Creating Mission Statement

“Our mission is to help local communities through empowering lenders to take control of their lives. Our agency Good Vibe Squad serves as a Growth Partner for Loan Originators across the country. Providing them the tools, coaching, and support they need to grow their business in good markets, and even more so, in bad ones.”

GVS Offices

with Barry Habib

Vision Summit and with Christine Beckwith

GVS Mastermind

Two-Comma Club Award

Team Retreat

Tips for Success

Preston:

1. Despite the feeling of uncertainty or fear, seasons with hard market conditions are actually the best time to invest in yourself. That can take many forms. Education, partnerships/services to support you, marketing. Never cut off your sources of business when it gets hard, that will only further amplify your struggles. If you think the current market is harder right now, imagine how hard it is without a pipeline. That’s an example of why you need to double down during a difficult season.
2. Focus on doing the activities that only you can do. If you can delegate something to someone else (prospecting, processing, accounting) then do it! The more time you mess around with $20 an hour tasks robs you of your opportunity to focus on $1,000 an hour tasks.
3. Even when it’s uncomfortable, delegate as much as you can. That’s a key to growth.

McBilly:

From my own experience and learning from mentors, there are three things that can hold us back as entrepreneurs: our skills, character traits, or beliefs.

1. First identify which of these areas do I feel are my strengths and which ones I lack. If I feel my skills are not enough, then I can start by educating myself and learning from people who have done what it is that I want to learn. And part of learning is practicing and immersing ourselves in the process. It’s the same saying that you cannot learn to ride a bike by reading a book.
2. Once I have the necessary skills, I must look within myself to see which necessary character traits can help me succeed. This includes having the discipline and work ethic to grind every day and do the things that you might not like to do.
3. Lastly, belief is having the right mindset and conviction in whatever it is that I am doing. I need to lift my standard of what is possible and believe that I am truly making a difference in my clients’ lives. This is why it’s so important to surround yourself with growth-minded individuals and mentors who have walked the path and have gained the wisdom that I can learn from.

Depending on the stats one looks at, between 50 and 70 percent of business partnerships fail within three years. The reasons are broad and, for this article, of no interest because we are here to talk about a partnership born of a serendipitous meeting which flourishes rather than fails.

“We have a synergy of constantly supporting each other. We don’t discourage each other. We help each other make sense of the ideas; sometimes, it means poking holes or adding supporting ideas. There are a lot of reasons why I think McBilly and I work really well. But it falls back to we’re really good at helping each other focus on the good things that matter because there’s plenty of negative, and it’s easy to get sucked into that.”

Good Vibe Squad started from less than nothing and has grown to become a multi-million-dollar Marketing Agency helping clients close over $2 billion in funded loans. The company has grown to employ more than 50 team members during the course of five years and currently serves over 200 Loan Originators across the country. Good Vibe Squad did not spring up fully grown, nor did the strong friendship and successful business partnership of its principals; it started with mutual appreciation of each other’s skills. Preston Schmidli and McBilly Sy were social media friends who truly came to know and appreciate each other during a mastermind meeting both attended.

Preston describes what drew him to McBilly saying, “It’s a funny story. We spent the day together at the mastermind. I watched as he cracked his laptop open, and if you know anything about McB, he’s a big tabs guy, 30, 40 tabs, he’s gotta have ’em all open. He was working on a demo presentation, building one tab at a time, using tabs like slides in a PowerPoint. It was a brilliant presentation. Truthfully, I started out wanting to steal this dude’s slide deck for my sales presentation since I was using a one-call phone close with no presentation. Keep in mind I have an abundance mindset now, but this was during a poverty-stricken part of my life where I was struggling and desperate.”

By the end of the day, the perspective of both men changed as they forged a friendship based on mutual respect. Preston continues, “I came clean and told McBilly, ‘I wanted to get your slide deck, but Bro, I can’t do that to someone I respect and appreciate. I believe with my sales call process and your presentation, we might have something great.’

We flirted back and forth with the idea of partnership over the weeks after the mastermind. In the end, we decided to test working together on two sales calls back-to-back, and we closed both of them. At that time, we were solopreneurs, making enough to pay the bills, but in debt and not living anything close to a lavish life or reaching the dreams we had. Making two back-to-back sales like that was an eye-opener for both of us. So, we leaned into this partnership. I don’t feel like we ever looked back. It was a catalyst moment in our lives.”

