Loan Officer Leader: Kristi Hardy
What makes Kristi Hardy a leader in the mortgage industry
To say Kristi Hardy is an award-winning mortgage banker is an understatement. Since being named a Top 10 rookie originator in 2004 when she started in the industry, she has earned many accolades. Her latest recognitions include:
- Top Women Originators, Scotsman Guide (2019-2023)
- Top Originators, Scotsman Guide (2018-2023)
- Top 1% Mortgage Originators in America, Mortgage Executive Magazine (2016-2023)
- Best of Loudoun Mortgage Professional (2013-2023) (Kristi resides in Loudoun, VA)
Kristi, SVP, sales manager and senior loan officer at Atlantic Coast Mortgage in Fairfax, VA, is definitely crushing it. But what she does to generate that success is just as impressive.
Watch the power of a “social” butterfly
Literally. Watch how Kristi has mastered social media by viewing the “Tips and Tricks” videos she creates and posts on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Her brief videos offer borrowers and Realtors® educational information about finances and mortgages in an engaging and easy-to-understand way. (In fact, once you start watching them, it’s hard to stop.)
“Social media has a huge impact on growing my business,” confides Kristi.
Another factor of Kristi’s success is her ability to build close friendships with her referral partners. “Relationship building is so important,” she shares. “I work hard to maintain my relationships and keep up on my real estate agents’ lives by liking and commenting on their posts on social media. Yes, it’s good for business but it’s authentic; I genuinely care about them as friends.”
Kristi also embraces social media to congratulate her new homebuyers whose loans have just closed.
“Think like a CEO, not a loan officer”
At one point in her career, Kristi decided to stop chasing her next loan and instead focus on building her business or, as she explains it, “think like a CEO, not a loan officer.” To do this, she wrote a business plan and forecast and then built her team, putting the right people in place so she could delegate and focus more on generating new business.
When building her team, Kristi looked for 3 key traits:
- Strong work ethic
- Efficiency/responsiveness
- Good customer service
She found those traits and more in her current team. The Kristi Hardy team consists of 2 production managers who dependably move her loans from start to finish, as well as a junior loan officer who also generates loans and helps with marketing.
The results? Last year Kristi and her team originated $240 million! Something any CEO would be proud of.
3 questions with Kristi Hardy
Do you have any advice for new LOs struggling in today’s market?
“This is a very challenging market between interest rates, the lack of inventory and affordable homes. There are no easy answers. You just have to grind. Get a plan and work on it. Be diligent. Don’t give up!”
What are your goals?
“I want to build a bigger team, one that’s capable of doing $1 billion a year.”
How do you give back to the community?
“I donate money in my borrowers’ names to Children’s National Hospital each time I close a loan. I also advocate for the industry. Currently, I’m involved in trying to eliminate trigger leads.”
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