Lead Managment

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4

Commitment Can Stage Disaster of Consistency!
2007-10-29 16:39:00
I snapped this picture as I sat down to one of the sessions at the recent Loan Toolbox Business Plan 2008. My first thought was, "this is great fodder for a post on upgrading your lead management system to tackle a tougher mortgage market." Lead Management System? However, as fortune would have it my schedule prevented the original post. As is often the case in life, misrouted paths lead us to better things. And such is the case with this post. On my latest trip to San Diego, I visited with a colleague and friend, David Schneider of ZipSearch!. During our chat I noted a book in his office that I have been meaning to pick-up: "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion," by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. I mentioned my interest in the book and David said, "take it with you for the plane ride home." I did. And that has made this post all the more important for your success! Cialdini’s book is a powerful tool (that means Buy It! ) in any sales person&rsqu...
More About: Disaster , Commitment , Consistency , Stage , Aster

We Made it to San Diego and Back!
2007-10-29 14:22:00
Our small feat to brave the San Diego fires that made it to road side was worth the opportunity to spend time with clients, prospects, and partners. These folks were amazing! Even amid evacuation, threat of losing homes, and some that had already lost their homes–they were spirited and ready to push forward. Here is a picture of our passage from LA to San Diego: I-5 on the way to San Diego See more…
More About: Back , Made

We Made it to San Diego and Back!
2007-10-29 14:22:00
Our small feat to brave the San Diego fires that made it to road side was worth the opportunity to spend time with clients, prospects, and partners. These folks were amazing! Even amid evacuation, threat of losing homes, and some that had already lost their homes–they were spirited and ready to push forward. Here is a picture of our passage from LA to San Diego: I-5 on the way to San Diego See more…
More About: Back , Made

We’re Still Coming to San Diego
2007-10-24 17:23:00
We are still coming to San Diego . It looks like our way is clear and we wouldn’t miss an opportunity to share a drink and meal with our friends in tough times. At least one of these friends has already lost their home and several others are still in danger. Everyone please keep our colleagues in your thoughts and prayers. San Diego: Wednesday, 10/24, 6:00 pm, Morton’s Steakhouse

ARM Reset Hangover, Opportunity or Doom?
2007-10-23 18:13:00
Paul Knag points out some ominous forward affects of the consumer ARM inventory. Opportunity : If you think investors are prepared open up or get creative in future mortgage products to work-out payment shocked clients. Or, some magical nationwide, rapid property value appreciation. Doom : If you think investors will still maintain tight loan amount and equity guidelines. And, no magical economic indicators to support nationwide, rapid property value appreciation. Consumers: It is time to find ways to rapidly increase your income or reduce non-mortgage debt! Tags: ARM, subprime, paul knag, mortgage, resets
More About: Hangover , Reset , Unit

Kaleidico is coming to Los Angeles and San Diego
2007-10-19 17:27:00
Keith Burwell and I will be in California most of next week and we would love the opportunity to get everyone (lenders, lead providers, etc.) together for dinner. Any suggestions for good places to gather? Here is the tentative schedule: San Diego : Wednesday, 10/24, 6:00 pm Los Angeles : Thursday, 10/25, 7:00 pm If you can make it and/or have an idea for a location leave a comment, call, or email me. Tags: lead management, lead generation, los angeles, san diego, californi, mortgage, marketing

Putting Love IN the Game
2007-10-18 17:11:00
Last night, I had the pleasure of experiencing Roy Firestone. What a great way to wrap up a week with thousands of loan officers motivated, even in a down market, to grow their business!  During this memorable final evening at the Loan Toolbox Business Plan 2008 conference I took away a key concept that I want to share with you. This is an idea that will enrich your business and your life. Loving what you do–you have probably heard this advice. Encouraged to take a walk-about in life and find that thing that you are passionate about and make it your business. Face it, that can be hard to do. Do you really think that mortgage professionals are passionate about taking 1003s and funding mortgages. No, of course not. Let me alter this phrase a bit and I bet I can find what you are, or can be, passionate about: It is not as much the love of the game as it is the love IN the game. My guess is that you are passionate about helping people obtain the dream of owning a home or helpin...
More About: Love , Game , The Game , Putting , The G

