If you plan on having a successful new year in the mortgage business, start by assessing your success in the last year. Use your progress in the last year to set the stage for next year and you’ll be off to a faster start.

Begin by considering your numbers. If you are on track to earn $70,000 for the year and you want to make $80,000 next year, figure out what that really means. That extra $10,000 in income is a 14% increase. That means you’ll have to increase everything by 14%. If you closed 85 transactions and took 100 new applications to get to $70,000, you’ll have to close 97 loans and take 114 applications to get to $80,000. That works out to 10 applications and 8 closings every month. Know your numbers.

It is also a chance to reflect on the sales, marketing and networking activities that should be carried forward into new year and what should be left behind simply because it is not working. Let’s suppose you have been sponsoring certain events throughout the year, and you have come to realize that these sponsorships have yielded much less in revenue than they have cost in expense and time. Pull the plug! On the other hand, suppose you can trace seven to ten good loans from your networking group over the past year. That activity should continue, even expand! (What about joining two networking groups?)

Next, take a good look at your process and systems. If things are going good there, maintain your focus and attention on the activities that are paying off for you (call status reporting system, weekly file review with your assistant, etc.) At the same time, think about what didn’t work so well this year and plan to fix it next year.

After that comes new business development. Did you open any new channels of loan production in the last year that were home runs? I hope so! Why not hit more home runs in new year? Leverage those avenues that have been big for you this year (working with a new developer, local newspaper advertising, a new affinity account relationship, etc.) and try to repeat the same success in new year. If you already know how to make it work, make it work again!

The final assessment is all about you. Are you ready for a busy and profitable new year? Look at your work schedule, the time you come to work, the time you leave and how many days off you take. Assess your energy, drive and enthusiasm for this job right now. In the last year, did you bring to work what it takes to succeed? What about new year? Plan to make whatever adjustments necessary… and plan to stick to them!

The best way to have a successful new year is to use the last year as your launching pad. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Take what you do well now, do it again, and do it even better!

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