How to Buy Mortgage Leads

If you're in the mortgage or lending industry, wouldn't you like to reduce marketing costs and streamline customer acquisition processes, allowing you to focus on closing deals efficiently? 

For mortgage professionals and loan officers, a common way to get there is through mortgage loan leads. If you're ready to make the leap but don't know how to start with mortgage leads, we've got you covered. Keep reading for how to buy mortgage leads.

What are Mortgage Leads?

Mortgage leads are the identities, addresses, or phone numbers of people who have expressed interest in getting a new mortgage or refinancing an existing one.  In other words, they are potential customers who have provided their contact info and demonstrated intent to obtain a mortgage product.

Mortgage companies, professionals and loan officers value such leads because they represent prospective customers actively seeking mortgage services.

Mortgage leads are commonly pre-screened to determine their appropriateness for specific mortgage products. Qualification is based on the loan amount, credit standing, and location. However, if they are not checked beforehand, you can use lead quality checkers, such as leadQC, to verify lead quality.

There are various types of mortgage leads, including mortgage refinance, cash-out mortgage refinance, home equity line of credit and home equity leads.

Further, leads can be exclusive, meaning they are sold to a single lender. Or they can be non-exclusive, which means they're shared with multiple lenders. While exclusive leads typically cost more, they are potentially more valuable.

Mortgage leads can be generated through multiple channels, including comparison websites, targeted marketing campaigns and online applications.

Nurtured leads are potential clients who are shepherded through decision-making with valuable information and personalized communication. On average, these leads tend to spend more compared to non-nurtured leads.

Why Buy Mortgage Leads

Relevant and high-quality leads can markedly affect a mortgage company's success in turning possible borrowers into clients. 

Here are the key benefits of buying mortgage leads, including: 

• Quick assets to prospective clients. With this strategy, there's no waiting for organic strategies to produce results.
• Saves time. Buying leads saves time that you'd otherwise spend on lead generation efforts.
• Predictable costs. You know precisely the amount you're spending on each lead.
• Targeted marketing. Lead options are often client-specific, enabling loan officers to zero in on specific client classifications, such as first-time homebuyers.
• Warm leads. Bought leads are usually warm leads, meaning that prospective customers have shown some interest in mortgage products, which makes them more apt to convert.
• Business growth. A consistent influx of leads can help keep your mortgage business prospering.
• Focus on core competencies. If you buy leads, you can spend more time nurturing potential clients and closing deals.
• Diverse lead sources. Leads can come from various sources, including online interactions, surveys and ad engagement. This provides a broad range of possible clients.

How to Buy Mortgage Leads

To effectively purchase mortgage leads, consider the following steps:

Choose a Reputable Lead-Generation Entity

Criteria should include:

• A positive track record, including favorable client reviews
• Compliance with legal standards for data privacy and lead generation 
• Provision of clear info about demographics and lead traffic
• Lead delivery methods that align with your sales processes
• Scalability that doesn't sacrifice quality 
• Competitive pricing compared to other providers

Determine Your Target Lead Type

Choose the mortgage lead type that best suits your mortgage needs:

• Exclusive leads. Those sold to a single buyer
• Shared leads. Sold to multiple loan officers
• Internet leads. Produced through digital marketing channels 
• Live transfer leads. Real-time connections, usually over the phone
• Trigger leads. Generated when a prospective borrower's credit history is pulled 
• Aged leads. These may be less expensive but may have lower intent; these are not recommended as they are less likely to convert and they may not have consented to be contacted

Establish Your Budget

Before settling on a provider, calculate your required minimum conversion rate by considering your revenue per conversion, operational costs and total cost per lead. This way, you'll know how much you can spend.

Choose a Lead Provider 

Possibilities include lead-generation companies and marketing agencies-mandated affiliate networks.

Note that some options offer exclusive phone calls and web leads with distribution software and lead tracking. Others provide accurate targeting and link lenders with borrowers.

How to Verify the Quality of Mortgage Leads

There are multiple strategies that you can employ to verify mortgage lead quality, including:

Manual verification. 

You can interact directly with leads through texts, emails or phone calls. However, this method can be time-consuming and may not work well for large quantities of leads.

Point-of-capture verification. 

During the lead-generation process, you can implement real-time verification through contact and lead forms that immediately check for accuracy. You can also verify info when prospects sign up for newsletters or download lead magnets, or by using one-time password phone verification in form submissions.

Partner verification. 

You can work with reputable referral partners or lead-generation companies that provide pre-verified leads. Make sure you have specific criteria to maintain quality standards.

What to Expect to Pay for Qualified Mortgage Leads

Depending on factors such as freshness, quality and exclusivity, standard mortgage leads that require substantial follow-up usually cost between $25 and $50 per lead. Exclusive leads, meanwhile, can range at much higher lead prices.

Note that market competition, geographic location, and loan type can influence pricing.

The Benefits of Lead Distribution Software

Whether yours is a one-person shop or a company generating thousands of leads daily, boberdoo lead distribution software could position you to maximize your revenue on every lead. You will save time, serve your clients better and optimize lead matching and delivery, as well as increase the overall image of your company. Traditional lead generation companies, direct marketing firms, media, advertising agencies and advanced publishers have utilized our software to grow their businesses since 2001.