Doug Jones's (dougj) Blog

"When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." John Lennon. It is embarrassing to admit. But I was going thru a time when my job was more stress than fun...

This is a nice testimonial from March 25, 2025 posted on Yelp (5 stars)I always see myself as a lender and only do real estate when it falls in my lap.I have done more than 100 transactions all over California but I never worked full time as a Realtor and never worked for another real estate comp...

In my Sales Magic sales classes years ago we studied many ideas. A lot of our work was the mental side; the attitude side. I broke the classes down to Product Knowledge, Sales Techniques, and the Mental approach. One of the books we studied was Og Mandinos Book  The Greatest Secret in the World. ...

I came down with an illness for about 10 days and did not post anything anywhere. The drought is over and my madman posting is back full force. I love to post all kinds of things because in real life the first goal is to become known in a positive way. I used to teach sales and need my own course...

The Reverse Mortgage loan has come a long way. Today we can offer Jumbo Reverse Mortgage loans and 2nd mortgage Reverse Mortgage loans. The loan is more selective than years ago when all was needed was age and equity. Today there is a credit check and the borrowers need to prove they can financia...

Yesterday I told a client doing a refinance loan that he wants to make surehe is prepared for the appraisers visit and I told him I would send him a check list. I actually forgot that I have a video about getting prepared for the appraisal and found it on my YouTube channel. I have never met this...

Fun at work can pay you money. Actually fun everywhere can make your life more enjoyable. but at work it can be the difference between success and mediocrity. Fun is play, pleasure, gaiety, merriment, and a source of enjoyment .Fun creates positive emotions.  A significant portion of TV commercia...

I heard the words 'shameless marketing' years ago in a presentation class by Patricia Fripp. She talked about when she became a public speaker one of the first things she did was to send out 40,000 post cards to companies who could hire her. This month I am dedicating my efforts to 'shameless mar...

Today a customer whose house we just sold took me to lunch. For me, that is rare probably  because I am not a warm cuddly person and maybe a little standoffish.We sat outside in the shade (90 degrees in San Jose today) and casually enjoyed 2 hours of just talking. It was really pleasant.When I re...

​On April 1st our little company, Mortgage Magic, turns 35 years old. When I opened the company my only goal was to be a mortgage broker out of my house. I was young and enthusiastic and people wanted to join me and within 2 years wehad 25 loan officers and right away  became a wholesale lender. ...