How to Generate Better Mortgage Leads

Ask any loan originator, and they’ll tell you that the most challenging part of their job isn’t dealing with underwriters, processing paperwork, or navigating troublesome clients. It’s getting new leads in the door.

And that’s a problem because mortgage professionals need a steady stream of leads feeding into their funnels to generate new customers and a reasonable income. Only a small percentage of leads become customers, so you need a lot of them if you want to build a healthy customer base.

Old school advice doesn’t cut it anymore. The days of buying mailing lists are over, and developing a network of real estate agents and other partners to feed you leads takes a painfully long time. Most of these professionals already have partners they work with. So what’s a loan officer to do?

You exploit new technologies that are available to you. This article will discuss a handful of strategies to kick start your mortgage lead generation efforts. Before long, your funnel will be overflowing with quality leads.

Make Your Website a Lead Magnet

Effective websites choose a specific call to action and then gear their entire design toward supporting that end. Your website should be built with one purpose in mind — generating leads.

Consider this analogy. Your car’s in the shop and you need a ride to pick it up. Do you drop subtle hints to coworkers and hope that someone figures out what you need, or do you just ask for a ride?

The same logic applies to your website. If you want a visitor to enter their contact information, you don’t talk about your loan process, mention your convenient office location, and hope people pick up the phone and call. You ask for their contact information. And you sculpt all of the content on your page to motivate them to take action.

Talk about benefits instead of features. Discuss what you can do for your visitors. Offer them a free gift, like a downloadable mortgage checklist, and then feature a large button in the center of your page’s design that asks for their information.

You might also consider adding a chatbot. Automated chatbots simulate conversations with real agents and are a great way for visitors to answer their questions. You can funnel visitors through a conversation chain that ends by offering them more information in exchange for the contact details.

Remember, your website isn’t a billboard or a biography. Your website should be an interactive tool that makes it hard for visitors to leave without first sharing their information with you.

Drive Traffic to Your Website

Having your website optimized for mortgage lead generation doesn’t do you much good if you don’t have a steady stream of visitors. You need to drive traffic to your website so that it can work its magic.

There are several ways to accomplish this, but don’t assume you should pick just one. Ideally, you should use every one of these tools to max out your traffic generating capabilities.

Use Content to Improve SEO

If your website doesn’t already feature a blog, add one. Then publish useful information regularly. Try to cover as many relevant topics as possible. The idea is to give Google and the other search engines a lot of material to build your site’s authority.

The more granular you get with your content, the more you’ll show up on the first page of the organic (free) search results. This helps lower your mortgage leads cost. As a bonus, your prospects will find your content useful as they search for a mortgage, establishing you as an expert they can trust.

Exploit Social Media

If you want to generate a river of prospects leading right to your website, you need to meet people where they are, and today that’s social media.

Create accounts with the leading social platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and then publish content. On Instagram, you could post photos of your customers in front of the new homes you helped make possible. On Twitter, you might send out short tips and tricks related to your industry.

Facebook is great for building a community of people and providing them with useful information, help with questions, and access to resources. Similar to your blog, you want to establish yourself as a trusted authority. And the content you publish becomes a marketing tool when it gets shared, giving your mortgage lead generation a significant boost.

Claim Your Google My Business Listing

Local SEO is a crucial part of your online strategy. When someone searches for a mortgage company near them, you want to show up on the map on the first page of listings.

To do this, you need to establish your Google My Business Listing. It’s free and easy to set up. Be sure to fill out your profile completely. Add as much information as you can, including referrals, testimonials, service offerings, and more. The more Google knows about you, the easier it is to rank well.

Use Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Google, Facebook, Instagram, and many other platforms offer paid advertising options where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. These services allow you to target extremely specific demographics to create a custom audience that’s primed to be interested in your offer.

The trick is to start small and test out different ads. A/B test various headlines and make other tweaks over time to improve your ad’s performance. Once you find a combination that works, ramp up your spending, and watch your web traffic soar and your exclusive mortgage leads multiply!

Contact Your Leads and Send Them a Handwritten Welcome Packet

Leads don’t stay fresh for long. Endeavor to reach out to new leads as quickly as you can. If someone is in the market for a mortgage, you need to capture them before someone else.

If they show interest, ask for their home address and then send them a warm, handwritten introduction letter and any other relevant brochures, forms, and documents. Handwritten notes put your best foot forward and demonstrate your willingness to take time with your clients.

Except don’t handwrite them. Who has time for that? You’re busy chasing down leads. Instead, let Simply Noted generate them for you using our state-of-the-art handwriting machines. They’re outfitted with real ballpoint pens, creating a handwritten communication’s authentic look and feel. They add warmth and sophistication that’s hard to capture any other way.

We can generate any volume you require on the fly or in bulk. Consider us for thank you cards as well. Have us send out a handwritten note with each completed mortgage. It’s a personal way to say thank you and ask for referrals.