reading the room is the skill. The script is just the floor.
3. Your tone carries more weight than your words. Same sentence, three deliveries, three different outcomes.
4. Explain in crayons, not jargon. If they need a glossary, you've lost them.
5. Don't lead with rates. Leading with rate is asking to be compared.
6. Stop showing homebuyers candlestick charts. They want clarity, not CNBC.
7. Kill "just checking in." You're not a hotel clerk.
8. Kill "touching base." You're not a baseball player.
Period 2 — Speech & Debate
9. Talk-to-listen ratio under 50%. Under 40% is better. Talk less, find the pain.
10. Ask better questions than your competitors. That's the whole edge. That's it.
11. Go silent after a strong question. Sit on your hands if you have to.
12. Objections aren't rejections. They're responses. A response means they're still in the room.
Period 3 — Math
13. Know your conversion metrics. Cold. Without opening a spreadsheet.
14. Disqualify low-quality leads early. And low-quality agents. Especially low-quality agents.
15. Stop pitching the same twenty agents harder. Add agents. Volume problems are usually audience problems.
Period 4 — Study Hall
16. Role-play every single week. Amateurs wing it. Every week — not when things get slow.
17. Master ONE product. The LO who does everything is trusted with nothing.
18. Process beats personality. Personality gets you the meeting. Process gets you the deal.
Period 5 — PE
19. Detach from the outcome. Needy energy kills trust faster than a bad rate.
20. Stay well-groomed. Appearance is a trust cue whether you like it or not.
21. Stay in shape. Energy sells. Fatigue is audible on the phone.
22. Protect your sharp hours. Your first three calls are better than your last three. Don't spend the good hours on email.
Period 6 — Extra Credit
23. Never walk in empty-handed. Every touchpoint carries something they didn't have before you showed up.
24. Make prospecting calls somewhere other than your normal desk. New chair, new voice.
25. The best known beats the best. Market yourself daily or stay a secret.
26. Video won't fix weak sales skills. Pick up the phone. It's not a cactus.
Homework:
Don't try to fix all 26 at once. That's how you get a nicely printed list that lives in a drawer.
Pick one. Work it Tuesday. Role-play it Thursday. Check yourself the following Tuesday.
Twenty-six weeks from now you're measurably better. Not "feeling more confident."
Okay, get off my bus, go crush it.
- Amir
Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you!
- Book a call to speak with one of our advisors about joining the Growth Only Community.
- Join our Facebook group for Top Producing Modern Loan Officers.
- Connect with me on social.