Lead Generation for mortgage businesses?

14 replies
What would be the most cost effective way for me to generate leads for mortgage businesses? I've worked in UK financial services for over 20 years and have lots of contacts still in the industry.

I have an appointment with a firm of mortage brokers next Tuesday to discuss creating a mobile version of their website, plus FB fanpage and also to suggest ways they can generate more leads from the Internet or via their website.

Obviously this could be a very lucrative market if I can show them a large increase in traffic/leads.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Many Thanks
#businesses #generation #lead #mortgage
  • Profile picture of the author Brian John
    sub'd. curious about this as well...
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Wise
    Anyone able to help please?
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    • Profile picture of the author TheRichLife
      What about offering free webinars that would add value to a potential borrower? Have a series of them with varying topics such as how to improve your credit scores, how to sell your house for top dollar in a tough real estate market, the benefits of shorter-term loans, paying points, etc.

      That is such a highly competitive business that organic SEO will be very tough, and PPC will be very expensive. I think webinars that offer real value to home buyers, sellers, and owners could help set them apart from the crowd.
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  • Profile picture of the author MissLizzie
    Humm - tricky. Personally, I would tend to avoid social networking type sites for this, as you might find that people post comments on the wall that are inaccurate or unhelpful and that could get the firm into trouble with the FSA. (If you've worked in the industry, you'll know what a nightmare FSMA can be....) Or else, you'll need to monitor FB very carefully and that's quite time consuming for everyone.

    I chose my last mortgage broker because of a random promotion where they offered me £200 if I arranged a mortgage through them. You could do something like that - in these austerity times, cold, hard cash or vouchers may well get people coming through the door.

    Alternatively, you could try to do a tie-in with a consumer website, like Money Saving Expert, where they promote the mortgage brokers to their list in exchange for a good deal or something like that (I think the weekly email goes out to 5 million people +, so there's some serious leverage there...)
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    • Profile picture of the author Izesta
      Steve, I have been in the mortgage biz since 2001. Mortgage marketing to consumers is a tough market right now. Lots of established competition. But moreso, with credit qualifying being so tough right now, the market of "interested" consumers is far less. They know it's tough getting a mortgage loan so they're not trying. More people renting now than ever before.

      I remember the times from 2001 to 2006, we could send a variety of direct mailers that brought in leads. Not any longer. People are not responding enough to make it worthwhile. And the lender often finds that the ones who do respond cannot qualify for a morgage. I recall a time when I would get 3/4 solicitations every day about refinancing my own mortgage. But now, maybe one every other week.

      For years, we used a lead provider in New York who would mail to people who had a minimum credit score, a minimum interest rate, & supposedly had equity in their home - for refinance purposes. This doesn't work any longer because the response is low & though the people should have qualified for a mortgage refinance (based on the list specs), they do not - for various reasons.

      Social marketing does not work well because people do not tend to use social marketing when looking for a mortgage.

      Giving webinars and credit assistance also does not work - UNLESS you find a great way to target realtors and bring this business in through them. In other words, you are more likely to get business by looking for home buyers and getting realtors involved in the process. The lender does the webinars and/or the credit improvement and then sources that lead back to the realtor. The realtor puts the home under contract and the lender does the mortgage. It's a partnership.

      If you want to do webinars, the prerecorded kind are the best use of time. Take a look at this site: www.webinaragogo.com. They specialize in marketing for mortgage pros and have premade webinars for various mortgage topics. You could try being a middleman by putting realtors and mortgage brokers together using webinaragogo and charging the mortgage broker for the service. You will find it hard trying to get the realtors to pay, so let the lender pay all fees + your profit.

      Some lenders have also become involved in using SMS marketing on real estate for sale signs to drive inquiries for mortgages. Again, you use this in conjunction with realtor partners. When a prospective home buyer sees the sign and sends a text to the number or short code, both the realtor & the lender capture the prospect's info.

      The guys behind webinaragogo have a pretty popular Facebook page called "Mortgage Marketing Animals." You might find it interesting. Though they target mortgage pros, you will still get tons of unique ideas about what/how to market in this business. Go back and look at some of their old posts. They have a web page too and a coaching group you can join. The coaching ain't cheap. They also have occasional free webinars that are useful.

      Successful mortgage marketing is no easy feat in these times. I get 90% of my business from my 10 year client files & referrals. If not for that, I would probably be out of the business. It is rough.

      Mortgage lenders/brokers are desperate and needy. So, if you can suggest something & produce, you'll be worth more than gold. Going in with theory won't go over well because they don't have time (nor maybe the funds) to pay for theory.

      Mortgage people tend to be very impatient. You'll want to show results quickly or they will trash it.

      Hope this helps. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Al
    I was a broker up until 2009 and we used to buy leads from the like of Moneysupermarket for anything from a couple of quid to £100 depending on the quality and size of the deal.

    I think you're on the right line with integrated marketing... the only thing that you may have to deal with is the regulatory side because it's so stuffy here in the UK compared with say the US Real Estate Marketing.

    Was watching The System Seminar with Ken McCarthy recently and Talor Zamir was presenting as an internet marketer and stated the Real Estate guys were way ahead or any other IM niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
    If I'm understanding this correctly, you want to provide a mortgage company leads and get paid for them, right?

