Precision Marketing aims to help lenders intelligently locate leads
Mortgage lead generation is rarely simple. However, with annual home price growth hovering around the lowest point in over a decade and 30-year fixed interest rates reaching rates last seen before the Great Recession, expanding the number of mortgage leads and converting them into clients has become downright tough.
Gone are the days when rock-bottom interest rates and runaway home price growth left millions of homeowners looking for a lender to refinance their rates or take out a HELOC to access the equity in their homes. With today’s limited supply of homebuyers and fierce competition among lenders, it feels nearly impossible to generate new business. Not to mention that any customer you lose to a competitor has a notable impact on your bottom line.
This new dynamic in the real estate market has left lenders facing new challenges when it comes to finding and retaining business.
However, these challenges can be the catalyst for companies to come out on top. Below are five key mortgage lead generation challenges lenders face in the current real estate market and how to overcome them.
Modernize Your Lending Approach
Challenge 1: Mortgage Lead Prospect Identification
Does it always seem like you’re fighting with the same people for the same small pool of prospects? Well, it’s not just a feeling. Most mortgage firms utilize the same sources for lead generation — namely credit triggers — which means you’re getting the same lead data at the same time as everyone else.
Instead, look to identify prospects earlier in the process by integrating technology that can help you ascertain when customers are showing purchase intent. This will allow you to pull ahead of the rest of the pack.
Challenge 2: Technology Implementation Costs
Implementing new technology is always an investment, and it’s only natural that the question of cost arises as an even more pressing concern during a down market.
It’s not uncommon to consider whether the upfront cost outweighs the long-term benefits. However, the time to invest in new lead generation technology is now. While the current market certainly comes with challenges, it also comes with a silver lining: time. Use this lull in the market as an opportunity to renew back-of-office processes and modernize your operations to position your company above the competition both now and for when the market recovers.
Challenge 3: Seemingly Shrunken Market Size
Unfortunately, if you do the math, a high interest rate, low inventory market means there just aren’t many buyers out there. This reality can make finding new leads feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Often though, there are multiple opportunities right under your nose. You only need to look at your own book of business.
It’s not uncommon for a customer with an auto loan to also be in the market for a home. Maybe you have a client who is a small-time investor and is looking to take advantage of an opportunity for another rental property. Don’t overlook your own book of business as a tool to generate new revenue among the people with whom you already have an established relationship.
Challenge 4: Borrower Retention Amid Stiff Competition
When the market was hot, losing a customer to the competition may have hurt, but there was usually someone else waiting to take their place in your portfolio. Today, borrower retention is the key to a sustainable business. Knowing when your customers are looking for homes is the best way to ensure that you’re making an offer to them first — before they start shopping for a mortgage.
Challenge 5: Finding the Right Customer at the Right Time
Already, there are comparatively few buyers on the market, and even fewer of those will meet your lending criteria. Rather than chasing down mortgage leads that end up as dead ends, market with precision and give yourself access to deeper insights to know which customers meet your requirements before you contact them.
Precision Marketing: One Solution to All Your Mortgage Lead Generation Challenges
If these challenges seem insurmountable, we’re here to tell you that they’re not. Precision Marketing is a revolutionary new way to look at lead generation. Instead of continuing to take shots in the dark, get ahead of the competition and meet your customers at the point of purchase intent so you can target them with the right message at the right time. Get access to accurate information on purchase intent, home shopping interests and more, all from Precision Marketing’s easy-to-use interface.
For more information on modernizing your approach to lending, schedule a demo today!
