How to Generate Mortgage Leads Without Losing Your Mind

Mortgage leads are vital to real estate agents’ and loan officers’ businesses. They refer to potential customers interested in purchasing a home or refinancing their mortgage. They generate leads through online advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, partnering with a lead generation company, and other strategies.

Mortgage leads are challenging to generate. But this guide will help you access a database without losing your sanity. Read on for some helpful tips and tricks.

Quick Summary of Our Top Picks

• Lending Tree: Lending Tree is a trusted brand that promises to connect you with 30 million borrowers. It offers access to quality leads. It also provides account management, support, and training.   
• Transunion: Transunion offers propensity models, prescreen, and mortgage inquiry trigger solutions that help you close more deals. Its acquisition tools help you establish which leads are eligible so you don’t waste time pursuing clients that won’t be approved. They will assist you in customizing your program based on your strategies.
• Experian: Experian helps maximize returns by targeting the types of mortgage loans you need. They offer all the data you require. You can search by mortgage amount, purchase price, loan type, and purchase deed date to find suitable leads. 
• MortgageBite: MortgageBite is the first mortgage lead platform that puts you in contact with consumers actively searching for mortgages online. It connects you directly to the buyer. You will not need to fight competitors for the buyer’s attention.
• LeadPops: LeadPops is unique as it doesn’t only focus on lead generation. It focuses on every stage of your sales funnel. It uses business-specific quizzes to engage leads and increase engagement. Its services include a converting pro website, conversion funnels, digital advertising, and more.
• Chime Solution Suite: Chime offers a CRM tool that helps you attract and nurture leads. It provides multichannel online advertising and lead-specific forms. Once the forms are complete, the service delivers the prospect’s information to your CRM and notifies you about the new lead.

Why is it So Hard to Generate Mortgage Leads?

Mortgage lead conversion rates average 2-3%. There are several reasons why rates are so low. Here are some issues agents and officers face:

• Uninformed Leads: Most prospects don’t understand much about home-buying. They are ill-equipped to decide on the mortgage loan best suited to their needs. Fortunately, you can swoop in to offer value and guide them in the right direction.
• Leads are Not Interested or Qualified: Many lead generation services will provide you with a wealth of leads. But once you pursue them, you will find that many leads are uninterested or unqualified. Work with a company that will filter out low-quality leads beforehand.
• The Leads Aren’t Targeted: Lenders and agents must determine their target audience and create ads they can relate to. For example, if they work in California, they will want to reel them in with pictures of a beach home rather than a home suited to the South or Midwest. They must also consider other demographics, such as income and profession, and create ads that will convert.
• Leads Aren’t Exclusive: Many lead generation companies will provide you with the same leads they offer all their clients. If your prospects aren’t exclusive, you will contact customers that may have already found a lender. Work with a lead generation agency that promises exclusive leads for improved success rates.
• The Lead Generator Doesn’t Offer a Guarantee: Many agents and officers will pay thousands of dollars for a lead generation service that doesn’t yield any returns. Choose a service that offers a guarantee for optimal results.
• It’s Hard to Build a Solid Relationship: Once you’ve piqued a prospect’s interest, you must follow up by forging a solid relationship. While some lead generation companies put you in direct contact with the customer, others will continue sending them digital communication. These strategies will make it difficult for you to make a personal connection.

Sophie’s Choice: DIY vs. Buying from Lead Gen Companies

Deciding whether to DIY your mortgage leads or buy real estate leads may seem like Sophie’s choice. On the one hand, buying leads is expensive. And many of them don’t yield high conversion rates.

But if you DIY it, you can also spend a lot of money… as well as time. And you won’t necessarily increase your chances of success. 

The best solution is to find a mortgage lead generation company you can trust. Choose one that offers guarantees, reasonable prices, qualified, exclusive leads, and reputable marketing strategies. Combine your lead generation purchases with DIY tactics for a well-rounded campaign. 

5 DIY Tactics to Generate Your Mortgage Leads

The are several DIY strategies that will generate your mortgage leads. These include:

1. Referral Partnerships:

Several professionals may have clients looking to purchase a home or refinance. They include:

• Real Estate Agents – Join our exclusive Facebook group to learn more
• Life Insurance Agents
• CPAs
• Financial Planners
• Divorce Attorneys
• Local Banks & Credit Unions
• Estate Planners

You can forge partnerships with these professionals to be the first to capture new leads using a three-pronged approach as follows:

• Brand Development: Create a strong brand identity. Back it with excellent services and word-of-mouth marketing.
• Active Marketing: Actively target these professionals to create a strong business relationship.
• Niche: Offer a niche that their clients hold in high demand.

2. Paid Advertising:

Officers and agents may have promising results with pay-per-click advertising to generate mortgage leads. Setting up a pay-per-click campaign can be confusing. But some services offer keyword and ad research, setup and management, custom landing pages, and reports that will improve your success rates. 

You may also create paid ads through social media. Facebook and other platforms will allow you to create an ad and choose your target audience. The services also provide analytics and AB testing. 

3. Organic Social Media: 

Social media is a great way to pick up organic traffic. And it’s completely free. Choose the platforms that are best suited to you. Post engaging content that will help you build a following and attract leads.

You may also join social media groups. These outlets help you connect with professionals and prospects that may require your services. Stay active in the groups providing information that adds value to increase conversions.

4. Local Networking Events: 

There are many ways to reach prospects digitally, but face-to-face contact is irreplaceable. Several events will help you connect with professionals that you can partner with. Keep your eye out for conferences and local events that will help you increase conversions.

5. Cold Calling:

Cold calling can mean a lot of hang-ups. But you can make your calls slightly warmer if you access a database of prospects that may require loans. For example, you may review local records to find people that are going through a divorce as well as those that may be interested in refinancing. 

You will also improve your prospects by creating a script. Find out what works and what doesn’t to increase your odds of peaking prospect interest. Update your banter as needed for optimal results.

The Alternative: Finding Good Lead Generation Companies

What is a Mortgage Lead Generation Company? 

A mortgage lead gen company specializes in generating leads for mortgage lenders.  They attract leads using various strategies, including social media, online advertising, direct mail, and others, that bring lenders and a steady stream of qualified leads. They may charge a flat rate per lead or ask for a percentage of the lender’s conversion income. 

What are the Pros and Cons? 

Pros:

• You get the assistance of experts who know how to attract quality leads
• You will spend less time chasing leads and more time closing them
• The company will use online marketing that gets your business noticed
• You will get quality leads that close sooner
• You will have access to software that provides you with tools and analytics

Cons:

• No guarantees on your ROI
• If the company misrepresents you, it could be damaging to your career
• You must know how to pursue the lead to bring it to closing

What to Look for in a Mortgage Lead Generation Company

• Guarantees: It’s advisable to work with a company that offers some kind of guarantee in terms of how many leads you will get and how many will convert
• Targeted Advertising: The company should analyze your audience to create targeted advertising that will increase engagement and traffic
• Exclusive Leads: Choose a company that provides exclusive leads that increase your chances of closing
• Pay Structure: You may choose to work with a company that takes a commission off your earnings instead of one that charges a flat rate. However, most companies that work on a commission basis will only work with officers and agents with a proven track record of success.