Cost Effective Mortgage Lead Generation

Mortgage lead generation can be a costly component of business for a mortgage lender or broker, so it makes sense to construct a cost-effective plan that converts.  Advertising on television or radio and direct mail marketing can swallow your profits or investments quickly.  Buying internet mortgage leads is often a more cost-effective approach that converts well and keeps your team of loan officers busy. 

It is important to purchase online mortgage leads from a direct source like the Lead Planet.  You need to partner with a mortgage lead generation company that actually generates the leads online, rather than buying broker leads like most lead companies do.  It doesn’t hurt to buy leads from a few sources either.  Not putting all of your eggs in one basket is always a good business move.   Make sure you are buying leads from a company that does mortgage marketing towards your lending niches. 

The Lead Planet creates mortgage lead generation campaigns to meet your growing needs: 

• FHA Leads
• VA Leads
• Refinance Leads
• Purchase Leads
• Conventional Leads
• Jumbo Leads
• Debt Leads
• Loan Modification Leads
• Home Equity Leads

Choose from real-time mortgage leads, live transfer leads, non-exclusive and exclusive mortgage leads.  For a custom mortgage lead generation solution, contact the Lead Planet at 619-600-5720 and get a complimentary mortgage marketing consultation.

Originate More Loans Buying Purchase and Refinance Leads

I noticed that we have been getting a lot of inquiries for mortgage refinance leads lately.  That is not unusual, because traditional mortgage shops who have been buying internet mortgage leads for years like refinance leads.  That is what they have been originating when rates were higher and that is what they originate today as the interest rates have fallen to record low levels.  No one will argue that low rates are a good time, but refinance guidelines have been tightened more in the last three years than ever before.  A few years ago, millions of borrowers bought their home with a stated income loan, but today lenders are not offering stated income loans so most of these loan applicants are turned down when trying to refinance their mortgage.  Clearly the pool of qualified refinance applicants has shrunk so in most cases loan companies will have to buy more refinance leads to get a qualified borrower. This means higher credit report bills and an increased investment for mortgage marketing. 

Direct mail costs have risen and the return rates have been lower as well.  Many loan companies are surviving with internet mortgage leads, but the companies that seem to be funding the most loans every month are the shops that are buying both purchase and refinance leads.  Many loan officers say they don’t like home purchase leads as much because the prospects are not always ready to buy a home.  That may be true, but the purchase market is much hotter than the refinance market right now, so mortgage companies should be more opened minded to work purchase leads in addition to their beloved refinance leads.  The fact exists that there are more qualified purchase mortgage applicants than refinance applicants.  Most qualified homeowners have already refinanced to a mortgage with a fixed rate in the 5% range.  Most of the refinance applicants do not qualify for home refinancing because they have no equity or their credit scores are too low.  The Lead Planet recommends buying mortgage leads with filters of a blended mix of both purchase and refinance.  Take a minute and call the Lead Planet at 619-600-5720 and we will show you how to maximize mortgage lead buying opportunities with no obligation.

Comparing Internet Mortgage Leads to Trigger Credit Leads

I get some interesting questions from mortgage marketing executives from time to time.  Today a representative from one of the larger banks asked me to compare internet mortgage leads to trigger leads.  This person was told that trigger leads have a better conversion ratio and so they wanted to know why they wouldn’t want to shift their mortgage marketing dollars.  I decided it would be a good idea to discuss the benefits and risks of both internet loan leads and trigger leads.

Online Mortgage Leads Versus Trigger Leads

I decided it would be a good idea to discuss the benefits and risks of both internet loan leads and trigger leads.  First of all for those that do not know, a trigger lead is a lead that is generated when a loan applicant has their credit pulled.  The credit report company sells the lead to a mortgage company that meets those credit filters.  The big problem for the mortgage company buying the trigger lead is that the loan applicant does not know who they are and usually they are not happy with some random company calling them without their consent.  Any way you cut it, loan applicants are blind-sided by the mortgage company who bought the trigger lead.  It is pretty shocking that trigger leads are legal.  I don’t see how it is any different than buying a spam email lead.  Both trigger and spam leads are generated in some part without the loan applicant’s authorization. 

