How to Get Your Mindset Right for 2024
Shayla Gifford breaks down why mindset and values-alignment must come before tactics, and how LOs can identify their unique strengths, articulate real value, and close for commitment in agent meetings. Best for LOs who are doing the activities but not converting meetings into referral partnerships.
You can't script your way into referral partnerships — clarity on who you are and what you bring must come first, or every tactic loses its power.
Takeaways you can run this week
- Go to Gallup.com and spend $20 on the CliftonStrengths assessment this week. Then list every success in your career and trace which of your top 5 strengths drove each one — this becomes the backbone of your value articulation with agents.
- Write out the attributes of your single favorite referral partner (how they show up, what they value, how they treat clients). That list IS your ideal partner profile — use it to pre-qualify every new agent conversation instead of taking meetings with anyone who fogs a mirror.
- Replace vague goal-setting ('I want more business') with specific, visual targets: decide the exact number of agent partnerships you want in 2024 (Shayla uses 15), define what 'all-in' looks like for each, and say that number out loud in prospect meetings to create genuine scarcity.
- Use this closing script at the end of every agent meeting: after sharing your story and asking about theirs, say — 'Based on what you've shared about your goals and how you work, I really feel alignment here. I'd love for you to be one of my 15 partners in 2024. Can I be your loan officer?' Then smile and stop talking.
- Before pitching yourself, diagnose the agent's real problem: ask 'Where did your business come from this year? Where are you losing leads — to other agents, follow-up gaps, cold lead conversion?' Then map your specific strengths to that exact gap, not generic 'great service.'
- Attend at least one realtor-facing training event in 2024 (Tom Ferry, Brian Buffini, John Chapleac, EXP Con, KW Family Reunion). Being in the room differentiates you and gives you direct intelligence on what agent teams actually need from a lending partner.
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GET FREE ACCESSThe playbook
- Step 1 — Know yourself: Take the Gallup Strengths assessment, identify your top 5, and connect each to real career wins you can tell as stories.
- Step 2 — Know your ideal partner: List every attribute of your best referral partner. This is your filter for every new agent conversation.
- Step 3 — Get curious in the meeting: Ask story-based questions (how'd you get into real estate, what do you love about your clients, what are your 2024 goals). Listen for values alignment, not just production volume.
- Step 4 — Articulate your value: State clearly what you bring, tied to their specific problem. 'Here's your challenge. Here's how my strengths help you win.'
- Step 5 — Close for commitment: Ask directly — 'Can I be your loan officer?' or 'Can I come to your next open house / send you a daily market update / meet for coffee Thursday?' Every meeting must end with a defined next step.
- Step 6 — Follow through on commitments, then repeat: Make calls to book appointments → have appointments that produce commitments → follow through on commitments → repeat.
Worth quoting
“Competence is a really important thing. My confidence as an originator came from my competence as a technician.”
“Be the conduit to help people get their goals accomplished and you will be an attraction machine.”
Best for
LOs who are taking agent meetings but not converting them into committed referral partnerships, and who suspect the problem is in how they show up — not how many calls they make.