Q&A with
Jamey Milheiser
What is your role within Paramount Bank?
As the SVP of national sales development & production, I oversee Paramount Bank’s home loan sales team nationally, essentially identifying growth opportunities for the bank and loan officers through SLAs, and building coalitions with operations and the back office; most notably in marketing, recruiting, operations, and capital markets. The most important role I fulfill, and this is the part I would do for FREE; I help our sales force obtain their individual goals for volume, growth, and success. I am a coach at heart and am addicted to the feeling of getting our sales teams fired up, prepped for success, and executing at levels they previously might have thought to be unimaginable. It’s this simple; the loan officer at Paramount is my #1 client. If I give my loan officers a “10” every day, then they will give our home loan clients a “10” as well.
Can you elaborate on your history in the mortgage industry?
I started in this business as an MLO (Mortgage Loan Officer) nineteen years ago on my 22nd birthday. I learned a lot in my first role as a leader in this space eighteen years ago. Throughout all the chapters of my career, in different roles and at different organizations, I have continued to “self-scout”, take on objection, face adversity, and continually find ways to improve myself as a person and leader to create the best outcome and environment for all I am in contact with. This being said, I have always been, and remain, an MLO at heart. I still personally produce to this day and that attitude and swagger about sales and service is what I am passionate about fostering at Paramount Bank.
What is the history of Paramount Bank compared to what it is today?
The founders came together as an independent mortgage company back in 1970. Today, Paramount Bank has refocused its mission, as it has been recently rebuilt by a group of St. Louis investors. Paramount Bank is committed to delivering market-leading deposit rates, product depth, best-in-class technology, and superior service to help clients meet their financial goals. We are a veteran-owned bank and our focus on serving our military clients runs hand in hand with our corporate vision and mission.
What sets Paramount Bank apart from other banks in the industry?
It is completely different from a corporate level, as well as a cultural and visionary level. Ownership is 200% dedicated in reinvesting in the platform, building a firm for 2020 and beyond via culture – technology – and service.
What is changing in the sales and production sector at Paramount Bank?
With nearly two decades of experience, I have been involved in every aspect of the home loan space including underwriting, operations, compliance and more. As I work within this opportunity at Paramount Bank, our vision is to foster a new approach to become the next national leader in originations. This is by being steadfast in building world class systems and culture for both retail and direct to consumer MLOs. We are building an ecosystem, where loan officers thrive on relationships and enhance their brand through service and customer success. Our goal is to be the best in the nation and we are on our way. We over-deliver to our loan officers every day and they over-deliver to our clients every day. In the end, it’s the people we have here. This special group of professionals with an aligned vision, creating a world-class and cutting edge environment for our loan officers on distributive retail and consumer direct fronts.
Why are you so passionate about building this new platform?
As I mentioned, I am a loan officer at heart and I know what motivates me. It is always about fostering solutions, winning trust, service, and helping consumers get and stay ahead. When a loan officer asks a borrower for their trust, they should never be placed in a situation where they would have to ask for it again. With that, they need to be able to make promises and commit to operating on a deadline within a process that usually has an audience. We want our sales force to be bold and operate with confidence that the operations team has their back and we all do whatever it takes to have an ecstatic client and a “hero” loan officer. It is imperative to build a platform where loan officers are spending 90% of their time doing what they are good at and love to do - which is structuring the right solution for each borrower’s unique situation. At the end of the day, we are creating a platform where internal and external customers win.
What things are vital to the success of your office and your team?
I am a coach at heart and my passion for serving clients is supported by my beliefs of enhancing income, lifestyle, and mentality of our sales and production team. It is also about teamwork. The loan officer is only as good as their last loan and the support of the back office. Teamwork is vital and an essential part of our climate. Our team members adhere to a list of core values that focus on things like concise execution, listening, responding, consistency, balance and humility.
622 Emerson Rd., Ste. 325
St. Louis, MO 63141
paramountmortgage.com
NMLS: 284184
