For Steph Noble, trust starts with one simple thing: letting people tell their story. She shares how listening, remembering what matters to clients and showing up calm can set you apart and bring more of the right referrals your way.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to CCM Talks. I'm your host, Nicole Perrone, and I'm very excited to have Steph Noble, top originator and divorce specialist with us today. Thanks for coming.

Steph: Thanks. It's great to be here.

Nicole: Welcome to Miami.

Steph: You can't complain.

Nicole: What was that weather condition that you left behind in Oregon?

Steph: And yeah, in Oregon it's an atmospheric river, which I think just means, you know, you are underneath the river coming down on you.

Nicole: Okay, well, we have to do a whole episode on whatever that is. Never heard of it before, but I'm really excited to, to interview you today. I've been doing mortgages for almost 20 years, and there are not many divorce specialists. Very unique.

Yeah. You know, it's interesting because half of people who, you know, get married also get divorced, and it's an untapped area of like, people that actually need resources and a place to go to when they're going through a divorce.

And a lot of times people know who to go to when they're buying a house. You know, you talk to your friends, you talk to the real estate agent. It's an exciting time. It's a little more, I don't know, nerve wracking for people to know where to go to, to trust and know who they can access and who they can ask questions for. It's a whole different process.

Nicole: My goodness. Yeah, I couldn't imagine. I mean, I think of the few divorce clients that I've worked with. It's a, it's a difficult time. Right?

Steph: It is a difficult time.

Nicole: What inspired you to focus on divorce specialty?

I think in part what it was is a lot of clients coming to me. And actually I work with a lot of LGBTQ people. And so a lot of people didn't know who to go to for support when they were separating from their partners. But that led into divorce of all, you know, different people. But, that was kind of the catalyst of like, people not knowing who to go to, whether they were married or not.

But I actually really like it because it's like a whole different way of looking at the mortgage of like, what to do with the mortgage with the house when people are separating or choosing to not live together any longer.

It's like you're not putting things together. You're taking them apart a little.

Steph: Yeah. Yeah. And it's a different puzzle to figure out. I mean, I've been doing mortgage lending for 20 plus years as well. So you know, like some of it becomes the same. And the divorce process is a little bit of a different puzzle to figure out.

Nicole: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. What, what do you feel like is the most fulfilling part of working with clients during such an emotional time?

I think the most fulfilling part of it is giving people their power back. A lot of times there is one or the other that feels less empowered. And so just giving people their power back and knowing it's pretty nerve wracking.

I mean, you know, when people brighten their houses, they already feel pretty anxious about talking about mortgage stuff. And so when divorce is layered on top of it, they can at times, feel less empowered. And I think just giving people their power back and and having them know what their choices are. A lot of times people will think they're going to be forced to do something and knowing that they can work together, which a lot of times people actually do want to work together on stuff, but that they can work together on a solution is really like the most rewarding part of all of that.

I love that. That's great. You know, we, we there's so many different ways to grow business today. And I think in this world, a lot of times we all kind of do end up doing the same thing. We're going after realtors and maybe, you know, a CPA or financial advisor.

I can't even tell you. I mean, I like going after realtors too, but there is some freedom and some really nice ability to be like building your own business in a different way and actually being able to bring that business to agents. And a lot of times a transaction can turn into, you know, maybe two transactions for you or maybe the ability to give a referral. So it's just a whole different way of like going about business and like creating your own niche and creating another value to your clients, but also to agents.

Nicole: Yeah, yeah. It's extremely unique. And then, and so I've learned that you've come from a nursing background. Is that right?

Steph: I did yeah. That's been so long ago now that it's, like, almost hard for me to remember.

Nicole: It's like another lifetime.

Like another lifetime. I actually worked in labor and delivery. And so I used to kind of joke that, you know, I, I like to work with people in major life events, and I actually think there's some throughline between, like, helping people when they're having their babies, helping people when they're buying their house, helping people when they're going through a divorce, they tend to be high energy, emotional. People have a lot of feelings around all of those things.

And I just think being able to be like a steady anchor and different emotional environment is actually where I really thrive. It's like helping people to see clearly beyond the emotional part of it, their choices. So the nursing background I think laid the groundwork for me.

