The first Monday of the month of November.

Those of you who've been with us for a while will remember my monthly routine - but for the newcomers I'll revisit it.

The first week of the month is where I make sure that I'm going to hit my target for the month.  Now for this month, I've set my goal at writing $2.4m in home loans.

If I work backwards and analyse the average loan size in my area ($300k), then that means I'll need to write 8 loans for this month.  Now the number I'm aiming at is in approved loans so if I work on an 80% conversion rate from application to approval then I'm looking to submitt 10 applications for the month.  Given that client interviews don't always result in immediate applications, in fact I find about 2/3 of my interviews turn into applications - that means that I'll need to have 15 interview to get 10 applications.  The reasons why some interviews don't turn into applications are many and varied - for example some clients just aren't ready - some don't have capacity - again - many reasons.

The result is that I need to ensure that I have 15 interviews for the month before I can be assured of getting my $2.4m target.

So, as I flick through my diary I already have 7 interviews over the coming weeks.  That means that I'll need to organise another 8 interviews.

For me, that needs to be achieved by the end of this week.  Why - well that's how I ensure I'm always on target.  If I make sure that I have my appointments for the month organised by the end of the first week of the month then I know that i'm on track.  I can then spend the rest of my month focused upon writing the business.  Some appointments will cancel and other new ones will be made throughout the month, but, I'll know that I'm on track.

So how will I get my other 8 interviews?  First I'll go through my prospect list and review any of those clients who over the past few months had been fence-sitting.  I'll give them a call and see where they are at.  Then I'll send out an email, physical mailout or text message to all of my database - with an update on how the market is progressing as well as any particular specials that might be around this month.  Then, if there is still a gap by Wednesday afternoon, I'll start buying leads and calling them up.

The title of this article is Critical Mass - and those who've known me for a while will remember that this is one of my key points.  As you build your network and your database, you will eventually reach Critical Mass - where your extended network of clients and referrers automatically send you enough business every month that your reliance upon marketing diminishes dramatically.  Never stop the marketing - but once you reach that point you arent' relying on it any more - and that is a very comforting feeling.

On another note, we've had our first few brokers use our new VedaCheck facility to check a clients credit history before submitting the clients application to any lenders.  This has been a great success.  Two applicants who thought that they had adverse credit histories have proved clean and were able to go directly to mainstream lenders.  Another one who thought that they were clean had a significant default listed which would have derailed their application immediately.

Don't hesitate to use this service - you can save both you and your client a lot of time if you do your research properly.