Lead Quality Decline or Market Change?
2007-10-16 23:42:00
There has been a bit of discussion over "declining" lead quality. Of course, it is easy to lay the blame of declining app and funding rates at the feet of lead providers. I must admit this was my initial reaction.  However, I then got curious and decided to think a bit broader and dive into the data from our client network and tie it to market news during the period of decline. Here is the chart: The most notable observable points in this summary is that lead providers tend to stay very close to their general trend line; however, there was a general trend of decline on or about August 18, 2007. I would also suspect as we look at final September data we will see all of the lead providers returning to their typical trend lines. So, I am not certain that the general assertion that lead quality has declined over the past several months is supported by market data. However, if you do make the hypothesis that there has been a sudden precipitous decline in lead quality somethin...
More About: Market , Change , Quality , Lead , Chang

Helping 2000 Mortgage Professionals Build Their Internet Business
2007-10-12 18:01:00
If you are attending LoanToolbox’s Business Plan 2008 in Las Vegas make sure you introduce yourself at the Kaleidico booth. We will be helping hundreds of mortgage professionals build their Internet mortgage origination’s business. In addition, we will be offering special, at the event, pricing and instant implementations. You may even close a deal while you are building your 2008 business plan! Tags: loantoolbox, business plan 2008, mortgage, marketing, sales, real estate, internet leads, lead generation, lead management, bill rice, kaleidico
More About: Internet Business , Mortgage , Build

Quicken Loans Puts Consumer First
2007-10-12 15:12:00
There seems to be an outbreak of consumer-first marketing. First, there was LendingTree focused on improving the consumers experience. And now you have Quicken Loans opening an entire library of consumer education resources–Home Loan U. Not sure they are truly advocating the consumer? Did Bob Walters, of Quicken Loans, just say refinancing may not be your best option? "With so many ARMs adjusting higher in the near future, a lot of folks are confused and worried about what to do. Their first impulse may be to immediately refinance but, in some cases, that might not be the best option," said Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "There are several factors to consider when an ARM resets, such as the new interest rate and how long they plan to stay in their home." Yes, he did! Refreshing and I can guarantee you profitable. Tags: quicken loans, consumer, mortgage, refinance, ARMs, interest rates, ARM resets, bob walters
More About: Consumer

Mortgage Applications Climbing Out?
2007-10-11 12:32:00
It looks like borrowers are breaking out of their fear, hesitancy, and the market finally products to help their financial needs. The Mortgage Bankers Association announced a 2.4% increase in applications and similar increases in the purchase and refinance indexes. Quicken Loans’ expert attributes the increase to a combination of affecters: Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters attributes the gains to historically low interest rates, an increase in the popularity of FHA loans, and some easing in the credit markets.  I can certainly agree with all of these factors at play, particularly a larger FHA impact than I expected. However, I also think there is another significant trend pushing up applications: Borrowers finally coinciding to the realization that they have to “take the medicine” (higher interest rate and payment) they have been resisting to avoid alarming payment shocks in the near future.
More About: Applications , Climbing , Bing , Limb

Cold Calling 2.0
2007-10-05 05:22:00
Aaron Ross, creator of Salesforce.com’s $20 million tele-prospecting team, is teasing out the concept of cold calling 2.0. Now, besides the tired nature of the 2.0 idiom, I am a bit interested. The Internet has caused an odd brand of customer engagement that is not cold calling, but has many of the challenges and pitfalls of this brand of sales. Here are a few of the elements that I think are central to a discussion of "cold calling 2.0": Automated account (consumer) context generation Demand-based lead inventory and sales capacity management Intelligent lead distribution Prospecting automation Effective prospect qualification Effective transfer methodologies Trust building (foreshadowing and fulfilling promises) Agent fatigue Account (consumer) fatigue But, until a good discussion can be flushed out you can start building your tele-prospecting team today. Take your newest 10% and you bottom 10% and put them on the prospect team. They should warm and pre-qualify ea...
More About: Cold , Calling , Cold calling

SmartHippo the Social Bankrate.com?
2007-09-28 12:51:00
LeadCritic just highlighted an interesting new social networking form of rate comparison. SmartHippo allows consumers, brokers, and banks to post rates and payments. Then, from this information, consumers can quickly shop rates and payments for their situation. LeadCritic’s initial review of SmartHippo: The rates on SmartHippo are posted by its users and participating banks like Quicken Loans and Bank of Internet. The site gives you ability to input your specific situation, such as credit score, equity, loan amount, etc and compare your offered rate to users rates with the same criteria. SmartHippo is also a lead generation company and if user choose they can also have up to four brokers call them. I have put in a few calls and once I receive a call back I will pass along the information to you, as far as pricing. I will also try to extract more information about their user base on the call. As a broker you are able to post your own rates, similar to BankRate, view what rates...
More About: Social

