Welcome back to Lending Leadership: The Creative Brief—your trusted resource for building bold brands and thriving careers in the lending world.

In this episode, we’re diving deep into what it truly means to stand out as a loan officer in today's crowded marketplace. We’re joined by the dynamic Trevor York from Linkspot, whose fresh perspective and storytelling skills left a lasting impression at our recent sales rally. His now-famous mantra, “different is better than better,” has inspired many in our network to break away from the pack and redefine what connection really means in client relationships and personal branding.

Together with Trevor, we explore why authenticity and creativity should take priority over the old standard of competence marketing in lending. Trevor shares the journey that led him from feeling like an outlier in a traditionally conservative industry to becoming a creative force, guiding others to find their voice, communicate with confidence, and forge more meaningful links with their communities. He also sheds light on the psychology of trying “something different,” and how overcoming fear can lead to memorable, resonant branding.

We also get personal—discussing everything from unique gift-giving to the roles that alter egos, personal quirks, and hobbies can play in building a brand that’s both memorable and true to you.

If you’re looking for actionable tips, permission to take creative risks, and an inside look at why standing out is the new standard for success in lending, this is one episode you won’t want to miss.

Key takeaways:

1. “Different is Better Than Better”: Trevor unpacks why differentiation beats perfection in today’s lending landscape. Being the best doesn’t matter if you’re invisible—standing out by being truly yourself is what captures attention and builds relationships.
2. Lead with Connection, Not Just Competence: Too often, loan officers default to showcasing their expertise and products. Trevor (and our own experiences) highlight that personal stories, thoughtful touches, and unexpected gifts create lasting bonds and help you move from “just another loan officer” to a memorable partner in your clients’ journeys.
3. Creativity Requires Courage: Embracing originality can feel risky, especially in industries built on proven templates. Trevor’s advice: the first step is always the hardest, and often all you need is permission to do the thing you’ve wanted to try. The payoff is well worth pushing through the discomfort of “different.”
4. Let Your Brand Reveal Itself: You don’t need to invent a “shtick” or rigid persona. Instead, let your interests, quirks, and day-to-day life naturally inform your branding. Whether it’s a love of dogs, hiking, or pickles, small authentic details make you relatable—and your marketing all the more engaging.
5. Reverse Brainstorming for Better Content: Trevor’s favorite exercise for improving marketing is to flip the script: identify what makes bad content, then do the opposite. This simple, honest reflection uncovers exactly where you can stand out and breaks through creative blocks, whether you’re posting on social media or interacting with clients.

Tune in, take notes, and get ready to start doing things differently—because better is good, but different makes you unforgettable.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow Trevor for more inspiration, or reach out if you’re ready to have him energize your next event. As always, thanks for joining us on Lending Leadership: The Creative Brief.

Rach & Rinn

Alright, loan officers. Welcome. We are here today with Lending Leadership, the creative brief, and we have a very, very special guest that I'm excited to announce for you guys. Trevor York from LingSpot has joining joined us today. And we are gonna be talking about all things branding, all things creative for loan officers and how you guys can build your businesses and your brands. Welcome, Trevor.

Hello. It's good to see you guys.

It's good to see you.

Hey, Rach. Hi. Thanks so much for taking some time. Trevor was just one of our key speakers at our sales rally. And, man, I I wanna say pretty much everybody walked away with this feeling of who was Trevor York? That was incredible. You know, the way you told stories and the way that you connected with with our group, was awesome. And one key thing kept coming up, the your awesome phrase of different is better than better. Where the heck did you come up with that? It's so simple, but so amazing, and it's just one of those things that everyone is still talking about, and they're using that as their own mantra in everything they're doing.

Where did that come from?

So it actually it was a buddy of mine, Chris Do. And I believe he actually took it from there's an author who wrote a book. It kinda tapping into creativity, but Chris was talking about this at a conference a few years back. And Chris is, like, graphic designer, half brain of graphic designer Half brain, like, the world's greatest life coach and philosopher So brilliant, brilliant human And so he came to this conference that we put on, and he's talking to people in the mortgage industry And so his whole life, he's spoken to creative people And so now he's speaking to very left brain people, which are a lot different than the creative world he's used to. And so this is one of the things that he broke down, and he kinda said it quickly, but it jumped out to me because I'm like, that's such a good point. And we see this all the time in our industry. Like, I I don't know who when I walked into the room that that you guys put on. Right? There's some of the top producers sitting in there, and you guys have a lot of top producers.

