One of the biggest hurdles mortgage professionals face is improving lead conversion. In today’s market, so much focus for mortgage brokerages and professionals is going towards one of two areas: either lead creation (top of funnel identification of new leads/prospects) or servicing client relationships (bottom of the funnel closing of new mortgages or refinances).

A lack of attention to lead conversions is causing slow response times and shallow follow up. In some cases, salespeople may stop follow up after the first or second attempt is unsuccessful, and in other cases leads go unattended altogether. Additionally, traditional messaging and standard communication methods like emails and phone calls are not as impactful any longer. Unfortunately, potential clients may fizzle out or seek another mortgage provider, leading to lost opportunities and wasted money on lead generation efforts.

Here are 4 best practices for improving lead conversion to move more mortgage leads through the funnel:

• Improve your response rate: Attend and respond to each lead as fast as possible; speed of response has a direct correlation to conversion success
• Personalize your messages: Messaging must be personalized, impactful, differentiate and provide a lasting impression on your target audience.
• Utilize multiple communication channels: Email and phone alone is not enough; younger generations especially are more adept to other communication tools like text and video. Know your audience and communication preferences.
• Persistence is key: Not every lead will respond immediately, even if they reached out first. Do not quit if your first attempts for contact are not successful. It may take several attempts to make a personal connection.

Stikkum’ s mortgage retention alert and automation platform provides all the tools and resources for mortgage lenders to address the challenges of customer loyalty and engagement. Utilizing Stikkum RECONNECT, mortgage lenders get full visibility into past customer activity while enabling personalized and timely auto-response messages to save lost opportunities. Stikkum CONTACT blends two-way messaging, AI-powered technology, and a dedicated response team to turn leads into conversations. And Stikkum ENGAGE provides an automated communication and marketing platform for continuous top-of-mind awareness. Never miss a conversation lead again with Stikkum.