Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast

Strap into your saddles and hold on...you're about to enter the world of mortgages with Skip Willcox. The latest in sales, industry news and market talk, Skip brings that Big Skip Energy back on every show.

Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Skip Willcox, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Skip Willcox hosts Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast, a business show with 20 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #20

  Friendly Competitors with Skip and Dr. Bruce Lund

  Aug 12, 202626 minS1

  Today Skip welcomes back Dr. Bruce Lund to podcast to discuss sales coaching across commoditized industries and why “sales is sales” despite market nuances. Bruce shares his background launching 90 Day Sales Manager nearly 10 years ago, moving from academia with a PhD in human performance into coaching loan officers, real estate agents, and finance professionals. They explore why people claim their market is “unique,” how that mindset becomes a crutch, and why coaches don’t need to have personally produced $100M to be effective. Bruce outlines Accountable CRM, built to drive daily activity, accountability, and KPI visibility with high adoption through simplicity and gamification, especially for community banks and credit unions. They close on being a proactive “mortgage advisor” and share how to connect via AccountableCRM.com, 90DaySales.com, and @brucelund.

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  Episode #19

  When the Faucet Turns Off, the Pros Stand Out with Rebecca Costanzo

  Aug 5, 202625 minS1

  Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Rebecca Costanzo, a 20+ year mortgage veteran and new Director of Mortgage Originations at United Community Bank, about leading retail teams through shifting markets. Rebecca shares why she values community banking impact, including seeing homes her teams financed, and discusses how the post-2020 market has exposed weaknesses in loan officers who relied on easy volume while highlighting professionals who consistently practice fundamentals. She explains what leaders can learn in their first 90 days by listening, observing, and improving systems without just “checking boxes,” and how to separate market effects from people and processes. Rebecca uses tools like a team book club to assess resilience and growth mindset, emphasizes emotional intelligence and role fit. She and Skip talk about decisions by top producers between pushing for more volume or prioritizing work-life harmony. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Meet Rebecca 00:56 Why Mortgage Matters 02:06 Community Bank Impact 05:14 Market Reality Check 07:06 Pros Thrive Now 08:56 Building Better Systems 10:13 First 90 Days Leading 12:47 Reading Teams Better 16:03 Caring Yet Reassigning 18:43 Top Producer Trait 21:12 Legacy and Harmony 23:32 Connect and Wrap Up

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  Episode #18

  Scaling Mortgage Production, Strategic Referral Partners, and Building Repeatable Business with Connor Bartley

  Jul 15, 202630 minS1

  On today’s show Skip interviews Connor Bartley, National Recruiting Manager at Lower Mortgage and host of The Lowdown Mortgage podcast, about what separates top mortgage loan officers from average producers and how to scale beyond personal capacity. Connor outlines three common traits of top performers: making strategic hires for leverage, forming strategic referral partnerships instead of relying on coffee-and-lunch “rented relationships,” and operating under an economic model that enables real-time business decisions. They discuss the mindset shift from originator to business owner, the humility required to delegate, and creating consistent, repeatable processes that build Realtor confidence. Connor shares a free diagnostic tool to quantify time and money lost to admin work, identify the next best hire, and determine growth stage based on goals. #mortgage #loanofficer #mortgagebroker #mortgagetips #mortgageindustry #realtorpartners #referralpartners #leadgeneration #databasemarketing #crm #mortgagemarketing #personalbrand #socialmediamarketing #loanofficertraining #salestraining #scalingbusiness #teambuilding #delegation #businessowner #topproducer #mortgagepodcast #realestatepodcast #financialplanner #cpas #lower Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Intro 00:26 Connor Background and Mission 02:56 Three Keys to Scaling 05:46 Delegation and Repeatable Process 09:19 Diagnostic Tool for Hiring 13:46 Strategic Referral Partnerships 16:40 Articulating Your Value 19:38 Stay Go or Get to Work 24:20 Marketing and Personal Brand 26:28 Outgrowing Leadership 27:59 Wrap Up and Spurs Talk