I have no idea who's a top producer. Even, like, a thirty year person versus someone who's one year in the business. Like, when you look at them, you don't really know a difference. And then in our, like, digital world, now everybody could sound like a pro because you can rehearse what you're gonna say 30 times. So me being one year in the business could sound as good as someone who's thirty years in the business. Right? And so it's not so much about being the best. It's about being the best known. And so when Chris was kinda breaking this down, and he broke it down a lot of different ways, that concept of, like, different is better than better because, I mean, we all know it in our industry.

There's a lot of top producers who are not good at loans. And It's frustrating for people. Like, I know more than they do. It's like, well, it's not really what it's about, unfortunately. So, yeah, I kinda I stole that from Chris. I think Chris stole it from someone else, but it's a really cool concept, and and I think it applies so strongly in our industry.

Well, we have so many, loan officers who were inspired by that, Trevor. Like, even I think it was, one of our awesome Ellos, Denise, she was sending out a recipe to her customers and her realtors, you know, over Easter weekend or before the holiday. And she was just pointing out some really cool things that she does with her recipe. And she actually referenced the tag and said different is better than better. And I think it inspired her to do something totally different before the holiday to get in front of people. Instead of just saying happy Easter like many do or send a family photograph, which everybody does and are are very nice to do, not knocking that at all. She thought of this really unique dish that she makes and how it could stand out sharing the recipe with, you know, her database. So, kind of a cool concept.

No. No. It it was not just a recipe. It was Denise in this, like, tropical outfit, and it's Easter. Right? She made the meatloaf lamb, and it was like this lamb. And then I'm I'm thinking, okay. Are your guests just gonna hack into this lamb? And but she it was lovely. It was adorable.

It

was incredible. I love I love to see that. That's always that. I feel like that one of the problems we have in our industry is we we always sell competence over connection. Right? So, like, the content we make, the marketing do, we're we're we're constantly trying to enforce competence of, like, we're good at what we do, and we always try to tie something back to a sale. So then we'll get kinda, like, going into Easter, enjoy time with your family, remember homeowner and then we always have to bring it back to some sort of sale. And, ultimately, like, the thing we sell is connection. And so, yeah, the the the gifts and and how we show up and Corinne actually took this and ran with it and it was like one of my favorite examples.

Can I share that, Corinne?

Yes. Please share it. I wanted to make sure you got them first, but go ahead and share

it. So this was this was, this just showed up to my house, like, three days ago, right before I was leaving for another talk But it was a thank you gift for going to the conference And I kind of know what usually comes in those You know what I mean? And it's like the the kind of you you know what to expect. And I opened it, and it was just two jars of pickles. And I'm like, this is already cool. I already like where this is going because that is not at all what I expected. But what made it so neat, and and it wasn't so much just like a funny shtick. It was actually really, really cool and personal, was then Corinne shared about these pickles, and you can only get them in one place and that she loves these and thinks they're amazing. And it's amazing because I don't have to be, like, a pickle connoisseur to think this was a cool gift.

The cool part was, like, I just got to learn more about Corinne. That felt really personal, felt like a connection piece. And I was like, that was my favorite gift I've ever gotten from from a event organizer. Like, that was so cool and unique and and a % different, and it's memorable.

Well, I think one of the the biggest points that you've made, Trevor, that's really resonated with a lot of us too, and you you pointed this out in your presentation. Not to blow you guys have to see his presentation if you haven't or or talk to Trevor about, some of his speaking engagements. But, that when you're getting ready to send something that's out of the box, we always have that fear moment. Right? Everybody does this. Any small business owner, anybody who's sending something out of the box, oh, well, you know, this is different, and it's kinda weird. And what if the person doesn't like it? And it triggered. It went into my mind. Well, you know you know, what if Trevor doesn't like dill pickles? I mean, I would be very disappointed if you didn't, Trevor.

We'll get into that in a minute. But if he didn't like them, I sent him a gift and he doesn't even like them. But, but then I remembered your presentation. It doesn't it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Yeah. And it's about connecting, standing out, and somebody getting that. And whether or not they're actually a pickle lover doesn't matter.

Somebody in their household is or somebody they know is anyway.

