The vast library of educational and marketing tools and resources available to you within LoanToolbox is unmatched in the industry – and still growing. Each quarter we add between 60 and 100 new items you can use to increase your business as you ascend to the top of the Pyramid of a Complete Loan Officer.

But with so much great material being added all of the time, how do you find it all?

In this week's Toolbox Tutorial, we'll show you how you can find almost anything you're looking for in a matter of minutes.

Did you know that there are actually six different methods you can use to search LTB? The first two, LTB's Message Board Forum Search and the Media Center Search, were already discussed in detail in previous lessons. To search for a specific message, thread, topic, by user or even by date in the LTB message boards, read about LTB's Message Board Forum Search in Lesson Six. To search the Media Center, LTB's entire audio and video libraries (well over 2000 items and growing), read Toolbox Tutorial Lesson Four.

The third and probably the best way to quickly find what you're looking for is to use LTB's main Search Engine in the top right-hand corner of the website. This search box appears on every page within LTB – unless you're on a page that has its own specialized search engine, such as the Message Boards and Media Center.

If you've ever used Google™ to search online, then you can use LTB's main Search Engine. Based on key words assigned to each item on the entire LTB website, the Search Engine returns matching results from every LTB library, including the Pyramid of a Complete Loan Officer, the MyLoanToolbox marketing library, the Media Center, and the Message Boards, offering descriptions and direct links. Simply type in your search term or terms and hit "Enter."

For example, let's say you heard about LTB's personal brochure in a recent conference call and wanted to learn more about it. All you have to do is type "personal brochure" into the main search box and watch what happens:

As you can see, the Search Engine returned a number of results for the term "personal brochure" with direct links to that item within the website. In fact, the first result is a direct link to LTB's personal brochure page, so you found what you're looking for in just a few seconds. In addition, the Search Engine provided other helpful results on personal brochures from the Media Center, MyLTB, and even the Message Boards. To see even more results, click on the "Show All Results" button. Your success in using the main Search Engine will increase by choosing the right descriptive words. So be specific, keep trying, and you'll get better and better each time you do it.

But, what if you're not exactly sure what you're looking for, or if LoanToolbox even has it? A lot of members turn to the Message Boards in these instances and ask for advice. And while that is a great way to get some answers, there's a faster way to do it yourself. It's called LTB's Site Map, which is a visual layout of the entire LTB website by various categories and direct links. The Site Map is accessible from a permanent link at the bottom of every page within LTB. Click on Site Map.

As you can see below, everything within LoanToolbox is clearly organized and categorized within each tier the Pyramid of a Complete Loan Officer (only partially shown). This was not just a slogan we made up when we announced LTB 3.0 at BP08. It's all there and it's all easily accessible from the Site Map. Simply pick the most general category you're looking for and click on it. From there, you'll have further options to delve deeper into the material.

For instance, let's say you're looking for marketing campaigns you can use to create referral relationships, but you have no idea what sort of marketing materials LoanToolbox has or suggests for this important topic. Within the Site Map, simply scroll down to marketing, then click on Obtaining Referral Relationships. You'll immediately be taken to a page within LoanToolbox with a dozen specific tools and turn-key marketing strategies that you can utilize right away to obtain referral relationships.

Now, because LTB's tools and resources are organized according to the different tiers of the Pyramid, once you become more familiar with the site, you can skip the Site Map step altogether and go right to LTB's next search tool: The Pyramid of a Complete Loan Officer Navigator, which is a tab located in the upper left-hand corner of the website. Click on this tab, and let's do another search.

Notice how each tier has the same main categories listed on the Site Map. That's because the Pyramid Navigator works the exact same way, only smarter: everything within LoanToolbox can be found here with a little effort.

Did you notice the little gray arrows to the right of each tier? These arrows indicate that more information is available on these topics. Scroll over the different levels and watch what happens:

On the new menu that opened, notice the little gray arrows again. See how each menu is more specific than the last, helping you refine your general search into something tangible. This is the power of the Pyramid Navigator. It allows you to easily browse for specific LTB tools and resources to address whatever needs you have. You don't have to aimlessly wander the site hoping to find the tools you need to succeed. These powerful search tools help you find what you need, even if you didn't know it existed.

You can click on any one of these topics or keep delving deeper into each subject until there are no more gray arrows. Try this several times and watch how quickly you can find almost everything you want in seconds.

Finally, if you still can't find what you are looking for, the last search tool you have is a Performance Consultant at LoanToolbox. Please contact a LoanToolbox Performance Consultant at support@loantoolbox.com or call (805) 277-6800 (6AM-5PM PST).

Yes, LoanToolbox is bigger and better than ever, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to find whatever you need quickly and easily – no matter how big we get. You have six excellent tools (LTB's Main Search Engine, Site Map, Pyramid Navigator, Message Board Forum Search, Media Center Search, and LTB's friendly and knowledeable Performance Consultants) you can access to make it that much easier.

See you next Wednesday for another Toolbox Tutorial:
Lesson Nine: How to Burn and Use LTB's Gift of Knowledge Calls