STRATEGIES

MORTGAGEINDUSTRY

TO THRIVE IN 2014

211 Mortgage Industry Strategies

IntroductionSuccess in the mortgage business has never been simple or easy, but that’s especially true today.

Between rising interest rates, shifting housing values and ever-tightening regulations, originators have a lot on their plate. With so much noise going on, just trying to survive—let alone grow—can seem like an overwhelming task.

To help bust through the clutter, Velocify brought together 11 of the most successful and innovative thinkers in our industry, and asked them this question: What will it take to thrive in the mortgage market in 2014?

In their tips that follow, our experts cover performance tracking, lead prioritization, technology solutions, changing borrower needs, and much more. These tips prove you can leverage the very changes impacting our industry to increase sales—starting right now.

The mortgage industry will never be the same, so neither should you. Hungry for ways you can win? Let’s get started.

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Thrive in 2014

Garth Graham@garthgrahamManaging Director, STRATMOR Group

The mortgage process is complex and can be frustrating for consumers. But companies that do a good job helping their customers get to closing are rewarded with referrals and repeat business. Companies need to invest in a regular survey process that measures the borrower’s satisfaction on every closed loan in addition to the impact of originator, processor, underwriter and closer. A good survey process is easy and inexpensive to administer, and works not just for big companies but for smaller ones as well. It should provide real time insights on how a company can dramatically improve the borrower’s overall satisfaction and alert the company about unhappy borrowers before they complain to others. And satisfaction should be benchmarked against peers, because only by consistently outperforming others in the industry can a company continue to grow their business.

Measure the Borrower’s Experience

Tip #1

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411 Mortgage Industry Strategies

Thrive in 2014Tip #2

Joe Tyrrell@encompass360Senior Vice President of Client Management and Business Development, Ellie Mae

In January and beyond, the ability to monitor, react to and comply with new rules like QM & ATR will be the most powerful way to distinguish your company from competitors. Utilizing an end-to-end system that provides a single database of record goes a long way toward streamlining processes, reducing costs and helping you to stay compliant. Since all data is housed in one system, you can track post-closing conditions, manage lock requests and easily collaborate with underwriting and compliance officers, all in one place. If changes occur at closing, the entire loan file is updated automatically—eliminating errors, ensuring compliance with all regulations and rules, and ultimately improving client satisfaction.

Use Compliance Readiness to Set Yourself Apart

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511 Mortgage Industry Strategies

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Gabe Dalporto@LendingTreePresident, Mortgage & CMO, LendingTree

With rates reaching new highs, refinance originations dropping and the purchase market recovering, 2014 is going to be the year to adjust your business to these market realities. Especially important will be quantifying your “margin and marketing levers.” What happens to conversions and volume when you lower/raise margins, increase marketing, both, or neither? Quantifying these levers will help you profitably and consistently fill capacity through marketing spend and margin adjustments. With proper activity management and reporting, marketing and margins become the main dials to drive volume. Don’t be afraid to test, measure, and evaluate.

Identify Your Marketing and Margin Levers

Tip #3

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611 Mortgage Industry Strategies

Thrive in 2014Tip #4

Kelly Booth@BoothTweetsDirector of Mortgage Vertical, Velocify

While one of your prospects may be ready to sign, another may be a year away from even being able to qualify for home financing. Use software tools to accurately profile your customers and to find out which stage of the buying process they’re in. Then deploy your sales team to target your clients depending on need. Highly motivated and prepared prospects can be closed ASAP, while borrowers in the early planning stages can be nurtured with educational resources and coaching.

Understand Your Borrower Prospects

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Brian Koss@mnetmortgageExecutive Vice President, Mortgage Network, Inc

There is no doubt we all need more – more calls, more clients, more follow up. But “more” without the correct system won’t work and will be demoralizing. When it comes to finding partners, being “on the road” or “in their face” isn’t enough. Doing research to identify the right targets that fit your profile of a strong partner, followed by a strategic plan to win their brain cells and trust, is essential. If you are relentless with a strong follow up system to those who you know are best suited for you, you will eventually win. In parallel, getting more from those who already trust you by increasing your penetration will feed you sooner while you are in pursuit of new business.

