Author: Ameen Kamadia
Need a few more loans but don't have the cash to do some serious marketing? Have no fear. In this issue I am going to reveal 7 fantastic ways to generate leads almost for free. These methods are super cheap (most are free) and work like gangbusters.
How do I know? Because I shared them with my coaching clients and they had excellent results.
These 7 methods are just a few of the over 30 cheap marketing methods I share in one lesson of my 24 lesson Jump Start Your Mortgage Career E-Class. This new class is for any loan officer who is new and struggling or any verteran that just needs a little help with their marketing. It took me over 2 years to create the content for this 12 week, 24 lesson class, and I can honestly say there is nothing available out there that compares to this class.
If you could use more loans, then do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. http://www.mortgagebrokertraining.com/jumpstart.html
Here we go...
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip # 1. Join an Association
People join associations for one of three reasons:
Social - they want to build or maintain friendships and influences that may have taken years to build; Promotional - they want to offer their own products or services to others in in a cost effective and positive way;
Educational - they want to see what their competition is up to, and find out about the latest developments within their industry
Grow your network and your database by joining groups of already established people. By socializing with people who have something in common with, it makes it easier to generate business. People like to do business with people they like and trust. Most people like others who have the same interests as they do.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #2: Use Book Stores
One of the questions I keep asking all my coaching clients is ""How can you tell if someone is getting ready to need a mortgage? What do they do? How do they act?""
This is the million dollar question. If you can answer this question, you can easily be rich in the mortgage business. By being able to identify that they want a mortgage before they start looking for one, you can get a jump on all the other loan companies. This is one area of our business that still annoys me. Most other businesses, have a way to identify when someone will need their service and can market to them accordingly. Like when someone buys a new home, they most likely will be buying furniture, blinds, home accessories, etc. So if we were selling any of these items, all we need is a list of new homeowners to market to. And that list is easily available. But how the heck do we figure out who is ""thinking"" of getting a mortgage?
The answer one of my coaching clients came up with was that they might go to the bookstore or library to read books on home buying, or mortgages, or real estate in general. And that's true. Every bookstore has a real estate section. And most of the books are for consumers who are buying and selling real estate.
So my next question is, ""Now that we have identified what they do, how do we get our message in front of them?""
And my client came up with this simple method: Go to the bookstores and libraries and insert a business card into each book.
After doing it for a couple months, he came up with some simple observations:
First, he learned that the best place to put the card was somewhere in the front. Try for the first chapter because not everyone reads the whole book.
Second, pick the books with the best covers and graphics inside- they sell the best.
Third, not all books sell and some are sent back to the publishers.
Fourth, having a USP on the card helps boost response.
Fifth, it takes about 10 minutes per bookstore.
Sixth, he averages 3-4 calls a month, and one loan per month.
Seventh, he now has his assistant do it. And she goes once a week.
Eight, the people who call are in search of more information, so offering them unbiased advice and more resources really turns them on. If you have the time, and are brave enough to be seen doing it, try it and see what results you get. I wanted to test it in my market. So I went to three bookstores and put in about 120 cards. I got 2 calls, and one of them is a very serious prospect. If I do it more often, I have no doubt that it would work for me as well.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tp #3: Orphan Files
When a loan officer leaves a company the clients he/she brought to the company are called orphans. These clients now belong to the company. Ask your manager to see if you can contact any orphan files in your office to see if they need any mortgage or real estate help. Be nice enough, and they will allow you to add them to your database.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #4: Tradeshows
Another coaching client of mine goes to tradeshows. But not the ones related to our business. He goes to unrelated trade shows: electronic shows, design shows, car shows, and his favorite: women's trade shows.
Most of the time, he is the only mortgage company there. And he is averaging 2-3 loan applications per show. The trick is to tie in your business with the show. If it is a car show, you can advertise that you can help anyone buy any car in the place.
If you can pre-approve someone at a car show for a cash out refinance, they can go and buy that hot car they have been salivating on for the last 2 hours. Instant gratification.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #5: Join A Local Real Estate Investment Group.
Every major city has one. And they are full of people buying and selling houses. They need money to buy houses, and they need money to help others buy their houses.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #6: Realtor Open Houses
Stop by at realtor open houses on the weekends. Offer to leave some financing materials.
When you get to know a realtor, you can offer to do open houses for her where you sit in the house instead of her. It is not a fun way to spend an afternoon, but you might get some good leads out of it.
If you decide to go this route, make sure the house is in a well trafficed area and easy to get to. And make sure the agent does some advertising and lends you signs and balloons. You do not want to sit in a house, where no one shows up because it is hard to find or no one knew about the open house.
Another tip is to meet the neighbors of the home you are holding open. See if they know anyone wanting to move or buy. Chances are someone will know of a family wanting to move into the neighborhood.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #7: Realtor MLS
Want a source of thousands of people who will be getting a mortgage within the next couple months?
It's sellers. And the Multiple Listing Service used by Realtors is full of them. Do a search of homes for sale, get the owners' name from the tax records and you have yourself a good prospect list.
Mail them something about you or an offer for free information. Call them if you can get their phone number and they are not on the Do Not Call list, or just drop by their house if you have the guts.
This is exactly what one of my coaching clients does. He calls Realtors who have listings and asks them if he can market his services to the home sellers. Many Realtors say yes. When they do, he contacts the sellers, and tells them that their realtor said it was ok to call on them.
He tells me the majority of home sellers he talks to are willing to talk to him and he gets several loans a month using this trick.
If you liked the above lead generation tips and would like more, check out my Jump Start Your Mortgage Career E-Class today. As I said these are just a few of the dozens of cheap lead generation techniques I share in one lesson of the course. The other lessons cover every aspect of mortgage marketing that you need to suceed in this business.
About the author: Ameen Kamadia, ""The Millionaire Loan Officer"" is a mortgage consultant, coach and trainer. He still does loans in his free time. To learn more visit http://www.mortgagebrokertraining.com
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