Where to Buy Mortgage Leads

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Mortgage lead generation is one of the primary jobs that a mortgage lender has to do in order to gain prospective clients who may decide to take on a loan. From creating high-quality content to integrating CRMs into your mortgage generation system, there are a variety of strategies you can use to secure mortgage leads.

What are Mortgage Leads?

Mortgage leads are people who have a potential interest in the services of a mortgage lender. When mortgage leads engage in two-way communication with the mortgage lender, it is said that the lead turns into a prospect that has a higher probability of converting into an ultimate client.

How to Generate Mortgage Leads for Free

• Create quality content

  When potential borrowers first think about getting a mortgage, they want to be informed about the process of applying for a mortgage, the necessary requirements to qualify, and to compare between mortgage rates and terms that different lenders offer. By creating quality content that is easy to understand and answers the customers’ questions and concerns, you as a lender will be drawing traffic to your website.

  High-quality content not only attracts users to your site but also gives your site authority which makes users more comfortable with trusting it as a source of information. This is an important step in establishing a relationship of trust with new clients. Going forward, potential borrowers are more likely to inquire about your offerings and input their contact information in order to learn more about specific topics they are interested in.

  This is how quality content can assist in generating quality organic leads that do not cost you anything and are more probable to turn into prospects. It is worth mentioning that quality content does not have much value if the general target audience does not understand it, so putting in work to make the content as user-friendly as possible is a key factor in this process.

• Promote your content

  Creating high-quality content and not promoting it means that you have to sit back and wait for someone to run across your website through a search. The best way to accelerate this process is to be as active as you can on social media platforms and put your content out there so it reaches the borrower first. LinkedIn would be a good start, as it allows you to post as much content as you want, and through the users’ interaction with the articles, your post reaches a wider audience.

  Promoting your content on these social media channels can also be more successful in generating mortgage leads if they are accompanied by user-friendly materials. For example, posting short explanatory videos on mortgage lending and products can be more attractive to people than reading a long article on it.

• Differentiate yourself

  With thousands of mortgage lenders in the U.S., your competition is high. Therefore, just like any business model, focusing on aspects that make you different from the rest and reinforce why borrowers should choose you over others is a necessary step in attracting the clientele.

  If you don’t have a specific area, mortgage product that you specialize in, or competitive mortgage lending criteria, then focusing on aspects such as customer service and relationship management might be a good start. Being responsive to borrowers’ inquiries, offering tools to help them understand mortgages better, or simply offering outstanding customer service can be the deciding factor on which lender the borrower chooses to work with.

• Encourage customers to write reviews

  After referrals from known connections, reviews are the closest thing that potential clients have to an honest experience and rating of a company and its services. It serves as a basis for comparison with your competitors. Between two lenders offering similar products, services, and mortgage rates, customer reviews can be the ultimate dealbreaker. That is why it pays to put in the effort to gather reviews from your existing customers.

  Since it is a hassle for some people to leave a review, it is necessary to make the process simple and easy for them. This can be done by sending them the link where to leave reviews, forming a short survey that they can fill out, or providing some sort of incentive to encourage them to write a review. Moreover, Google reviews help improve your website’s ranking on the Google search engine results page.

• Create a Google My Business account

  Setting up a Google My Business account makes your business discoverable on Google. It is a free tool that apart from making it easier for a customer to find your business, also gives it more credibility. Imagine searching up a business on Google and you are not able to find its website, the address, or any Google reviews. Moreover, a Google My Business account lists your business in the options available when users search for specific services such as “Mortgage Lenders in New York”. This can help drive traffic to your website and put you on the map for potential borrowers.

• Network

  Expanding your sphere of influence through networking can help you get organic leads and referrals without taking any money out of your pocket. These leads also tend to be high quality and with a high probability of turning into prospects as people are largely influenced by the recommendations of someone they know rather than by the information they find online. This is why it pays to provide good customer service and put effort into building relationships with your current clients, as they will be the prime marketers of your services.

  Expanding and maintaining your network of professionals is also an important source of leads. For example, building relationships with real estate agents and brokers can help you get referred by some of them. To build a relationship you first need to establish an initial contact which you can achieve by visiting their offices, asking to leave your business cards or brochures there, and by visiting open houses. Other professionals such as divorce attorneys and estate planners can also be a useful source of mortgage leads.

Where to Buy Mortgage Leads?

