MY FAMILY STORY/TRAGEDY THAT INSPIRED CORE7

Why am I so passionate about the subjects of preparation and personal finance?

The year was 1986. I was living in a beautiful home in Newton, Massachusetts, with my mom, my dad, and my sister. My mom and dad had a thriving business and a second home on Cape Cod. They were making plenty of money and they were on top of the world.

Then my dad was diagnosed with cancer. It was terminal. Six weeks later, he was gone. He did not have life insurance. Over the next five to seven years, I watched my mother work to put my sister and me through college, but her income was not enough to cover it all.

She eventually had to sell our home in Newton for less than full value, her share of the second home in Cape Cod, and then her business. Altogether she cleared over $1,000,000, but it all went to pay off the debt she had accumulated. Because we had no insurance, this unexpected event took all of our money. Guess what my mom and dad did for a living? They sold insurance. They sold homeowner’s insurance. Before my dad died, my mom was in the process of getting her life insurance license. She was studying for the exam. It was a classic case of the old saying, “the cobbler’s children have no shoes.”

Years later, I got into the mortgage business and started to see the opportunity to really make a difference in people’s lives. Many times, buying a home is the first major financial move a person or a family makes. I realized another thing—my parents sat with the same mortgage originator for the purchase of their first and second homes, a construction loan, and two refinances. They did five loans with the same mortgage originator and they used to say such nice things about him.

The mortgage originator should have recognized the opportunity to recommend that my parents talk to a financial advisor about their insurance protection, but he didn’t.

It made me wonder how I would feel if I were their lender, and I had assumed that because they were in the insurance business, they were all set and had already taken care of their insurance protection?

Did their mortgage originator think it wasn’t his responsibility to advise them on their insurance and their finances because he was facilitating the mortgage loan? It is our responsibility. People need to get their financial team in place as soon as possible.

As a mortgage originator, I have the opportunity to introduce my team right when people make what is usually their first major financial move. I have the opportunity to change lives. My parents worked so hard, but they didn’t receive the proper advice at the time they needed it most and that made all the difference.

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STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT

When I was 27 years old, I was very frustrated with my life. I was in a dead-end job and thought that I had so much more potential. Honestly, I felt like a real loser at the time. 

I tried to be a lawyer but scored too low on the LSAT. = FAILURE 

Next, I tried to become a stockbroker, and I moved from Boston to Arizona. (Seriously, who moves to Arizona to be a stockbroker? Wouldn't New York or Chicago have made more sense?) = ANOTHER FAILURE Then I realized I didn’t want to be a Stockbroker and I panicked. I was in a new city, thousands of miles away from home, with no job, and no source of income. I stayed up for 2 days straight and sent out 48 resumes. Great news! I got 2 responses. One was from Motorola. They informed me that my resume was received. The other response was from a Network Marketing Company, where I had to pay them to join. This was just another FAILURE. 

Then I finally got lucky. I had a family member in Arizona who was in the mortgage business. He helped me get a job as a loan officer and I really took to it. Being a Loan Officer was exactly what I was looking for. (As a side note. When he said “Loan Officer”. I thought I was going to carry a gun and guard the bank. I didn’t know what a Loan Officer was)…. Things were finally working out for me!!! 

NOT SO FAST! As I was learning to be Mortgage Originator and developing my own book of business. I realized some problems that I didn’t expect.  Especially the loyalty between business partners. (Who made these real estate agents think they were so important?!!! HAHA) I’m just joking. I love realtors, but we all know about the “Food Chain” in business. The professional who provides the referrals has more control over the relationship.  

I wanted more loyalty and win/win partnerships, so I decided to join a networking group. I joined a very popular one that we all know it begins with a “B” :) Well guess what? Six months later and no referrals. Another FAILURE. 

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I was really struggling, very nervous, and I was really doubting my ability to be successful in the mortgage business. I was worried I'd have to leave a business that I really enjoyed. 

Has anyone ever felt like this? If you have, please share your stories? 

Please check out our community for Group for Real Estate, Mortgage, Tax, Insurance, & Financial Pros ONLY: LEARN MORE

 

FRUSTRATED, NERVOUS, .......BUT WOW. A BREAKTHROUGH!

At this point I was very frustrated and nervous. The Famous networking group was yet another FAILURE. However, I realized that the same issues with loyalty between the professionals existed in that Networking Group also. I realized that loyalty was the key. 

 Here's what I did. I went where the water was warm. I reached out to my friend Chuck who is a realtor. We sat down and drew up the guidelines for what would be our core 7 networking group. (We literally wrote it on the back of a napkin.) 

 The first thing we wrote down was what we needed to make our networking group great, and what was already working well with our partnership. Here's what we came up with. 1) Chucks referrals were stronger than the referrals from other Realtors. 2) Not only did Chuck’s referrals close smoothly, they were also happier with the entire process, and 3) They were less price sensitive.  

 The first thing we did was systemize Chuck’s realtor process from referral all the way to closing. Then we created the Buyer Questionnaire, Seller Questionnaire, and refined chuck's referral scripting. Which we learned was better done by e-mail. We made it so the referral scripts could be copied and pasted. This streamlined the referral process. 

 As we kept working on the process, we also learned that our happiest clients were the ones that I introduced to a financial advisor when I was pre-approving the client… So we invited the Financial Advisor to our next meeting. We also invited our Closing Attorney who had been doing a great job. 

