The ideal models look like this:

Your goal is to work less and make more money. The following plan describes Level 1 through Level 7 teams. Level 7 is the most desirable because it lets you step back, make sure your company is running smoothly, and grow your income year after year without worrying about the day-to-day workload.

Level 1

At this level the team consists of you. You are somewhat successful but not fully productive, meaning that you are not consistently producing two transactions or more every month. One month you might close a couple of deals, but next month you might not have any. Your goal at this level is to ramp up to full production as quickly as possible. With the FoneLeads system this will take 30-45 days after launching the program.

Level 2

You’ve reached full production. The workload is consistent and the paperwork is building up. Your first hire should be an administrative assistant. This frees you from the paperwork and back-end functions so you can concentrate on making money. Make your first hire a good one and you’ll be able to more than triple your production without increasing your hours.

Level 3

At this point you’re generating multiple referrals every month, and the leads from your lead-generation system are pouring in. It’s time to hire a processor to handle the majority of the paperwork. You should not be spending much time packaging loans at this point. This will free up your time to take more applications and work more with referrals.

Level 4

You’re in full production and have more leads than you can handle. Your next hire should be a fully licensed loan officer. This person will take all the loans that you cannot get to. Instead of 10 loans per month you can now handle 15.

Since you’re providing leads to this loan officer, you’re entitled to take a split of whatever you give him in addition to whatever he brings to the table. Typical splits for a lead that you provide are 30-40 percent for the other agent, with you taking 60-70 percent. For the leads that he brings in, 60-70 percent for the agent is normal. This can vary from one business to another.

Level 5

At this level you’ll need a marketing specialist. This person should have a marketing background. He or she will make sure you’re marketing professionally. Your marketing specialist will actively track the effectiveness of various advertising media and report the results to you to maximize your marketing dollars.

Level 6

Business is skyrocketing. You need several more loan officers to keep up with all the leads being generated. Your team should probably have 3-5 loan officers besides yourself, each producing 4-6 transactions per month. This means that, apart from your own production, 12-30 loans should be generated from your team. At this level you’re more of a CEO, focused on growing your team and finding ways to generate more leads.

Level 7

This is where every loan officer would like to be. At this level you hire a CEO to drive sales and make sure your business is running like a well-oiled machine. The day-to-day work is now the responsibility of your CEO. It’s time for you to either retire or create another avenue for passive income.