Chasing Excellence

Tony Thompson
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Chasing Excellence is a podcast for founders, operators, and leaders focused on building high-performing businesses. Each episode features in-depth conversations with top performers across industries—with a strong focus on the mortgage industry, where success depends on consistent deal flow, efficient systems, and sharp execution. We break down: What’s driving revenue right now The marketing and sales systems that actually convert The real bottlenecks that are slowing down growth How top mortgage brokers and lenders scale in a competitive, regulated market This isn’t theory or recycled advice—these are real conversations with people actively building and scaling. If you're in the mortgage industry and want to grow smarter, simplify your systems, and close more deals consistently, this podcast is built for you.

  1. 1d ago

    38 Years, One Small Town: Gregg Driggs' Playbook for Owning a Rural Utah Mortgage Market

    Gregg Driggs is a Branch Manager with Premier Mortgage Resources (PMR) in Price, Utah, a rural community lender with 38 years in the mortgage business. Gregg's path into the industry started in 1988, while he was working as assistant to the chairman of the board at a Salt Lake City financial advising firm and attending college — the same man who was murdered in a 1985 bombing Gregg says was later covered in the Netflix special "The Mormon Murders." He'd already dropped out of college for that job when a friend, whose father had just bought a mortgage company, offered him work — Gregg said yes without knowing much about the business, and has written loans ever since, through rates that started at 13.5% and now sit in the mid-6%s. Today, with PMR — an employee-owned company based in Meridian, Idaho — Gregg has built his business by owning a small, rural Utah market rather than competing in a major metro. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Gregg joins host Tony Thompson to talk about his daily discipline of 13 logged conversations and handwritten notes before he'll let himself go home, the "Realtor Survival Kit" he and his wife Becky use to build realtor relationships, and why, after 41 years of marriage, he calls Becky his real secret sauce. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Gregg believes "the market is as good as you think it is" His daily discipline: 13 logged conversations and handwritten notes before he'll go home How the "Realtor Survival Kit" turns open-house visits into real relationship-building Why PMR's underwriters work with originators to get deals done instead of just denying them His advice for new loan officers: "Do the work... none of this 10:30 crap" Connect with Gregg Driggs: https://www.pmrloans.com/loan-officer/gregg-driggs/ | https://www.facebook.com/driggsmortgageteam/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    38 Years, One Small Town: Gregg Driggs' Playbook for Owning a Rural Utah Mortgage Market

  2. Oct 20

    $75-100M a Year on Referrals Alone: Steve Beecham's Give-First Playbook from Alpharetta, Georgia

    Steve Beecham is the President and Senior Loan Officer of Home Town Mortgage, a brokerage he founded in Alpharetta, Georgia in 1996, closing an estimated $75-100 million a year built almost entirely on referral relationships. Before mortgage, Steve bounced through a string of self-employed ventures — car sales, clothing, plantation interior shutters, even recycling — before a local mortgage broker recruited him. He turned the offer down at first, until a friend in the business told him he'd made $10,000 off a single refinance in a month, against the roughly $2,000 a month Steve was making at the time; that gap convinced him to make the jump, and he's been in mortgage lending for 30 years since. A four-time author on relationship-based business, Steve is now transitioning the company to his son. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Steve joins host Tony Thompson to unpack his "give first" philosophy: why he never directly asks a referral partner for business, how he mentally maps real estate agents by niche and territory, and why he considers himself purpose-driven rather than passion-driven — a mindset that carried him through the 2009 crash. 🔑 What You'll Learn: His "bar" analogy for how a referral relationship should actually start — focused entirely on the other person, not a pitch Why he never directly asks a referral partner for business, and how that removes the fear of rejection from prospecting How he mentally maps real estate agents by niche and territory so he always has the right person to refer a client to Why community involvement — Rotary, a charity flower market, downtown concerts — gives him a natural reason to stay in touch Why he considers himself purpose-driven rather than passion-driven, and how that mindset carried him through the 2009 crash Connect with Steve Beecham: https://hometownmortgage.net/team/steve-beecham | https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-beecham-1958733/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    $75-100M a Year on Referrals Alone: Steve Beecham's Give-First Playbook from Alpharetta, Georgia

