Torry Burdick, Senior VP, Marketing, Mortgage Success Source, LLC, Holmdel, N.J.
What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
After unsuccessfully trying to find a job in my hometown of Detroit, a town hard hit during the recession of 1982, my best friend suggested I hop on the midnight Greyhound bus to New York City with him. I only had $12 in my pocket, but by sunrise I was looking up at the skyscrapers and listening to Billy Joel sing “New York State of Mind” on my walkman. Three days later I started as a researcher making $5/hour at B-to-B publisher Lebhar-Friedman, a company I was with for 13 years. That was the start of an amazing career.
Has there been a defining moment in your career? Perhaps when you knew you were on the right road.
I am one of the luckiest people I know as I knew I found the right path very early on. I’ve been involved in B-to-B publishing since the very beginning of my career and over the years have had the opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest in our industry. I love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else. Every day I get to work with smart, curious, talented people who help our clients improve their lives, businesses and the lives of their clients. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to have challenging work that when done well makes a material difference to those we serve. It just doesn’t get much better than that!
In brief, describe your business/company?
Mortgage Success Source, a division of UCG, is the lending industry’s leading provider of client acquisition and retention solutions. We do this by offering information, tools and resources that attract, sell and retain valuable and profitable relationships with clients and referral partners. We combine the lending industry’s highest quality business knowledge with real-time market information, best practices and profitable marketing solutions under the brands Mortgage Market Guide, LoanToolbox and PlatinumPro Marketing.
What are two or three important concepts or rules that have helped you to succeed in business?
Be real. Be present. Be ready. Give value. Give credit. Give 100%. Drive focus. Drive inquiry. Drive excellence. Create quality. Create success. Create fun.
What is the single-most successful thing that your company is doing now?
Maintaining our focus in a world filled with bright shiny objects is driving success at our company. We have three primary goals for 2011. We measure our results, prioritize our work and evaluate new opportunities using these three goals as our filter. With that said, we look to remain flexible enough to consider unique opportunities that may arise. This discipline is really quite liberating.
Do you see a trend or path that you have to lock onto for 2011?
There are always trends but delivering exceptional content and extraordinary customer service continues to be, in my opinion, the “little black dress” that never goes out of style in our business. We are finding that our customers are busier than ever and they need us to provide them with the information they want, in the format that makes the most sense to them, when they need it.
What are the key benefits of SIPA membership for you and your team?
SIPA provides a truly unique opportunity to network with peers, share best practices and learn from the best.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit at a time when we didn’t lock our doors. If by chance the doors were locked after curfew, we just shimmied our way in through the milk chute.
What college did you attend? Is there a moment from that time that stands out?
I graduated from Michigan State University in East Lansing. As a freshman, I was awestruck by the scale of the school. It was so big with so many people to meet and classes to take. It had everything from the best athletic program in the Big 10 (Go Spartans!) to a cyclotron (I discovered that when I made a wrong turn on my way to Calculus class) to an on-campus dairy with the yummiest ice cream for just 25 cents a scoop. I wanted to do it all. And I even tried for a while. Soon I figured out I needed to focus on what was important to me and discovered I could go out and make it happen. That was a truly astonishing thing to me and gave me a great deal of confidence at an early age that I could have the life I wanted.
Are you married? Do you have children?
I’m happily single.
What is your favorite hobby and how did it develop in your life?
Finding a fun hobby has been on my list for a long time. I’ve dabbled at a few, most recently knitting, but really haven’t landed on one that has stuck yet. I’m involved in a number of volunteer activities that I really enjoy. And, I spend too much time on Facebook, Twitter (@Torry), LinkedIn and my blog about my upcoming adventure to Mount Everest Base Camp. Perhaps going to the gym regularly will be my next hobby!
Is there a book you recently read or movie you saw that you would recommend?
I highly recommend “StrengthsFinder 2.0.” While it is a book, it is actually an online assessment of your strengths developed from 40 years of research. The concept is that you get more leverage from developing your strengths than from correcting your weaknesses. Employee engagement and effectiveness increase and as a result, so do profits. It’s worth a look.
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SIPA is very fortunate to have Torry as a track chair
for the June Annual Conference on the subject of:
Sales & Marketing: from print to online to viral.
(Rick Longenecker of The Armature Group is the co-chair.)
She will bring much knowledge and experience plus an
enthusiastic personality to Washington, D.C. with her.
SIPA 2011: Cashing in on Content –
Models for a New Decade.
June 5-7, Capital Hilton, Washington, D.C.
Check out the tracks now
and register early to get best rate.
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HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
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