If you were planning to paint your house, you might ask a neighbor or friend who they used so you have a frame of reference for your decision. Similarly, people don’t typically begin working with the first mortgage lender or broker that crosses their path. You can guarantee that when a potential client is reaching out to you, they’ve already done their research – on both you AND your competitors. No doubt you already know the advantages that set you apart from the competition , but how can you ensure that information gets out there to potential borrowers? . Mortgage referrals.
If you’re a veteran in the mortgage industry, then you know that mortgage referrals are the key to having a long-standing, sustainable business. The more positive word of mouth you get, the higher your chances of securing a lead, even if your closest competitor has more history, a larger advertising budget, and a fancier office.
So what can you do to amp up the hype and increase your mortgage referrals? Here are a few other ways to increase your marketing game and get more mortgage leads:
1.) Ask for reviews and testimonials
Reviews are the first thing your prospects will look up when deciding which mortgage professional or firm to choose. It’s crucial to feature raw, legitimate reviews and testimonials on multiple channels.
After every closed deal, lay out options for your client to leave a review on Google My Business and/or Facebook. The reason for using these established channels, as opposed to interviewing your clients, is that they can use their personal profiles to leave reviews. This ensures even more confidence for those prospects who are being extra careful and looking into review legitimacy. You then can re-share your best reviews across all your social media channels and feature them on your website.
2.) Partner with homebuilders and real estate agents
While mortgage brokers often redirect their clients to real estate agents and home builders, it also goes the other way around. You should network and team up with real estate agents, homebuilders, and agencies that focus on all-things property building and selling.
After all, your client can’t go with one while foregoing the other: they will need a mortgage or financial consultation to buy or build their dream house… but they will also need to be interested in a property to need the service of a mortgage broker or lender to begin with.
This is a two-way street, of course, where you’ll need to return the favor. Make an agreement to send your leads over to a reputable real estate agent if they offer to do the same for you. Plus, you don’t need to settle for one agent or business. Once you start building your name as the most reliable mortgage business in the area, potential partners will start coming to you by themselves, the same way their clients will start flowing in, as well.
If you don’t know how or where to reach out to potential partners, LinkedIn can be your starting point.
3.) Stay in touch with your past clients
You can’t force your clients to leave a review or recommend your business, even if they had a great experience. However, you can occasionally remind them why they would want to refer their friends or family to you.
Word of mouth marketing is essential in the mortgage industry – Hubspot reports that a whopping 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know. How can you make it work for you?
Shortly after you close the deal, call your client to ask them how they felt about the process, and if they have any additional questions. Call them up for a mortgage review on special occasions, like a one-year anniversary of when they had their first consultation with you, to make it more memorable.
If you incorporate new services or offers, you can contact your past customers and let them know. Chances are if someone close to your past client is looking into getting a loan or advice, your call will remind them of who they should recommend. You can even just ring them up for a friendly chat after a year or two to just remind them that you’re still in business and they can refer you should they know someone who needs it.
If phone calls and chats are not something to your (or your client’s) liking, then sending out a notecard every now and then could be a great way to nudge your past customers to not forget you. Salesman Joe Girard made his way into the Guinness Book of World Records for selling more cars than any single person in history following his client care program that relied on simply sending out note cards to his past clients on a monthly basis.
You can also use automation to schedule post-close drip campaigns so you stay in front of past clients. This drip could include periodic homeowner tips, loan anniversary messaging, and more.
Make your clients feel like they were more than just a conversion, and they will help you out without you even asking.
4.) Offer tips and advice – for free
You don’t need to post three times a week on your social media channels, pay for advertisements on TV, have a PPC campaign or even do email marketing to have your name circulate.
Write a few blog posts or record a couple of videos offering home mortgage financial tips and advice for your potential clients and customers. To do this effectively, you need to think like a consumer yourself. What are the most common questions your clients ask you when they first come in? What are the things you often need to explain in more detail? Which part of the mortgage loaning process is the most difficult for your clients to understand? Offer a simple how-to and share on your website and socials. You have great chances of potential clients becoming reassured of your expertise if you manage to address their concerns even before they contact you.
Got any other ideas on how to increase mortgage referrals? Let us know! marketing@aduvo.com