That's the that's the, like, a really good point. And I think that that's one of the things when I do this talk is every time afterwards, people will come up and it's like, man, that was exciting. And I have the thing and and they already know what they wanna do, which is interesting. Like, a lot of people, it doesn't so much inspire the ideas as as it hopefully inspires some action. And a lot of times, people just need permission to do the thing that they already wanted to do. And it's really weird because doing something different is inherently scary, which is why I think we all default to what's been done is because it's safe. And so then when you build your business, you build it the same way someone else did because it's safe and it's proven. Even if you wanna try a different way, that's there's a little bit of fear in there.

And this this has come up a lot of times with with buddies when I'm talking about this talk and, you know, like, how come more people don't take action on this? And I think part of it, it's not necessarily even a fear fear of failure, which is weird because in the coaching world, like, I've I've taught people social media for the last five years. I've coached thousands of people in mortgage and real estate. And when I give people, like, here, say these exact words Go on social and say it They say it and they're not afraid of it failing or not But then they're afraid to say their own words where I'm like, can now you make a script And so it's never the fear of failing because they didn't have that fear when it was something I gave whether it worked or not But it's if the one I gave them didn't work, at least it wasn't something new and it's not on them Where when you try something original and you're the first to try something and it doesn't work, it's like, oh, that's on me And then we get really critical of ourselves And then we start to have all this negative self talk And so it's it's a shift in our head of, like, knowing we're not afraid of failure There's this selfishness that, like, we're afraid of the failure being on us And so much of that goes away when you take that first step is one Just you have to do the thing and you get that affirmation that it's not as scary as you thought, and it doesn't reflect on you any different way. And then the other piece to that, which me and you kinda laughed about at the event, Corinne, is, like, some of the stuff you're already doing isn't working. So then why not try it? You know, like we were jokingly saying like if you're giving fruit baskets at closing and then now you want to do pickles and you're scared like what if they don't like pickles like they probably didn't like the fruit basket anyways. No? It's not like that's crushing and hitting it out of the park so like what's what's really the risk?

I love that you brought that up, Trevor and this is so funny and gosh. Yeah. It's like if it's on me, then then you're exposing yourself right. It's like oh, then they're gonna know I'm terrible, but I think this should I tell them the Bridget story, Corinne? My Of course. Bridget. My Bridget story. I experienced the same thing, and I think anyone in sales, nobody likes cold calling. Cold calling's awful because you feel like I'm interrupting people and, like, they're gonna hate me, and I'm cool.

Like, I got something good to give here. I got some I've got something good to say. Yep. So my theaters my background's in theater and acting and singing, and so I was like, alright. I gotta change this up. So I created my own alter ego, and I named her Bridgette, and and she's English. And so I would cold call and and have Bridgette do it because if they denied Bridgette, it's fine because Rachel was still safe. But Bridgette is the one they don't like, but Rachel's good.

So, you know, creating that little alter ego for yourself and think, okay. Well, maybe people need to do this for posting on social. You know? Like, think of it as your alter alter ego. And if you need to create a Bridget, then fine. I mean, people might think you're a little crazy, I would imagine. But, but for me, I could kinda hide behind that. And and then it got me over the hump of being like, okay. Rachel Rachel's ready to make some cold calls now.

Now that I I knew that I had the the track record of Bridget behind me.

I feel like there's there's so many, like, little nuances to that story of of why that worked and why that was helpful, but it's you see this a lot with street performers. A lot of them, like, when you see them painted, they paint their whole faces or they wear masks or there's there's something that literally changes, and that's when they become very, very outgoing. And so you'll see some of these performers that have a lot of these, kind of like the costumes are part of their act. Those types of people, when you take them out of that setting, are very introverted or more shy versus the performers who show up just as themselves and they are the performer. And so it's really interesting because that that helps a lot of people be able to get their art into the world is, like, dancers will do it, you know, like, throw the mask on. That's part of your stick. And then you just become this different person. And when you put that on, you feel like something really powerful.

So that is a

good thing. It's basic psychology or something. There's a psychology shift, or I'm sure if we had, like, a doctor in psychology here, they would have a simple way to define or explain this. Right? But it's it's really about feeling confident in your space, you know, and and and how that mind shift occurs and and putting you at a place where you can feel confident doing something. How did you how did you get into this, Trevor? Like, how did you get to this place of of consulting Ellos and and, you know, making their brands different and and doing what you do so well?

