The LO Down Mortgage Podcast

Connor Bartley
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  • Entrepreneurship

The LO Down Mortgage Podcast is THE podcast where we talk to the Top 20% of Loan Officers about the path to growth, the struggles they encountered along the way and the triumphs they celebrated.  Each episode is packed with valuable insights on how to grow and scale from $1-2M a month in volume to $2-5M a month and beyond.  If you're serious about growing your production volume, learn from those that have already been through it.  

  1. Fisherman to Loan Officer: Alaska's Accidental Mortgage Pro - The LO Down w/ Amanda Filori

    Jun 12

    Fisherman to Loan Officer: Alaska's Accidental Mortgage Pro - The LO Down w/ Amanda Filori

    She was a fisherman, a lighting tech, a bartender, a drafter, a teaching artist, and an escrow officer — before she ever closed a mortgage. And somehow, that's exactly what made Amanda Filori dangerous. In 2023, she went commission only. No salary. No safety net. No guarantees. Just a roadmap, a mentor who believed in her, and the willingness to be, as she puts it, "dumb enough not to quit." For six months — nothing. Then it compounded. Then it paid off. Here's what Amanda figured out that most new LOs take years to learn: You are a marketing officer first. Not a loan officer. Not a technician. A connector. Someone people look up before they ever call. If you're waiting to go on camera until you're polished, you've already lost. Video builds the bond before the first meeting. By the time they sit down with you, they've already decided. You connect people to opportunities — not just loans. Amanda's brand isn't "mortgage stuff." It's "Amanda has a guy." Whether someone needs a rental, a job connection, or just an opinion — she's the first call. That's not a marketing strategy. That's identity. And identity is the most durable business development tool in existence. The gym analogy is real. You won't see results for months. Most people quit there. The ones who don't? They build something. The scoreboard catches up — but only if you keep doing the reps. And when her internet cut out mid-flight and her team handled everything without her? Terrifying. Then freeing. That's when she knew she was building something real. If you're a newer LO grinding without results, or a top producer still stuck in technician mode — this one's for you.

    31 min
  2. Engineer Turned LO: Why He Walks His Dogs to Deals - The LO Down w/ Matt Hunter

    Jun 10

    Engineer Turned LO: Why He Walks His Dogs to Deals - The LO Down w/ Matt Hunter

    What if your best business development move wasn't a cold call, a CRM campaign, or a paid ad — but a dog walk? Meet Matt Hunter. Chemical engineer. Farm owner. Nearly thirty years in mortgage. And one of the most quietly effective operators you'll find anywhere in the Southeast. Matt didn't plan to be a loan officer. His mom needed help. His wife said he needed a job. And then one day he looked up and realized he was in it for good. What followed was decades of building something most LOs say they want but few actually create: a boutique operation where every client feels like they're the only one. Here's what makes Matt's story worth your time: He left the broker world not because it was hard, but because he lost control of his pipeline — and a loan officer without pipeline control isn't running a business, they're just hoping. Moving to an IMB gave him his time back and freed him to do the one thing that actually moves the needle: originate. He built a two-person team that punches like a heavyweight. His LOA pre-underwrites every file so thoroughly that underwriters barely touch it. Gifts show up at closing — for her. That's how you know you've built the right team. And his top lead gen strategy? Walking his two golden retrievers past four real estate offices every single day. No pitch. No agenda. Just presence, consistency, and the world's best icebreaker. Matt also dropped something every LO in their 50s needs to hear: this is a vocation, not a job. He worked with a client for six years before that person was ready to buy. That's what patient, relationship-first lending looks like. If you're building for the long game, this episode is your blueprint.