Nicole: Laid the groundwork for you.

But I will say, you know, I used to joke a little bit like when people are having their like family is like I would help them have their babies but then also be like, and now you need a bigger house.

Here's my car in case anything changes. Well, you know, the other thing that's really interesting about I mean, first of all, I think that's it's those are big life transitions, right? You know, divorce, you know, having a child, getting married. These are moments where you need the best people by your side to help navigate through the times, so they're lucky to have you. But you also lead an all female team.

Steph: Yes.

Nicole: That's very interesting. So tell me about a little bit about your leadership mantra and how, how you developed an all female team.

I think the leadership mantra, I mean, I'd like to say that I built an all female team intentionally, but I really didn't. It really just happened by happenstance that the people that really, I felt like are going to best serve our clients and really understand the real, like goal behind the team that I was building just happened to all be all women.

And then it makes sense to me that they also, many of them came from the medical background as well. So clearly there's a through line of like the types of people that I feel like round out my team, my team, who have had experience being in medical positions in the past. So they kind of know the urgency around stuff, but also the necessity of maintaining a calm demeanor and being a resource.

So, but the all female team, I mean, we are really thrilled about that. And, we find that we also get a lot of real estate agents that are aligned with that as well, and want their clients to be able to be resourced by people that are all female team, too.

That's interesting. Do you, when you're talking to your referral partners and people that you work with, do you, do you emphasize some of these kind of characteristics or qualities of the team?

Steph: Definitely. And I think for a lot of reasons, specifically in Portland, people are very hyper aware of what groups they are and are not supporting. And so I think that's definitely something that we put forward to highlight what we can provide to them and to their to their clients.

That's incredible. And it must be really rewarding to first of all, lead an amazing team, but also help people through these really challenging times. How do you create space for clients who just maybe don't always feel represented through this process?

I think first and foremost is just like giving people the time to tell their story. Like, everyone comes to us with a story to tell and the reason behind buying a house or going through whatever they're going through in life. And I think just giving people this the space to share their story, making note of what's important to them, calling back to that when we talk to them again. We always do an intake call and then when they're pre-approved to talk about it again, when they're under contract, we talk about again.

So really having that through line of they've told their story, the reason behind buying the house, whether it's their family's growing, they're buying it for their dog, They just, you know, they, they want a place to finally put down roots. You know, they've discovered that Portland is the place for them. But really, just like giving people the space to tell their story is really like and it's pretty simple, really, like actively asking people to share their life, and then holding the space for that and remembering it when you talk to them again.

Nicole: How is it going? How did that turn out? Are you buying the house for your dog, Banjo, or whatever, you know what I mean?

Steph: And then they're like, super excited to like, tell you all about, like, their dogs in the house for the first time.

Nicole: They feel understood. And I think this is obviously a lesson for, for all loan officers here, not just, someone, you know, specializing in divorce. These are the qualities I think of having a great relationship with your clients, making sure you're listening, you're empathizing with what they're going through. It's, it's all around stressful, but add divorce to it.

Yeah, but add divorce to it. But also, like, think about, like, when any of us go to a place and we are feeling like we're making a big purchase or sharing something important or exposing ourselves in some way, being made to feel important is kind of the number one key of like how you feel when you go away from that person.

Yeah. It's true. What’s the saying, like it's, it's how you made someone feel, not what you did or something along those lines. I’m messing that up. But yeah, it must be kind of draining though sometimes emotionally even for you. How do you recharge personally after high stress days?

It's good timing you ask this because I've had a few high stress days recently. You know, we like to say that everything goes perfect, but we all know it doesn't. And I think it just comes down to like, simple things that probably a lot of us do. Leave your body and go outside, spend time with people you love, your animals. My wife and I have three dogs, you know, just spending time with them.

But just like kind of the basics, you know, it's nothing really big and huge and fancy. It's no big trips. It's no big whatever. It's no, you know, five minutes of meditating every single morning, you know, it's no magic morning routine. It's really simple stuff.

Nicole: I wake up at four.

Steph: Totally. I know I like watch somebody's calendar once and they had everything itemized out by like 15 minutes. And I was like, oh my God, is that what it takes to succeed? And they’re like, no, it takes the simple things, just doing it every day and being …

Nicole: Taking action.