Tip #5

Win More Business with Strategy and Follow Through

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Michael Hammond@nexleveladvisorPresident, NexLevel Advisors

If you want to be the go-to source for potential borrowers, it is critical to help solve their most pressing needs. Start by asking broad, open-ended questions to get your potential borrower talking. This will help you identify their goals and aspirations and provide you with a better understanding of what’s most important to them. When you actually know what the borrowers need, you can tailor your offering to meet their unique requirements. This will allow you to differentiate yourself and stand out from a crowd of lenders offering generic solutions.

Understand Borrower Needs

Tip #6

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911 Mortgage Industry Strategies

Thrive in 2014

Bihn Dang@LendingQB President, LendingQB

Measurements are important for any type of process improvement. If you don’t know what’s not working, how will you know what to fix? That’s why it’s important to track what you do. If you are doing sales, make sure to track your phone calls and contacts. Are you truly reaching out to prospects often enough? Understand that calls do not guarantee success, but a lack of calls will guarantee failure.

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

Tip #7

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1011 Mortgage Industry Strategies

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Doug Walker@churchillmtgVice President, Churchill Mortgage

Not every potential borrower is ready to take action right now. For many, buying a home takes months of planning and preparing. For this reason, many lenders lose business simply by failing to follow up on their leads. Calculate the lost opportunity of not following up correctly on your leads. If you are too busy to follow up yourself, hire someone on a part-time basis to do it.

Invest In Long-Term Follow Up

Tip #8

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Kesna Lawrence@Datamyx Senior Vice President of Client Strategy, Datamyx

1) Target purchase market trigger leads: Purchase trigger leads aren’t window shoppers and there is less competition for them—there are one-third as many lenders marketing to purchase leads as compared to those wooing refi leads.

2) Hyper-target leads: Hyper-targeting leverages only the most relevant data. Knowing a consumer’s credit score matters a lot more than knowing where he or she likes to shop.

3) Multiply leads through expansive-targeting: Being highly selective is crucial but it’s easy to go too far. Think beyond “wildly profitable” leads and marketing to the last profitable dollar by drawing in consumers who are slightly outside your primary target, but still moderately profitable.

Best Underused Lead-Gen Strategies

Tip #9

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Thrive in 2014

Tim E. Cox@timcoxstlSenior Manager - National Programs, Lenders One

Maximizing the opportunity in 2014 and beyond involves leveraging partnerships and technology. Strategic alliances allow you to capitalize on synergies within the broader industry and establish a targeted, cost-effective referral pipeline through relationships within your community. Meanwhile, improving operational efficiency through technology will quickly optimize your business. Creating a web-based and/or mobile communication platform significantly improves your ability to reach a borrower when they are ready to act. It also enhances the in-process conversation and incubates the relationship for future business.

Plug In & Build A Network

Tip #10

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1311 Mortgage Industry Strategies

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Joe Semrani@MandT_BankAssistant Vice President and Sales Manager, M&T Bank

As the mortgage industry shifts into a more purchase–focused market, sales cycles are getting longer and more complex. Maximize each purchase opportunity and keep all parties engaged by automating the communication process as much as possible. Use technology to provide realtors and referring partners with consistent updates and use automatic text message, email and phone updates and follow ups to give borrowers the ultimate customer experience. Properly leveraged, a single purchase opportunity will turn into many more. But it also takes good old fashioned hard work, dedication, and calls.

Tip #11

Stay Close to Your Customers and Partners

1411 Mortgage Industry Strategies

Velocify IntelligentSales Automation

LeadScoring

FunnelInsights

LeadDistribution

Sales ActivityPrioritization

IntegratedSales Dialer

LeadDe-Dupe

LeadCapture

AutomatedGuided Selling

Sell smarter and faster with Velocify in 2014!Give your loan officers a competitive advantage this year with Velocify’s intelligent sales solution. Velocify’s automated guided selling program helps lenders attract and retain consumers purchasing a new home or looking to re-finance their existing mortgage.

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1611 Mortgage Industry Strategies

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