More Mortgage Lead Generation for ’10
By · Commentsknow, I know… Active Rain is primarily a real estate specific blog, so why would I choose to post a blog that talks about mortgage lead generation? For starters, you’d be surprised with how many mortgage professionals regularly visit, and post to Active Rain.
It’s a great platform, and excellent tool to reach a targeted demographic. Not to mention, everything I post about mortgage lead generation applies to real estate marketing as well – We’re all targeting the same group of people. Those who want to buy or sell a home.
Though my comments today will be short, they will be pointed. Mortgage lead generation has changed. We’ve all watched it happen in fact… The market has shifted, the refi boom ended, and people have been hesitant to take action.
As if these changes were not enough, the shopping habits of the average consumer has changed as well. According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2009, 93% of home buyers used the internet to help select a new home. While I don’t have official statistics in front of me, we can imagine that a huge percentage of those home buyers also used the web to check on mortgage rates, and compare loan officers.
Direct mail, magazine ads, cold calling… Traditional methods of mortgage lead generation are not as effective as they once were. I’m not here to scream that the sky is falling, and that these means of generating business are completely dead. Traditional methods will always have their place when used correctly.
However, in 2010, the average consumer is hit with (According to the most recent stats from the DMA) more than 3,000 advertising messages per day. That’s right, more than 1.2 million per year! Is it any wonder that interuption based advertising methods such as direct mail and cold calls are not as effective as they once were?
This is advertising overload! Which brings me back to the original point I wanted to make. If you want an effective marketing strategy, you’re going to need to alter your focus. Instead of lumping everyone into a single group to advertise to in bulk, why not spend your time marketing to those who are already interested?
Sounds impossible at first glance doesn’t it? I named this blog post “mortgage lead generation” for a reason, and that’s because despite appearances, it’s very doable. There are hundreds, if not thousands of prospects in your area taking the time to search for mortgage rates, companies, brokers, and more. These people are actively searching, and they’re leaving bread crumb trails for savvy marketers to follow.
I’ll continue telling you about the process in my next post. Make it a great week, and please check back in a few days to learn how to identify these hot prospects.
A Really Fun Game for Loan Officers!
By · CommentsMortgage brokers and Realtors, I have a fun test for you. This test will give you an idea of your ability to think through situations. Believe it or not, no matter how fun it is to answer these questions, this exercise is still relevant to generating more business. Are you ready for this? Here we go:
Question #1 – There are 6 eggs in a basket. 6 people each take 1 egg. How can it be that 1 egg is left in the basket?
Question #2 – Acting on an anonymous phone call, police raid a house to arrest a suspected murderer. They don’t know what he looks like, but they do know that his name is John. Inside, they find a carpenter, a cab driver, a mechanic and fireman playing cards. Without asking his name, they arrest the fireman on the spot. How did they know they had their man?
Question #3 – A man escaped from prison and is making his way home on foot. After walking about 2 miles from the prison on a rural country road, he notices a police car coming towards him. Despite knowing that all squads will be looking for him, he ran towards the car. Only when he was about 10 feet away did he turn and run into the woods. Why did he run towards the police car?
You will find the answers to these questions at the end of this article. So what is the point of presenting you with these questions? The above scenarios were designed to test an individual’s lateral thinking ability. What exactly is lateral thinking?
Lateral thinking is approaching a problem from diverse angles instead of focusing on one approach at length. All of the above questions had relatively simple answers to them, but when presented in the context that they were, the scenarios can seem confusing.
I used these scenarios to demonstrate the way we as mortgage brokers approach our own business and the gaps in training that can daunt the “Average Joe” mortgage broker or Realtor . Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where there seems to be no easy answer. In fact, many mortgage brokers are feeling downright confused about what to do in today’s market condition.
Many originators and real estate professionals look at their options, and they find 1 or 2 recommended solutions that may or may not work as advertised. What happens when the marketing approach doesn’t bring in the desired results? They give up! Why resign yourself to mediocre results or to a less than fulfilling career when there are so many solutions still out there for mortgage brokers and agents with even an ounce of self-confidence?
By using our own brainpower and the mountain of information available to us, there are simple solutions available at our finger-tips just waiting for us to implement. The problem is that a fine balance needs to be struck between creative lateral thinking while adhering to sound and proven business truths.