Steph: Yeah, just doing something simple.

Nicole: Who is referring you these types of clients?

Actually other clients are referring other clients who are going through divorce. So we make it, I truly believe that every single bit of business that you need is already within your client database that you've already got. So putting the word out of what you specialize in is actually going to bring you the business that you want. And so I put it out in my newsletter, tell stories about it on social media, you know, basic stories and the amount of people that will reach out and want to do some of this planning or say, hey, can I refer my friend or even like past clients and I'm like, hey, my other partner we have, we just started talking on the conversation about this. Can I get ten minutes of your time and talk about what could be possible?

Actually talking to clients about this right now, and then fast forward two weeks later, I'm talking to both of them, and they're planning together on how to make like this separation work for them, for their family. And the other one's planning to buy a house just right down the street from the other so it can actually like, you can get it from the database that you already have, or the clients that you already know, or the agents that you know. They just need to know what you’re specialized in and what you're interested in providing to their clients. You know, what you're truly interested in.

Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, I feel like, you know, when you think about going through something like that in your life, you're going to probably have some people around you that are experiencing that as well. And just such a great tip for all of us to remember that, you know, our clients are, you know, the gold's right underneath our feet, so to speak, right? To take care of those relationships, those past customers, and make sure you're doing what you need to to help them get to the next level in their life.

Steph: Yeah.

What advice do you give to others looking to turn passion into purpose?

I think going back to like, really, what is the part that feeds you? Like I kept chasing a little bit of like some areas in the mortgage world that really weren't aligned with what I really felt was my true purpose. So like going after big major teams or big, big high end homes or like certain like stuff, I was just like, why am I chasing this when it doesn't really feel totally aligned?

My passion really is like the people that are close in in Portland East. I mean specifically East Side, you know, all inclusive people who are like, really, they're like the middle road of like buyers really is like kind of my sweet spot. And so stop chasing the things that you think you should or like are maybe going to be highly profitable and really the stuff that you really feel aligned with. And then more stuff of that starts to fall in your lap, I think. So I don't know, the advice that I would give to someone is like, really, what are the things that you do that you really feel that light you up? Like the stuff of like, if I could do more of this, I could do this forever.

And that was really what it came down to doing this 20 plus years. I'm like, if I'm going to do this longer, what are the things that I really like doing? Who are the people that I really like interacting with? Where do I really feel like I can make a meaningful impact to someone? And those are the things that I started to put out there of, like, hey, did you know I do this? I can offer this. You know, those are the things that I started to put out there. So find the stuff that you really light you up, that you really feel like you make a meaningful impact to someone.

That's such an important reminder because I was I just literally was talking about alignment earlier this week. So it's, it's standing out really big time because a lot of times we're just going through our day to day. Our heads down, we're grinding and we're doing the things we think we should do. We're supposed to do, but not the things that actually make us happy or are meaningful or that we're passionate about. So that doesn't mean you need to change careers or not do something crazy. But just even looking within your business, I think that's such a great tip for our loan officers, our leaders, to really look at. What do you love the most about what you do and how can you expand on that?

And then furthermore, like I do have a team and I look at the team I have two team members have been with me ten plus years and seeing how much they've grown in that amount of time and really like acknowledging like their own careers and what they want to do more of is like lights me up as well.

So that's like another piece of it of like how to help other people succeed in this business or do more within their own career or take on more responsibility is another aspect that I think is for many of us, we've received a lot from this business and we can pass it on in whatever ways people who work with us and have helped support us for years and years to help them improve their lives or do more, take on more responsibility, you know, so I think there's that there's a lot of that.

That's a great point. I don't think there's anything more rewarding than helping somebody else. I mean, it sounds cliche, but it's really true and you're doing it every day. It's absolutely phenomenal what you're doing. We're so happy that you were able to share your story with us on CCM Talks. Is there anything else you want to leave the audience with?

I think just do more of what really feels truly aligned. Again, back to that word. Just more of what feels really, truly aligned within you and follow that. And I think you're going to make the right decisions.

Nicole: Thanks for being a part of this with me today. This was so exciting. And for those of you that are interested in learning more, obviously you can reach out to us and we appreciate you watching.