Of course, it has not all been a rosy success. Failed initiatives and mistakes inevitably are made.

“One disappointment we had on the journey was when we co-founded a software company alongside Good Vibe Squad Marketing because we had a great idea the market needed. It was needed, but it was also a different market than the one we serve with Good Vibe Squad. For us, the experience was incredibly draining and eventually we exited the company to focus on serving one industry. The lesson was it’s OK to have multiple companies but serving two masters at the same time can destroy you.”

McBilly picked up the story saying, “We appreciate our partnership, especially because we have a comparison. It was a terrible experience for us at the time, even though now we’re grateful for the experience because we grew the software company and were able to successfully sell and exit.”

“You’ll never be criticized by someone who is doing more than you do. You’ll always be criticized by someone doing less. Remember that.” — Denzel Washington

When asked what they consider to be the magic behind their business and their partnership success, they credit culture, caring, and community. This pair tends to lead from the front, as evidenced in one of their favorite sayings, “you can’t expect what you don’t inspect.” Preston makes it a point to avoid what he calls drive-by delegation, where a task is handed off with nothing but an expectation. Both men ensure training and support is provided along with tasks, providing intentional time for teaching to gain the desired outcome. They also promote a culture of breaking things. McBilly sees it as leading with transparency and considers it important to be open with struggles and wins, as well as always being their genuine selves with clients and coworkers.

“It boils down to the fact we actually give a f**k,” McBilly says. “We care. That’s not what we got into this business for, but it has become the power behind our success. It’s the culture we built. We didn’t take the shortcut or follow the short-term vision to fast money. We took the longer, harder route and discovered we truly want success for our clients and built our foundation on making it better for them. Culture literally starts from the top. Because we care and give the same message publicly and internally, this culture seeps through the organization and the community we function in.”

“We were at a different mastermind and evaluating our mission statement,” Preston continues, “and realized McB and I have anchored back to helping the borrowers. We stopped looking at loan officers as our ultimate client. By helping them, we help the borrowers. Our loan officers became the catalyst for the impact we want to make for the borrower This mindset shift made us realize where our core values lie.

When a new team member joins us, we teach them about the impact our clients are making so they understand it’s a big deal getting a client from three loans a month to ten because that’s seven more families pulled out of an apartment complex and put into a good neighborhood. There’s only so much fun and excitement in solving mortgage problems, right? We wanna see these borrowers’ lives change for the better, and we do that through empowering our clients.”

McBilly tags in to finish the thought, “We are not just a marketing company, we are not just a consulting company. We are a life transformation and growth company.”

“The biggest thing we can do is make them believe their life can change and they deserve transformation and growth. Our mission is to help transform lives, drive growth, and help local communities.”

This servant leadership style clearly overflows into their personal lives. Preston credits the success they’ve had in business with his being able to help his parents renovate their homes and retire. He is focused on ensuring his parents are set up for success in retirement and on giving them the opportunity to travel or live as they want, free of the regular burdens of life. His vision for success is to live a life free of financial constraints, surrounded by people he loves, while having the freedom to do what he enjoys and using business to impact other people for the greater good.

McBilly has been able to help his family immigrate from the Philippines and thrive in this country. His vision for success is different now than five years ago when he and Preston began their journey together. Then, it was to be financially free. Now he is in a position where it’s not only about money. His vision grew to include helping other people experience the transformation, freedom, and fulfillment he has been blessed to experience.

“Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can do in a decade.” — Roy Amara

“We’ve had the opportunity to do cool things on this marketing journey, to travel and speak on stages across the country; be at masterminds with people we admire, love, and respect; meet amazing mortgage professionals who became clients, who then became friends. When we look back at any one year, it feels less eventful. When we look back at the greater part of the decade we’ve worked together to help loan originators, it’s evident how many impactful opportunities we were able to participate in, and that’s a wonderful thing. The main goal of any business is to be profitable. But we believe thriving businesses go deeper than that. It’s about becoming profitable while maintaining integrity and seeking opportunities to make a difference in clients’ lives. And that is truly what we do.”