So I'm actually still licensed loan officer. I've been in the business since '17. And for me, it was like I got in. I was the youngest person in my branch. I was kind of the youngest person in my my market, really, because I got in in '17, which was still kind of, you know, the recession weeded out a lot of people. No people wanted to get into mortgage post crash. So I was just at the start of, like, this isn't the worst profession in the world. Again, you know, like, right when it's coming back.

So so it was kinda me and then all these people that were thirty year veterans. There was no one that was, like, five years in the business or, you know, sub ten years. It was either you're a veteran or me. And so when I was doing this, I was following what my branch manager showed me because it worked. You know what I mean? And and, obviously, I'm, like, a huge fan of mentors. And this is what he was showing me as you call on builders. And keep in mind, like, this guy still hand wrote, his loan estimates, and then his his team would have to send, like, an official one. But he was still adamant of, like, I wanna send this to the person in actual pen, and then his team would scan the handwritten one.

And then they would do the official one to make sure that it was compliant. So that's what he did, but he did extremely well. He's one of the top producers in our city, really well known. And so I was copying what he was doing because it it worked. And then I was having a lot of, like, friction with, like, I don't really like the way I'm doing this. And there was something actually there was, like, a specific day where I remember I was having one of those days that we all have in mortgage where I'm like, man, I'm getting shot. I got yelled at. Like, something bad happened out of my control.

It's it's those days where, like, I hate my job. You know? And so I I went into his office because I'm like, man, he's gonna have some, like, wisdom for me. He's been doing this a really long time. And I go into his office and he's on the phone and he's getting ripped by a borrower And I'm like, man, if I do everything he's showing me to the best of my abilities, I eventually get to where he's at And then I'm looking where he's at, and I'm like, he's in the same place I'm at He just has more money is the only difference

And

so that was kind of a wake up call to me where I'm like, man, if I spend the next thirty years doing everything right, I'm gonna be exactly where I am now The only difference is gonna be income, which that's a pretty crummy thing to to be driven solely by. Right? And so then for me, that's when I started, like, I'm gonna make some social media videos. My background was in video, like, going through college. I'd film weddings and do stuff in the the video world. So I'm like, I wanna do videos. And I told my manager that, and he's like, oh, they don't work. And I'm like, oh, you tried it? He's like, no. Because they don't work.

I'm like, alright. That makes sense.

Don't you love that? No. I've never done it before, but I'm gonna tell you it doesn't work.

Yeah. Like, people like that.

Good one.

Yes. So for me, that was just a green light. Like, go ahead and do it. So I'm like, alright. And, did the videos and I started working. And then for me, the focus was on, like, I just wanna make the best possible videos for the person on the other side of the camera. And so at the start, like, that's my local sphere. It's all the people that are friends with me on Facebook or Instagram.

And so at the start, I was making these how I would expect a loan officer to make these because, again, I just went back to what was safe. You know? So it was, hey. This is Trevor York with All Western Mortgage, and today I'm talking about I got my collared shirt on and my hair combed and just this is not me. And so even those were starting to work because at that time, nobody was doing video. And so I was getting a lot of really good feedback from like, okay, the the vehicle is there's something here. And, my goal was to start doing them more consistently And in order for me to do that, I had to just film when it was when when I was able to And so there were days where I wasn't meeting with clients or referral partners where I would just show up to the office wearing a t shirt and a hat because that's how I dress And so I would still shoot videos that way. And then those videos were the ones that tended to perform a lot better than the other ones. And there's this kinda whole long story that you guys heard of me going through this process of, like, all of a sudden these videos go from reaching hundreds of people to thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then millions of people.

And my buddy, Moe, was kinda pulling us apart of, like, alright. What's working? And we we kinda found this correlation. You know? Yeah. And it was like, when you're wearing the hat, the videos do better. And it was amazing because it wasn't the hat. It was actually, like, if you close your eyes and I played you one video where I'm wearing a hat, one where I'm not, the words I chose were different. The the confidence, the the the industry jargon, like, all of those were different because when I put the hat on, I was me. It's kinda like we were talking about.

Like, there was Bridgette and then there was Rachel. Right? Like, there was the loan officer, Trev, and then there was just Trev. And so when I got rid of loan officer, Trevor, and just started being me, all of a sudden the video start doing a lot better. And it's because, like, people just like to be talked to like people. They don't wanna be lectured by a loan officer in a collared shirt. So anyways, that was a very long story to give the context of as the video started to blow up. Obviously, it helped the loan business, but then a lot of people in our industry started to follow. And then that was a lot of them just it was none of this was planned.

