AIME Podcast Network

Episode 247

Host: Marc Summers (AIME’s Founding President)

Guest: Paul Messina (VA Loan Specialist at Canopy Mortgage)

This week’s episode features Paul Messina, a former paramedic, firefighter, police detective, and military veteran who found his way into the mortgage industry after a chance meeting with a loan officer who challenged him to “do his effing job.”

Paul shares his remarkable journey from healthcare and public safety to becoming a VA loan specialist, and how attending Ascent, AIME’s VIP retreat in Puerto Rico, gave him a new perspective on purpose, legacy, and the importance of self awareness.

Key Takeaways:

Why the VA loan is one of the most underutilized benefits available to veterans.

The importance of committing fully to a career in mortgages and not treating it as a part time endeavor.

Why being a good human and putting good karma into the world leads to sustainable business growth.

The value of embracing technology while avoiding shiny object syndrome.

Golden Nugget:

“Just be a good human. Whatever way you choose to serve your fellow man, just be a good human.”

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#BrokerToBroker #MortgageTech #BrokersAreBest #AIME #Podcast #Network #VALoans #Veterans #Ascent #PersonalGrowth #MortgageAdvice #ServiceMatters #LegacyBuilding

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Episode 57: AI, Objections, and Knowing the Difference Between ‘an answer’ and ‘The Answer’

Hosted by Jonathon Haddad, AIME’s Chairman & CEO, and Tommy Golightly, AIME’s Marketing Manager.

In this episode, Jonathon and Tommy explore how artificial intelligence is changing the way borrowers prepare for conversations with loan officers.

They share practical strategies for staying ahead of AI-informed clients, handling objections with confidence, and knowing when to trust the technology and when to trust your own expertise.

Broker Buzz

– Whether the two-year waiting period for a dismissed Chapter 13 bankruptcy still applies under Fannie Mae guidelines.

– Whether a borrower with no credit score, insufficient history, and twenty percent down can qualify for a loan, and which non-QM or hard money options might work.

– How to compete against credit unions offering no MI products and builders offering aggressive incentives, including when to tell a client to take the better deal and how to win them back later.

Sales Training | Handling Objections by Asking Better Questions

Jonathon shares a prompt designed to help loan officers move beyond generic responses to the three most common mortgage objections: wanting to shop around, wanting to wait, and wanting to talk to a spouse. He demonstrates how a question like “What is the best way for me to communicate to you without you being upset that I believe you are making a mistake?” forces a client to think rather than react.

Story Time | Your Heart Will Have Capacity for Love

The fortune cookie this week arrives with a strange and slightly uncomfortable phrasing. Jonathon turns it into a conversation about purpose, loss, and keeping your heart open even when life makes it hard.

He shares the story of his grandmother, who passed away in January and was the reason he got into mortgages. On her birthday last week, he registered for college classes before visiting her grave, fulfilling a promise he made to her and rediscovering a sense of love for the process.

The message is simple. If you have been hurt, if you have closed yourself off, find a purpose and move toward it. The opportunities are endless when your heart stays open.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts

Subscribe on YouTube for new episodes every week

#MortgageBroker #SalesTraining #AI #ObjectionHandling #BorrowerEducation #HousingMarket #RealEstate #Lending #BrokerCommunity #MortgageIndustry #SalesTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #PersonalDevelopment #CreditUnions #BuilderIncentives #DSCRLoans #NonQM #HardMoney #BrokersAreBest #BrokerPowerUp #AIME #Podcast #Network

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Episode 56: Framing, AI, and the Art of Asking Better Questions

Hosted by Jonathon Haddad, AIME’s Chairman & CEO, and Tommy Golightly, AIME’s Marketing Manager.

In this episode, Jonathon and Tommy explore how the right mindset and the right questions can transform your sales conversations. They dig into listener questions about real-world borrower challenges and share practical advice on using AI as a practice tool rather than a crutch.

Broker Buzz

– Why an IRS tax lien that transfers from property to property can kill a deal, and how payment plans work when the lien does not attach to the property itself.

– Whether reverse mortgages are worth learning, including the critical step of getting family members on the phone before moving forward.

– The great AI debate: Claude versus ChatGPT, and why switching too often might cost you more time than it saves.