On the other hand, internet mortgage leads are initiated by the loan applicant. Think about it — the borrower goes online and searches for mortgage companies to help them with a refinance or purchase mortgage.  Once the loan applicant submits their request to be connected to multiple lenders the internet mortgage lead is created.  The loan applicant is now expecting a phone call and email from the loan company who purchased the mortgage lead online. 

Trigger leads can be effective, but they require a very clever loan officer to get good results.  Most loan officers are not able to overcome the typical objections that come with the trigger leads.  It is much more likely to get better conversions with internet mortgage leads because the borrower is expecting your call.  Lead Planet is a direct mortgage lead company offers quality internet and live transfer mortgage leads.  We do not offer trigger leads.

Online Mortgage Lead Committment

The importance of buying quality mortgage leads that convert cannot be understated.  The days of throwing money at any lead broker online and succeeding are gone.  In fact if you do waste your mortgage marketing dollars like that you will not be in business for long.  If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker there is no getting around that these are tough times for the mortgage industry.  The reality is that the home loan products available carry much tighter guidelines than we have seen in the last twenty years. That means if you are serious about being competitive, you need to buy mortgage leads from a lead generation company that can perform day in and day out.

Shopping online for the best mortgage lender to meet your borrower’s needs is indeed a challenge and that is why the Lead Planet has partnered with experienced mortgage companies that know how to close loans in this market.  If you have purchased 1000′s of leads two in ten will likely convert.  One in twenty is pretty standard these days with most lead companies. The Lead Planet has made a commitment to helping loan companies get better conversion ratios from their online mortgage leads. 

Mortgage lead buying is all about commitment and buying large quantities to get a return.  Buying 100 quality mortgage refinance leads could cost $2,500.00 (100 x 25.00 per lead). If you only get applications on 20% of the leads and close half of those loan prospects you are getting a worthy return on your investment. The key is to set your monthly budget for two to three months at a time. Stick to it and buy all the loan leads you can afford if you have a talented staff and lenders that are ready to fund your loan submissions. One of the most common mistakes companies do is to not buy enough leads or stop the online mortgage lead campaign too quickly.  We are proud of the fact that our clients tell us that our live transfer leads convert better than their other lead companies.

Lead Planet Announces New Free Mortgage Lead Campaign

The Lead Planet Company announced yesterday a new promotion offering free mortgage leads to loan companies looking to buy quality internet leads.  Find out why loan companies continue to come back to the Lead Planet year after year for internet mortgage leads. We are one of the most respected and experienced mortgage marketing companies online that offers real-time mortgage leads, live transfer leads, loan modification leads and debt leads for broker, lenders and mortgage bankers.  For the last decade, we have specialized in internet marketing for the mortgage and finance related industry. 

Take advantage of our summer lead promotion that includes 10 free mortgage leads with every order of 50 or more online mortgage leads. (The promo also includes loan mod and debt settlement leads)   

Jump-start your pipeline with quality loan leads generated exclusively by Lead Planet websites. Call 619-600-5720 or fill out the short form to the right of this article and you will get a free mortgage marketing consultation with no obligation.

Maximizing Mortgage Lead Opportunities Online

Every time the banks tighten loan guidelines, it makes buying qualified mortgage leads more critical.  Mortgage marketing continues to unravel for many top mortgage companies, because the cost of business is rising yet in most cases the revenues are decreasing. 

How does a mortgage company spend their marketing dollar more wisely with mortgage leads?  The first step is to align your company with a mortgage lead generation company that offers leads that are not sold too many times.  Another important step is to partner with a lead company that is generating mortgage leads from applicants who really want a loan.  Buying leads from consumers that want to win an iPad rather than lock an interest rate will not help your cost to funding ratio.  Consider buying real-time mortgage leads or live transfer mortgage leads.  Even though they tend to cost more, the contact rates will be much higher and usually your cost to funding ratio will be much lower. 

