Are you a mortgage broker who wants to generate more mortgage leads?
Lead generation is essential for any business, but it’s especially important for mortgage brokers that rely on appointments to win new clients.
In this article, you’ll learn best lead generation strategies for generating high-quality mortgage leads. But not just any leads… Exclusive mortgage leads with consumers who are:
- Pre-qualified
- Have good credit scores
- Looking to work with someone in your industry
Let’s get started!
Want us to help you get mortgage leads? If so, here are the next steps:
Step 1: Watch our free Masterclass training (explains how the strategy works)
Step 2: Schedule a call to work with us (if you want us to help you do everything)
Top 5 Mortgage lead generation strategies (summary)
If you’re short on time, here are the 5 top mortgage lead generation strategies for the mortgage industry:
- Search engine optimization (best for free leads)
- Paid advertising (best for getting leads quickly)
- Buying leads (best for getting leads without investing any time)
- YouTube (best for building trust quickly)
- Referrals (best way to leverage existing relationships)
What are the best mortgage lead generation strategies?
There are some of the top ways to generate mortgage leads:
1. Search Engine Optimization
The best way to get mortgage leads in the long term is through search engine optimization (SEO).
With SEO you can get mortgage leads that are:
- Free (no need to pay for ads)
- Evergreen (you get new leads each day)
- Convert fast (because they are searching for your services)
The only downside to SEO mortgage lead generation is that it takes time to create content. But the faster you create content, the quicker you can see results.
Even though it takes time to build up the SEO rankings for your mortgage broker website, the results are well worth it. You’ll be able to generate free mortgage leads with people who are actively searching for your services each month.
Tip: Instead of creating lots of content for informational purposes (that never converts), it’s important you only focus on creating content that converts visitors into clients. How to do this is explained in ‘Step 4’ of my Free Masterclass Training.
2. Paid Ads
Mortgage brokers can generate leads quickly using paid ads on the following channels:
Facebook Ads
Instagram Ads
YouTube Ads
Google Ads
Some of our clients have seen better results on Facebook ads vs other paid advertising channels (such as Google ads).
It’s a lot cheaper and has the potential t social media to generate leads by running ads or promoting content relevant to their target audience.
The advantage of running paid ads is that you get quick results. The disadvantage is that it costs money to run ads and can be expensive if you don’t already have a strategy to convert leads into clients automatically.
To maximize ROI, leveraging buyer intent data can be beneficial to understand better what potential customers are looking for in terms of home loans and related services.
Utilizing buyer intent data can give you an additional understanding of what purchasers seek regarding home loans, loan renegotiating alternatives, remortgages, or other related services provided by mortgage brokers.
Using this information as part of an effective sales funnel strategy, lenders can tailor their marketing efforts more precisely and target only those likely to become clients instead of wasting resources targeting people with no interest in mortgages.
See ‘Step 4’ of this video to learn more about how to generate exclusive leads using paid advertising.
3. Buy mortgage leads
Many mortgage lead generation websites will sell you shared or exclusive mortgage leads.
The advantage of buying mortgage leads is that you don’t have to spend time generating leads yourself. You get new leads delivered straight to your inbox.
The problem with buying mortgage leads is that you often pay much more for leads you could generate yourself.
This is because the lead generation company has to generate the leads themselves and then re-sell them to you with a markup on top (usually 200% to 500% more).
See also: ‘Should I Buy leads?‘
When you buy leads, you also risk buying leads that are not good quality because they are either shared with other mortgage brokers or are not very serious.
If you want to learn how to get your own leads WITHOUT paying a lead generation company for leads, watch this video.
4. YouTube
YouTube is another great way for mortgage brokers or loan officers to generate their own exclusive leads.
How does it work?
YouTube lead generation works similarly to SEO lead generation, with the main difference being that on YouTube you create video content instead of written content.
One big advantage of YouTiube lead generation for mortgage brokers, real estate agents and loan officers is that it’s much easier to build up trust through a video vs written content alone.
That’s why using a video sales letter is a large part of our lead generation strategy on social media.
5. Referrals
Mortgage brokers, loan officers and real estate agents can generate leads through traditional marketing channels such as referrals, networking, or tradeshows.
However, the problem with referrals and traditional marketing channels are that they are not very predictable. You don’t know how many leads you’ll get from referrals each month.
To learn how to get 10, 15, 30 or more appointments each month with your ideal clients without relying on networking events, referrals or things like that be sure to watch my free training here.
6. Use a marketing & sales funnel
While there are many ways to generate leads, not all are created equal.
If you want to get high-quality leads from people who are looking to work with a mortgage broker, it’s important you have a sales funnel that will pre-qualify and convert leads into appointments for you (automatically).
To create & promote a sales funnel, here are the steps I recommend you take:
- Step 1: Create a marketing sales funnel
- Step 2: Create an educational video for the funnel
- Step 3: Promote the funnel
- Step 4: Nurture leads
- Step 5: Track and improve results over time
If you’d like to learn more about these steps, watch my free Masterclass training here.