Try approaching your challenges from a different angle. Apply critical and lateral thinking to the hurdles that you face to find solutions where previously there seemed to be none.
As long as originators and agents continue to implement the same strategies and approaches that everyone else is using, they will continue to get the same results they always have. It’s amazing what a little brain power and creative thinking can accomplish. Take a look at the answers to the questions above to find out what the answers were.
I think you’ll be amazed at how simple the solutions were. Yet due to our own limited view of situations and the world around us, many times we create our own mental prison. Free the creativity within yourself, and apply these principals to some of your most pressing challenges. I think you just may surprise yourself.
Answers Key:
#1 – The last person to take an egg took the basket with him.
#2 – John was the only man in the room.
#3 – The criminal was on a bridge, and was much closer to one side than the other.
How Close are You to Success in Mortgage Marketing??
By · CommentsA very true post written by Chad Weber…
Many originators cannot envision themselves as being successful. No joke! Most sales professionals feel deep down inside that they will never reach their true financial goals. Isn’t this depressing? In order to reach success you have to first believe that you can do it! No, not just the uncommitted “you can do it” pep talks that we sometimes give ourselves; but the firm conviction that you are almost there! Believe in yourself and take affirmative action to supply the necessary education and tools to hit those goals.
Most loan officers are closer than they realize and just need that small helping hand to push them over the edge.Then there are others that for 1 reason or another inwardly believe that the world is against them, or “things just weren’t meant to work out for me.” My advice to these loan officers? SNAP OUT OF IT! We all have bad days, weeks, and even sometimes months and years!
Or at least it may seem that way at times. But let me give you the best advice I can based on my own personal down-turns and roller coaster rides… Despite the fact that I had some months where every single day seemed to bring 1 disaster after another, (In fact, I once had a 6 – 7 month stretch of bad news, work-related disasters, and even my condo that was nearly destroyed while I was on vacation) I can tell you in all sincerity that very little progress was ever made when my attitude was negative.
The only time I was able to make forward progress, and change my circumstances for the better was when I put the negative “poor me” and “nothing ever works out for me” attitude behind me. Too often we give in to pointing fingers at others, or circumstances instead of taking responsibility for our own future. Make the decision today to make a change for the better. Success is not too far away if you are committed to finding it. No games, no excuses, just action!
Endless Purchase Leads Via the Internet!!
By · CommentsWhat if I told you that there is a massive crowd of hungry buyers that are looking for your services? What if I then told you that this huge list of loan officer/Realtor leads went ignored by nearly 90% of mortgage brokers and Realtors? Would you believe me?
It happens every single month, and will continue to happen for quite a while. So what exactly does this mean to you? This means that there is a relatively untapped market just waiting for you to jump in and dominate! So what is this mystical market that no one has ever heard of?
The internet… You heard me right, the internet! According to Google, (There’s even a way to verify this information) each month, even a medium sized city in the U.S. will get over 200,000 searches for real estate! Let that sink in for a moment! Over 200,000 searches every single month for homes for sale!
While we already know that most of those individuals will not buy a home for any number of reasons, even if 10% of that number is serious about buying within the next 6 – 12 months, you have a gold mine just sitting there on the web right in front of your face!
Yet, despite these hundreds of thousands of searches each month in city after city, more than 90% of loan officer’s surveyed reported that they close 1 or fewer transactions per year from their websites! Talk about missing the boat! There’s more than enough loan officer or Realtor leads flowing through the web to keep any loan officer busy as can be, yet most are going broke in today’s market.
So what’s causing this strange phenomena? Simple. Most loan officers subscribe to the “build it and they will come” method of online marketing. They purchase a ‘pretty’ website, and then sit there to wait for business to roll in!
Sorry guys! The web is such a large place (Total websites now number in the billions!) these days, that if you don’t actively market your site, there’s no way your hungry prospects are going to find you! It’s akin to building a McDonalds in the center of a Rain Forest! How much business will you get? None!
All is not lost. There are simple techniques that can place your website at the top of the search engines so that home buyers can find your site, and ultimately end up in your pipeline. Since most loan officers never take the time to learn these techniques, this means that there are just that many more loan officer leads waiting for you.
