What does brokerage success rest on?

That kindness manifests itself in the way his customers are treated, he added: “We don’t rush people. The first consultation we do with pretty much everybody is 45 minutes if not an hour or an hour and a half. We make sure they understand from soup to nuts – we let them know everything we can possibly think of to know.”

To ensure such customer experiences, Socha said he personally trains all his loan officers. A premium is placed not on sales or products but more intangible dynamics, he suggested. “We see ourselves more of a solutions people. I train every single loan officer myself, and I think that’s it’s really important they understand the differences between every lender, how one lender might make more sense than another for certain situations and how to really explain that. A lot of people, when they focus on growing their team, focus on products and sales. That’s not what I train on – I train on people, I think tone is very important, making people feel comfortable is very important, people’s stories are really important.”

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That softer focus has not compromised business, to hear Socha tell it. Rather, the focus on customer service augmented with a creative business approach in austere times – what with inflation, soaring property rates and rising rates – have combined to help shield the brokerage from the most corrosive effects of economic downturn.

“We closed 21 loans in the last two weeks,” Socha noted. “We’re doing really well. I really and truly believe – and have always done this whether it’s COVID or not COVID – we can survive off lower margins. And if you survive on lower margins, you do more volume and then you win more deals. I think a lot of brokers just make up an excuse as to why they can’t do that – even if they’re a one- or two-person operation. I think it’s just an excuse. If you’re able to really look at your expenses and run a lean shop and really make sure you’re doing things the right way and not being extravagant on certain things or writing too much off that shouldn’t be written off, you can survive off those margins and flourish.”