  3. Oct 13

    32 Years and Still Building Her Own Database: Dawn Carter's Path to Mortgage VP in Lake Oswego

    Dawn Carter is a VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate (formerly Guaranteed Rate) in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with 32 years in the mortgage industry. Her path into the business started on a vacation to Puerto Vallarta, where she met a woman who worked in mortgages and made the job sound glamorous, then a man at the pool told her it was "a great business for women — no glass ceiling." Weeks later, on a work trip, she walked into a hotel with a banner reading "Welcome Association of Women Mortgage Bankers" — and came home from that same trip to find she'd been laid off along with 11 coworkers. A phone call from a friend in the business connected her to a mentor, and she took her first mortgage job in 1994. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Dawn joins host Tony Thompson to talk about staying visible in a remote-work world, why she teaches financial literacy to high schoolers, and her advice to new originators: build and own your own client database from day one, independent of any employer. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why a banner at a hotel and a poolside conversation in Puerto Vallarta led Dawn into mortgage lending in 1994 How she adapts to today's biggest challenge — getting facetime with realtors who now work from home Why she teaches financial literacy classes to high schoolers, and how she's closed a deal directly from one of those talks Her advice to new originators: build and own your own client database from day one, independent of any employer Why she's most grateful for the layoff that pushed her into a straight-commission mortgage career Connect with Dawn Carter: https://www.rate.com/loan-officers/dawn-carter-127668 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-carter-51762a6/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    32 Years and Still Building Her Own Database: Dawn Carter's Path to Mortgage VP in Lake Oswego

  4. Oct 6

    Top 1% Since 2015: Brian Dewald's Path from a Denver Bike Shop to Maverick Lending Solutions

    Brian Dewald is the President and Senior Loan Officer of Maverick Lending Solutions, a mortgage brokerage he owns in the Denver, Colorado area, ranked in the top 1% of lenders nationally every year since 2015. Brian's path into mortgage started at a bicycle shop, where he worked as a service manager in his late teens and early twenties before a local mortgage broker recruited and mentored him into the industry in the early 2000s — he still uses the same HP 12C calculator that mentor taught him on, two decades later. Today Maverick Lending Solutions is a family business, with his wife Annetta and son Alex both working alongside him. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Brian joins host Tony Thompson to talk about why so many originators have left the business in the past two to three years, and why that's an opening rather than a warning sign for the ones who stay disciplined — plus an underserved market he sees real opportunity in: military personnel who don't realize what home-buying options are available to them. 🔑 What You'll Learn: How a chance introduction at a bicycle shop turned into a 20+ year mortgage career Why Brian still uses the same HP 12C calculator his first mentor taught him on Why he believes "the fat are getting fatter" for the originators who stayed disciplined through the shakeout Why military buyers are one of the most underserved segments in today's market His case for hiring a coach — the same way Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, and Michael Jordan did Why he credits his wife Annetta as his "greatest cheerleader" throughout his career Connect with Brian Dewald: https://mavericklendingsolutions.com/brian-dewald/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-dewald-b871ba4/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    Top 1% Since 2015: Brian Dewald's Path from a Denver Bike Shop to Maverick Lending Solutions

  5. Sep 29

    Surviving 2008 to Social Impact Lender: David Brecher's Playbook at FM Home Loans in Brooklyn

    David Brecher is the President and CEO of FM Home Loans, a mortgage banking company he's led since the late 1980s — built on 100% retail, purchase-focused lending across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida, and staying so close to its communities that David says needs can change block to block within Brooklyn alone. That community-rooted approach kept FM Home Loans out of subprime lending entirely, which is a big part of why the company not only survived the 2008 financial crisis but came out of it stronger, under the same ownership and strategy that built it. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, recorded in Brooklyn, David joins host Tony Thompson to talk about FM Home Loans' recent community honor from HCCI, a HUD-certified housing counselor based in Harlem, for its work helping marginalized communities access affordable homeownership — plus how the company thinks about affordability in one of the toughest housing markets in the country, and why David now describes FM Home Loans as being in the housing business, not just the mortgage business. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why FM Home Loans never touched subprime lending — and how that decision helped it survive 2008How partnering with not-for-profits like HCCI opened up affordable mortgage options for underserved buyersWhy David sees today's biggest challenge as high prices stacked on high rates, not either aloneHow FM Home Loans is helping convert renters into owners in select marketsWhy David describes the company's philosophy as "we're not in the mortgage business, we're in the housing business" Connect with David Brecher: https://fmm.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbrecher/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    Surviving 2008 to Social Impact Lender: David Brecher's Playbook at FM Home Loans in Brooklyn

  6. Sep 22

    Medford, Oregon's Newmann Group: Michael Newmann on Perception, Connection, and the All In One Loan

    Michael Newmann is a Senior Loan Officer and Branch Manager at CMG Financial, leading The Newmann Group out of Medford, Oregon, near the California border — joining CMG in November 2024 after building the bulk of his nearly 20-year mortgage career at one prior lender. Michael's path into the industry was pure fate: a former collegiate baseball player who studied sports psychology at UC Davis, he was floundering after graduation until a random sales call, pitching advertising to a woman named Mary, turned into a job offer instead. She wasn't buying what he was selling, but offered to hire him into mortgage lending. About a year later he took her up on it, and he's worked with her ever since. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Michael joins host Tony Thompson to talk about why he thinks interest rates are more perception than reality, how his psychology background shapes the way he serves clients, and why he believes AI should amplify human connection in mortgage lending rather than replace it. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Michael sees the interest rate "challenge" as mostly psychological, not fundamentalHis personal filter for every client: "do they walk out my doors better than how they came in?"Why he's leaning into CMG's All In One Loan as his focus and passionHow he thinks originators should use AI — to offload tasks they don't love, not to replace human connectionWhy he believes the future belongs to originators who understand "the power of connection" Connect with Michael Newmann: https://www.cmghomeloans.com/mysite/mike-newmann | https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelnewmann Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    Medford, Oregon's Newmann Group: Michael Newmann on Perception, Connection, and the All In One Loan