Of course, Preston and McBilly have far to go in their journey together. From a marketing perspective, their goal is to provide even more value. Good Vibe Squad has shifted from just generating leads to trust-based marketing. Their model combines the lead generation aspect with personal branding. They view personal branding like a turbo-charged engine in a powerful car. To their way of thinking, driving the car fast requires a good driver.

“That’s why you need a marketing system,” McBilly explained. “You need to have actual people and systems in place, and then you need a really good driver, right? There’s no point in having a fast, turbocharged car when you have an inexperienced driver. That’s where the mentorship comes in. This is why companies like 20/20 Vision are so valuable. Mentorship is uplifting, builds skill sets, and teaches from experience. We really look at it holistically, and that’s where the coaching comes in. You need to have the systems in place, you need to have a fast car, and then add the turbo charge of personal branding. And that’s how you could really win in our current marketplace.”

“Yes,” Preston chimed in. “Even in a down market, and I would say especially in the down market, you need to invest in yourself and go both feet in because there has never, in the history of time, been somebody who retracted in a down market and then expanded in a good market. Whoever works now in the winter and has the most resources for when the snow melts will be the person who takes the market share. This is an incredibly important season for loan officers to believe in themselves, be willing to take risks, and bet on themselves. You know, it’s a better investment than anything available in the stock market or the real estate world. Betting on yourself and giving yourself the tools, the coaching, the consulting, and being around mentors and peers who are on a journey of growth is more than a good idea; it’s necessary for human survival, especially in times like these.”

“Resourcefulness and being creative in rising above adversity are two important characteristics in a business leader. Hard times require you to have a creative vision for your company and the future.”

“I was really inspired, McBilly added, “at the Vision Summit hearing Christine Beckwith and Karen Deis discussing the struggles they have as women in a male-dominated industry. I can relate as a minority in a non-minority-dominated industry. Their conversation opened my eyes to the subtle jabs and disadvantages women experience being in this industry. It inspired me to do everything I can to empower everyone in this industry to have a better seat at the table.”

These two genuine young men believe in each other, in their company, and in the industry, saying, “The mortgage world is great because it’s a forever and recession-proof industry. In good times, people need homes. In bad times, people need homes. Even when the world has volatility and things feel unstable there will always be a higher demand for housing than almost anything. And that’s a beautiful thing. There’s a lot of opportunity in good and bad times. As long as you do the hard work and are smart about it, there is a constant and massive opportunity to grow, not just financially but also in making an impact in your own and your clients’ lives.”

These men believe fully in the concept that one is the average of the five people you spend the most time around. Solid coaching and mentorship are critical to success. Their lives changed in big ways for the better when they sought to grow by looking for and entering rooms where they weren’t the smartest people. Mentorship and masterminds are personal to both. This is how they met and forged their super strong partnership, setting life changes in motion back in 2018. They credit their individual pursuit of mentorship for setting them on their current path and look forward to where the evolutions of their continuing journey will take them, their business, their families, friends, clients, coworkers, and you.

Written by: Leora Ruzin

Rockstar. Dynamic. A Swiss Army Knife. These are adjectives used to describe Denise Tragale, Regional Vice President at Stearns Lending. I have to admit being called a Swiss Army Knife would be really awesome, especially in the context of how Denise operates in her role with the company.

As Nick Pabarcus, EVP of Wholesale Lending further explains, “Denise can adapt to a myriad of roles and responsibilities while maintaining a baseline of fantastic ethics. That character translates not only to diversity and inclusion but to great team morale and a fun atmosphere for all of her direct reports, peers, and colleagues”.

Born in Long Island, NY, Denise’s parents worked tirelessly to give her and her siblings all they did not have. It is no surprise to learn she works with the same effort and tenacity as her parents did.

Denise has been with Stearns Lending for a little over eighteen months and came to the organization with nearly thirty years of experience in banking, mortgage lending, and more specifically, operating in the wholesale lending space. When asked how her career has progressed, Denise described how she started out in operations before finding her calling in sales. “I started in 1992 in operations, first in processing then quickly underwriting. I realized I enjoyed the sales side and became an account executive in 1999. By 2003 I became a sales manager and branch manager. Having the operations experience helped me elevate our branch to be #2 in the nation at American Home Mortgage. I spent the remainder of my career as divisional/regional sales leader covering large portions of the country. Most recently at Stearns, I took a position that further rounded out my experience as VP of Business Development where I was part of the leadership team implementing key strategic initiatives for the channel. In July 2021, I was promoted to lead the east sales division as one of four Regional VP’s for Stearns Lending, LLC.”