Another important step to maximizing your mortgage marketing dollars is lead management.  Make sure your loan officers are calling the leads in a timely manner and verify that they are handling the calls the way you would like them too.  In many cases a loan officer will get bogged down with a few loans in process and then they will pretend to call new leads.  It is not uncommon for loan officers to fake following up on new leads.  Mortgage lead buyers need to evaluate the time a loan officer received the lead and the time they actually called the lead.  How many times are your loan officers calling on the leads?  Are they also following up with these applicants by email?  Remember that with internet mortgage leads, quite often the applicants prefer to communicate by email, so if your loan officers are only calling on the leads, then they are not managing the leads right.  And then of course there are the loan officers that only email the loan applicants because they don’t want to pick up the phone.  You need loan professionals calling and emailing the mortgage lead prospects to maximize online mortgage marketing.

The Lead Planet will create a custom lead generation program for you and your loan company. Take advantage of search engine optimization and consider our mortgage websites to help bolster your image and presence online.  Call the Lead Planet at 619-600-5720 and ask about our Free Mortgage Lead Incentives for new accounts.

Lead Planet Reports Big Jump in Mortgage Refinance Lead Volumes

For most of 2010, thousands of loan officers have been scrounging for hot refinance leads. Amid the mortgage turmoil, many homeowners have been reluctant to re-apply for a refinance loan after being turned down by a bank or lender.  Finally, we got some good news related to the mortgage industry.  After 6 consecutive weeks of declining refinance application volumes, RTT reported a surge in home refinancing activity.  U.S mortgage demand increased again last week, led by a bounce-back in refinance applications and interest rates hitting their lowest levels since mid-March. 

According to Bryan Dornan, the Lead Planet founder, “Mortgage marketing has been difficult in 2010 for loan companies that focus solely on refinancing, because lending guidelines have tightened to a very uncomfortable level.”  Dornan continue, “Stated income loans are gone—- home equity programs have disappeared —–  and subprime loans are on trial waiting for the Obama administration to figure out how best to politicize the mortgage reform.”  Buying qualified mortgage leads can be challenging.  The reality is that not that many borrowers qualify to refinance their home under the tightened guidelines. 

Rumors of private money entering the mortgage market soon would be welcomed and could create additional opportunities for mortgage lenders, brokers and aspiring loan officers.  The Lead Planet reported that refinance lead volumes rose nearly 20% last week and their clients have been reaping the benefits with a flood of new loan submissions.  Purchase lead volumes increased 5.75% even though home buying applications have slowed significantly nationwide. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday that its refinance index jumped 14.8% from the previous week, hitting its highest level in six weeks. The surge in home refinancing applications, however, was nullified by a decline in the MBA’s home purchase index, which dropped 9.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Unadjusted, the index decreased 8.9% from the previous week, and 0.6% from the same week last year.  The decline in home purchase applications was likely due to the expiration of the $8,000 home-buyer tax credit on April 30th.  

For custom mortgage lead generation programs and more information on buying mortgage leads, please call the sales department at the Lead Planet 619-600-5720.

Lead Planet Offers Mortgage Marketing with Organic SEO and PPC Management Solutions

Can you compete in this mortgage marketing arena or should you outsource the internet marketing to a lead generation expert?  Outsourcing the pay-per-click management makes sense financially for mortgage companies that do not have the ability to bring an expert in-house.  Nationwide Marketing offers pay per click advertising for mortgage lenders, banks and brokers. 

The Lead Planet has over a decade of experience with online mortgage lead generation.  We provide the following mortgage marketing services:

• PPC Management – We research, create and manage Google Ads to generate mortgage leads cost effectively.
• Organic Search Engine Marketing –Custom SEO campaigns to increase organic mortgage leads.
• Local Search Optimization – This unique lead generation campaign is created to capture mortgage leads by region. (ie. “Los Angeles home loans”, “California mortgage lender”)
• Mortgage Web Development -  Our web-design team will create a website with content, landing pages and online loan application.  Then our SEO team will optimize the site to maximize search engine rankings.