  7. Sep 15

    20 Years a Fiduciary: Cori Angel's Path from Alaska to Vantage Mortgage in Portland

    Cori Angel is a Mortgage Broker at Vantage Mortgage Group, an independent, fiduciary brokerage in Portland, Oregon that works with roughly 40 wholesale lenders rather than being tied to any single company or rate sheet. Cori got her start in the industry in 2005 after asking her retail manager for a promotion into management — he didn't have an opening, but sent her to his wife, who was hiring at a mortgage company down the road. She walked in knowing nothing about lending and learned the business from scratch during an era of 8-10% interest rates, watching some of the ethical shortcuts up close that would later help trigger the 2008 housing crash. Two decades later, Cori still runs her business as a fiduciary and trusted advisor rather than a transaction-based lender, building plans with clients who aren't ready to buy yet and staying close with past clients through calls and check-ins during slower stretches. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Cori joins host Tony Thompson to talk about growing up in Anchorage, Alaska — moose, buffalo, salmon, and reindeer sausage dogs included — and how that grounded upbringing shaped the fiduciary, relationship-first approach she brings to every client today. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Vantage Mortgage's fiduciary, 40-lender model keeps them from steering clients toward any one lender How a retail manager's referral — not a five-year plan — led Cori into mortgage lending in 2005 What she learned watching unethical lending practices firsthand in the run-up to the 2008 crash Her method for coaching clients who aren't ready to buy: build a plan, then walk them through it Why she splits her time between working "in" the business and working "on" it What growing up in Anchorage, Alaska taught her Connect with Cori Angel: https://vantagemortgagegroup.com/about-us/meet-the-team/coriangel/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/cori-angel-mortgagespecialist/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    20 Years a Fiduciary: Cori Angel's Path from Alaska to Vantage Mortgage in Portland

  8. Sep 8

    120+ Loans a Year, One Relationship at a Time: Abdul's Path from Nigeria to Chicago Broker-Owner

    Abdul Erinfolami is the Founder and President/CEO of Loan Spot Inc, a mortgage brokerage he built from his living room in the Chicago area, now closing around 120-130 loans a year. Abdul immigrated to Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood from Nigeria in 2003, joining parents who'd arrived in the late 1990s — seven people sharing a two-bedroom apartment, with his mother working as a nurse. He started working at 16, spent four years as a personal trainer, and entered the mortgage industry in January 2019 at age 22, a year after buying his own first property. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Abdul joins host Tony Thompson to talk about why he named his company Loan Spot — simple enough that, in his words, "it has loan in it" — and why he still treats every relationship, not just every deal, as the real product he's selling. They cover his structured weekly rhythm (agent touchpoints, follow-ups, pre-approvals, post-closing calls, and VIP networking, each with its own day), why he tells new originators not to quit after two years, and how he reframes Chicago's low-inventory market as opportunity rather than obstacle. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Abdul believes "people do business with who they like" more than any pitch How he structures his week around relationships — agent touchpoints Monday, follow-ups Tuesday, pre-approvals Wednesday, post-closing calls Thursday, VIP networking Friday Why over 80% of new originators quit within two years, and why "it's a contact sport" you have to keep showing up for How he reframes today's low-inventory Chicago market: "transactions and deals are still being closed — they're either gonna be closed with you or without you" Why he still teaches new agents to make 20 contacts a day, even as lead-to-close ratios have gotten tougher since the pandemic Connect with Abdul Erinfolami: https://loanspotinc.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdul-erinfolami-65ba5b184/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    120+ Loans a Year, One Relationship at a Time: Abdul's Path from Nigeria to Chicago Broker-Owner
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About

Chasing Excellence is a podcast for founders, operators, and leaders focused on building high-performing businesses. Each episode features in-depth conversations with top performers across industries—with a strong focus on the mortgage industry, where success depends on consistent deal flow, efficient systems, and sharp execution. We break down: What’s driving revenue right now The marketing and sales systems that actually convert The real bottlenecks that are slowing down growth How top mortgage brokers and lenders scale in a competitive, regulated market This isn’t theory or recycled advice—these are real conversations with people actively building and scaling. If you're in the mortgage industry and want to grow smarter, simplify your systems, and close more deals consistently, this podcast is built for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Tony Thompson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Tony Thompson
  • Show Website
    Chasing Excellence

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