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. -1 дн.

    40 Years, One Rule — Always Answer: Sergio Gutierrez's Playbook at GRC Lending in Miami

    Sergio Gutierrez is the Broker Owner of GRC Lending in Miami, Florida, 40 years into a mortgage career built on straight answers and hard-won referrals. Sergio got his real estate license first, but three months in, a friend named Carmen suggested he also get his mortgage broker's license "just in case." He passed on his first attempt, and within six months had left real estate behind entirely — mortgage, he says, was his "actual click." GRC Lending takes its name from the last-name initials of Sergio and his original partners, with a company slogan, "Get Ready Close," built around a Formula One-style logo. Sergio's business leans heavily on Miami's immigrant community — clients from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Philippines — and he's candid about the real obstacles they face: high property taxes that price out mid-income buyers, and lending restrictions for non-permanent resident borrowers, even those who've lived in the country for years. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Sergio joins host Tony Thompson to talk about why he never dodges a phone call, why telling a client the truth — even a "no" — has built him more business than competitors who overpromise, and the story of client Eric Gray: a failed loan, an honest phone call, and six buyer referrals since. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why "commission breath" and dodging tough calls are, in Sergio's words, what kills a mortgage business How honestly telling a client "no" in two days built him more repeat business than competitors who dragged out a "no" for three months The real lending obstacles facing Miami's immigrant homebuyers — high property taxes and restrictions on non-permanent residents His advice to young originators: invest your commissions into real estate equity instead of spending it The story of client Eric Gray — a failed loan, an honest phone call, and six buyer referrals since Connect with Sergio Gutierrez: http://www.grclending.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergio-gutierrez-273b7222/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    40 Years, One Rule — Always Answer: Sergio Gutierrez's Playbook at GRC Lending in Miami

  2. -1 дн.

    From Dropout to $80 Million: Jennifer Kline's Space Coast Mortgage Story at Neighborhood Loans

    Jennifer Kline is the Spacecoast Area Manager at Neighborhood Loans in Melbourne, Florida, a nine-year mortgage veteran closing more than $80 million a year who joined Neighborhood Loans this past February. Jennifer never set out to work in mortgage — she started as a mobile loan closer for extra income while staying home with her daughter during the mid-2000s refinance boom, all while working toward a teaching degree and eventually a master's degree aimed at becoming a school principal. Instead, an opportunity opened at Chase's loss mitigation center, and mortgage became her career by accident rather than design; she was named Rookie of the Year in her first year in the business. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Jennifer joins host Tony Thompson to talk about treating her business like an actual business rather than tracking leads on sticky notes, mentoring young female real estate agents as what she calls a "mentor mom," and her own homeownership story — buying her first home at 24 with down payment assistance, then using that equity to help fund a business her husband ran for 25 years, a chain of events that ultimately helped fund 30 more home transactions. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Jennifer calls real estate "psychological selling" in a fear-driven, high-rate market How treating her business like an actual business — not sticky notes — quadrupled her production Why she now mentors young female real estate agents as a "mentor mom" figure Her own down-payment-assisted first home purchase, and how the equity from it funded 30 more home transactions Why she considers herself a "hold" on herself — and what Tony thinks she's missing Connect with Jennifer Kline: https://neighborhoodloans.com/jennifer-kline/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-kline-19403363/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    From Dropout to $80 Million: Jennifer Kline's Space Coast Mortgage Story at Neighborhood Loans

  3. -1 дн.

    The Villages, Florida: Guy's Playbook for Leading the #1 Real Estate Team for 6 Years Running