Advertise on PPC Platforms

One of the most common ways of lead generation is online advertising. Google and Facebook are two powerful advertising engines, which differ in the target audience they work best for and the results generated by each:

Google Ads

Google Ads is one of the most popular advertising techniques. How it works is that you first get to choose a number of keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business and that a potential client would search for if they were looking to get a mortgage. Next, when the users do search for one of these keywords and phrases, your ad will show up on the results page. If the user chooses to click on the ad, then you have to pay a fee for that click. If the user scrolls past it and does not click, then you do not pay. This happens because Google Ads follows a Pay-per-Click revenue model where the cost per click is decided by a bidding process.

From this simple explanation, we can come up with ways on how to make the most out of your Google advertising so that you do not end up running out of money before getting any mortgage leads.

1 - Keywords - Choose smart keywords that are very relevant to your business. Since there are many lenders and mortgage brokers choosing the same broad keywords such as “Mortgage” or “Best mortgage rates”, it will be harder for you to compete with the range of ads that the consumer will look at. Moreover, broad keywords may lead to users clicking with no intention of getting a mortgage.

For example, when someone searches for “What is reverse mortgage”, there is some probability that they would want to get a reverse mortgage. However, when one searches for “How to apply for a reverse mortgage”, the intent is much higher since the user knows what it is and is now looking to apply for one. By lowering the number of clicks from low-intent buyers you are saving money.

2 - Landing Page - After the users have clicked on your ad, it is crucial to do the most to make the process easy and simple for them so that you can turn them into prospects. Creating a landing page that is resourceful, answers the user’s questions, and provides a form to gather his/her information in small, easy steps will be the deciding factor of whether this mortgage lead will turn into a prospect or not. Besides, they are one click away from returning to the results page and clicking on another ad.

3 - CRM for Google Ads - By integrating a Customer Relationship Management system on your Google Ads, you can gather important information on the outcome of the mortgage leads generated by Google Ads. By following up with the mortgage leads offline, a CRM can help you understand which tactics used in your Google Ads marketing strategy have led to successful sales. Data from the CRM on the mortgage leads that turned into prospects and sales can help you track back on what you did in the beginning, so you can replicate the process. For example, you can look at which keywords were used on Google Ads and the characteristics of the landing page that encouraged the customer to continue.

Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads is another form of Pay-per-Click advertising that allows you to target the audience based on the characteristics that your ideal client would have. For example, to target an audience for reverse mortgages, you would probably choose to display an ad to homeowners who are 62 years old or over. Facebook Ads also works when you already have a list of emails of clients you have worked with before or past leads. By inputting these emails when targeting an audience, Facebook will display the ads or campaign to the user accounts that have a matching email address.

In order to get the most out of your investment in Facebook ads, consider the following:

1 - Facebook Custom Audience - This tool lets you separate your audience into different categories and choose which ads you want to show to each of them. In order to get the highest number of mortgage leads for the lowest cost, you need to create ads that cater to the interests of each audience category. For example, showing a refinancing ad to a potential first-time homebuyer would not be wise, because why would one need refinancing if they do not have a mortgage yet?

2 - Facebook Tracking Pixel - Another tool that helps you track which users visit your page and how they interact with it is the Facebook Tracking Pixel. This is useful because it allows you to better target users based on what they visit on your page. For example, if someone who lands on your page starts browsing through the mortgage rates for an FHA loan, you can integrate this information on the ads and show that specific user more ads related to FHA loan offers.

Relative to Google Ads, Facebook ads generally have a lower cost per click, which means that they are more budget-friendly. They also provide some advantages in terms of competition. While in Google Ads, when someone searches for a keyword, a number of ads display on the results page, in Facebook Ads, the user won’t be looking at a list of lenders which they can compare but will rather focus all their attention to you. Moreover, some people find it easier to fill out the contact information in landing pages from Facebook Ads because they can get some of the information pre-filled and will not have to spend a lot of time on it. However, mortgage leads from Facebook ads also have lower buyer intent since the people clicking on them may not be specifically searching for a mortgage, but rather are having the ad shown on their feed randomly.

Use MLS listings

Nowadays, many homebuyers look for property listings online. Some companies such as RatePlug allow you to attach your mortgage offerings to house listings of partnered real estate agents on MLS networks. For example, on the listing of a house on the MLS, apart from the other aspects of a house’s listing, your mortgage offerings will also show. This way, you can get access to leads of homebuyers who have yet to search and get approved for a mortgage and who have high intent of purchasing a house.

Get published

Another way of promoting your content and adding sources to your mortgage lead funnel would be to get your content published by magazines, newsletters, blogs, etc. By inserting your website’s links to online publishings, you increase the chances of a potential client landing on your page. However, the cost to publish your content will depend on how big and reputable the publisher you are working with is.