If you’d like to see first hand how to find out just how many leads you could develop in your own home-town:
Two Mortgage Lead Generation Tips for 2010
By · CommentsMortgage lead generation should be considered one of the most important activities a loan officer can engage in. Without a reliable source of fresh and qualified prospects flowing in each week, your pipeline, and ultimately your pay-check will suffer.
Unfortunately, this subject is often put on the back-burner for many loan officers, as they seek out a fast and easy solution such as purchasing leads, or paying for expensive mail drops, and other strategies that are pitched to the originator as “turn-key” solutions to closing more loans.
You know how that usually works out right? A good mortgage lead generation plan is typically going to require a bit more than just writing a check to a service provider. Think of it this way; if the service really delivers great mortgage leads, then how long do you think it will take before that particular service becomes saturated with long lines of loan officers wanting in? It won’t take long before this once effective source is watered down. There are only so many pieces of mail that can be sent, and only so many times a lead can be sold before the borrowers get frustrated.
So what’s the solution? Should we simply throw in the towel and look for another career? Not a chance!
Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #1
Let the borrowers come to you. Think about it. Are you at your most friendly when a telemarketer calls you to sell you on a new credit card protection plan? If you’re like me, then I doubt it. We don’t like to be interrupted with sales pitches. Neither do your prospects. But how about when you actually need a service badly enough to go in search for it? Now are you more likely to listen to what the sales person has to say?
Of course! The same is true of your borrowers. In most cities, there are hundreds, if not thousands of borrowers who take the time to visit a search engine online and perform a search for mortgage loans. These people are serious enough to take time out of their days to search for and research the topic of mortgage loans. Wouldn’t you say this makes these people far more qualified leads than those you would cold call?
Imagine if you had a strategy as part of your lead generation campaign that put you in front of these people at the very moment they performed these searches? Are you seeing the potential here?
Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #2
Have a Call To Action. I took a little trip across Google looking at dozens of mortgage websites. Can you guess what I found? Most of them look, and sound as if they were written by the same organization. I’d be hard pressed to find a single site that stood out. All of them brag about great service on the front page, and then excitedly point out that I can apply for a free mortgage quote.
What’s so special about that? Think like a borrower. Will he or she see this as an amazing opportunity to get a quote? Nearly every single website offers this service, and I have yet to find a site that charges for it, so why is a big deal being made about the fact it is free?
The claims of great service are also cliché. Have you ever run across a loan officer who warns his prospects that his service is mediocre at best? Not a chance! In other words, these are the sorts of messages that go in one ear and out the other. They blend you in with everyone else. If you want a mortgage lead generation campaign that delivers something other than the same old results you’re tired of, you need to think of a few calls to action that make your prospects excited.
This could be a list of tips, warnings, an e-book, a guide… If you’re marketing online, you can create an audio clip or video. There are numerous ways to draw your prospects in without sounding like every other loan officer and mortgage company on the block.
Many originators are searching desperately for a reliable way to self-generate their own mortgage leads.
The 3 Most Important Mortgage Marketing Rules
By · CommentsPerhaps a quick review of some of the more commonly violated rules would be helpful?
Rule #1 With so many opinions and perspectives floating around, it is difficult to label any one rule as the most important. So we won’t go that route today. Rather, I am listing these marketing rules, or guidelines as equally important. They have to be in some sort of order though right? Guideline number one is this: You must know who you are marketing to. Sounds fairly simple right? Or is it? I’m going to ask 3 simple questions that I want you to answer as quickly as you can.
Where are your prospects most likely to live? What are the top 3 concerns of your primary niche? What is the primary age group of your niche market? If you can answer these three questions, then I applaud you. Would you believe that most loan officers could answer only one of the questions listed above?
This concerns me because these are very simple questions that could be answered with a little research and record-keeping. If we are paying so little attention to our marketing efforts and our client base that we struggle to answer even the most basic of questions, then is it any wonder the industry is in a state of panic right now? Please do yourself a favor and set aside some time for getting acquainted with your market.
Rule #2 Rule number two is every bit as important as rule number one. Even with the best research the world has to offer in hand, you must follow this guideline if you wish to be successful. Consider number two as a logical progression of rule number one. You must go where the prospects are.
