Working out how to get leads for mortgage loans is one of the biggest challenges for loan officers and mortgage brokers, and the quality and intent of the leads you source can also vary considerably. We suggest that you rely on verified, credible mortgage leads from a known referral partner without investing in paid-for leads that have a high chance of being irrelevant to your business or costing you time to follow up with little or no prospect of a sale.
Let’s examine how to find mortgage leads with the strongest potential to convert into clients, why mortgage leads differ so significantly from varied sources, and the importance of ensuring you have a steady stream of incoming leads to keep your mortgage business buoyant.
Buying Mortgage Leads: The Pros and Cons
If you, like many loan officers, are looking at where to get mortgage leads to keep you ticking over during quieter periods or to launch your mortgage loan business, you might consider purchasing lead lists from one of several providers. Numerous marketplaces, agencies, and platforms provide leads at a cost of between $20 per lead, often for those shared with multiple competitors.
Those costs can extend up to as much as $200 for exclusive and higher-quality leads where the prospect has a more established intent. Ultimately, the decision-making is yours, but if you are comparing lead lists, we’d suggest you consider the following:
- The risk built into the purchase: What happens if none of the leads convert into clients, and how will the expense impact your business?
- Timing: Will you be able to follow up with each potential lead swiftly, or will a proportion stagnate and likely already work with a competitor before you have time to make contact?
- Experience: Do you have the knowledge and skills to nurture new client relationships, establish the value you can offer, and give a lead the confidence that you are the right loan officer for them?
Any doubts should be assessed carefully before committing to a purchase because, in most cases, you assume all of the risks as the broker or loan officer. However, you may fall at the first hurdle if none of the paid-for leads are looking for the products you can offer or are ready to move forward.
How to Choose the Best Places to Buy Mortgage Leads
The core issue with bought leads is that many brokers and loan officers find that their contact is unwanted; this can lead to complaints, reputational damage, and even being categorized as a spam caller, where leads had not anticipated a call, or not given consent for their details to be shared.
Paid-for leads can also vary widely in quality, and even the most recommended marketplaces rarely provide any form of protection against the chance that your entire lead list does not generate any business. Likewise, alternative lead generation methods such as optimizing your website, content marketing, or social media advertising campaigns can take significant time to yield results.
Our advice is to avoid purchasing mortgage leads from unknown sources, platforms that do not clarify how they verify and select the leads they sell, or those without any form of exclusivity, which means you could be one of several loan officers contacting the same person.
Improving the Quality and Reliability of Your Mortgage Leads as a Loan Officer
The ambitious mortgage brokers and loan officers we speak with often have key criteria they’d love every lead to hit:
- Exclusivity: Having leads that they have the opportunity to follow up on without pressure or competition
- Intent: Receiving leads actively looking for a mortgage loan and primed to receive guidance or suggestions from a credible professional
- Clarity: Calling leads who are waiting to hear from them, were anticipating the call, and have given permission for their details to be shared as a referral
- Low-cost: Being able to tap into high-value leads without investing substantial amounts
Insurance Pro Agencies can fulfill each of these desirables with a proven and well-established referral partnership network spanning twenty-seven states. Our work as a specialist insurance provider means we frequently connect with clients planning a property purchase who require competitive mortgage loans and rely on us to offer a referral.
Rather than unknown returns, unreliable leads, and high overheads, we work on a cost-free partnership basis to help you grow your business and ensure we deliver the best service and support to homebuyers!