    Here's what I do:

    1. Own your own website, and generate the leads there. Don't drive traffic to someone elses asset or you lose a lot of your power should you decide to move to a different company. Think about big players like Lending Tree, they have established themselves as a website, and they sell off the leads to lenders. If a lender stops paying or decides to start being shady, it doesn't really have an effect on their business because the machine keeps running and they just replace the buyer of the leads.

    2. Sell the leads to the mortgage brokers on a CPL basis. Don't get wrapped up in % per completed sale or any of that crap. It's too hard to track and you're relying on someone else's closing ability (or lack thereof) to make you money. Sell them the leads at $XX/Lead and be done.

    3. Sell exclusive leads when you're getting started. They're worth more per lead, they're better quality for the company, they're easier to track, and you can maintain a significantly better relationship with the company you're providing the leads to. Most of my clients are well over the 1.5 year range and I haven't needed to prospect for new clients in what seems like forever.


    It's a great business to be in.
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    • Profile picture of the author Izesta
      Originally Posted by mr2monster View Post

      If I'm understanding this correctly, you want to provide a mortgage company leads and get paid for them, right?

      Here's what I do:

      1. Own your own website, and generate the leads there. Don't drive traffic to someone elses asset or you lose a lot of your power should you decide to move to a different company. Think about big players like Lending Tree, they have established themselves as a website, and they sell off the leads to lenders. If a lender stops paying or decides to start being shady, it doesn't really have an effect on their business because the machine keeps running and they just replace the buyer of the leads.

      2. Sell the leads to the mortgage brokers on a CPL basis. Don't get wrapped up in % per completed sale or any of that crap. It's too hard to track and you're relying on someone else's closing ability (or lack thereof) to make you money. Sell them the leads at /Lead and be done.

      3. Sell exclusive leads when you're getting started. They're worth more per lead, they're better quality for the company, they're easier to track, and you can maintain a significantly better relationship with the company you're providing the leads to. Most of my clients are well over the 1.5 year range and I haven't needed to prospect for new clients in what seems like forever.


      It's a great business to be in.

      Sounds like you have a great business.

      So many of the companies we once bought leads from are long gone. And so many others provide such useless, stale leads, there's no use buying them.

      Congrats !
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      • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
        Originally Posted by Izesta View Post

        Sounds like you have a great business.

        So many of the companies we once bought leads from are long gone. And so many others provide such useless, stale leads, there's no use buying them.

        Congrats !

        Thanks, I do.

        A large part of being able to stick around (in any business) is being able to provide something to the customer that is more valuable than the money they give you. I try to keep that in mind when I'm dealing with clients and it's seemed to work pretty well for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    mr2monster - would you mind telling us how you find businesses that want to buy your leads?
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    • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      mr2monster - would you mind telling us how you find businesses that want to buy your leads?
      First thing I did was find clients that "fit".
      That meant:
      - high profit margin or larger transactions or long end-client life
      - preferably able to do national business, but not required
      - Non-franchise / Non-Corporate (corporations ok, just no corporate approval needed)
      - Friendly people I liked, because I'm not gonna do business with jerks.

      That narrowed the field a lot. My thinking was that I'd rather sell 1 lead for $30+ than sell 10 $3 leads. It meant a lot less work for me on the generation side. Generally companies with those traits can afford (and are willing) to pay higher dollar amounts.

      Off the top of my head it was obvious that those were the:
      - Real estate industry (agents, loan officers/brokers, loan modifciation, short sale, etc. etc)
      *Note that in some cases you can't actually sell leads to an agent, so you "rent them a site" check RESPA for the laws
      - Attorney's (bankruptcy and personal injury especially)
      *same basic rule. Check the state BAR to see what attorney's can do to generate business legally... Or, ask an attorney.
      - Need Money Loans type places
      - Auto Insurance brokers
      - etc.


      Then, I looked at my personal network and found the people that fit the criteria and asked for referrals. That got me a couple leads, and one client. I also turned my then boss into a client since I was working at a law firm at that point.

      Next I went to the AZ Corporate commission and got a list of newly formed entities and whittled that down to the types of companies that fit. The fact that they were newly formed companies told me that they were probably in a rush to get some business coming in and that they'd need my service.

      Then, I did a little research on the companies and walked in with my pitch.


      I know it seems like a lot of front end work to do, but really I only had to do it a couple times before I was loaded up enough that I didn't need to prospect anymore. Plus I didn't waste time walking into companies that weren't a good match in the first place. I think that's where a lot of people end up wasting a lot of time. They just spray and pray and end up pounding the pavement wasting time. Figure out who your service works with and get your message out to THOSE people.


      I really haven't had to prospect much since, to be honest. I've only ever replaced a couple clients (which is why I said OWN the site, it was as simple as redirecting the leads to the new client).

      Most of my clients love my leads, I sell them exclusively to the business, and they stick around for years. I charge a fair price, and they feel like they're getting a great deal.

      You don't really need too many clients to make a comfortable living if you're a 1 man shop.

      Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author snirbitton
    Hi all,
    I am looking for help to generate leads for the real estate / mortgage niche?
    We own and operate a call center and are looking to generate leads from people that are looking to get a mortgage on a new home or to refinance.
    Coaching anyone?
    Thanks
    Snir
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