It was just like people ask for the thing and then do it. So they wanted to learn social media. So we started coaching people in social media for the last five years. And then the software component of what Linkspot is was something that was just, like, asked for by all the people that followed. And so, yeah, it was a that was a long way of showing the journey of how we got to where we are. But

But so organic. Right? I I mean, everyone's throwing that term around now. It's organic. Organic. But, like, when you just kind of, I don't know, roll with it and take the next thing and then the next thing and the next thing and you just you grind and you you have fun doing it, I I think it's so easy to say, oh, just be yourself. Just be authentic. Sometimes people don't even know what that is. And, you know, we're constantly telling our loan officers, yeah, do video.

It's so funny. I'm sure I'm sure the manager who said, no. Don't do video because they don't work. He's probably kicking himself now or herself now. Like, oh, yeah.

They don't work. A video or he's doing video.

Or he's doing video. Yeah. I don't think he is. I think he's doing he's doing pretty good. But absolutely right. It is a a it's such easy words to say And it is simple, but it's not easy It's just like, hey, just be you Like, that's scary It's difficult There's a lot of, like, work you have to do on, like, well, who am I? And the the one thing I could tell you is you're a lot more than what you do for a living. You know, you're a lot more than a loan officer. And that's the thing we wanna share with people.

And every single time I've gotten in those situations where people are like, well, there's nothing amazing about me, and there's nothing unique. And then it it it doesn't have to be, like, oh, I go do, like, hang gliding, and that's my activity, and it's something really extraordinary. Like, it could be pretty simple. And so I was talking to this one girl, Cassie, about this, and she's like, there's nothing about, like, me that's unique. All I do is work. Like, well, what do you do when you're not working? She's like, nothing. Like, she's trying to push that, and it's like, well, no. Really? Like, what does your day look like when you leave here? What are you gonna go do? And she's like, well, I'm gonna take my dogs for a walk.

It's like, okay. Where do you walk? And she's like, oh, I go through the hills. And I was like, you enjoy being outside? And she's like, yeah. I like walking on the hills. And then we're doing this thing of, like, okay. So now Cassie after that, I know way more about you even if it was just like you have two dogs. You enjoy going outside. You enjoy these walks because you enjoy nature.

Like, those are things that create opportunities to connect with people. And so even simple stuff like that, the more you share it, the more people connect with you and realize you're a real person, and it it takes away that feeling of us being a commodity. But

Well, I think I think it's a good point, though, because, you know, when you dig into those conversations, Trevor, we hear it too. It's a struggle of figuring out, well, what's my thing? What's my thing? And a lot of times, it's just tell us about your day to day. Everybody's a consumer. We're all consumers. We all have some something we do outside of work, whether it's, as you pointed out, walking the dog, some hobby that maybe you don't think is that interesting. Maybe you're just sitting and playing chess or playing cards with friends. Like, it could be something like, well, that's not interesting. No.

Actually, it is. And it and as you point out, it does connect with individuals, to just showcase something in a different way even if it's something simplistic than those videos that we see time and time again that as you point out are just pointing out. Well, we have this product and we have this product and you see every single person in that industry whether it be a loan officer or a different industry saying basically the same thing.

That's

Well, this person's doing it walking the dogs and they have the same kind of a dog that I have and they like hiking too like I like hiking. Might not seem like anything crazy out there different, but it it separates you from from the way that other people are doing their videos or sharing their concepts.

I think one of the things too is that we we set the bar really high on what we think it needs to be. Mhmm. Right? And then we think we need to commit to this, like, brand. Like, what's your brand? And then is it, like, okay. Am I the dog walking lender? It's like, no. It doesn't need to like, we don't need to get to that level right away. Right? A lot of times, like, your brand reveals itself. It's not something you create.

And so, like, the example that you did is perfect is the sending me those pickles was not like, you're not, like, the pickle lender, and now all my marketing is people themed, and I'm gonna like, it doesn't need to go to that level. You know? Like, it's it's baby steps. And so that was just a way of, like, this is who I am. This is a very small piece. Pickles do not define Corinne. But when she passes this door when she's on vacation, she stops to get the pickles.