Fishermen always do their best to drop their lures in the most densely populated areas of the lake, so why aren’t we doing the same? Once you know who your most likely prospects are, why not market in a way that will put you in front of the largest possible group? For instance, if you are marketing to first time home buyers, have you put some thought into where most first time home buyers are going for information? Are they going to the internet? If so, what sites are they likely to be visiting? Perhaps they are also thumbing through local real estate classifieds and publications?
What is likely to get their attention? Take some time to look at the tools and resources available, and then view these destinations and publications through the eyes of your prospect. What do they see, and what would stand out? Your odds of meeting with success will increase substantially once you begin fishing in the right places.
Rule #3 Have a strong call to action! You may have noticed that I put an exclamation point at the end of the last sentence. I felt that this statement needs to be yelled from the highest roof tops and pounded into our heads again and again. I am speaking so strongly about this topic because this rule seems to be overlooked so frequently.
Many well designed and planned marketing strategies have met their demise due to violation of this rule. Without a strong call to action, even the best ad copy will fizzle. If you don’t tell your prospect what they should do next, then why should they do it? What is in it for them? How will they even know what to do? Lately, it seems that more and more loan officers have forgotten that they are in sales! We’ve grown so afraid of asking for what we want, or of telling our prospects what to do next.
It’s as if we are afraid they will be offended and go elsewhere. I have to tell you though, if your prospect is so easily herded to your competition because of a simple question or direction, then this was not a very reliable prospect to begin with. Sure we have to temper everything we say and avoid coming on too strong, but this by no means translates into becoming a glorified order taker! You must be straight forward and honest
Free Mortgage Marketing Tools
By · Comments
Stick around my site long enough and you’ll quickly learn something about me… I like to share free stuff! Since we’re talking about mortgage marketing today, I figured we’d kick it off with some excellent tools that you will likely find quite useful.
Today we’re going to merge using the web, and traditional marketing. You already know how I feel about traditional vs. online mortgage marketing. The web offers a huge advantage over traditional methods, as more and more people are using the internet to research, and even select their homes, real estate agents, and loan officers.
However, this does not mean that I am recommending you abandon your offline marketing efforts. Dar from it! I have often found that most of my efforts are enhanced when I marry both online and offline strategies.
So what I’m providing you today is a link to a website (online) where you can find plenty of mortgage marketing tools to help with your traditional marketing. (Offline)See how everything can play nicely together?
Here’s the link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx
The link above will bring you to Microsoft’s website. On this site is a particular page where you can perform a search for graphics, and templates. What sort of templates? Sales letters, brochures, fliers, even Power-Point slides. Have a look:
I found this tool to come in especially handy when I was working with real estate agents. My approach was to be a constant source of useful new tools that I would bring to the table. Slides, fliers, sales letter templates, just listed cards and more. You’ll find all of the above on this site available to download for free.
Check back every month, as the site updates on an ongoing basis. I hope you find this link as useful as I did! Free mortgage marketing tools are always welcome right? See you on the next post.
The All-Important Autoresponder
By · CommentsCredit goes to Chad for piecing together one of the best autoresponder summaries ever…
When most lenders/Realtors hear the word “auto-responder” they think of a pre-written message that is given the lowly task of informing your contacts “Sorry, I’m gone for the day and will be back on…” Not much more than an online answering machine when you think about it. This is not the auto-responder we’re discussing today. Not even close.
A true email marketing autoresponder comes with the following features:
1. Groups
2. Pre-set delivery intervals
3. Auto – subscription
4. SPAM check tools
So what are all these features for? Let’s have a look:
1. Groups
What is it: Most true email marketing systems allow you to set up multiple “groups.” A group is simple a list of people you want to email to, that all share something in common. Such as realtors may be one group you email to, while “past clients” may be a second group. Obviously you don’t want the same drip emails going to other business contacts, as you do your past clients, so you create 2 seperate groups. I recommend that you have at least 5 groups:
1. Past Clients
2. Deals in process
3. Prospects
4. Realtors (Or at least 1 other referral source)
5. FSBO prospects
2. Preset delivery intervals
This one iss pretty straight forward. You want your auto-responder to have the ability to pre-set the delivery of your email campaign at regular intervals. Day 1, day 15, day 30 and so forth. This means that you setup your campaign once, and let the machine do the work for you from that point forward. Sounds nice doesn’t it? So where are all the mortgage marketing tools that convert sales for you? Can’t wait until they invent one of those!
