The Internet has revolutionized the way consumer's evaluate,
compare and choose mortgage products and services. Every day
more and more mortgage shoppers utilize the Internet to study
and purchase home mortgages. As a mortgage broker you must recognize
this industry shift and learn to utilize this tool. This brings
us to the topic of this article, Internet
Mortgage Leads.
Each day thousands of mortgage seekers fill out forms on
thousands of mortgage leads generation websites requesting
more information on mortgage loans or quotes from mortgage
lenders. These mortgage leads are made available to you by
an array of internet mortgage leads generation brokers. The
BIG question is, are these internet mortgage leads worth
your effort and money? Will the return on investment be
there? In this article we will discuss the in and outs, do
and don'ts and questions you should ask when purchasing internet
mortgage leads. Careful consideration must be given to purchasing
internet mortgage leads.
In this mortgage lead guide we will discuss:
Quality Internet
Mortgage Leads
What makes a quality internet mortgage lead? A lead that
CLOSES. Not necessarily. We all know that not all leads will
close. In fact if I was able to close between 8% and 14% of
the mortgage leads I purchase on the internet, I would be
happy. I consider a mortgage lead to be a high quality lead
if it meets the following criteria:
-The Lead is Fresh - It is critical to
find out how quickly mortgage
lead brokers turns the lead around and delivers
it to you. Best case scenario, the lead is delivered instantly
(a real-time mortgage lead) and it is an exclusive mortgage
lead (only delivered to you). At a minimum you want to make
sure the lead is delivered in less than 48 hours. Otherwise,
the lead is less valuable and should not be sold at the same
premium as a real-time mortgage lead. The more time that passes
from the time the user requested information, the less your
chances of closing the sale to this lead. I've seen many cases
where users deny even requesting information. The quicker
you contact them, the less likely this is to happen. Hit while
the iron is hot.
-The Lead is Accurate
One of the biggest challenges mortgage lead generation companies
face is obtaining accurate data from users. No matter what
type of technology a mortgage lead company claims to have,
no company can completely stop users from entering inaccurate
data. Companies will claim to have all sorts software to ensure
more accurate data.
A recent example of technology to improve data accuracy is
telephone number/location verification. Companies use software
to make sure the area code in the phone number matches the
state. This is a nice feature because chances are if a user
is going to enter a bogus phone number they will not enter
the correct area code. What you must do is evaluate mortgage
lead generation companies and decide who has the best solution
to fit your needs. Also, consider telemarketing mortgage leads.
-The Lead is a True Lead
What do I mean by a true lead? I consider a true lead to be
a lead that was actually generated by someone that is truly
interested in obtaining a mortgage. You have to be careful
that the lead is not an ‘Incentivized Lead’. For
those of you that aren’t familiar with this new term
I will explain. Many websites today offer users incentives
to fill out forms. In exchange for filling out these forms
users are given points towards the purchase of merchandise
or even money. Make sure you stay away from companies that
have anything to do with incentivized leads. These leads are
worthless !!!
What you should expect from an Internet Mortgage Lead?
This is
simple. Don’t set your expectations to high. Like I
said earlier it would be great to close at a rate 8% - 14%.
Remember that you are buying leads, not sales. Expect accurate
data 80% of the time and try to close at least 8% of these
leads and you should be doing very well for yourself.
Closing the sell to your Internet Mortgage Leads
Again, this is a simple concept. The quicker you contact
the lead, the better the chance of closing the sale. The first
thing you should do is make contact. Once you have made contact
with the lead ask questions and find out what they are looking
for. After this initial contact you can follow up with a quote
and answers to their questions. Quick response, quick response,
quick response !!!!
Questions to ask your Mortgage Lead Generation Company
These are the not so obvious but very important questions
to ask.
What is your lead return policy?
It is vital that you find this out before purchasing Internet
Mortgage Leads. Bad leads are worthless to you and at aprox
$30 each, this can get expensive quick. No batch of leads
will be completely accurate, but you won’t to make sure
that the percentage that is bad is not greater than 10% -
15%.
Tip: Some companies say they will refund
a maximum of 10%-15% of the total purchased for bad leads.
Use this percentage as a negotiating point when purchasing
leads.
Also ask the company what makes a lead returnable. What makes
the lead invalid? Different companies will have different
policies on what constitutes a bad lead.
How many times are your leads sold?
When purchasing leads you must make sure that companies aren’t
overselling the leads they generate. The best lead is an exclusive
mortgage lead, meaning you are the only person the lead was
sold to. Exclusive mortgage leads are more expensive but you
are ensured that you should be the only person receiving the
lead. If the lead isn’t exclusive find out how many
other times the lead has been sold. The more mortgage brokers
that receive the same lead the less chance you have of closing
the sale.
What filters are available for your leads?
Filters allow you to set criteria for the mortgage
leads you receive. Example: You could specify that you only
want leads for mortgage seekers that have a ‘Good’
credit rating or better or you could specify that you only
want leads from ‘Colorado’.
How are the leads delivered?
Find out what format the leads are delivered. Leads
may be delivered in text format, Microsoft Excel, email, etc.
Make sure it is a format you are able to work with.
How do you generate your leads?
Find out what method the company uses to generate Internet
Mortgage Leads. Make absolutely sure there is NO INCENTIVIZING.
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