Why Most LOs Struggle in 2025—and the Few Strategies That Are Crushing It
Natalie Overtur shares what's actually working for top producers inside one of the largest divisions at CMG Financial in a punishing 2025 market. She covers the specific niches, platforms, and activities driving real volume — including open houses, builder partnerships, and daily social media — and why the 'one loan a month' originator is on borrowed time. Best for LOs who feel stuck and need a brutally honest look at what separates grinders from growers right now.
The fastest path to more business is more conversations — everything else (social, events, builder outreach) is just a vehicle to get you there.
Takeaways you can run this week
- Visit open houses every weekend — pull up Zonda (zonda.com) first to identify builders with standing inventory in your market, then show up Saturday or Sunday, meet the site agent, and ask who makes lender partnership decisions. Bring coffee, not a pitch deck.
- Approach builders as a backup lender: use Zonda to find builders whose in-house lender has a narrow product box, then propose handling their loan fallout — including offering builder forward rate locks and marketing those rates on their behalf to move sitting inventory.
- Host a listing-pitch event inside a builder development: invite 15-20 local agents to tour the community, position yourself as the connection between their buyer clients and the builder's inventory. Frame it as lead generation for agents, not a sales pitch for you.
- Commit to posting on Instagram every single day for 90 days — mix closing content, funny videos, personal life, and market updates. Study Paul Parsons (@homeloansuperhero on Instagram, based in New Mexico) who doubled his business two years in a row attributing 100% of growth to this strategy.
- Run a weekly 30-minute 'success stories' call with your team or accountability group: one LO shares one strategy or product win, no slides required. Rotate presenters so different voices share what's working on non-QM, DSCR, buy-before-you-sell, etc.
- If you don't have a business plan for H2, build one this week: define your two-loan-per-month minimum baseline, pick one or two marketing strategies max (no more than three 'cars out of the garage'), and find one accountability partner or coach who will review your numbers monthly.
Useful? Get the full Vault free — plus Marketing Worth Stealing, weekly.
GET FREE ACCESSThe playbook
- 1. Use Zonda to identify builders in your market with standing inventory and in-house lenders
- 2. Visit the site on a weekend, meet the site agent, and ask who the lending decision-maker is
- 3. Pitch yourself as the backup lender for their fallout loans — lead with your non-QM and specialty product breadth
- 4. Offer to market builder-forward rate locks on their behalf to help move inventory
- 5. Deepen the relationship by hosting a listing-pitch event at the development for local agents
Worth quoting
“The self-sourced loan originator wakes up broke the first of every month.”
“It's not the strongest that survive — it is the most adaptable to change.”
Best for
LOs who are doing 1-2 loans a month and know they need to change something but haven't committed to a specific strategy yet.