3. Auto-Subscription
This feature allows you to capture names and phone numbers (Along with any other relevant info you want) right from your website. A good auto-responder will make this a simple step as well. Place the form on the proper pages, ads, or blogs and voila – a new source of leads!
4 – SPAM Check Tools
Spam filters have gone crazy these days. It seems a higher and higher percentage of messages are labelled as spam. If your messages aren’t getting through, then they’re likely not getting read. Not a good situation. A good auto-responder will scan your email message prior to delivery, and warn you of potential spam red flags. There are dozens of words, and phrases that can set off spam filters these days. Not to mention font size and color amongst other things.
Flex Those Realtor Marketing Muscles!
By · CommentsMany times I have heard the complaint that realtors just don’t seem to pay attention to mortgage brokers anymore. They are either already using a mortgage broker that they are happy with, or they just don’t seem to have the time to be bothered by just one more mortgage broker.
Have you experienced this? My suggestion to those of you who are shaking your heads yes, is to set a little bit of time aside each week for some education. What I want you to do, is jump onto your favorite browser (Google, MSN, Yahoo etc.) and do a search for your local association of Realtors.
You can search by state, or you can search by city if you are in a larger area. Once you have found the nearest association, I want you to save it to your favorites, and visit it once each week. I also want you to subscribe to the free newsletter if one is offered. Why do I want you to do this? Simple.
I want you to keep up to date on what is going on within your local realty community. If you are up top date on the current hot topics, and points of interest, you will be better prepared to hold a great conversation with those you come in contact with.
This information will allow you to demonstrate the truth behind your words when you explain to agents why you are different. Most mortgage brokerss cruise along oblivious to what is going on within their real estate community. Do you want to be lumped in with every other mortgage broker?
Of course not. Not to mention, this strategy also allows for great conversation starters when you are the one to bring up current issues and concerns. Why not print out a newsletter, cut out an article and send it to your target agents? These are just 2 ways you can use this information.
There are many more great ways to use the information gleaned from these sites. Before you go, I just want to reiterate that if you are serious about earning realtor business, there is no excuse not to make yourself familiar with the community. The information is free, easily accessible and even archived for your convenience. Why not visit your local Association of Realtors site right now? You’ll be glad you did.
Chris Hallmark – http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
What Do You Do When Something Isn’t Working?
By · CommentsAnother great article Chad shared with me recently…
When things go wrong, what do you do? When something isn’t working for you, how do you respond? I cannot count the number of times loan officers or Realtors call me up begging for a solution to their lead generation problems, but in the same breath they tell me all the things they have tried that don’t work.
I hear things such as:
“That doesn’t work here”
“Realtors are different here – they won’t work with me”
“I tried marketing to fsbo’s – that doesn’t work”
See where this is headed? Me being the ever-curious individual that I am, I cannot help but dig a little further. It takes a little pressing, but usually I find that these same loan officers and Realtors who are complaining that “nothing works” are usually trying something out for all of 2 or 3 weeks and then giving up!
This is not what I call commitment guys! Tossing something aside because it didn’t yield results in 2 or 3 weeks is a guaranteed way to fail. Even those who stick it out a bit longer are usually so convinced that they are doing everything right the first time around, that all the blame for the failure goes to the marketing plan, and not to themselves.
But let me ask you a pointed question. How many of us could pick up a guitar and hammer out an AC/DC solo the first time around with no practice? Not I! (I’ve got the earplugs to prove it!) Let’s try something simpler. When you first learned to drive a car with a manual transmission (Or even an automatic for that matter) – Did you hop in and head out for a cross country road-trip?
Of course not, it took a bit of practice to smooth things out and make it a habit. So how come so many originators assume that they’re doing everything right, and point their fingers at “realtors” “lazy loan officers” ”fsbo’s” “the market” “the marketing plan” etc?
When your mortgage lead generation and/or real estate efforts go a little “haywire” take a step back, look a little closer at what you are (and are not) doing, and apply some common sense. More often than not, you’ll find that there are several pieces of the puzzle missing, or in desperate need of tweaking.
Chris Hallmark - http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish
