When the Faucet Turns Off, the Pros Stand Out with Rebecca Costanzo

Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Rebecca Costanzo, a 20+ year mortgage veteran and new Director of Mortgage Originations at United Community Bank, about leading retail teams through shifting markets. Rebecca shares why she values community banking impact, including seeing homes her teams financed, and discusses how the post-2020 market has exposed weaknesses in loan officers who relied on easy volume while highlighting professionals who consistently practice fundamentals. 

She explains what leaders can learn in their first 90 days by listening, observing, and improving systems without just “checking boxes,” and how to separate market effects from people and processes. Rebecca uses tools like a team book club to assess resilience and growth mindset, emphasizes emotional intelligence and role fit. She and Skip talk about decisions by top producers between pushing for more volume or prioritizing work-life harmony.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Meet Rebecca

00:56 Why Mortgage Matters

02:06 Community Bank Impact

05:14 Market Reality Check

07:06 Pros Thrive Now

08:56 Building Better Systems

10:13 First 90 Days Leading

12:47 Reading Teams Better

16:03 Caring Yet Reassigning

18:43 Top Producer Trait

21:12 Legacy and Harmony

23:32 Connect and Wrap Up 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Yeah, that's right. We're back, and this ain't my first mortgage podcast. Welcome to the show where we discuss all things mortgage sales, industry news, interviews of the top mortgage professionals, and more. Strap on in, enjoy the ride, and welcome to Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast. Rebecca, welcome to Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast. How are we doing today?

SPEAKER_00 0:34

I am fantastic. Thanks for having me, Skip.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Excellent. And you're very welcome. Thanks for coming on. So Rebecca has been in this business for more than two decades. I could say that because so have I. So if that makes her all the guess what? So am I, you know? But so you've been building and leading retail teams through very different markets. You and I have seen a thing or two, right? It's like that farmers insurance commercial, you know, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. So and you recently joined a United Community Bank as the director of mortgage originations. And so, you know, I really am interested to hear some of your takes on what's going on now and that kind of thing. But before we do that, fill in the gaps. What did I leave out?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Well, the other than I started in the industry when I was seven.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

So I'm yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

So besides that, no, really just I have a passion for mortgage. I, you know, kind of refer to it as the Hotel California. You can enter, but you can never leave. Yeah. And you know, you can really kind of think through anything that we get the opportunity to do in our lifetime. And there are very few things that we can do that impact as many people and as many communities as we get to do a mortgage. And I just love it. Um got I have two adult sons. I am married to a former police officer and have been, well, I my I can't forget my the best part of my family, my sweet little pup. You know, come on now. I have a little shelter dog, about 40 pounds, which is awesome. And you know, I just love what we do. I love what we get to do, and I really love being able to do it where I live. I to me, the Southeast is home, will always be home, and it's just a really awesome thing to be able to see the impact that we get to make.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Yeah, I mean, and being part of a community bank, you know, really it really focuses and hones in on that, the concept of working in to the benefit of where you live and you get to see the results of it. I mean, that's a real thing, you know? You know, is that one of the big things that you like about working for a for a community bank now?

SPEAKER_00 2:52

It absolutely is. You know, it's one of the, gosh, I spent a lot of my career at a big, and there was a lot to learn, and I'm really appreciative of that experience. And, you know, some of the things that I learned, you just can't duplicate. And so really love being able to bring that knowledge into an organization that you really are touching the community everywhere I go. It's United Community Bank. And I will say it's a small bank, it's a large community bank, but man, we punch over our weight class when you look at the talent that is at United Community Mortgage and Commercial. And I just feel really fortunate to be somewhere that tick marks aren't what we're monitoring, right? We're not like go, you know, mark these things done so managers can know that you've done something. We're really more about how are we showing up for the client in the community? And we measure our impact by what we're doing and changing in the community. And to me, that's like that's fulfilling my personal mission at the same time, you know, doing the same for the bank. And that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

It is a big deal. It's a big deal for all involved. I love hearing that. You know that I'm a community bank guy. I love you know, smaller lenders for that very reason. For that very reason is that you're able to see the fruits of your labor. And, you know, in an industry like we are in, where we deal with an abstract, usually intangible product, more is not the home, of course. You know, I think that's that's really important. It's really important to be able to see what you're able to do with who you're able to help and try to drive by what you help to make possible, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

That's right. I was touring our Florida teams last week and had a tour by one, our loan officer in Miami, who is fabulous, and drove me by homes that we've either done the construction financing or hey, I I not only did this guy's house, but I did his kid's house. It's two blocks over. And you know, that's really impactful. He was too proud to show me. He had a list of out of addresses that he wanted to show me that you know, we got to be a part of building that family security. And that to me is what that's why it's about.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