Purchase Leads

Multiple real estate marketplace companies offer mortgage lenders or loan officers the opportunity to purchase mortgage leads. This way, rather than doing the work yourself to generate potential clients, you simply pay a fee to get mortgage leads. It is important to do your research on the quality, number and exclusivity of leads that these companies offer for the amount they charge. Some of the companies to consider include:

Zillow

Apart from real estate leads, Zillow also provides mortgage leads to lenders. By asking the customers a series of questions related to finding a lender, Zillow gathers information on potential borrowers and gives it to lenders based on location and availability. There is no set price for mortgage advertising on Zillow, however, an initial deposit is required. To get started, a lender needs to first set an appointment with Zillow by calling or filling out an online form.

LendingTree

Second in line, LendingTree is also one of the biggest mortgage lead providers. By targeting specific borrowers, LendingTree allows lenders to not get mortgage leads from just anyone looking to take out a mortgage but from specific individuals who match the borrower profile the lender is looking for. Lenders who choose to work with LendingTree also receive support from an account manager and have access to various sales and leadership training courses.

TransUnion

Through multiple tools for mortgage leads, TransUnion allows lenders to pre-screen borrowers so that they don’t pursue leads that would not meet the lender’s eligibility criteria or that are too far geographically. TransUnion helps lenders not only land new customers but retain existing ones as well. By sending trigger alerts, lenders are notified when a new mortgage lead is looking for one of their mortgage services and when existing customers are looking to switch their loan products.

The two other credit bureaus, Experian and Equifax, also offer mortgage leads to lenders.

Equifax offers TargetPoint Triggers. The company tracks the credit activity of potential borrowers to select the ones that are highly likely to apply for a mortgage. The indicators can be inquiries on a new credit line, increased credit activity, approaching final payments of an existing mortgage, etc. This way, Equifax targets which people are highly likely to be looking for a mortgage and notifies lenders of them.

Experian allows lenders to select the type of mortgage borrowers they are interested in by filling out a Mortgage Holder List Application. The application contains elements such as mortgage type, purchase price, loan type and more. Then, Experian sends the lender the leads it has identified that match the criteria.

Mortgage Leads CRMs

A mortgage leads CRM maximizes your efforts to gain and retain clients by creating and keeping track of your interactions with them from the start. CRM software helps to nurture your mortgage leads into prospects and hopefully clients. It does this by sending automated, yet personalized, messages to the user once it captures it as a mortgage lead. Not only does a CRM answer the client’s questions automatically, but it also markets to them depending on their interests. CRM helps you stay organized and on top of your tasks so that you do not miss anything that might lead to losing business.

Some of the most popular CRMs are the following:

Surefire

Surefire by Top of Mind is a CRM software known for its highly effective techniques of gaining and nurturing leads and for its omni-channel marketing automation. The system’s main features regarding marketing and content include centralized marketing and LO-led marketing, text message marketing, and lead origination forms. As per their sales and loan officer focus, Surefire offers opportunity alerts, outbound calling with power calls, LO custom news, pipeline, and more.

Floify

Floify is one of the leading software for CRM. It has partnered and integrated with other powerful CRMs such as Surefire, Optimal Blue, and Desktop Underwriter, Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system. Key features of Floify CRM include management of loan documents, tracking of customer databases, loan processing, credit reporting, and more. In 2020, Flofiy added important features such as the E-sign, Hybrid E-closing, automated soft credit report pulls, and combined “one-view” pipeline.

Jungo

Jungo is the premier mortgage app for Salesforce. As such, Jungo shares some of Salesforce’s strengths such as high flexibility and customization. Some of Jungo’s main features include automated email marketing campaigns where you can get access to hundreds of mortgage templates, tracking, and analysis of referral partner relationships, task management, and easy integration with LOS systems.

FAQ - Mortgage Leads

How Much Does a Mortgage Lead Cost?

Depending on the number, quality and exclusivity of leads, mortgage leads can cost anywhere from $20 to $150. Obviously, since higher quality leads have a bigger probability of turning into a client, they are more expensive than other leads that have a lower conversion rate. Moreover, exclusive mortgage lead providers charge more for the aspect of exclusivity since you do not have to compete with other mortgage lenders or loan officers for the same lead, making your job easier.

Is it Worth it to Purchase Mortgage Leads?

The answer depends on the quality of leads you purchase and the time you spend on nurturing those leads. Having a pipeline of leads is only the first step to getting a client and while you can skip this stage by purchasing leads, you will still have to put in the rest of the work. This means you have to follow up with your leads to convert them into prospects and clients. Therefore, purchasing a number of mortgage leads can be worth it if you generate enough clients from it to cover the costs and make a profit.

Another thing to consider is that purchasing long lists of mortgage leads for cheap can work against you as most of those leads might prove to be of low quality. Some CRM systems do not support this type of extensive lists.