Listen. Pickles don't define me, Trevor, but I may have ordered another case. So I guess they make for great gifts. And if you don't like a salty bill, I don't know what to say. I mean, it's great with a sandwich. So, like, yeah, they're around. But, no, they absolutely cannot define me. But, yes,

I love it. Been there there's, like, a wrong example and Corinne's like, no. I'm going all in on pickles. And next podcast, she's gonna be in a pickle costume.

I have one. I have a pickle costume. Coles was he was pickle pickle and peanut. Him and his buddy were pickle and peanuts. It's, like, weird cartoon. A few years ago, you're getting the pickle costume, Crenn. Sending it to

you. Yeah. We can't not go further with that now.

You know, all of this yeah. Because we're always talking about your brand, your brand, your brand. And it's something that it's this fine line where we want people to brand themselves, but, yeah, we don't want them I see that all the time now. The pickle the pickle loan officer mom, the mortgage madness mom, you know, we feel like we need to have this tag. Talk to me a little bit about that because I think I think people feel like they need to do that. They need to wear that hat.

Yeah. And it's this is like a a a deep conversation, and it's it's interesting because, like, there's a lot of arguments that that that's not your your personal brand. Right? So that could be a brand that you've created or a stick, but when it comes to your personal brand, like, your personal brand is you. And so I think the reason that there is some value in in finding what your thing is is it makes it kind of easier. So even I feel like we should find a different example because it'll be hard not to laugh on the the pickles. But even if that is the thing, you know, it makes it kind of easier when you're like, okay, I gotta give gifts. Gifts are pickle themed, and then I need to send a needs list. Maybe it'll be, you know, a picture of a pickle jar, and it looks like the ingredients when I send it out.

And then if I send them something, maybe put it in a jar that looks like it's pickles and maybe it's not actually pickles. That's where they're able to get the key to their house that I give them at signing, you know, or like, there's there's all these things that it makes it kind of easy once you have a theme of, like, okay. Now I know how to incorporate that in all these different areas is, like, how can I draw some parallel? And then through that, it gets kind of fun because then all these branches will start to stem off from it. And you're like, okay. Maybe it's not just pickles. Maybe it's food in general. And now it's, like, Corrine's kind of food things. And we're learning about this journey of, like, okay.

In the summer, it's driving past this thing and this pickles. But then she also in the winter, it becomes this thing. And then so now we have all these different components that are starting to build this brand that that is who you are. So on some level, that's that's kind of easy. The the problem where I think it goes wrong is when people create that versing versus having it organically happen. And so when you try and develop a shtick of, like, oh, I wanna be the, yeah, dog walking mom lender and that's my thing Like, hopefully that aligns with who you are because you're gonna have to stick with that And ideally, that's something that just creates connection with people And so if you're a mom, like, absolutely that makes sense that that is part of your personal brand because that's who you are and if you have dogs, like, awesome. That is who you are. My buddy, Alex, is the mortgage pug.

He's had pugs for the last fifteen years, and that is a piece of who he is. And it does open the door for conversations and other people who love dogs and even people who hate dogs. And, like, dude, I'm a cat person, but I love you, and I love my cat as much as you love your pug. You know what I mean? Like, there's still those opportunities. But, yeah, that would be the one thing I would caution is that if you're going all in on a brand that you've created, make sure that there's not a disalignment from what your personal brand is, which is who you are. And so my advice would typically be to let that reveal itself and it kind of, like, just through who you are, like, oh, I've got kids right now and we're mountain biking, and so I'm just gonna write an email newsletter about riding mountain bikes with my son. And then that's gonna start to get traction and you get that feedback And you're like, oh, maybe I could share more of that And then you realize, like, man, something that really defines me is, like, when I'm not working, I love being outdoors and I love being with my family And so, like, my buddy Darren has kinda done he's very similar He likes hiking, he likes skiing And so he'll have things like his, customer journey when you get preapproved of him where he shows all the different milestones. It's in the form of, like, a ski map when you go to a ski resort.

And so he's kinda leaning into this thing. And then some of the milestones that he sends is, like, the trail marker signs when you're hiking, and it'll tell you when you've been preapproved or these different areas. And so it reveals something about Darren. And so he doesn't have to, like, create the shtick, but is is just who he is. So, yeah, that's kinda my take on the the shticks versus having that be part of your your actual

brand. Yeah. And that's so that's so honest. And I think what we're we keep getting back to is just that authenticity is that's the thing that's gonna drive everything. You know, not trying to make fetch happen if fetch ain't gonna happen. You know, just being true to yourself. And I think at the end of the day, that authenticity is everything. Because people can sniff it out so fast.

