As well as providing some great entertainment, this sporting summer has also given me some food for thought.
Some of these players are at the very top of their game, the very best in their sport. Yet all of them, regardless of how good they are, have coaches. All of them train every day to better themselves and improve their performance. Why then, in other industries, do people stop investing in themselves? Why do we think we can get by without investing time to develop ourselves and stay on top of our game?
This is particularly true of the mortgage industry. CPD is, of course, a regulatory requirement but is it really enough to put in just enough effort to tick off your CPD hours and appease the regulator?
This is a competitive industry and if you want to succeed you need to set yourself apart from the competition. Investing in yourself is one way of doing this.
Don’t settle for having the minimum required qualifications. Take additional courses which will impact directly on your day to day business. There are plenty on offer and the regulator and AMI will no doubt be a good place to start looking.
Improve your knowledge of specialist sectors to give yourself an added USP and, where necessary, take the qualifications needed to offer them. The market is becoming a much smaller place with FCA regulation now covering a wider area. Secured loans, for example, are no longer an optional extra you can ignore. Set yourself apart from your competitors by getting up to speed on the products available.
Take the time to brush up on your technology skills and, if need be, invest in a short course to give you the know how you need. Better use of technology means more efficiency.
Use your increasing skills to raise the bar and offer a more holistic service to your clients.
Keep on learning and striving to improve.
If the best sportsmen in the world are constantly trying to better themselves, why shouldn’t we?