The Lead Planet has been doing mortgage lead generation successfully for over a decade and they have a proven track record generating quality mortgage leads organically.  For a free search engine marketing consultation, Call 888-271-9581 ext- 103

Mortgage Marketing Tips

Partnering with a direct source for lead generation that can provide you with quality mortgage leads daily is imperative to compete in today’s challenging mortgage industry. As a mortgage lead generation company with headquarters in San Diego, we are in the mortgage marketing trenches of this California housing crisis.  In addition to selling exclusive mortgage leads in all 50 states, the Lead Planet provides custom web-design and SEO marketing services to promote your website online.

California mortgage lenders and brokers have been on the up and up over the last year as down-sizing and streamlining have been a few keys to mortgage companies staying in business.  Record low California mortgage rates have helped revive the mortgage industry a bit, but mortgage guidelines have tightened to a point of pain. 

A recent mortgage marketing study indicated that less than 2 out of 10 loan applicants is getting approved for a home mortgage today.  Subprime and stated income loan programs have vanished.   That means that good credit borrowers who have a mortgage that is greater than their home value will likely have no refinance options. Borrowers who have late payments and bad credit scores should focus on a loan modification, because refinancing is out of the question.  It also means that 90% of self-employed borrowers are scrambling to qualify to meet today’s underwriting requirements. 

The Lead Planet understands the challenges of mortgage marketing and we know it is difficult to get good mortgage leads from borrowers who are not only interested but who also have the qualifications to get approved with the current lending standards.  The Lead Planet recommends the following initiatives to maximize mortgage marketing strategies in today’s economic climate.

1. Partner with a mortgage lead company that generates their own leads.  Avoid buying leads from a lead broker, because you will never know how many times they have been sold and when you actually get an applicant on the phone they will likely been angry because they have bombarded by a 20 mortgage brokers hounding them for their loan business
2. Try and extend your licensing to multiple states.  Being licensed only in your home state will limit your ability to buy a quantity of good leads.  Mortgage companies that are licensed in 10 or more states have a much greater chance of succeeding because they have a bigger pool of leads to call on. 
3. Expand your loan origination niches.  Even though you love refinances, you need to start selling purchase loans now too because we are in a purchase market.  Refinancing has tight guidelines and 40% of the country has their mortgage underwater.
4. Add government mortgages to your bag of tricks.  FHA and VA loan programs will provide your loan team more opportunities to fund more loans.

To get a free mortgage marketing consultation, call 888-271-9581.

Qualifying Mortgage Leads

Mortgage lead generation is a challenging trade because so many interested prospects don’t qualify for home financing.  The recent credit crunch and subprime mortgage meltdown devastated the mortgage industry.  Thousands of lenders, banks and brokers went out of business.  The few lending companies left tightened their guidelines so significantly that caused very few applicants to qualify for mortgage financing.  This lending shift created many obstacles for mortgage lead generation because so many people online were unable to get approved for refinancing or home buying.  Internet mortgage lead quality will vary significantly between lead companies.

When buying mortgage leads, there are a few important things to consider.  First, you need to know how many other people are calling your prospect.  Even if you are buying exclusive mortgage leads, there is a good chance that your lead may be shopping around online with other mortgage companies.  We recommend asking the prospect about the other offers they are receiving from other lenders.  Is your competition sending the prospect disclosures or are they just quoting them mortgage rates arbitrarily without even considering their credit scores or calculating their debt to income ratio.  Anyone can quote low rates, so it is important to make sure that your prospect is comparing apples to apples.  After you run the borrower’s credit, check the inquiry section of the credit report and you will see who else has run their credit recently.

Lead Planet has an experienced staff that can help you launch a successful mortgage lead campaign.  Call 619-600-5720 for a Free Mortgage Lead Analysis.