Right? If you're gonna try to be like somebody else just because it's working for somebody over there and, like, oh, I'm gonna try that, but it's not really who I am. We just it's it's obvious.

And I think, like, what we're looking at right now is a really good example of this because when I'm looking at your frame, Rachel, of the stuff behind you with, like, the pink chair and the pillows and the lamp and then the artwork on the other side, like, there's clearly a theme that is telling me a lot about who you are. Right? And we got the Beatles record So in the lending of old, we used to always meet with our clients and they come into our office and they see these things about us and that starts conversation And whether we knew it or not, that was building our brand And so, like, the biggest thing we can do is basically just digitize that. And we don't get to meet people face to face, right, like we used to. So how are you creating those opportunities for us to talk about the Beatles or for us to talk about you being in the theater or the pink chair and you referencing Mean Girls? Like, that has to come from some of the stuff we're creating online, but there's this disconnect. And so that's the challenge is, like, what does your digital office look like now? Are you creating opportunities to connect with people?

What this is this is really good information for our listeners, Trevor. What do you say since we're we're kinda coming around on time? What would you say is, probably the biggest piece of advice that you could give to loan officers who are, struggling with how to stand out or, you know, I think it can be intimidating because you wanna try to do something but you do wanna be, authentic as we point out and point out some of those nuances. What would be some of your your your biggest piece of advice that you would give to loan officers who are looking to break out a little bit, do something different?

So I've got one. I think it is the the single best thing that you can do. It was the activity that I shared with you guys' team, which is reverse brainstorming. And so the reason that I love this exercise so much is it's it's nobody's telling you what to do, and it gives you the ability to to kind of evaluate the situation. So the way that this works is if you're, let's say, just creating a piece of social media content, before you create it, if I were to ask you, like, what makes a good piece of social media content? It's like, it's a heavy question. It's kinda hard for us to answer. If I knew, I would do it. You know? Like, that's the million dollar question we all wanna know.

And so an easier question for us to answer is what makes a bad piece of social media content? And then we're like, oh, well, it's when they use too much industry jargon, the video goes way too long, there's no energy in the delivery, the quality stakes where I can't hear them and see them Do the opposite of that, and you will make something that stands out and is

good And so

there's one thing that would be what I would recommend And and this the interesting part And, it it's a little bit humbling when you do it Is a lot of times when you'll write that down of, like, what makes a bad piece of social media content you write it down and that's exactly what you did.

And that's that's pow and that's powerful because you're you're making something. I can even think of some things, and I'll admit it, coming out of our department. Some pieces where I've looked twice that have been, like, is a little too long. Like, some of those things that you just pointed out.

Yep.

And sometimes when you get into the project and you're you're trying to make something impactful, you actually do the reverse of what you intend unless you you analyze in that fashion. I like that a lot, and I feel like it's something that we can all do. It's a tangible that everybody can do with their business. Any category, any industry.

And literally anything you go into. And the and the amazing part is typically the answers you come up with are the things that'll make you stand out. Because when we look at, like, what makes a piece of marketing boring, our brain immediately goes to what does everybody do, and that's why it becomes ineffective boring. And so just by doing that, you're gonna find a way to stand out because it's like, everybody does this, which is why this is boring. Do the opposite, and all of a sudden, you make something really engaging and great. And so it's a good way to get you out of that, like, writer's block, but But it's also ensuring that you're doing something original and different just because by design, what makes marketing work is doing something different And so, yeah, that's the one thing I recommend, like, in any situation that you're doing Whether it's how you write your preapprovals, how you call referral partners, how you make a piece of content, how you write your emails and your newsletters. Like, every piece of that come back to that process, and it will improve everything you do.

I like that reverse engineering, that reverse brainstorming. That's something I think would be a really great exercise people can start doing yesterday, you know, in in just about every aspect. Now my wheels are turning. I'm like, oh, how can I I'm gonna do this with everything? I'm gonna drive my family absolutely crazy.