Bill Rice talks about Kaleidico with Online Mortgage Blog
2007-09-25 18:06:00
I spent time with Owen Raun of the Online Mortgage Blog talking about the history of Kaleidico and some of the advantages Internet lead buying and our lead management software brings to a declining market. Tags: bill rice, kaleidico, lead management software, lead management, lead generation, online mortgage blog, owen raun, internet leads, lead buying
More About: Rice , Bill

Throw away your loan officer web pages!
2007-09-25 14:44:00
You know the ones I am talking about. The one page you or your company has set up that has a nice professional photo of you in your nice suit. The one with your name, address, and phone number. The one with a contact me now form. In fact, you may not even know you have one or what it looks like anymore because you never get any leads from it! These pages don’t do anything for you, the loan officer, or the client. Let’s briefly look at each of these users’ desired experience. The Loan Officer Ability for prospective borrowers to find them Prospects to submit their contact information–leads Submissions (leads) to be willing and able to close on a loan The Client A low risk way to find out about mortgage financing Help understanding what to expect Someone that is knowledgeable and competent, but most importantly someone I can trust Loan Officer Web Pages With just these few wants and needs you can see the typical loan officer falls down on the job. Now for m...
More About: Throw , Ages

LendingTree Price Increase, Not the Whole Story
2007-09-24 21:17:00
In replies from some Kaleidico/LendingTree clients to our comments in the recent Inman News article "Lead quality a two-sided coin" (subscription) and my previous post on the LendingTree Partner Summit it seems our original sources of information may not have revealed a full picture. Apparently, according to these clients there is also an actual decline in back-end CLO (closed loan offer) fees relative to increases in the match fees in prime and mid-prime leads and there are a significant price cuts in subprime leads. This seems to be more consistent with comments made by C. D. Davies at the Partner Summit. When queried about the increases he stated that the increases and decreases where indicative of real costs adjustment in those specific segments of leads that have recently become more and less targeted by the market. Tags: lendingtree, price increase, kaleidico, partner summit, lead generation
More About: Story , Price , Tory

What will you do with your 50 bps Fed Rate Cut?
2007-09-19 18:14:00
The White House gave us FHASecure, the Fed gave us 50 bps, I am sure the Congress is working on something to say they helped out. Time to get to work and help some borrowers! What will you do with your 50 bps? Tags: The Fed, rate cute, Federal Reserve, mortgage
More About: Rate , With You

TargusInfo Online Lead Quality Summit–Surviving the Mortgage Implosio
2007-09-19 17:47:00
I just landed in Vegas! All pumped and ready to take the stage a 2 pm for my discussion on "Surviving the Mortgage Implosion!" Here is a brief outline for those of you who can’t attend (I will recap in greater detail after the presentation): Where we start? No silver bullet Winners are good climbers Economist and the media are lousy business planners Get real, work hard, NOW! Lenders/Brokers Go where the consumers are–It’s the Internet Stupid! Success is in amazing the customer "Climb the Distrust Mountain" Build trust and credibility; organization AND loan officers Treat them like "Glengarry leads" Lead Generation Generate a better lead Content, Intent, Leverage Community, Get Local Stock the pond–Lead Management and Lead Nurturing This is the presentation for your review and comments: Tags: lead management, lead nurturing, targusinfo, mortgage implosion, marketing, sales, bill rice
More About: Online , Summit , Quality

Tips to Help You Close More Loans
2007-09-18 20:10:00
Here are a few things from around the Web that will help you close more mortgages this month: ZipSearch is reporting that refinance concentration is still high Internet lead generation Leadcritic points to lead providers that are increasingly sharing performance data Silence Dogood gives immediate impact content-based lead generation tips Bill Rice (on my personal blog) talk about generating leads on social networks Morgan Brown looks at eligibility for FHASecure Brian Brady on being a successful originator for about $25,000 Gary Keller, cofounder of Keller Williams Realty on a sustainable lead generation Tags: zipsearch, leadcritic, bil rice, morgan brown, brian brady, keller williams realty, lead generation, lead management
More About: Loans , Tips , Close

LendingTree’s Secret to Industry Leading Conversion Rates
2007-09-12 15:41:00
Mission 007, The Extraordinary Experience was LendingTree’s context for this year’s Partner Summit. However, neither the mortgage nor the lead generation business is synonymous with ecstatic consumer experiences. In fact, recent media coverage and tests from consumer reports tend to indicate an appalling blender of unfulfilled promises, missed expectations, and maybe even deception. In contrast, at the recently concluded LendingTree Summit, consumer experience seems to be the strategic focus of LendingTree under new CEO C.D. Davies. Unfortunately, reversing the tarnished perception of a battered mortgage industry, where only 11% (according to one summit presenter) of customers will chose to return to the same mortgage company, will not be an easy task. Emphasizing Consumer Experience Certainly the since of urgency, priority, and a focused framework for execution has been set forth by LendingTree. Built on a pyramid of service, value, and trust, Jessica Ordeman (Senior D...
More About: Industry , Secret , Conversion , Rates , Leading

