Did MortgageCon Just Raise the Bar For Mortgage Events?? (Again)
Creating an experience that keeps Loan Officers in their seats is no easy feat!
Let’s just get this out of the way…
If you went to MortgageCon and didn’t walk away with something you could implement immediately, that’s on you.
This, my friends, wasn’t just another boring mortgage industry conference.
This was different.
This was 400+ mortgage professionals inside Universal Studios with the Harry Potter experience shut down for private access, debates on stage, real practitioners delivering actual value, and an experience you will not soon forget.
And if you’ve ever attended a mortgage event that felt like one long sales pitch with mediocre coffee, you already understand why that matters.
Both Michael and I had the pleasure of attending MortgageCon, and on our latest episode of The MLO Project, we discussed our thoughts and key takeaways from the event.
The Experience: When a Mortgage Conference Doesn’t Feel Like a Mortgage Conference
Content matters.
But the environment amplifies it.
MortgageCon didn’t just rent ballroom space and throw up a stage. They hosted it inside Universal Studios, on a Production Set. After-hours access to private park time. Silent disco entry. No three-hour ride lines.
That alone changes the energy.
Instead of people sprinting from breakout room to breakout room with badge fatigue and half attention spans, you had:
A captive audience
Focused sessions
High-level networking
Real conversations
And when you combine professional development with experience-driven engagement, something different happens.
People stay.
In fact, the room didn’t clear out on Day 2. No mass exodus after lunch. No empty chairs by 3 PM.
That says everything.
The Real Shift: Humanity > Hype
There was a clear theme that echoed through speaker after speaker:
Don’t lose your humanity.
In a market drowning in automation, rate sheets, product pushes, and AI everything, the message was simple:
Be the advisor.
Be the communicator.
Be the human.
As one speaker put it:
“Don’t use AI to replace connection. Use it to enhance it.”
That theme hit home.
Because this industry doesn’t reward the loudest product pusher long-term.
It rewards:
The best communicators
The strongest relationship builders
The professionals who anticipate objections before they happen
And that’s where things got interesting.
AI in the Mortgage Industry: Finally Being Used Correctly
If you think AI is just for writing Instagram captions, you’re already on the wrong path.
One of the most practical sessions broke down exactly how loan officers are feeding anonymized client data into GPT tools to:
Anticipate objections
Create borrower personality profiles
Personalize communication throughout the loan process
Adjust tone based on emotional patterns
That’s next-level.
This isn’t “AI replaces loan officers.”
This is:
AI makes loan officers sharper.
Smarter.
More prepared.
And faster.
That’s the competitive edge.
And the transparency from speakers about how they’re actively using these tools in their mortgage business? That’s new.
The stigma is gone. The experimentation phase is over.
The practitioners are building.
The Communication Masterclass (That Nobody Expected)
There are speakers you listen to.
And then there are speakers you feel.
Kyle Draper delivered one of those talks.
And it wasn’t tactical in the traditional sense.
It was deeper.
He challenged something almost nobody talks about in sales:
Not imposter syndrome.
But inflated self-importance.
The idea that loan officers avoid creating simple, helpful content because they think it’s “too basic.”
Meanwhile, they answer the same 40–50 borrower questions every single month.
Questions like:
What are discount points?
Why did my rate change?
What’s escrow?
How do appraisals actually work?
And yet most professionals never create content addressing those questions because it doesn’t match the “image” they think they should project.
That’s ego.
And that realization hit a lot of people.
Because if you’re answering it repeatedly… it’s content.
And if you’re not creating it… You’re missing leverage.
Authenticity Wins (And Mylo Proved It)
One of the standout moments wasn’t polished.
It wasn’t corporate.
It wasn’t overly strategic.
It was raw.
Mylo Draven delivered a reminder that a lot of professionals needed to hear:
Stop apologizing for who you are.
In a world where mortgage marketing often feels templated and filtered, authenticity cuts through.
You will:
Attract the right clients
Repel the wrong ones
Build faster trust
Shorten sales cycles
Trying to be a watered-down version of “what works” in this industry is exhausting.
And increasingly ineffective.
Authenticity is scalable now.
Especially when paired with smart AI usage.
Sales Isn’t a Dirty Word (And It Never Was)
Another powerful reminder:
This is a sales business, as Jonathon Haddad reminded everyone.
That’s not something to hide from.
The best loan officers in the room wore that truth as a badge of honor.
But here’s the nuance:
Modern mortgage sales doesn’t look like old-school pressure tactics.
It looks like:
Objection anticipation
Storytelling
Educational positioning
Confident communication
If you’re uncomfortable with sales, you’re probably uncomfortable with influence.
And influence is the entire game.
The Size Was Strategic (And That Matters)
MortgageCon hovered around 400 attendees.
That’s intentional.
At 1,000+ attendees, things change.
Access is more difficult.
Connection tends to dilute.
The experience can become transactional.
Smaller events create:
Higher intimacy
Greater accessibility to speakers
Deeper networking
Stronger community retention
And based on feedback, that’s exactly what keeps people coming back.
What Actually Makes a Mortgage Conference Worth It?
Let’s cut the B.S.
Attending a mortgage conference isn’t cheap.
Flights. Hotel. Tickets. Meals. Drinks.
If you’re investing that kind of money and not implementing at least one takeaway, you wasted it.
The ROI doesn’t come from:
Notes in your phone
A few selfies with speakers
A LinkedIn post recap
It comes from execution.
One improved communication system.
One AI workflow implemented.
One sales objection reframed.
One content strategy launched.
That’s the difference.
What’s Coming Next?
The buzz around next year’s theme is already building.
Rumors of a murder mystery-style event.
Possibly a new location.
And if they combine immersive experience with high-level content again?
It won’t just be a mortgage industry conference.
It’ll be the benchmark.
Final Takeaway
If you’re serious about growth in this market, you need two things:
1️⃣ Sharper communication
2️⃣ Smarter implementation
MortgageCon delivered both.
The experience was memorable and may have just set the standard for event experience.