When asked how Denise describes herself as a leader, it is clear her style of leadership is centered on integrity, trust, and a call to action to always do the right thing. Her philosophy focuses on listening as key behavior, on consistently coming from a place of compassion and thoughtfulness, and demonstrating how actions speak louder than words. Her laser-sharp focus transcends to how she works with her associates, how she helps her clients and by extension, the borrower.

As Allyson Foley, EVP of Wholesale Operations further explains, “She is devoted to the success of her people, her peer group, others within the organization, and her clients. Denise has extensive mortgage background which helps her navigate through her role. She is dedicated and hardworking. Denise’s passion for doing the right thing for the client shows in everything that she does.”

Perhaps what is the most fascinating part of Denise’s story is how she came to be in the mortgage business, and how what she learned in college has been invaluable as she has grown as a leader. She credits sheer accident for her entrance to the mortgage business. “I always thought I wanted to be in the medical field and decided to take a gap year once I graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra. I was able to land a position as a copy girl for a mortgage company and with that began to learn how to process loans. I soon realized the industry has lots of opportunities and saw the need for underwriters was demanding. After two years I became an agency/jumbo/government underwriter.

I have been able to apply skills learned in college in a way of being tactical in my thought process and been able to capitalize on that strength. I will add as a psychology major trained to analyze situations to determine best response has been an ability I have grown over the years.”

Using the tools she has garnered while in college has certainly helped her connect with people in a way that other leaders envy from afar. She has also benefited from wearing many hats along her journey, and she understood early on that being adaptable to change is what separates good leaders from great leaders. As Denise further explains, “sitting in several seats throughout our industry has allowed me to learn the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I have learned that when one door closes another opens, which always has led me to further advancement.  I believe all my experience as a sales leader has allowed me to be impactful as a mentor to many Account Executives over the years.  Maintaining those relationships is key as they have developed to lifelong friendships.”

Denise is certainly no stranger to change (as most in the industry can relate to), and while she has dealt with setbacks, she truly feels that the best leaders are those who adopt the right mindset to change. When the vision for success is commitment, anything is possible, providing you keep that commitment at the forefront. “As you know, in the mortgage business, there is always change,” Denise states, “Over the years my career has pivoted as a result of organizational and market condition changes but I have always kept the right mindset. Being adaptable to change is key!  Being able to in a sense go with the flow and not let emotion or ego get in the way. I have heard many stories of folks who are unable to land on their feet after setbacks in their career and I believe wholeheartedly this one component is the reason. You do not want to get stuck looking in the rearview mirror saying I should have done that.”

At the very core of what motivates Denise, and what she thinks makes this industry the best, are the acts of helping others. Whether it is to help a fellow co-worker reach their truest potential, help a wholesale partner achieve their business goals, or help a borrower own a home, Denise stays focused on the bigger picture. What is truly refreshing, however, is what she feels is her greatest success in life. As she states, “My greatest success is my children. Being blessed to be a mother is one of the most cherished moments of my life. My career has enabled me to be the best I can be and having the balance between family and work is key.”

When speaking of family and being a mom, Denise reflects on what she does during those moments when she isn’t actively working. With a main goal to be healthy and enjoy all that life has to offer, Denise pays special focus on finding the ever-elusive work and life balance. She enjoys going for hikes, playing tennis, and traveling. She loves to learn about other cultures with her husband of 27 years and her grown children.

Denise has a favorite quote which could not be more perfect for the caliber of leader she is. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.” ~ Charles Swindoll

These words remind her to be aware of how often people react to a situation immediately as it happens, with an end result usually one of anger or presumption. “Just imagine,” Denise said, “If everyone just took a moment to reflect before responding, just imagine how much more we could all accomplish together.”

Wise words indeed, Denise!

Tips for Success

• Be honest. Always.
• Be a good listener – to actively listen takes practice but is instrumental for success.
• Accept criticism – this will help you to grow and learn.
•  Surround yourself with successful individuals.