The real estate market in both the U.S. and Canada is as hot as it’s ever been, thanks to extremely low interest rates and even lower inventory levels, and more and more buyers are trying to enter the market before it’s too late. With surging demand comes an opportunity for brokers, but with so many online tools and quotations available to buyers today, carving out your share of even a booming market will still take work. The following are five tips and techniques you can use to improve your mortgage sales process and maximize the chances that you’ll be able to capture as much new business as possible in today’s red-hot real estate market. 

 

Mortgage Sales Tip #1: Be Positive, But Set Realistic Expectations

Buying a home, especially a first home, is an exciting time. With prices skyrocketing and mortgage availability high, it isn’t uncommon for buyers to let their excitement get the better of them when shopping for a new home. At best, that means buyers often build up their own expectations beyond what’s realistic. At worst, it can mean they let their fear of missing out take over their decision-making entirely. As a broker, an important part of your job is maintaining a positive outlook and fostering your clients’ excitement, while tempering their expectations and ensuring they’re being realistic about what they can afford. A buyer may qualify for a large mortgage in today’s favorable lending conditions, but what happens if rates go up by the time their first renewal is approaching? As the expert in the room, a big part of mortgage sales is finding a way to ensure buyers don’t get in over their heads while still keeping them happy, positive, and excited. 

 

Mortgage Sales Tip #2: Stay in Touch, Even After the Loan is Closed

The average homeowner purchases a house so infrequently that it can be easy to lose touch with clients after the mortgage sales process closes. With a decade or more between purchases, finding a reason to maintain contact with previous clients can be difficult, but it’s important to try. You never know when a former client might need a mortgage broker again or, more importantly, when one of their friends or family members will. Whenever the need arises, you need your name to be the first one that comes to the client’s mind, and by far the best way to ensure that happens is to maintain consistent contact. 

Staying in touch doesn’t have to mean constant calls or emails; even just one or two touches a year can be more than enough. But the key is to be consistent. Promotional items that offer utility, like calendars and magnets, can be a great way to keep your name or face in front of a client, but personalized contacts like emails are better, and, especially when it comes to older clients, nothing beats a good old-fashioned phone call. So, make sure to make ongoing follow-up contacts a regular part of your mortgage sales process.

 

Mortgage Sales Tip #3: Always Ask for Referrals

Piggybacking on tip two, the family and friends of past clients are by far your best source of new clients. Not only do they have a relationship with someone who can vouch for you, they also represent a zero-cost pool of leads. But there is no guarantee a client will tell their friends or family about your services, and as with all things in life, the best way to get something you want is to ask for it! Your mortgage sales process should not be considered over until you ask your clients for referrals. As long as the client was happy with their service, it’s very little to ask, and most clients will be more than happy to pass your name on if an opportunity arises. But remember, an unhappy customer will tell as many as 20 other people about their dissatisfying experience, so make sure you’re doing everything you can to ensure whenever your name does come up, it’s in a positive context. 

 

Mortgage Sales Tip #4: Clearly Communicate Your Value Proposition

Regardless of how you source a lead, it’s extremely important that you clearly explain what you can do for them and why working with a broker is such a good decision. It’s always a good idea to have your own unique value proposition that separates you from your competition, but the first battle in mortgage sales is often explaining to a potential client why they should work with a broker at all. Many buyers don’t understand that you work for them, and not the lender, yet you’re paid by the lender, and not them. Other buyers may mistrust the idea of an intermediary, assuming that you’ll find them the mortgage that maximizes your commission, rather than the one that best meets their needs. With self-service now just a few clicks away, clearly communicating the value working with a broker offers is a crucial early step in the mortgage sales process. 

 

Mortgage Sales Tip #5: Get Serious About Software

Modern mortgage sales require modern solutions, and leaning on the best software available is a great way to gain a competitive advantage over your rivals and ensure the fastest, smoothest service possible for your clients. There are two primary types of software you can’t afford to go without as a broker: loan management systems and customer resource management systems. 

Loan management systems (LMS) automate the mortgage sales process from start to finish, covering everything from origination to underwriting to service and reporting. An LMS brings the entire mortgage sales process online, minimizing paper-pushing, reducing process complexity, and slashing the time it takes to complete the cycle. 

While your LMS handles the lender-side of your business, a customer resource management (CRM) system handles the client-side, automating and streamlining everything from lead generation and management, to client communications, to relationship building, to ongoing service, and beyond. Every customer-facing area of your business stands to benefit from a good CRM, making it mission-critical mortgage sales software for both maximizing the value you can extract from leads and ensuring every client walks away happy and ready to provide a glowing referral. 

 

CRMDialer is the mortgage industry’s top customer resource management platform, offering brokers a full suite of tools covering everything from lead collection and management to outbound marketing to advanced reporting and centralized communications. It even includes an industry-best power dialer.

If you’re ready to find out more about everything customer resource management software can do to enhance your mortgage sales, reach out to a member of the team or start your no-commitment free trial of CRMDialer today.