Is Your Competition Out of Business? Market To Their Referral Sources

I am probably not the only licensing lawyer who has had some of her clients go out of business. In probably every state, the number of licensed mortgage brokers and lenders is down. Many of them have gone out of business or placed their license in “inactive” status until the market turns around.

This is your opportunity to find those referral sources – realtors, builders, buyers, and sellers who no longer have a mortgage professional to whom they will automatically turn if they know of someone who needs a mortgage. This is your chance to contact everyone who you heard was referring business to your competitors and try to get a relationship started.

And of course, stay in contact with everyone who already is a referral source to you. They need to know you are still in business, ready to serve their needs. Don’t forget the borrowers you already have done business with. Although there is little loyalty between mortgage brokers and their customers, you can increase your retention rate if you keep your name in front of people that you have already helped and liked you.

There are business opportunities even in a recession. I hope you take advantage of them and keep yourself in business.

Staying Alive

Much of the advice that I am seeing in the different publications for mortgage professionals pertains to marketing. After all, without clients, you have no income and will soon be contemplating your next career. But, there is probably nothing more frustrating than getting a loan application in (finally!) and not having a loan program to match it with. During these slow times, you should be doing as much marketing as you can afford but you should also be thinking about the other end of the application process. You must have relationships with lenders with different types of loan programs that you can utilize for your borrowers. Now is a good time to find those programs.

Having new products to offer borrowers means that you will rarely have to turn away business. There are a lot of adjustable mortgages out there that need refinancing. You can get that business if you have loan programs that are more stable for borrowers than the exotic mortgages that were in vogue a few years ago. Borrowers like to know what their expenses will be for the foreseeable future so if you can find a lender with a program that meets this particular need, you’ve got a valuable tool for marketing to a certain segment of the buying/refinance population. Also, if you can find lenders who have programs for borrowers with no documentation or lower FICO scores, that’s another weapon in your marketing arsenal. And make sure you let all of your existing, former and potential clients and referral sources know that you have many ways to get a loan application to closing.

If you are a wholesale lender with innovative programs, make sure you get the word out to mortgage brokers that you can help them close their loans. That is a win-win situation for the lender, the mortgage broker and the borrower.

The days of thinking that a new loan application equals income are gone. You need to use different ways of thinking and marketing to keep yourself in business.

How Will You Survive the Subprime Mortgage Mess?

I'm sure you are no different than all of the other mortgage companies who are finding their investor sources drying up. I read something new about the subprime mortgage mess in the newspaper every day as do your customers. This is the time to let them know that you are still around and that you still have options for their varying needs.

I know that volume is down and some of you may even be wondering how you will stay in business. In down cycles, you must work harder to keep the phones ringing. If you have been keeping a stash of tips on marketing for when you "have the time" this is the time to get that stash out and start implementing those ideas that sound good to you. Some of them will work and some won't but you will not know which is which until you experiment. Most of the marketing suggestions that you hear about have something to do with customer contact, either existing customers or potential customers. In the current climate, most potential borrowers, especially those with more difficult credit histories, are anxious to know that there is a mortgage out there for them. Although many lenders and investors are tightening up or eliminating programs, if you can find those lenders and investors that are still offering mortgages to your types of customers, then you must educate your customers and potential customers that you are the one who will help them buy a house or refinance their current mortgage.

Only those mortgage brokers and lenders who can weather the difficult times will be around when the upcycle comes again.