When Grit Meets AI: How the Sheehan Branch Turned Cold Leads into Record Production
Third Floor's native AI tools helped this North Dakota branch beat big-city production numbers
Proving That Market Size Doesn’t Define Success
Joe Sheehan runs the Granite Bank branch out of Bismarck, North Dakota. It’s a place better known for blizzards than big-city production volume. Yet if you looked at his pipeline, you’d never guess it. He and his team are producing at a pace that rivals loan officers in Los Angeles and Austin—markets five times the size.
RESULTS
The Problem: Tools Built for Marketing, Not Mortgage
Before Third Floor, Joe’s workflow was organized chaos—sticky notes, spreadsheets, and CRMs that felt more like marketing toys than mortgage tools.
“Marketing doesn't know anything about getting customers in the mortgage business,” Joe says. “I’ve created 18 open house flyers for one realtor. Amazing how we’ve never sold a house together.”
The real problem wasn’t effort. It was the lack of a system that focused on what actually moves the needle:
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Timely follow-up
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Clean visibility into lead status
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Clear accountability for conversion
Third Floor’s AI automates those exact pressure points. “With Third Floor, I’ve got campaigns for every critical stage—leads, prospects, pre-approvals, and in-process loans. It catches every point where deals usually fall through the cracks,” says Derrick Schiff, who manages marketing for Joe’s team.
“With Third Floor, I’ve got campaigns for every critical stage—leads, prospects, pre-approvals, and in-process loans. It catches every point where deals usually fall through the cracks."
— Derrick Schiff, Customer Experience Coordinator
The Solution: Third Floor's AI-Powered CRM
Everything changed when the branch went live with Third Floor, the first AI-native CRM for mortgage.
“It worked the way we work,” Joe says. “Like digital sticky notes—without the chaos.”
Suddenly, they could:
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Capture leads automatically—no more missed contacts
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Automate follow-ups with the right cadence and message
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See real-time progress on deals and flag at-risk deals before they fell through the cracks
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Manage communication across the team without confusion
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Track partner performance and ROI from referral sources
“What Third Floor did for the first time was automate what really gets us loans—lead capture and follow-up. That’s what closes deals.”
—Joe Sheehan, Branch Manager, Granite Bank
The Results: 30+ New Applications
The impact was immediate.
In just over a month automated follow-up campaigns brought 30+ cold leads to life, turning conversations that had gone cold into fresh applications now moving through the pipeline.
In only two weeks, the team booked 15 refinance meetings, and because the system kept the follow-up consistent, nearly half of those meetings converted directly into new applications.
By using Third Floor’s custom lead development tools, the quality of applications improved by nearly 50%, which meant loan officers were spending less time chasing unqualified files and more time closing deals.
Realtors have stopped asking where their leads went. Clients now get timely, personal updates instead of canned emails. And Joe’s team starts each day with a clear plan. They know which leads to call, which partners to follow up with, and which loans need attention.
“It’s like Todd Duncan came in and set my calendar for me,” Joe says.