The Secret of When to Call Internet Leads
2007-09-08 04:14:00
I have often talked about the power of managing call back periods in the lead management process to enhance Internet lead contact rates and conversion. This discussion has often yielded special data on how leads submitted by consumers on specific days of the week (i.e., on the weekend) tend to be contacted and convert at a higher rate. Now there is a quantitative contact and qualification study, conducted on Internet leads outside of the mortgage industry, that seems to reflect similar observations. Here are a few of the key findings of Franklin Covey’s study of their Internet leads outbound (telemarketing) contact center’s findings: Follow-up must happen within the first 24 hours from inquiry Contact rates and qualifications are highest between 3-6 p.m. local Interestingly, 3:30-4:25 is peak for conversion, yet 5:15-5:25 is peak for contact Best contact rates are found on Friday (note: this call center did not operating on Saturday or Sunday) This obviously shows ...
More About: Leads , The Secret , Secret , Call

Join Me at the Online Lead Quality Summit
2007-09-06 16:35:00
I am a lucky man! I have a market full of mortgage and lead generation companies sweating bullets over the current environment and I get to give the opening session at TargusInfo’s Online Lead Quality Summit on "Surviving the Mortgage Implosion." So, why exactly am I lucky? It’s in Las Vegas (September 19-20). And because, I do have a roadmap and it is not a survival plan it is a growth plan! Here are some of the things I will be covering: The reality of the market Can you get your share and meet your goals? Lender opportunities Building trust online Changing your marketing paradigm Lead provider opportunities Building a better lead Getting off the roller coaster and start "stocking the pond" If you want to hear it along with a lot of other smart ideas and people, register here. If you are a lender and want the "friends and family" price email me at bill.rice [at] kaleidico [dot] com. If you are a lead provider I have some limited discoun...
More About: Join

Can you trust a man in overalls on Interest Rates?
2007-09-06 16:00:00
I only posted this because it is an unshaven man in overalls giving serious, straight-faced advise on interest rates, the economy, and stock picking. It made me laugh and got me to sign-up for his free email commentary. Internet consumers love raw, naked (not always figuratively), honesty in simple language. Sometimes the overalls and tin roofed front porch makes it more convincing. Market a little more raw (i.e., blogs, Facebook, YouTube)!
More About: Interest Rates , Trust , Interest , Overalls , Rates

FHASecure the Finger in the Dike
2007-09-05 18:54:00
Don’t get me wrong I think it is a fine minimalist start and I strongly believe in minimalist government solutions–let the market work is my mantra. However, I think it is crazy the way the mortgage market, news media, and even the blogosphere is painting this as a panacea. Best case, by all reports it helps 240,000 families. That, of course, assumes FHA approved lenders can find them or these families discover this as an option. Maybe it is a good time to find a good lead provider targeting FHA business. Regardless of the impact it will be a part of the market and you should be educated on the opportunity. So, here is my little part to create a FHASecure primer: Paul Knag breaks down the essentials of FHASecure as reported by HUD Seth Jayson at The Motley Fool shoots daggers at NARs endorsement of the FHA plan Peter G. Miller has a site that is devoted to all of the nuances of FHA mortgages and the new FHASecure program Morgan Brown can actually get you a shiny new FH...
More About: Finger , Cure , The D , Hase

Big Things to Come from Mortgage Adversity
2007-08-30 17:34:00
Harvey Mackay reminds us that the best education comes from adversity. He cites many notable people who have pushed through grand adversity to reach notability and significant achievement. One of my favorite historical figures and notable repeat early failure, Abraham Lincoln, gives us the secret to creating big things from adversity: “My great concern is not whether you have failed but whether you are content with your failure.” Our news feeds and blogs are full of adversity for the mortgage industry: grand implosions, significant bailouts, and massive lay-offs. However, the good news for the initiated out there is that this is the time for Big Things ! Here is my short list of things I think will change (read: opportunities): Consumers will want/take more control over their mortgage transaction In taking control, consumers will seek out information This consumer behavior, seeking trusted information, will create a market for the content created lead Lenders will stop ...
More About: Mortgage , Adversity , Mort