    30 min
  3. Mayor, Mortgage Boss & $5M/Month: How He Did It - The LO Down w/ Chet Mann

    Jun 8

    Mayor, Mortgage Boss & $5M/Month: How He Did It - The LO Down w/ Chet Mann

    What does a $5 million/month mortgage producer, an elected mayor, and a dad who almost lost his son have in common? The same guy. And he's giving you the playbook. Chet Mann built one of the most productive mortgage businesses in the Carolinas — not by grinding 60 hours a week, but by obsessing over systems until the whole thing could run without him. The $60 Million Production Engine isn't a motivational poster. It's a day-by-day, cylinder-by-cylinder framework that tells you and your team exactly what to do Monday through Friday — until it gets boring. And boring, as Chet says, is the goal. But here's what most LOs miss: the systems aren't just for volume. They're insurance. When Chet's son was on home dialysis three nights a week waiting for a kidney transplant, when his cousin was fighting stage four cancer, when his family was reeling — the business didn't fall apart. Because the process held. His A-players held. The structure he'd built for years activated exactly when he needed it most. This episode is a masterclass in: Why people buy you, not your company — and why most LOs are too afraid to say itHow a mayoral listening tour translates directly to better real estate agent relationshipsThe one leadership principle that separates $3M/month producers from $5M/month ones (hint: it starts with letting go)Why 7s are the enemy — and what your team rating should actually look likeChet isn't here to hype you up. He's here to hand you the map he wished someone gave him 15 years ago. If you're serious about building a mortgage business that scales, survives, and actually means something — this is the episode.

    33 min

  4. Jun 5

    She Ordered Bailey's on the Rocks & Niched Down, Now She's Unstoppable- The LO Down w/ Erin Hamilton

    She Stumbled Into Mortgage at a Christmas Party. 23 Years Later, She's Just Getting Started. Erin Hamilton didn't plan this career. She ordered Bailey's on the rocks, met a woman who saw something in her, and the rest is 23 years of building, grinding, and figuring it out the hard way. Here's what makes her story worth your time: she was doing a lot — builder tours, open houses, broker tours, working nights, no assistant, a toddler at home — and still felt like someone was holding her ankle underwater. Sound familiar? The shift happened when she got in a room where every single person had support staff. Not the big teams. Not the mega-producers. Everyone. That was the wake-up call. Now she's got her team locked in, and she went all in on one thing: the Buy Now, Sell Later bridge product. The result? A 36% increase in production in a single year. One product. One consistent message. Every Thursday on broker tour. That's it. She's not selling rates. She's not selling fluff. She's solving a specific problem better than anyone in her market — in-house product, faster speed, and a bridge fee that came in at $11K when her closest competitor quoted $42K on the same deal. And here's the part most LOs miss: she still feels like she's only at 30% capacity. With a nearly four-year-old at home, a husband with an unpredictable schedule, and a deliberately protected life — she's building this thing on her terms. The takeaway: stop trying to be everything to everyone. Find the one problem you solve better than anybody. Get in rooms that show you what's possible. And for the love of all things — stop manifesting and go do it.

    30 min

  5. Jun 4

    He Sells Customer Service, Not Rates — Here's Why It Works - The LO Down w/ Alex Turner

    From Yoga Mats to $30M: How Alex Turner Figured Out What Actually Builds a Mortgage Business Most loan officers are out here competing on rates, chasing every lead, and wondering why they're exhausted and stuck. Alex Turner said forget that. Fresh out of college, no sales experience, caddying and teaching yoga just to survive — Alex had every reason to play it safe. Instead, he made a decision: he would only compete on customer service and communication. Not rates. Not products. Service. That bet paid off. He saw the refi wave coming to an end while everyone else was celebrating, moved to a new company six to eight months before the market shifted, relocated to a less saturated market (total accident, total win), and built what could be the largest mortgage operation in his city. Here's the part most LOs miss: Alex doesn't just talk about service — he operationalizes it. He spends more time on a pre-approval than most LOs spend on a closed deal, because he'd rather catch a problem at 8am on a Tuesday than destroy a referral relationship on closing day. And his team? He's got a processor who works weekends by choice, loses sleep over files that don't close, and treats every deal like it's personal. The outcome: agents know an Alex Turner pre-approval means the deal closes. The lesson he leaves you with: stop chasing people who don't value what you bring. Find the agents who get it, serve the hell out of them, and let everyone else go. This is how you go from broke and lost to $30M. Not hacks. Not tricks. Just clarity, commitment, and customer service that hits different.

