Intro to MBO Webinar - Introduction to MBO

When Tom introduced the concept of One Transaction Thinking to me in March of 2006 it struck me as a way of running your business like a grown up. Of course, at that point in time, my business wasn't quite ready to take on the challenges of adulthood.

I began my company in 1989 and from day one I knew nothing other than a commission split system for compensating my LOs. This method worked for my simple little mind: name the percentage I was going to keep from every deal and make sure the expenses fit within that amount. Make the split good enough to meet expenses and generous enough to attract and retain quality LOs.

This system worked for a lot of years but, as Tom taught me, it was always terminally ill. As he said: "You've always been sick. It's just that you managed to turn just enough profit to not know it." Then refi-mania ended.

I began losing money in the summer of '06. I also began to lose LOs because we both got immersed in the wrong discussion: The commission split. Several of my LOs left when I couldn't agree to pay them 50%, 55%, 60% (or more) and several more threatened to do so every month.

I went back out to meet with Tom and we followed up with a few course changing conference calls over the next few weeks. It was time to adopt OTT. Adulthood would wait no longer.

"You don't split revenue with LOs when they're not splitting expenses and risk with you." This was the lightning rod statement Tom would drive home with me over and over again.

You will use Tom's OTT platform to run your business. You'll either do it now or you'll do it when you start your next business after this one has collapsed. I feel that strongly about it.

-Dean Harrington

Seekonk, MA - Owner, Shamrock Financial Corp.