    Guy Williams Jr. is Team Lead and Co-Owner of the Roberts Williams Team at RE/MAX Premier Realty in The Villages, Florida, the #1-producing Realtor team in The Villages and surrounding areas for six consecutive years, with more than $400 million in total sales and nearly 1,000 families served since 2020. For years, Guy and his business partner and brother-in-law, Matt Roberts, ran the team without real systems in place until late 2023 and early 2024, when they made their first hires, built out a full team of eight, and brought on a business coach through The CORE, a lender and real estate coaching organization. Following that coach's playbook — with a deliberate focus on repeat business and referrals over pure transaction volume — the team has doubled its business in the past two years. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Guy joins host Tony Thompson to talk about avoiding what he calls "commission breath," his "Bigger Pile Theory" for chasing mentors across every area of life, and why he's more excited than afraid about where AI is taking the real estate industry. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Guy warns against "commission breath" — and how it kills repeat business and referrals His "Bigger Pile Theory": constantly seeking out mentors across family, fitness, finance, business, and spirituality How hiring a business coach in 2024 helped the Roberts Williams Team double its business in two years Why he believes AI will enhance relationships in real estate, not replace them His prediction that two-thirds of the industry could shift to discount/flat-fee brokers within 3-4 years — and why relationship-focused agents will still win Connect with Guy Williams Jr.: https://www.robertswilliamsteam.com/ | https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/guy-williams-the-villages-fl/102073657 Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with top producers and leaders across real estate and mortgage.

    The Villages, Florida: Guy's Playbook for Leading the #1 Real Estate Team for 6 Years Running

  4. -6 дн.

    $1M Down the Hard Way: Sukesh Shekar's Path from McKinsey to Founding Altgage in Boston

    Sukesh Shekar is the Founder and CEO of Altgage, a mortgage company he built in Boston after a $1 million home purchase of his own turned into an education in everything wrong with the mortgage process. Before mortgage, Sukesh was a junior partner at McKinsey & Company — a Ph.D. and Notre Dame alum who assumed a home purchase would be straightforward given his own financial background. Watching how opaque and frustrating it was, even for a high-income household with a physician wife, is what pulled him fully into the industry roughly three to four years ago. Altgage's approach leans on details most brokers skip: watching the 10-year treasury for the right moment to lock a rate, waiving escrow where it genuinely helps a borrower, and structuring loans around how a client's income actually qualifies — all sped up by AI tools Sukesh uses to learn faster and analyze deals. His take on where the industry is headed: as AI takes over more of the mortgage process, the brokers who stay curious and keep the human guidance sharp are the ones borrowers will still need. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Sukesh believes human guidance becomes more valuable, not less, as AI advancesHow watching the 10-year treasury can help time a rate lockWhy "insanely curious" is his #1 trait for new loan originatorsWhat his own home-buying experience taught him about fixing the mortgage process Connect with Sukesh Shekar: https://www.altgage.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukesh-shekar/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    $1M Down the Hard Way: Sukesh Shekar's Path from McKinsey to Founding Altgage in Boston

  5. 18 авг.

    $30M and Still Self-Processing: Mario Escobedo's Relationship-First Playbook at Sienna Mortgage

    Mario Escobedo is the Broker/Owner and Senior Mortgage Advisor at Sienna Mortgage in Henderson, Nevada, and he does something most high-level originators avoid: he's simultaneously the top producer, the broker-owner, and the one still processing his own loans. Mario grew up around the mortgage business, stepped away for a stretch, and came back to it in 2016-2017, bringing a corporate sales background with him. He named the company Sienna Mortgage after his niece Sienna, his wife's goddaughter — reasoning there was no better name for a business built on family and trust. Today Sienna Mortgage does more than $30 million a year in production, almost all of it purchase business, growing 15-20% year over year. Mario credits relationship-based sales as his edge, running quarterly realtor masterminds with 15-25 agents to keep those referral relationships sharp. His view on sales is simple: it's the ability to build trust with somebody — nothing more complicated than that. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why Mario treats sales as "the ability to build trust with somebody"How running quarterly realtor masterminds keeps referral relationships aliveWhy staying hands-on as a self-processor makes him a better broker-ownerWhat it took to grow Sienna Mortgage 15-20% year over year Connect with Mario Escobedo: https://siennamortgage.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-escobedo-2a6b37132/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    $30M and Still Self-Processing: Mario Escobedo's Relationship-First Playbook at Sienna Mortgage

  6. 11 авг.

