Maybe waiting until Christmas to send your clients that special thank you gift is not the best idea. October is the shopping season in the mortgage industry. Mortgage Advisor Tools traffic is spiking. This is not an accident. Check your analytics and it’s likely you are also seeing a spike in web traffic. Why? Very simple. You are being shopped. This is both good and bad. You are likely on the cusp of picking up a couple of new customers. However, you are also on the cusp of losing a couple as well. I’m sure your retention rate is awesome and you are doing everything right for each client. Let’s break down the 3 reasons why mortgage lenders are shopping for new mortgage technology in October.
1. The current vendor F&*%ing blows. If you haven’t had a chance to check out our CRM commercial . . . you totally should. The lender has likely provided you with some signs that they aren’t going to renew. If you haven’t provided adequate reporting on how you are effectively solving their problems – this is another sign that the lender might not understand your impact on their organization. Lastly – Loan officer complaints – if you are causing more work for anyone that has the power to make the decision – see ya later.
2. Budget. Does this technology vendor make us money? Do they save us time, which saves us money? Is there a cheaper solution that does the same thing? So, if you haven’t managed your client relationship properly, they will at some point (even years) start to develop buyer’s remorse. Older cases of buyer’s remorse will break down in our last point. The mortgage business has a 30-day brain and a severe case of amnesia. If you aren’t constantly explaining your value proposition and how it equates to profit regularly you are susceptible to being replaced.
3. Innovation. How has your service/product offering advanced? Have you worked to innovate your technology? Have you taken the input of your clients and built the features and solutions they requested? Mortgage technology will continue to get more competitive and if you aren’t innovating at a pace that is making a substantial difference in your engagements – someone will. Entire new technology companies are built by former employees who listened to the market. Make sure your roadmap includes your client’s input to some degree, and that what you are working to implement will improve their overall engagement.
It is shopping season! Send your edible arrangements, gift cards, and weird seasonal gifts before everyone else. If you do blow – find out why right now. Fix it. Commit to change. Innovate. Justify your value. Figure out a way to be more valuable. Play nice with others. Remember, the mortgage industry is huge but very small all at the same time.