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  Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast

  Rick's Other Picks-Stop Chasing, Start Selling with Rick McKinley CMB

  Jul 8, 202627 min

  Skip interviews Rick McKinley, a Plaza Home Mortgage account executive and CMB (certified in 2018) with 30 years in lending, about strengthening the account executive–loan officer relationship through fundamentals. Rick argues top AEs should lead with knowledge, clear expectations, and process transparency—not swag—while adapting to increased complexity from compliance, technology, and product options. They discuss the two-stage sales process (signing accounts, then earning loan flow), the importance of follow-through to help loans reach the finish line, and how speed and ease of execution can beat pricing. Rick shares a responsiveness standard of returning messages within two hours when possible, while maintaining boundaries. He recommends asking AEs to explain the end-to-end process, identify what they truly do well, and support business growth via training, marketing ideas, and VA loan referral tactics through VA liaison offices. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome Back Rick 00:38 Rick’s Mortgage Journey 01:12 CMB Credential Shoutout 01:30 AE Fundamentals Shift 02:55 Be the Information AE 05:06 From Schmoozing to Complexity 07:24 Two Stage Sales Reality 09:12 Sell the Easy Button 11:05 Responsiveness Matters 13:01 Phone as the Office 14:36 Know Your System Cold 15:38 Response Time Standards 16:15 Blocking Time Boundaries 17:16 Two Hour Reply Rule 18:10 Questions For New AEs 19:13 Deal Process Walkthrough 20:24 Products You Can Close 22:29 Helping Grow Business 23:12 VA Loan Marketing Play 25:31 Musician Side Hustle 26:15 Where To Find Rick #MortgagePodcast #MortgageIndustry #AccountExecutive #LoanOfficer #WholesaleMortgage #CorrespondentLending #TPO #BrokerOwner #MortgageSales #MortgageMarketing #MortgageTech #MortgageCompliance #RelationshipManagement #ClientExperience #LoanProcess #MortgageOperations #RateSheets #LoanLock #MortgageTraining #BusinessGrowth #VALoans #VAMortgage #VeteranHomeLoans #MortgageTips #PlazaHomeMortgage

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  Episode #16

  Who's Responsible for This Decision?! Leadership Thinking with Melissa Peregord

  Jul 1, 202627 minS1

  Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Melissa Peregord, principal of Secord Consulting, about her mortgage and growth background and how she helps small to mid-size companies solve stagnating revenue and go-to-market challenges. Melissa shares her 12-year Rocket Loans experience spanning origination, capital markets, secondary marketing, and director of bank relations managing top investor and money-center bank relationships. She explains her move from C-suite roles to consulting after seeing how boards and CEOs can block strategy execution. She and Skip discuss leadership decision-making, balancing short-term vs. long-term thinking, and avoiding comfort-based delays by assessing reversibility, whether problems are metastasizing, who is impacted, and what information is actually needed. Melissa emphasizes diagnosing core problems versus symptoms, aligning incentives across sales, ops, and client success, and planning changes with a six-month gauge plus 30/60/90 milestones. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:17 Meet Melissa Peregord 01:12 Rocket to Consulting Journey 02:27 Why She Went Solo 04:21 Short vs Long Term Decisions 06:19 A Practical Decision Framework 10:02 Growth Consulting and Root Causes 15:18 Systems Over Blame 16:34 Incentives and Team Alignment 18:44 Common Client Challenges 23:36 Six Month Results Timeline 25:31 Contact Info and Wrap Up #MortgagePodcast #MortgageIndustry #MortgageLeadership #GrowthStrategy #BusinessDevelopment #DecisionMaking #ExecutiveLeadership #CLevel #Consulting #RevenueGrowth #GoToMarket #SalesStrategy #Operations #ClientSuccess #KPIs #OKRs #IncentiveAlignment #MortgageLending #RocketMortgage #QuickenLoans #CapitalMarkets #SecondaryMarketing #NonQM #Servicing #PrivateEquity

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