Someone someone pointed out to me after, one of the times I've done the talk. They're like, man, I heard Matthew McConaughey talk about this in a completely different context, but same thought process is it's hard for us to say, like, I'm amazing, and I'm great, and I'm gonna win, and I'm a winner. Some of us have a hard time with that, like, self talk And so his take on this, which was the same process of, like, are you a loser? Like, well, no Are you terrible? No And so if that's true, that means that the opposite of that Because if you're not a loser, you're a winner If you're not terrible, it means you're amazing And And so it's really easy for us to go, like, more of a negative route than than a positive one And so, like, in in a lot of aspects in life, beyond even just your marketing, you'll find like, man, how do I be a better husband? And like, well, I don't know I think I'm a pretty good husband Well, what makes a bad husband? And then you'll find these things of, like, oh, man, those are areas I can improve on because I'm doing that You know, like, Yeah So a little bit deeper than just the marketing piece

Yeah So next exercise, right, Rachel?

For the group. We're getting deep. We're getting deep. Before we before we jump, you know, we would be, remiss if we didn't talk about Linkspot, you know. You're absolutely leaning into the branding and who you are, and I think that's what makes you such a great speaker. And guys, you gotta follow Trevor, Instagram, link to all the places. Hire him for your next sales rally, your next speaking engagement that you need someone. He's absolutely dynamic.

And I love your whole approach, Trevor, where you you storytell and you bring people into who you are and and what you bring to the table. And then they're like, Wait. What's this company? What does he do again? And I love that. It's so smart. But LynxBot, I'm I'm blown away by this. So many of our loan officers are using this. It's really changing the way that they are connecting with people from the get go. So I guess that was just another natural progression of being a loan officer and seeing what people needed, offering them branding.

How did Linkspot come about?

Yeah. So really similar to how the the social media coaching came about, which was like, I made this for myself seven years ago when I got into the industry. I worked for a mortgage company that was one of the the bigger ones, and they give me my my corporate website. And I'm like, do I have to use this? Because there's a lot of things that I don't love about it, and it's not effective. And my background is marketing, and I'm like, I'm a marketer at heart. This is this is not working. And so I created my own website and obviously went through all the compliance stuff with my company to make sure that I can use it. And so I went through all of that, but I always have had my own website that I designed as a marketer to work.

And then with that is, like, the quiz functionality, which is how I screen and capture leads, which all these different, industries use just across the board, companies in different industries of, like, this is a good form of lead capture and nurture. So then I had my website, and then I had the quizzes. And then I'd have those go to my email software, and then I'd have that go to my CRM. And, like, I built this thing out, and it worked incredible for me. And then as the personal brand started to grow and all these people in our industry started to connect with me Like, man, how do I who built your website? Like, I want the same setup And I'm like, if I gave you this setup, you would hate me Like, it works for me, but there's like eight pieces of software. They're all talking to each other, and it's it's it's a lot. And so there at the time, like, a lot of these people I'm coaching are top hundred loan officers in the country. So they have an insane amount of money to throw out the problem, and I'm like, you're gonna have to hire a person if I show you how to do this.

And they're like, that's fine. And so I'd done that for a few people, and, it was just for the people that had a ton of money to pay for all of that software and a person to manage it. And then I was talking to a buddy who developed a software for people in a different industry, and I'm looking at the piece of software like, dude, this is amazing. And it's kind of all the things that I'm doing, but it's all in one place. Can you build me that for mortgage? And so then that was what created Linkspot, was just taking all the stuff I had and making it really, really simple. And then we have this done for you component where you don't have to hire somebody and you don't have to learn how to become a software guru. Like, we do all of the hard stuff for you. So it developed just out of, like, this is the thing that I needed.

And then every loan officer really does need that solution, and it wasn't there, at least not in one piece. And so, yeah, it's been a it's been a really awesome project, and, it's seen it grow. It's just super fun.

Yeah. Well, we have a lot of loan officers. We can attest. I have a ton of loan officers using Linkspot and absolutely loving it. So we highly recommend you check out the website, follow Trevor, do all the things. And this has been great.

Yeah. This has been awesome. We're gonna have to do it again. I feel like We're

gonna have to definitely do it again.

There's a lot more to unpack, and I want Bridget to host the next one.

Bridget might be on vacation or holiday, I should say.

There you go.

She'll be on holiday, but Rachael might be available. Bridget's cheaper.

But, yeah, this has been great. Thank you guys for having me on here.

So this has been great. Make sure that you like and subscribe great thought leaders to follow like Trevor. Make sure that you follow Trevor. DM him and say, hey. I saw you talking to Rach and Ren, and I gotta know more about what you do. And, Trevor, we'll definitely have you on again. Thank you so much.

Can't wait. Bye,

guys. Bye, guys.