Surviving the Mortgage Implosion Presentation
2007-08-29 20:11:00
I am polishing up my presentation for the TargusInfo Online Lead Quality Summit and I nearly forgot my most valuable resource in preparing my thoughts–My Readers! The topic: Surviving the Mort gage (Subprime) Implosion The teaser: “Online lead generators and buyers in the mortgage space learn how to overcome the challenges of generating quality leads in today’s existing mortgage marketplace.” So, here are my questions to you: If you were in the audience what would you want to hear about? If you were giving the presentation what would you talk about? What are your biggest fears in this market? What do you see as the biggest opportunities? What are you doing to survive? Here are a few things I have already written about the mortgage implosion. I would love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or directly to me at: bill.rice [at] kaleidico.com. Technorati Tags: bill rice, Internet leads, lead generation, lead management, lead quality, mortgage, mortgage implos...
More About: Presentation , Vivi , Resent

10 Ways to Improve the Performance of your Sales Pipeline
2007-08-27 14:39:00
In sales we are constantly driven by performance and making our numbers. Unfortunately, this can lead to hoarding leads and over packing our pipeline with potential opportunities–disadvantaging our real opportunities and overall sales pipeline performance. Here are a few of the techniques I use to pack a tight and productive pipeline: Keep it clean To me, a clean pipeline means one that is well attended and accurately documented. Develop a methodology for annotating key actions or tagging each lead as you work it. These annotations function as milestones and statuses that segment your prospects. This segmentation becomes key to observing and acting on leading indicators to convert more prospects into sales. Keep it tight Kill the temptation to hoard stubborn prospects. Cut 10% of your leads each day from your pipeline. I suggest withdrawing them from the active pipeline and feeding them back in systematically in about 30 days for a courteous follow-up. Which do you cut? Analy...
More About: Performance , Sales , Improve , Improv , Pipe

Could Credit Crunch Accelerate Borrower ARM Refinancing?
2007-08-24 15:31:00
What does the mortgage credit crunch have to do with mortgage borrower behavior? A lot! Well, maybe not as much the actual credit crunch as the hype and exuberance that it has generated. Most borrowers have no idea what a credit crunch is or why mortgage companies are imploding, but they do know there is panic and mayhem in the mortgage market. Consumer reaction: Mortgage? I have a mortgage. I heard rates are going up. People are losing their homes in record numbers. The stock market is going crazy because of mortgages. Oh no! I have and adjustable rate and it is going to go up. My payment will go up. I won’t be able to pay it. I will lose my home! PANIC! Now marry that reaction with Bernanke’s statement and ARM reset data from Paul Knag’s post about another topic–the Folly of Mortgage Lead Generation–and you have an opportunity building for smart mortgage businesses: “Bernanke told Congress last month that the housing swoon ‘will likely co...
More About: Credit , Crunch , Rate , Fina , Accelerate

Your Competitive Advantage is measured in Inches
2007-08-23 11:37:00
When I was at Quicken Loans one of my favorite of the ISMs, which made up our corporate DNA, was “The inches we need are everywhere around us.” So, it struck me today when Seth Godin, another really successful guy reveals the same conclusion about making clients fanatical about your company and product in his post on follow through: If you know that the last two inches of your follow through don’t matter, then you’ll start slowing down at three inches, or even four, and suddenly it does matter. If you draw the line on money back guarantees you’ll keep sliding backwards, bit by bit, until it does matter. If you’re quick to fire the employee who needs a lot of help, you’ll be quicker with those that need just a little, and then, pretty soon, it’s a very different place to work, isn’t it? Obsessing about the last inch of follow through ensures that the important parts of what you do get just as much (if not more) commitment. Techno...
More About: Competitive , Petit , Advanta

Careful Not to Poison Lead Generation
2007-08-22 17:42:00
Lead Critic highlights an interesting test conducted on LowerMyBills by Consumer Reports. From the journalist reported experience you can understand the experience the consumer expected to have versus what he got: A Consumer Reports’ tester filled out a form as though he was shopping for a mortgage. Within an hour lenders started calling him. He was swamped with calls at all hours of the day and night, even on weekends. And Consumer Reports says when it comes to too-good-to-be-true mortgages, the real deal is often quite different. For example, an ad that promises a $510,000 mortgage for under $1,498 a month. If you look at the fine print, you see that if you pay just $1,498 a month you’d never pay off the loan because you’re only paying about half the interest and none of the principal. To actually pay it off in 30 years, you’d have to pay about $3,200 a month. Consumer Reports says there are better options at two other Web sites–HSH.com and Bankrate....
More About: Careful , Generation , Lead , Poison