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. 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:
* What makes a quality Internet Mortgage Leads
* What you should expect from an Internet Mortgage Leads
* Closing the sell to your Internet Mortgage Leads
* Questions to ask before purchasing Internet Mortgage Leads
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. 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.
-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 approximately $50 each, this can get expensive quick. No batch of leads will be completely accurate, but you want to make sure that the percentage that is bad is not greater than 10% - 15%. Tip:
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 those 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.