You know, it's funny you said I think that is probably one of the things that is lacking in a lot of what we do as an industry right now is that realization and pride in what we do. Like we all talk about, and myself include when I trained, hey, remember not only your wine, remember the borrower's wine, that kind of thing. But to actually be able to go by and see it, I mean, that's something that I've experienced myself, and it really does give you a sense of like, hey, you know what? I helped make that possible.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

That's right. I made an impact.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. So all right. Now, I kind of alluded to this at the very beginning when I started to introduce you, you know, say, hey, we've been around, we've seen a few different things, and obviously, right now we're in a bit of a different market. It's been this way for a number of years now, and so while I say it's different, it's just the way it is. I'm curious to get your take on this, okay? Would you say that the market has created weaker loan officers in general, or has it simply exposed weaknesses that were already there?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

That is such a great question. Skip my opinion. I think we overdid loan officers during you know 2020, 21, 22. Sure. And people thought they were really good because they were able to do some really big numbers. Really big numbers could have been done like walk into your mailbox in those days. Yeah. And so as we've started to normalize the market, and yeah, is it a tough market? It is, but I would argue that the market is kind of normalizing, right? We're we're really kind of trying to find that that bar. And as the market is normalizing, we're starting to see the people that may have thought they were really great recognizing were they doing the behaviors that were gonna keep keep them great. Yeah. And so I do think it's exposing some weaknesses. I think we're seeing some people that thought this was gonna be, you know, a quick, easy dollar. This industry was never created to be a quick, easy dollar. So anyone that kind of and the rest of the world has been suffering. So as we normalize, I think we're seeing the loan officers that are professional really stand out. Yeah. The ones that are doing the basic blocking and tackling every day that never stopped doing that, never stopped practicing their profession and looking to get better. Those are the loan officers that are really starting to stand out now. And I think some others potentially are going to self-select. And that's not a bad thing. You know, we've already seen a lot get out of the industry. Okay. But I don't think we're, I don't think that's over because I do think I would agree with that.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

I would agree with that. I think that, you know, and we're starting to see some people kind of fall through the colander a little bit, you know. They keep getting shaken by by all this, and they can't kind of keep falling through the holes, you know. And that's that's okay. Adaptability is so important in what we do. And I even saw, I agree. I mean, I and look, yeah, I know code was five years ago, five, six years ago, whatever, but I saw a lot of really strong quote unquote traditional LOs that gotten fell out of good habits during that time for that very reason because they didn't have to, or just because they were too busy to focus on the fundamentals, and so that's why I think a lot of times we've seen this two to three year uh honestly, or sometimes longer, rebound time because the folks that know that they're gonna be in it, you know, you know, they're gonna be okay, they have got to, or they've been taking the time to intentionally reestablish that foundation, right? I think it's it, I think that part of that's still going on today. Hell, that's why I've got a job now, you know? It's trying to try is trying to get you know, get folks who are still serious about doing things in this industry back on the right track, doing the right things, or fine-tuning or sharpening their saw to make sure they can take it to the next level. It's it's a real thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

It is. I think those of us that are really looking forward in the future to how are we going to show up? We are now taking the time that we're in right this minute to really make those processes more efficient. Oh, I know. They're really trying to learn the new tools, right? How do we lean into AI? How do we maximize all of the outreach that we're doing? It may not be bearing fruit now or next month or next quarter, but we know we have to build. That's right. We have to build those processes and efficiencies for the future. And there's not a you can't build an efficient process when you know loans are coming out of your ears.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

That's what that's not yet. That's not the time to do it. Uh it's like they train the military that says, hey, look, when things go sideways, you fall back on your training. That's why they hammer into it so often. So that way it's almost like an automatic response. It's the same thing. Hey, when the spigot gets turned off, you know, that's fine. I've got my base set of skills that are gonna make me succeed and thrive no matter what the market looks like. That's exactly right. And that's easier said than done. I understand that. But at the same time, it is a real skill set that you know that you gotta have. Okay, so speaking of the market and people and all that kind of fun stuff, you know, you're still relatively new to your position there, and they've been there for five months.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

About 90 days. Oh, 90 days. Good lord.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

I think I've been so okay. I got two questions for you then. And this is really speaking from your experience, but this is to help folks out there who are in a similar position, okay? What can a leader realistically expect to learn about a team during his or her first 90 days?