    300 to 2,000 Units a Year: Corrina Carter's Servant Leadership Playbook at CMS Mortgage Solutions

    Corrina Carter is the CEO and Owner of CMS Mortgage Solutions in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where 29 years in the mortgage industry — 21 of them running her own company — have taught her that growth stops the moment a leader tries to do it all herself. Corrina got her start in mortgage almost by accident: a family medical crisis pulled her out of her prior job, and she took an administrative role in the industry before working her way up to loan originator and, eventually, founding her own brokerage. For years she carried 60-70% of her company's production personally — until around 2022, when she made the deliberate choice to step back from selling and reinvest her profits into building out her team instead. The result: CMS Mortgage has grown from roughly 300 closed units a year to about 2,000, now operating across 27 states with 120 loan officers, 68% of them women. Corrina's advice to originators trying to grow faster is simple — don't go at it alone, and find people further down the path who can help shorten yours. 🔑 What You'll Learn: Why the biggest constraint in this business is bandwidth, not effortHow to make the shift from top producer to servant leaderWhy letting go of yesterday keeps you sharp todayWhat scaling a brokerage to 27 states actually requires Connect with Corrina Carter: https://cmsmortgage.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/corrina-carter-4216907/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

    300 to 2,000 Units a Year: Corrina Carter's Servant Leadership Playbook at CMS Mortgage Solutions

  7. 4 авг.

    34 Years in Mortgage: Jeff Dettelbach on Building a Husband-Wife Top Producer Team in Indianapolis

    Jeff Dettelbach is a senior mortgage loan originator at Hallmark Home Mortgage Powered by Fairway in Indianapolis, Indiana — 34 years into a mortgage career that started in 1992, still ranking in his company's top five producers alongside his wife and fellow top originator, Julianne. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson for a conversation about longevity, service, and what it takes to build a husband-and-wife top-producing team. Jeff graduated from Indiana University in 1991 and got his start calling alumni for donations at the IU Foundation — a role he credits with turning him from an introvert into a skilled communicator — before moving into mortgage telemarketing and, within his first year, management and then origination. What You'll Learn: How Jeff went from calling alumni for donations to 34 years as a mortgage originatorHow he and his wife Julianne built a team that ranks top five in their companyWhy "good old fashioned service" and due diligence still separate top producers from the restWhy 92-95% of clients need personal guidance no automated process can replaceJeff's "rifle approach" to networking, and why persistent follow-up is where the real business gets builtWhy reinvesting in your own development is non-negotiable for long-term originators Connect with Jeff Dettelbach: Hallmark Home Mortgage: https://myhhm.com/jeff-dettelbach/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

    34 Years in Mortgage: Jeff Dettelbach on Building a Husband-Wife Top Producer Team in Indianapolis

  8. 28 июл.

    From YouTube Burnout to #1 Broker Under 30: Shawn Malkou's Journey to X2 Mortgage in Chandler, AZ

    Shawn Malkou is the CEO and broker-owner of X2 Mortgage in Chandler, Arizona — named the #1 Mortgage Broker in the Country Under 30 for 2024, and projecting around $70 million in personal production this year. In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson for a candid conversation about an unlikely path into the industry: 8-9 years as a YouTube content creator before burnout, a volleyball coach's tip that changed everything, and a job offer that collapsed right after he got licensed — which turned into the best break of his career at a small three-person brokerage. He founded X2 Mortgage in 2021 and has since grown it to a team of about 20. What You'll Learn: How Shawn went from burned-out YouTube creator to broker-owner of X2 MortgageWhy the IMB job that fell through led him somewhere betterHow he named X2 Mortgage for SEO and phone clarity during the 2020-2021 boomWhy his weekly Monday sales meetings focus on metrics, not motivationHis "lead by doing" approach to running a teamWhy he tells new originators to master production before starting a companyHow AI is freeing up time for originators to close more loans Connect with Shawn Malkou: X2 Mortgage: https://x2mortgage.com/shawn-malkou LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnmalkou/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

    From YouTube Burnout to #1 Broker Under 30: Shawn Malkou's Journey to X2 Mortgage in Chandler, AZ
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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.

Информация

  • Автор
    Tony Thompson
  • Годы выхода
    2026
  • Выпуски
    23
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © 2026 Tony Thompson
  • Сайт подкаста
    Chasing Excellence

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