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How LOs Are Using Soft Skills to Stay a Step Ahead of AI


Yesterday, I woke up to a low, rolling rumble. It was the laundry kicking on from a timer my wife had set. Then I heard some light bumps coming from the living room — our Roomba was getting a jump on the cleaning for the day. Then I went to the kitchen and spoke into the empty room, “Let there be light.” All the curtains opened. Then I turned a dial and pressed a button, which produced a beautiful Macchiato for my wife. If you would have described this chain of morning events to me as a kid, I would have thought the next logical thing to do would be to jump into my flying car like George Jetson and head off to work. Even that is probably not too far off!

We’re living in an exciting time, and the AI revolution will only accelerate us forward. Should we be scared? Probably a little. But we should not be afraid of losing our mortgage jobs to robots. Soft skills will always differentiate us and provide unique value that no robot, no matter how well they mimic, will ever be able to truly replicate. Our question this month: “How can loan officers develop and maximize their invaluable “soft skills?”

How Can Loan Officers Maximize Their Soft Skill Development?

Ever since Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line in 1913, humans have been grappling with the same question: With the presence of efficiencies and automation, how do we redefine human capital? In other words, as efficiencies increase and automation (including AI) is able to handle more and more “thinking” tasks, where does that leave us humans?

For STRATMOR Group Senior Partner Garth Graham, it recently left him at the mercy of a driverless car. Garth recounted the story with both wonder and frustration: “I took a driverless car to the airport, which was super cool until the car pulled up to the intersection with a broken stoplight and did not know what to do. The police officer manning the intersection was furiously signaling the car to go through the intersection, but the car would not budge for about 15 seconds, and then decided to take a left to avoid the street to the airport. It made the self-imposed detour effectively, but this reveals the limits on automation as it appears the car could not understand what the human in the road was doing.

Will automated POS applications, with direct data connections and complex algorithms, ultimately replace loan officers? Will AI, which is arguably a more thorough question-asker and attentive listener than most employees, eventually make document collection and even underwriting obsolete? Or will lenders and vendors continue to stumble forward with disappointingly less-than-human results? These are fair questions, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that some things will always be uniquely human and therefore, non-replaceable.

As more and more mundane tasks are entrusted to highly efficient, highly accurate and very capable robots, the set of skills needed to be a great loan officer will change, which means our hiring and vetting processes will also need to change. Hiring managers need to start focusing more intently on “soft skills,” which include the ability to articulate instructions to their AI “co-pilots.” Strong verbal and writing skills, the ability to connect emotionally, and the ever-important “rizz” (charisma) will be the primary markers of top performers in the not-so-distant future.

Diagnosis

In last month’s STRAMOR InFocus article, I wrote that LO conversations with would-be borrowers often sound like an oral exam given by the DMV, with LOs robotically walking through a checklist of banal, non-personal questions. If that sounds like you, you should be very concerned about AI replacing you, and sooner rather than later.

But most LOs, especially those who have survived through the most recent downturn are still here because they have been blessed with certain “soft skills.” If these LOs want to come out of the downturn positioned to be in the top 20% of producers, they should be doing everything in their power to further develop and maximize these skills.

Here are Five Non-Replaceable “Soft Skills” LOs should be perfecting:

  1. Active Listening and Personal Connection – According to MortgageCX data, one in five borrowers (20%) choose their lender based on how well their first conversation goes. What makes a great first conversation? Being an active listener, asking follow-up questions that show you’re listening, and being interested in the person — not just the potential commission. AI will never be truly interested in the customer as a person.
  2. Setting and Revising Expectations – MortgageCX data shows that NPS drops by 42 points when expectations for the closing date are poorly set. Setting expectations takes a good degree of bedside manner, the ability to pivot gracefully when changes are needed, and the willingness to sincerely apologize when mistakes are made. A robot apology will never hold the same weight as a human one.
  3. Emotional Check-ins – Imagine getting this question from a robot: “How are you feeling about everything?” Now imagine hearing it from a human. It just hits differently, doesn’t it? Empathy is powerful because it rarely happens outside of familial relationships and friendships. When you authentically care about someone, they can feel it. It creates reciprocal care and loyalty. AI will likely never be able to replicate it.
  4. Expediting Requests – Real people can pick up on layers upon layers of nuance in someone’s voice and body language — a phenomenon “Blink” author Malcom Gladwell refers to as “thin slicing.” When a borrower needs something quickly, AI is likely to miss the passive aggressive or anxious tone, or the building frustration. It’s not quantifiable, but it’s often undeniably there and unquestionably important to navigate.
  5. Building Trust – Nothing erodes trust with borrowers more quickly than when they see misinformation. It may be as simple as an automated update that isn’t in fact up-to-date. Or a document portal that asks for documents already provided. Or worst of all, silence from the lender when they’re nervous and want an update. Understanding and acting upon each borrower’s unique communication needs is a soft skill that will be incredibly hard to train AI to do independently.

Prescription

Here are three practical ideas for perfecting your soft skills:

  1. The Rule of 3. Next time you take an application, make sure you ask them these three things: WHY they are purchasing a house, what the house MEANS to them personally, and what their GOALS are (retire by 50, pay off all debt, save for college). These are their personal transactional motivations. Make it your mission to care about the things they care about.Want to up your game even further? Find out three personal things about your client. It could be their favorite restaurant, their dog’s name, their sports allegiance. Whatever it is, make sure you include it in your file notes, so you can reference it later.
  2. All the Feels. Ask this one question at least once or twice during the process: “How are you feeling about everything?” It’s open-ended for a reason. You may be surprised at how much they’re willing to share.
  3. Quick Response. Nothing builds trust faster than a quick response. Unfortunately, the mortgage industry has yet to perfect this skill. STRATMOR’s Secret Shopping program routinely finds that 40% of interactions result in the company or loan officer NOT  following up as they say they will. The first two or three interactions are especially important for making a “quick response” impression. Boundaries are important for bosses, but if you really want to delight your customers, consider dropping everything when they reach out.

If you’d like to discuss STRATMOR’s MortgageCX program in more detail, find time on my calendar to set up a free consultation.

MortgageCX is now integrated with Encompass®!

To find more Monthly Customer Experience Tips, click here.

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