With the new national Do-Not-Call List in place, companies may find it more and more difficult to use telemarketing as a source to gather mortgage leads. With 50 million people now signed up for the national list, companies may face $11,000 fines for unwanted solicited calls. What can mortgage companies do to keep a flow of leads coming and their pipelines full?

The Internet has revolutionized the way consumer's evaluate, compare and choose mortgage products and services. Every day more and more mortgage shoppers utilize the Internet to study, compare and purchase home mortgages. As a mortgage broker you must recognize the impact technology has had on the industry and learn how to successfully utilize this shift.

Each day thousands of mortgage seekers fill out forms on thousands of mortgage lead generation websites requesting more information on mortgage loans or quotes from mortgage lenders. These mortgage leads are made available to you by an array of Internet mortgage lead generation brokers. Some questions you may want to consider: “are these internet mortgage leads worth your effort and money?” “Will the return on investment be there?” Many mortgage brokers are now turning to lead generation companies. Factors that companies should evaluate when selecting a lead generation company include the following:

Exclusive or Shared Leads: Many mortgage companies seek ways to lower their lead generation costs and often examine sharing leads between 2-4 other mortgage companies. If your rates and programs are very similar to your competitors, shared leads may work, IF you are first to contact the potential customer.

Lead Generation Source: The manners in which the leads are generated typically dictate the quality of the lead. Leads produced via telemarketing typically are less attractive as the customer was not seeking you, but received a call and decided to “check it out.” Leads generated via a web site that presents mortgage rate information and invites the customer to receive more information tend to have a higher close rate.

Lead Formatting: Many lead generation companies’ just email a lead, or worse, fax a lead to the mortgage company. It is advantageous to receive leads in database format so the leads can be assigned according to type of inquiry and the data can be easily transferred into your company database and/or loan origination system.

Lead Timeliness: Fresh real time leads offer a higher probability of acquiring a customer. The faster your lead generation company forwards a lead to you; the more likely a lead is to convert into a customer. It is just as important for your company to reply in a prompt manner. Typically, the percentage conversion decreases if your company takes more than four hours to respond. Other drop-off milestones are the next day and after 48 hours.

Before mortgage originators can begin gathering the right leads, they need to understand what makes a lead right for them. With the sea of change among us, and a more difficult market, loan originators should be savvier shoppers when it comes to Internet mortgage leads. Originators compete in a world where market conditions change suddenly and dramatically. By evaluating the source and type of lead you are purchasing, you will have greater success in converting those leads into funded loans.

Article © Anywhere Communications All Rights Reserved