 The next meeting went great, and here's the best part! The Financial Advisor suggested that he had a great Accountant, Estate Planning Attorney, and Insurance Agent would be great additions to the group. At the time we didn't know it, but that was the beginning of Core7 Networking Groups. 

Do you work with these professionals? Please share some of your successes as well as some of your failures? 

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MAKING PROGRESS

After a few months the networking group was doing great. We were meeting once a month, and also having our 1 on 1 Partnership Planning Sessions twice a month. Our partnerships were getting stronger and stronger. 

 Overtime we kept perfecting the system by creating detailed systems, refined scripts, structure meeting agendas, and partnership planning session worksheets, and so much more. 

  The Core7 Networking Group system created predictable, systematic, referrals, and everyone was benefiting from the accountability. You see, companies like BNI were doing a good job, but Core7 professionals were frustrated by having to work with professionals who weren’t in their industry. They were frustrated by the wrong professionals expecting referrals from them. For example, it’s very tough for a Mortgage Originator to refer the Mary Kay Representative or a Personal Injury Attorney.  

 They were also frustrated by the lack of systems in other Networking Groups, as well as limited accountability, and anyone with a pulse being let into the group with no screening or interview process. 

 Our Core7 Networking Group was for Realtors, Mortgage Originators, Real Estate Attorneys/Escrow Officers, Financial Advisors, Estate Planning Attorneys, Accountants, and P&C Insurance Agents only….. And that made all the difference. 

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Well then something interesting happened!!! 

 I realized that many other Real Estate, Mortgage, Tax, Insurance, and Financial Professionals were having the same struggles that I had. Originally I had created Core7 Networking Groups for me and my business partners, but now I realized it could be valuable for everyone. 

 We focused on perfecting the monthly Networking Group workbooks, so that Core7 would be a no brainer and guarantee successful results. 

 Other professionals were tired of weak referrals from the wrong professionals, given at the wrong time. So, we created the Core7 Referral Methodology, so every professional was clear on everyone's role, scripting, and the process that everyone had to follow. 

 They were also tired of working with unprofessional people, who were not committed to the process, and were holding up the success of the group.. So we created the Recruiting Package, which explained the entire Core7 process in detail and what was expected. 

 Core7 Networking Groups was now a turnkey process that could be easily implemented just by following the steps. 

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SOME SUCCESS FOR OTHERS

As I said in our last video, at first all the Core7 tools and materials were just for me and my Core7 Networking Groups, but then when I realized that other professionals were having the same problems. I realized that they also wanted a team related to their own industries and wanted to better serve their clients.  

That's why we made it only for the 7 professionals, created a Referral Methodology and a structured Networking Group Format, along with a Recruiting package to find the right professionals for the group…………AND IT WORKED!!........... Here are some of the successes that our students have had: 

Financial Advisor received 70 Referrals from his Mortgage Originator Partner in an 18 Month period. 

Mortgage professional has averaged over $200,000/year from one Core7 Networking Group. 

Property and Casualty Insurance Agent received over 40 clients that closed in a 3 month period from their Real Estate Attorney 

Real Estate Agent received 15 Referrals that closed in one year from their Financial Advisor Partner 

Real Estate Attorney received over 60 Closings from one Core7 Networking Group 

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THE NEXT LEVEL

I've enjoyed creating Core7 Networking Groups so much, that I wanted to give even more. We clearly realized that not only did other Real Estate, Mortgage, Tax, Insurance, and Financial Professionals wanted a networking group that was specific to their industry (The 7 Professionals), and was predictable, systematic, and accountable. We delivered that with Core7 Networking Groups, BUT…..We also wanted to help these group meet referral partners and clients!  

So we created Group Owner Value Marketing, better known as The Core7 Prospecting Machine. 

Core7 markets through social media, through our podcast and webinars, and to our network of contacts to help you add value. We help fill the Core7 Networking Group Chapters, to find guest presenters to speak at your monthly networking group meetings and 1 on 1 Partnership Planning Sessions. 

We also market to consumers that are looking to work with full teams that collaborate together on the client’s behalf. To accomplish this, we created The First Time Homebuyer’s Toolkit which provides all the information a homebuyer needs to know about buying a home and securing their financial future. This is accomplished by having a Core7 team. 

Well guess what? The Core7 Prospecting Machine was a big success. We’re introducing  group leaders to an average of 7 professionals per month. (One particular client was introduced to 19 Realtors in one day!!!) 

Things were trucking along and then we realized that some professionals didn't like to learn the content only on video. They needed a live experience, so we created the Core7 Boot Camp. A Live presentation so they could learn about everything Core7. At the Bootcamp you can learn about 

Loan Officer & Financial Advisor Partnerships  

Loan officer & Realtor Partnerships.  

The 30 Day Mortgage Jumpstart  

How to conduct Lunch & Learns for employees at local corporations and Continuing Education Departments. 

How to use The First time Homebuyer Toolkit for your clients and much more. 

Then we realized that many of our students wanted ongoing Coaching so we started The 90 Day Group Coaching Program as well as Core7 Networking Group Team Training to fast track help these chapters to success. 

Please send me any questions that you may have. I'm enjoying this this process so much. Please let me know what else you need. I can't wait to learn more and provide more value.

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