Cheap Mortgage Leads Equal Loss of Time and Money

Many mortgage lead companies practice selling leads in bulk to other lead companies. Then lead companies resell these same leads at discounted prices to mortgage companies, brokers, agents and other loan originators. Some of my clients informed me that people told them to stop calling because they already received 30-50 calls within several days.

Without saying this creates a major inconvenience for potential borrowers who are being bombarded with endless phone calls, messages and emails. On another hand it's practically impossible for a mortgage professional to compete against such a great number of other agents.

So, you get what you paid for. However, there is a very simple solution to this - you should buy:

1. Real-Time Leads
   Real-time leads are received within seconds or minutes after a prospective borrower completes a form. Buying real-time leads increases your chances of closing the deal.
   
2. Pre-Screened Leads
   Some mortgage lead companies screen their leads before they approve them for sale. This eliminates the chance of mortgage companies getting bogus leads with incorrect name and contact info. Even there is always room for an error, the amount of time you waste on following bogus leads is reduced dramatically.
   
3. Time-Stamped Leads
   Companies that collect their own leads will know exactly when their leads are submitted. If a lead company does not provide the date and time stamp on when the lead was submitted, they probably buy recycled leads from other companies. Run as fast as you can from such companies. They will waste your money and time.
   
4. Exclusive Leads
   Exclusive Leads are leads that are sold only to one client. Many mortgage lead companies twist the term 'Exclusive Leads'. They define it as leads that are sold a limited number of times, usually 4-6. Who knows how many times they sell Non-exclusive leads.
   
5. Verified Leads
   Verified Leads are the ones that are usually submitted over the Internet, but confirmed on the phone by the lead company. Verified leads are similar to telemarketing generated leads, and, therefore higher in quality. They are usually sold at higher prices, however they are worth it.
   
6. Original Leads
   This is the most important condition. Make sure that the company that you buy mortgage leads from does not buy recycled leads from other lead companies in addition to or instead of generating leads themselves.

I've been informed by my clients and other sources that most of the larger size lead suppliers resell recycled leads. It's hard to believe, but some of the lead companies that practice reselling recycled mortgage leads includie: LendingTree, LowerMyBills, Reply!, HouseValues, LeadPoint. On another hand, if you tried their leads I would be surprised if you managed to close at least one deal as a result of their referral.

Be sure you deal with a trusted company that puts lead buyers' interest and its reputation before its revenue. I've been reported by my customers that one of these companies is LEADSCOM.com Real-Time Leads Auction. They sell (1) real-time, (2) pre-screened, (3) time stamped, (4) exclusive, (5) verified leads, (6) at the fair market price which is formed by their mortgage lead buyers.

LEADSCOM.com generate their own leads. They sells Exclusive leads only once, and Non-exclusive leads - no more than 3 times. That can be a real gold mine for a mortgage company.

Another comany that I can recommend based on the feedback that I receive from my clients is NexTag. However, they sell the same mortgage leads 5 times instead of 1-3.

The above described rules can be applied to insurance and other types of leads that you are looking for. Feel free to post your comments on the subject as they can help other readers.

Good luck to you all and happy lead hunting.

To Be or Not to Be Compliat...

Read this article if you are one of the following service providers. I hope this information will help you avoid potential losses and stay focused on your business development.

• Mortgage broker, agent or company
• Real Estate broker, agent or company
• Escrow company
• Real Estate appraiser
• CPA, Accounting firm
• Financial advisor
• Auto, Watercraft, RV or Recreational Vehicle dealer
• Notary
• Furniture store, or other retailer

Do you take retail applications for credit or have access to credit bureau reports? Do you handle or have access to confidential customer data or information that would be classified as Nonpublic Personal Information (NPI) during the course of your business day?

If you answered yes to either of the questions above you are required to be in compliance with the FTC's Gramm-Leach-Bliley Acts Safeguards Rules. Some of them are:

• You are required to give a privacy notice (effective 2001) that states you do not share information with unauthorized persons and that you protect the information, physically, electronically, and procedurally.
• As of May 23rd, 2003 you are required to have an Information Security Program (ISP) including a written assessment of the risks you face, what you are doing to protect the data and how you are testing and updating the program.

This affects both the primary companies - who take the information in the first place (i.e. - Mortgage company, broker or agent and anyone, individual or company that has access to that data as a "service provider" or third party - Real Estate company or agents, Escrow company, Notary etc.

Page 36490 Federal Register/ Vol. 67, No. 100 / Thursday, May 23, 2002, Rules and Regulations - 4-Paragraph (d) requires financial institutions to oversee its services providers by selecting and retaining service providers that are capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards for the customer information at issue and requiring its service providers by contract to 'implement and maintain such safeguards' 2-paragraph(d)(2).

If you are not compliant with the NPI regulations yet, you should fix that ASAP for two reason:

• Protect your customer information as its required by law;
• Protect yourself from potential law suits in connection with you not being compliant.

Not a day goes by that you don't hear about ID Theft on the news. Don't let yourself become part of the news.

The good part is it is not that time consuming, complicated and expensive to get in compliance. You do not need an attorney for that, unless you prefer to spend big bucks on them. There's a few NPI Compliance firms and consultants that can help you. If you don't know any, send me an email and I will refer you to the one that I use.

Good luck to you all and happy lead hunting!

Be Sure to Call New Leads ASAP

Statistics show that more than 60% of consumers select the very first sales agent who contacted them. It is extremely important to be the first (or at least one of the first) callers. Therefore, you should call your newly arrived leads as soon as you receive them.

To shorten the time between the moment when the lead is submitted and your initial introduction call, set up an email forwarding to your cell phone. Then set your leads to be sent to that email address in real time. This way you can receive new leads on your cell phone, so you can follow up on them right away.

Feel free to post your comments or ideas below regarding the subject as they might be quite valuable to other fellow readers.

Good luck and happy lead hunting!

More on Customer Retention

Today I had a meeting with a gentleman whom I consider to be one of the best Customer Retention Consultants in the nation. He had confirmed that the company which utilizes a Customer Retention Program in addition to other marketing efforts, can expect at least twice the growth rate over the company that overlooks it.

The following is a list of Customer Retention Program benefits:

1. Reduced time spent on finding new clients.
   
   
2. Increased value and profitability of each client relationship.
   
   
3. Maximized customer loyalty resulting in:
   
   a. regular repeat purchases
   b. purchases across products & service lines
   c. client referrals
   d. immunity to competing offers and services

Feel free to post your comments or ideas below regarding the subject as they might be quite valuable to other fellow readers.

Good luck and happy lead hunting!