SPEAKER_00 11:10

So I will tell you the very so what can you learn is going to be different in every team, right? But you're only going to learn if you shut your mouth and listen and you know, really spend a lot of time observing. And it's funny, my the the group in Florida, the manager that was taking me around, was telling everybody, listen, she takes a ton of notes. Don't think she's not paying attention. She takes a ton of notes. And I really do. And for me, it's it's a lot about understanding each market, understanding what drives each loan officer because everyone is driven by something different. So it's about observing and knowing how do I really start to think about making the team more efficient, more systematic, because I'm a big fan of systems, not in the tick mark way, but in a way to allow everyone to be their most efficient self.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

It's a framework that's not checking boxes, like you said. No, I get that.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

That's right. What makes you efficient is going to be different than what makes me efficient. So I really want to try to help each each person and each department understand how do we serve and how do we, you know, how do we ensure we're doing it in the right way. And so for me, the first 90 days has been a lot about looking at processes, looking at systems, trying to really, you know, got kind of here's how it's working, here's how I think it could work. And then I'm taking that to the field and saying, I have some ideas. What does this sound like to you? Because I don't want to break something that's not that is working, right? So for me, it's as much about observation, but also, you know, don't mess with a sacred cow if the sacred cow is still giving you milk.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Yeah. Yep. Yeah. So and yeah, you're and I are on the same page as far as that's you know, that's concerned. I would say that it is it's really that it's really important that we can separate out the things that are working versus things that aren't working versus things that are, but could be better. Um, and so on that kind of similar note, you know, whenever you inherit a team, how do you, as a sales leader, do you separate the impact of the market from the people, the processes, and the previous or existing leadership? How do you separate all those out for you personally so you can wrap your head around it?

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Yeah, and I'm doing a lot of that. Shoot. Yeah, of course. And, you know, so I kind of I always go in. Somebody many years ago told me assume positive intent. And I try to go in with the assumption that every single person on the team is providing a what they think they should be providing and be to the best of their ability.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

And so it's kind of a little bit about observing that and then recognizing, hey, is that really gonna meet the standard? And okay, today's a down market, but what happens if in that same style of leadership when we do the turnaround? Does that person have what it takes to really step up and lead their team in a different way? And yeah, and you kind of learn that honestly, by seeing how how things are being reacted to even in the moment. I am a big fan of, and this is gonna sound so silly, and you can make fun of me, but I'm a big fan of like a group book club. I don't love those. The one that we're doing at the moment is Atomic Habits.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Yes, I mentioned I've yeah, yeah, I've read uh several book studies on atomic habits.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

That's a great I it is my favorite book. I've probably read it seven or eight times. I learned something different, or maybe don't learn something. I act upon something different every time.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Yeah, maybe you got one percent better on something.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

That's right. I love the one percent. That is the thing that I really push on the book. And so I will tell you in my if my team is listening to this, that's probably gonna go, but they're they should not. They're doing a fabulous job. But I take a lot out of those conversations. So who is actively participating, who's getting excited about it, who has some real life conversations that can be really relatable. And how they react to the conversations around the book gives me a lot of ability, especially that particular book, gives me a lot of ability to understand their resilience, their ability to kind of take things as they come and shift as as needed. And so a lot of it really, it's I mean, you know, it's a little bit of a guessing game, but there's some educated guess behind it, right? You can really take, yeah, you can take some of the way people react, some of the way, hey, are you lifting your team up or are you tearing them down? And there's a big difference. And you typically don't see someone that is that's on a teardown turn around to become a lifter down the road. So those are some of the things that I really look out for.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Yeah, I like that a lot. And you know, I first of all, I'm a fan of the book clubs, all right. I think that as long as you have willing participants, you get a lot out of it. I really do. But so something popped in my mind that I want to ask you about because somebody asked me this question. I'm pretty sure I can guess your answer to this, but so somebody asked me, said, Kyo, can you as a sales leader, can you really care about somebody and still come to the conclusion that the role that they're in is not the right fit for them? And I said, and my answer was yes, you absolutely can, and which kind of goes back into what you were saying earlier about finding the right fit. And maybe it's like I would contend that if you are trying to continue to fit a square peg into a round hole, that's really uh a sign that you don't care as much about them. You're trying to pran them into something they're not suited for. So you know, so I was curious to get to get your two cents on that because I got asked that question uh you know fairly recently, so that's why I wanted to pose it to you.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

There's a couple of things in that question. So, one, if I truly care about you and I sometimes care too much about my team, I've been told that over time. I don't know if that's possible. But when you truly care about someone, you want them to be in a role that they're going to be able to excel at. If someone isn't being their best, they feel that. They go home, they feel it, it's a weight. And I don't see that as being a bad thing. If you can really show someone that they are better suited and are going to have a better quality of life in a different well, I don't see that as being a negative in any way, shape, or form. Sometimes you might have to soft pedal it and you know, really get the person there.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

But I mean, by hand and that kind of thing. People do have egos and that kind of stuff. That's right. That's right. So I mean, that's a real concern. But the idea in and of itself, I think we're in agreement on.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

