Mortgage lead providers continue to make adjustments that increase the return on investment for loan originators who rely on paid leads. While one firm is focusing on federally insured reverse mortgages, several have recently capitalized on business pouring in from the expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program.
Leads360, which claims to be the market leader in consumer sales automation, said it only solidified that title with the launch of the market’s first-ever full-feature intelligent dialer solution, Dial-IQ Inbound and Dial-IQ Multi-Line.
“Successful sales managers tell me, it’s not just about how many calls you make and receive, it’s about the controls put in place to ensure you make the most of every call and follow-up opportunity,” Nick Hedges, president and chief executive officer of Leads360, explains. “The addition of Dial-IQ and Multi-Line ensure business logic is built into the entire sales process. We have left no stone unturned for how sales teams handle and track calls.”
More and more Americans, particularly seniors and early baby boomers, are turning to home-equity conversion mortgages in an attempt to recover retirement income lost during the economic downturn. Darryl Mattox, president of Gragg Advertising, is capitalizing on this trend and hopes that “by connecting consumers to lenders, we will help provide a financial solution to thousands who are trying to recover financially from the economic downturn.”
Started in 1998 as a list brokerage, Titan List & Mailing Services Inc. says it has grown into one of the largest mortgage marketing firms in the U.S. Titan List estimates that it reaches millions of consumers and businesses each month.
Titan List Creative Director and SEO Jared Braverman explains what caused the company to need bigger facilities in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
“Demand has been crazy with mortgage shops wishing to run direct mail campaigns targeted to HARP or FHA candidates, due to the new version of HARP 2.0 Home Affordable Refinance Program, and expanded FHA guidelines,” Braverman stated. “Titan List has also recently added new graphic design and internet marketing departments, which have been in high demand with new and existing clients.”
Mortech Inc, a mortgage technology software company and Mortgage Daily advertiser, has launched Marksman Marketplace, a mortgage quoting product that develops leads and is geared specifically for website owners. Marksman Marketplace allows borrows to view, shop and compare real-time mortgage rates from lenders across the country, much like the popular travel websites Trivago.com and Kayak.com.
Not only does Marksman Marketplace give borrowers the mortgage information they need, but it also helps website publishers generate additional sources of income.
“We all know borrowers are turning to the Internet for real estate and mortgage information,” Don Kracl, president of Mortech, explained in an announcement. “Our goal with the Marksman Marketplace is to assist these sites with their traffic flow and introduce the consumer to a reliable lender. It cultivates the relationship a lender can build with a motivated group of consumers, increasing the likelihood mortgage shoppers will convert into closed loans.”
Vantage Media, which says it is a technology-driven performance marketing company, has launched an addition to its BrokersWeb premium pay-per-click marketing network for insurance and financial services: Mortgage Rate Listings. Integrating lenders’ respective rate details, Mortgage Rate Listings is a premium cost-per-click advertising unit that builds on Vantage Media’s existing BrokersWeb text-based CPC advertising platform.
“This new product allows us to demonstrate to a new category of marketers our commitment to delivering our advertisers the right product, exceptional service and top-notch results,” Vantage Media Vice President Michael Foster highlighted in the news release. “We look forward to offering to our mortgage advertisers this expanded platform and the same expertise in traffic acquisition and dedication to advertisers’ online conversion goals that is behind our success insurance, education and home verticals.”
Walter Sanford, a 30 year veteran of designing and implementing real estate systems, came up with a phone lead checklist, entitled Capture Those Expensive Leads. In this short story, Sanford explains that the largest training gaps come from handling leads, whether it be from incoming phone calls or follow up phone calls.
Sanford also states most leads are internet-generated, and are typically unresponsive to e-mails, thus requiring a follow up phone call. With the checklists Sanford gives us, no stone will be left unturned as the lists encompass all the information needed to close a lead, including what stage the lead is in, whether it be the present, intermediate, or future, how the lead was referred to the company, etc. His checklists are easy to understand and ensure all bases are covered when handling leads.
Experian will sell a trio of consumer comparison shopping sites — LowerMyBills.com, PriceGrabber.com and ClassesUSA.com — to India-based Ybrant Digital for $175 million. Experian purchased the assets in 2005, when use of consumer price comparison sites was in its infancy.
Ybrant Chairman and CEO Suresh Reddy commented that by “adding these established brands to Ybrant, we will offer interesting new products, and a world class lead generation platform.”
LendingTree.com, which says it is the nation’s leading online source for competitive loan offers, added 15 new lenders to its ranks in May, bringing the total number of lenders to 341. It has added 46 new lenders since January 2012, all of which compete to offer the best customized loan offers to LendingTree customers.
“In addition to the LendingTree value proposition for consumers, we have always been focused on ensuring lenders derive significant value through their partnership with LendingTree,” said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree. “We expect this network expansion to continue in order to satisfy our growing customer demand.”
LendingTree.com launched the Predictable Volume Program for the LendingTree network. Since the launch of the pilot program, LendingTree has been able to provide select lenders consistent, predictable lead volume by utilizing sophisticated technology and analytics.
Lebda noted that the company is generating more lead volume and can now predict and better manage overall volume levels. He added that they “can now deliver predictable and consistent mortgage lead volume without sacrificing quality, making LendingTree a stronger partner for our network.”
Lead Wholesalers LLC claims to be one of the nation’s top lead generating companies. It boasts designing state of the art web portals focused on finding customers who are motivated to buy specific products and services our clients offer. Lead Wholesalers offers a wide variety of leads, from aged data, fax blast, voicemail leads, e-mail marketing and TV and radio campaigns.
Lead Wholesalers says it provides quality lists and avoid the kind of phone book lists other companies can provide. Its stated goal is to provide leads that “close with an incredible rate of return.”
Through targeted direct mail campaigns and live transfers, MortgageLeads.com is offering clients qualified HARP 2.0 prospects. For mail campaigns, clients use pre-tested HARP 2.0 letters to ensure a speedy response and higher conversion rates. For the live transfers, all prospects are pre-screened for eligibility, thus cutting down on costs, energy, and time.
HARP 2.0 leads have better contact, application and closing ratios than conventional refinance leads. HARP 2.0 combines the best leads, willing consumers and quick, closing refinance loan products to create a recipe for cash and also provides an excellent chance for rapid growth within the industry. Freerateupdate.com works out special deals with clients, enabling them to provide their clients with HARP leads that can get approved and allows Freerateupdate.com help consumers find a HARP lender that can help them refinance their high loan-to-value ratio or underwater loan.