To make the most out of your mortgage leads, you should have a system for following up with them and converting them into customers.
The sales cycle for any mortgage broker, loan officer or real estate agent is much longer than in any other industry. So you must follow up with leads regularly over a long period of time.
Key Takeaway: Mortgage leads are potential customers who have shown interest in taking out a mortgage. It’s improtant to to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to lead generation.
7. Google Ads
A fast way loan officers can get mortgage leads is to target people searching for mortgages on Google using Google Ads.
The advantage of this is that you can generate leads quickly.
The downside to this is that it can be a very expensive way to get leads compared to other mortgage lead generation strategies on this list.
For this strategy to work, you must also ensure you have a high-converting sales funnel. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time.
8. Partnerships with real estate agents
Another effective way to get mortgage leads for free is to leverage referral partnerships with other businesses, such as real estate agents.
A good referral partnership with a real estate agent can provide you with a steady source of new (and free) leads for years.
Partnering with a real estate agent may be challenging if you’re relatively new in the business. So don’t hesitate to go to business networking events to try and build relationships with real estate agents.
Real estate agents can take advantage of their existing relationships with loan officers to refer potential buyers who require financing assistance, instead of having them spend a long time attempting to find one online. This proactive approach is advantageous as it ensures that leads are not lost due to the complexity of the search process.
9. Leverage social media
Social media is an essential part of any mortgage lead-generation strategy. It allows lenders to build brand awareness and reach potential customers actively searching for home loan solutions.
To maximize the effectiveness of social media campaigns, it’s important to adhere to platform guidelines while leveraging the power of paid advertising when appropriate.
One way to start building a presence on social media is by creating a company page on platforms like Facebook or Twitter. This gives followers a chance to keep tabs on the latest deals or services you have available.
Additionally, requesting reviews from past clients can help build trust in your brand as well as boost search engine rankings due to user-generated content being seen as more credible than traditional marketing tactics.
Social media strategies for mortgage lead generation can be a powerful tool to help businesses generate leads, appointments and clients each month.
10. Use mortgage lead technology
Mortgage lead technology has revolutionized the way mortgage lenders generate and track leads. Some technology services mortgage brokers can use include:
- Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMs)
- Landing page builders
- Automated email marketing campaigns
- Lead & deal flow management
- Video hosting & analytics
- And more!
In many cases, I’ve found Kartra to be an effective all-in-one lead generation & marketing automation tool.
However, like any tool, it’s only as good as HOW you use it.
You must have the right strategy and use the tools correctly for the best results.
With advances in data collection, loan officers can now accurately assess potential customers’ needs before they even apply for a loan. This allows them to create targeted campaigns more likely to result in conversions.
By leveraging customer insights obtained through surveys or website activity, loan providers can pinpoint certain groups of individuals who may be considering refinancing their mortgages or acquiring a new one.
Loan originators can also use this information to tailor their messaging and offer accordingly so potential customers feel they’re getting the best deal possible from the lender.
The bottom line
When generating leads, it’s important to focus on the marketing activities that get results (avoid the noise or ‘busy work’).
For example, many mortgage brokers spend countless hours posting every day on social media, networking, cold calling, doing direct mail, + more…
But they get very few results to show for it!
Instead, use modern digital marketing strategies as discussed in this video to get faster and better results.
Best of all, these modern marketing strategies can help you generate leads on autopilot, so you can spend more time on other areas of your business.
What are the different types of mortgage lead generation strategies?
Regarding mortgage lead generation, there are two main types of strategies: Outbound and inbound.
Outbound strategies involve actively reaching out to potential customers.
Inbound strategies focus on creating content that will attract attention from prospective borrowers.
Some common examples of outbound mortgage lead generation include cold-calling, direct mail campaigns, and purchasing lists of leads from third-party vendors.
In contrast, popular inbound mortgage lead generation tactics include SEO optimization, developing informative blog posts and videos, and using social media platforms to build brand awareness.
So, which type of mortgage lead generation strategy is right for you?
The answer may depend on several factors, including your budget, target audience, and overall marketing goals. If you’re looking for a more hands-on approach, an outbound strategy may be the way.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to build a more long-term relationship with your leads, an inbound strategy may be a better fit.
No matter which strategy you choose, the important thing is to focus on generating high-quality leads that are likely to convert into customers.
Doing this will make you more likely to achieve your mortgage marketing goals.
Key Takeaway: There are two main types of mortgage lead generation strategies: outbound and inbound. The right strategy for you depends on your budget, target audience, and marketing goals.
FAQs for getting mortgage leads
Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, Ash has been helping business owners get high-quality leads, appointments, and clients each month. He has extensive experience working with B2B & B2C industries in finance, insurance, marketing, sales and beyond. Learn more about the author here.