So we're in agreement. And I'll tell you, one of the things that that I work on every day is the emotional intelligence factor that is really a difference difference maker in our roles. And I think one of that's one of the things that I love about the community bank is that you really actually do get to lean into that. And it does actually make a massive difference. I think it makes a difference everywhere. I think it made a difference in the big, but at the same time, it's really something that allows you to lean in to ensure that your team is getting exactly what they need. You can kind of shift that a little, where in other organizations you might not be able to kind of go off script. So to me, part of the intelligence of leadership is really recognizing where is someone's highest and best use.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

I see from the appraisa terms on then.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

That's right. I love it, I love it. So, okay, now you were recently on a mortgage manager playbook, right? Yes. Okay, I thought so. So, and you know, talking about building high performance sales teams, all that kind of fun stuff. I'm curious to get your two cents on this. So, what would you say is one quality that you consistently find in top producers?

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Top producing loan officers, not management. You know what it is? It is the drive to get better.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

So it's there's they're not, it doesn't matter how well they're doing, they're how great their most recent month was, or their most recent year, they're always driving to get a little bit better. It's the 1% effect.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

And I love that.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

And it's true.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Well, it is. One of my friends, he's a sales trainer, his name's Jeb Blunt, and he's not in mortgage, he's just a general sales, but he's you know, speaker, author, all that kind of thing. And he posed this when I interviewed him a couple of years ago. And I said, you know, Jeb, when you talk about coaching and training and becoming better, said, you know, people asked all the time, I was like, Well, or say all the time, hey, I'm not just starting out, I know what I'm doing. It's like, no, you so that's assuming that it's the same prescription for each diagnosis. You're talking about establishing a foundation as opposed to fine-tuning, and someone who's looking to do that 1% better, even someone who's closing $100 million a year recognizes the fact that they can either do more by actually increasing the volume or do what they're doing more efficiently, either one. And so that's one of the things that people I think misunderstand about what we just got got done talking about. It's like it's not just for the folks who are struggling or the folks who are new or folks who really want to level up majorly, it's also for that fine-tuning, that polishing a little bit. That's right. Because you can always improve, and I think that's really important to, you know, people say it all the time, but they don't always behave that way. You know, and so I think that's one of the reasons I do, and well, I've got a job, but also it's also one of the things that I love about it because if I work with and I've got a particular person in mind for this, I won't I won't name names, but when I work with her about you know taking it to the next level, it's not always about doing more. She's making she's making great money, she's closing a ton of loans. It's maybe about doing it more efficiently, it's different for every person, and seeing that is really cool. So, all right. We are coming to the end of our time because, like I said, this is faster paced. We kind of cover a lot of stuff in a short amount of time, all right? But I'd love to hear what you hope to see as your impact in this stage of your career at United Community. You know, what impact do you hope that you will have when people look back on it and say, hey, you know what? It wasn't just the production, but she also impacted me by X.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

I love when I see someone that I've worked with who has told me I made them feel good about what they're doing. I impacted something to the positive in their life. I'm a big believer in, and I know that it's not real, but work-life balance and my idea. That's right. My idea of work-life balance is a little different, and it's to really shift that thought process into we actually work to live, we don't live to work. And if I am able to help someone figure out the best way to do both and to integrate those things, and I may not be able to figure it out because I haven't figured it out for myself, to be honest. But if I remove one obstacle from someone that allows them to take one step closer to that, that's where I feel like I have made an impact, not just on that person, but their family. And that's that's important.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Well, you know, I think it goes into a classic conversation. If I'm sitting down with a loan officer who's, you know, he or she's uh closing an average of $20 million a year. Great production, you know, by all by by all standards. And they say, you know, I really want to get to 50 million or 40 million every year average, or then I just said, okay, yeah, why? That's right. Why?

unknown 23:23

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Well, because it's more. More is not always better. Why? What's this gonna do for you and what's it gonna cost you? Because everything is a give and take. And more times than I've heard folks say, you know, I never really thought of it that way. I mean, I always knew I was gonna do more, but you know, come to think of it, if I can just stay where I'm at and do it consistently, do it really well, I would be okay. I think that's the question that we have to get to. We get so caught up in this more. Let's focus on what better really looks like, you know? That's right. That goes right to your point. I loved hearing you say that. Loved it. All right, Rebecca. If anybody wants to get in touch with you, where should they go? What should they do?

SPEAKER_00 24:00

I am on LinkedIn. You stick me in the Google bar and I'm all over the place.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

That's right. You Google Rebecca, you get it's right. We don't believe it, Google. Okay, yeah, yeah. Let's clarify that. All right, well, thank you so much for coming on. I really enjoyed the conversation. And yeah, you guys, listen, reach out to her, she's a wealth of knowledge, and I'm gonna speak for you here. I'm sure she wouldn't mind mind hearing from you. So all right, thank you again, Rebecca.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

Thank you.