Effectively managing a big pipeline and high loan volume requires 3 main things from my experience: Discipline. Organization. Accountability.
Discipline: Force yourself to get into a daily and weekly rhythm or cadence. At the start of each week, do a 'big picture' look at upcoming closings, new underwrites, expiring locks, etc. Every morning, pull up your closing pipeline to see what you have to take care of first and then move backwards in the process.
Organization: A big pipeline can become overwhelming, very quickly. Help yourself by organizing it into smaller parts. Start with purchases versus refinances. Then break those down by closing dates, then by lock status. As we know, your day is going to get crazy, fast... so having an organized pipeline makes it easier to manage as the day unwinds.
Accountability: This is your pipeline. Your name is tied to these loans and these broker relationships. Run it like a business and be the CEO of your pipeline. No one else is going to (or should) care more about your loans than you. Put the right resources and support structures in place and approach every day with this mentality and you will see your mindset shift.
Now for some quick tips & tricks!
Pipeline views: In my opinion, this is the most important tool of managing high loan volumes. I have a view for everything... new loans, loans in disclosures, loans in line for UW, loans in UW, loans in closing... and a few other specific ones. This helps me quickly move between loans and milestones and not have to waste time searching. Time is precious!
Communication: Going back to accountability, be open and honest with your brokers about their loans. You are their eyes and ears on the lender-side, so they are relying on you to keep them updated and informed. Yes, technology can and does help with this, but communication from you directly goes a long way in the relationship.
Keep it clean: No one likes an old loan that has been sitting there for weeks or even months. Get into a habit of sorting by oldest loan and seeing what ones you can withdraw. Also do this with expiring or expired locks. And when a broker tells you that a loan is dead, get it out of the pipeline ASAP, don’t let it linger. Keeping your pipeline clean and full of loans that are alive and going to close will help you (and your Ops Team) stay focused and not waste any time.