    28 min

  6. Jun 3

    The In-Person Advantage No One Talks About - The LO Down w/ Bryant Delgado

    Most loan officers are out here chasing the next app, the next platform, the next "hack" — while Bryant Delgado is driving to client apartments and closing 100+ units a year doing it. Bryant didn't stumble into mortgage. He came up through loss mitigation, processing, and underwriting — and one cold call to a high-earning LO flipped the switch. Within three months, he quit. No safety net. Just conviction. Here's what separates him: while everyone's debating DMs vs. cold calls, Bryant's team is showing up in person because that's what his market demands. 90% Hispanic clientele. Low tech adoption. High trust threshold. You either meet people where they are, or you lose them to someone who will. He built a fully bilingual team — not conversational, fluent — mostly through warm referrals and past clients. He runs a P&L branch because he thinks like an operator, not just a producer. He invests his revenue back into referral partner relationships. And he's got a Shark Tank pitch ready for an ITIN product the industry is too afraid to build. The lesson? Bryant didn't win by being everywhere. He won by being exactly where his community needed him — in person, in their language, and in it for the long haul. If you're a loan officer asking whether the grind is worth it — Bryant's answer is simple: trust your gut and move forward. That's the whole thing. Stop waiting. Start showing up.

    25 min

  7. Jun 3

    Free Ice Cream and $500k in Equity - The LO Down w/ Greg Anderson

    Greg Anderson almost got fired in 2005 for refusing to put people in bad loans. Twenty-one years later he's in the top 500 loan officers in the country and building toward a business that runs without him. That is not a coincidence. While other top producers were buying the fancy cars and over-leveraging during the boom years, Greg was living on a county employee's budget, quietly investing in index funds, and helping neighbors buy homes they could actually afford. When the crash came, his peers lost everything. His business grew. Here is what Greg figured out that most loan officers never do: when you go to work to help people instead of make money, the money stacks up anyway — and eventually you reach a point where you do not need any single client, partner, or deal badly enough to compromise how you operate. He calls it the handover phase now. The goal is to come to the office only when he feels like it. But the real gold in this episode is how Greg built the relationships that got him there — not with lead capture forms and follow-up sequences, but with a Ben and Jerry's truck, a school he attended as a kid, and 700 scoops of ice cream on the last day of school. No ask. No form. Just showing up for the community that made him. If you think community presence is a soft strategy, this episode will change your mind. And if you have ever wondered what it looks like to build a business where you truly do not need anyone, Greg is living proof it is possible — and it starts a lot earlier than most people think.

    29 min

  8. Jun 3

    The Webinar Strategy That is Generating 100s of Leads/Month – The LO Down w/ Brett Baldwin

    You built a book of business. You've got referral partners. And you're one bad quarter from watching half of it walk out the door with them. Brett Baldwin saw it happen to himself — stepped away from production, handed off his best realtor relationships, and watched them evaporate in real time. So he made a decision: never again. What Brett built instead is the kind of business most loan officers talk about but never actually construct. Sixty to seventy percent of his pipeline now comes in organically — no ad spend, no hand-holding, no chasing. Reviews, YouTube, social presence, and a home buyer webinar funnel that generates 200 leads a month and feeds his entire team with warm follow-up calls. The kicker? He did it on purpose, years before he needed it, while everyone else was waiting for the immediate return. In this episode Brett breaks down exactly how the funnel works, what $450 in ad spend actually gets you, how he handles no-shows, and why he uses the people who didn't attend the webinar as at-bats for his team. He also gets into what he looks for in culture — hint, it has nothing to do with production volume — and what his business needs to look like in two years for him to feel like he got it right. If you're still depending on two or three referral partners to keep the lights on, this one is going to hit different.

    26 min
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About

The LO Down Mortgage Podcast is THE podcast where we talk to the Top 20% of Loan Officers about the path to growth, the struggles they encountered along the way and the triumphs they celebrated.  Each episode is packed with valuable insights on how to grow and scale from $1-2M a month in volume to $2-5M a month and beyond.  If you're serious about growing your production volume, learn from those that have already been through it.  

Information

  • Creator
    Connor Bartley
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    110
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Connor Bartley
  • Show Website
    The LO Down Mortgage Podcast

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