Sales Training | Whoever Frames the Conversation Controls the Outcome

Jonathon shares a personal story from his teenage years about overpaying for a simple tire repair because he did not know the right questions to ask. He explains why you should assume your clients are using AI before they ever talk to you, and how you can use the same tools to practice framing, pressure test your questions, and walk into any sales call with confidence.

Story Time | A Positive Outlook Will Lead You to Success

Jonathon reflects on why positivity is not just a nice idea but a prerequisite for success. The most successful people he knows do not tolerate negativity in their circles. They cultivate environments where optimism and action go hand in hand.

Tommy adds that a simple smile or a laugh with a friend can reverse an entire day.

Your thoughts shape your actions, and your actions shape your results. If you want to win, start with the belief that you can.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts

Subscribe on YouTube for new episodes every week

#MortgageBroker #SalesTraining #Framing #AI #ConversationSkills #HousingMarket #RealEstate #Lending #PositiveMindset #BrokerCommunity #MortgageIndustry #SalesTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #BusinessGrowth #ReverseMortgage #TaxLiens #BrokersAreBest #BrokerPowerUp #AIME #Podcast #Network

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What if you stopped trying to make a hundred phone calls and just focused on having five conversations instead? That simple shift changed everything for Kym Mason.

In this episode, Julie Yarbrough sits down with Kym Mason, the creator of the Mason Method, for a raw and energizing conversation about habits, mindset, and the power of showing up as yourself.

Kym shares how a traumatic brain injury forced her to rely on the systems she had built, why she stopped chasing someone else’s definition of success, and how she gamified her daily routine to make winning a habit, not an accident.

They dive into the difference between being a producer and being a true business owner, why women need to stop waiting for someone to save them, and how shifting from “making calls” to “having mortgage conversations” can change your energy and your results overnight.

If you have ever felt like you’re grinding without growing, or wondered how to make the hard stuff feel a little more fun, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe to our channel and join the movement!

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#WMN #WomenInMortgage #MasonMethod #MindsetMatters #MortgageConversations #HabitStacking #WomenInLeadership #Empowerment #BrokersAreBest #AIME #Podcast #Network #MortgageJourney

The post Women’s Mortgage Network Podcast: Episode 19 appeared first on AIME.

Episode 55: Ascent, Tone Setting, and ‘How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything’

Hosted by Jonathon Haddad, AIME’s Chairman & CEO, and Tommy Golightly, AIME’s Marketing Manager.

Fresh off the AIME Ascent VIP retreat in Puerto Rico, Jonathon and Tommy reflect on what it takes to bring together top producers, set the right tone, and create an environment where even the most successful people in the room can lower their guard and grow.

Broker Buzz

– Navigating hard money and credit union options for borrowers with challenged credit but significant equity in free and clear properties.

– The risks of issuing a pre-approval to a client who has not filed taxes in five to six years, and why referring them to a financial advisor is often the right move.

– The best AI tools for creating professional flyers and marketing materials, including the AI-powered design tool available exclusively to AIME members.

Sales Training | How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything

Jonathon shares the philosophy behind the Ascent retreat and why setting the tone matters more than any sales script. Set the tone early. At AIME Ascent and for viewers at home, Jonathan challenges listeners to examine how they approach their own introduction calls, presentations, follow-ups, and post-close processes. Your words matter. Don’t minimize them.

Story Time | Lessons from Ascent

Tommy reflects on being surrounded by billions of dollars in production and what it felt like to watch top producers interact with other up-and-coming brokers in a space that felt safe, open, and free of clicks.

Jonathon and Tommy both came away with new habits, new connections, and a renewed appreciation for what happens when you bring the right people together with the right intentions.

Whether you were in Puerto Rico or listening from home, the invitation is the same. Show up open minded, set your tone, and remember: how you do anything is how you do everything.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts

Subscribe on YouTube for new episodes every week

#MortgageBroker #SalesTraining #Leadership #AIMEAscent #PersonalDevelopment #HousingMarket #RealEstate #Lending #BrokerCommunity #SalesTips #MortgageIndustry #MindsetMatters #BusinessGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #BrokersAreBest #BrokerPowerUp #AIME #Podcast #Network

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