Five valuable marketing tactics for  past clients

Most mortgage brokers know that marketing to their past clients is one of the best ways to generate repeat and referral clients, but few actually do it because they spend most of their time and money prospecting new clients.  It’s easy to market to past clients as long as you give them something of value.  If you give them something they can use, they’ll be more likely to refer you to their friends and family or contact you when they’re ready to refinance or get a new mortgage. Here are a few marketing tactics that add value:

Give them the value of their home.  Finding out the value of their home allows consumers estimate how much they’re likely to get if they sell it or refinance it.  Your XSite is already equipped with a Home Price Index page, which uses information from Freddie Mac to estimate the value of their home based on its original purchase price.  Send out an e-mail to your past clients reminding them of this tool on your website and they’re more likely to contact you when they’re ready to refinance or get a new mortgage.  To activate the Home Price Index, go to the My Office section of your XSite and click on Lead Capture Tools.

Let them know the market climate.  Consumers who are wary of the housing market will also be reluctant to dive into a new mortgage or refi.  Put their mind at ease by sending them articles from respected newspapers and magazines on the housing market in their area or recent sales information.

Know their hobbies. When you meet a new client, make note of their hobbies and interests.  You can do this by using the Notes field in the Contacts section of your XSite.  Then, e-mail or mail them articles or events they might like periodically and keeps your name on their mind.

Send them a package.  A typical home owner refinances after about five years.  Send your five-year clients a "Refinancing Packet" e-mail with links to the mortgage calculators and content pages on your XSite explaining the various types of mortgages available.  Of course, invite them to contact you to discuss their options.

Thank them.  When you do get a referral, send a handwritten note thanking your customer.  Often the most valuable thing you can give your clients is a sincere appreciation for their business.

Drive more traffic to your XSite with LoanBright

LoanBright operates the Loan.com and Compareinterestrates.com loan comparison shopping services for consumers.  The Loan.com pay-per-click service works like the bid-based system offered by the major search engines’ sponsored links.  With Loan.com, however, advertisers bid on categories of loans rather than keywords.  Loan.com has defined over 600 different loan categories open for bidding and the minimum bid for a listing is $0.50 per click. Lenders are ranked within each category based on the amount of their bid.

For consumers, Loan.com offers a multi-lender, loan comparison shopping experience where consumers can compare the rates and fees from a variety of lenders, for a variety of consumer loan products.  Consumers can click through to a Mortgage XSite where they can apply for loans directly or obtain additional information on specific loan products and services.

Compareinterestrates.com is an online marketplace where consumers can compare 9,000 daily mortgage rate quotes from more than 300 lenders and brokers.  Consumers shopping for mortgage financing on Compareinterestrates.com submit a request online for a personalized mortgage rate quote.  That request is then matched with, and delivered to, up to four lenders who then contact the consumer.

Why we went to the NAR Conference — and what it means for you

The first-ever podcasting feature for property listings debuted on Agent XSites’ a few weeks ago as a free feature to our customers.  Podcasting gives agents an edge over their competition because they have the ability to market sellers’ properties in ways they can't.  It’s also a convenient tool for today’s tech-savvy buyers because they can subscribe to their agent’s podcast and listen to new property listing information whenever it’s convenient.  And with Agent XSites’ Google Earth™ aerial mapping technology agents can show buyers the exact proximity of a home to parks, shopping centers, schools, freeways, and other distinguishable landmarks, simply by zooming in or out.

The new XSellerate 2.0 was designed to make it easy and convenient for agents to maintain relationships with past clients — a major source of repeat and referral business.  XSellerate’s interface paired with ready-made core relationship campaigns allows agents to deliver marketing messages for weeks, months or even years.  XSellerate 2.0 also integrates with Agent XSites by collecting data from lead capture forms and automatically scheduling targeted marketing campaigns based on the visitor’s information.

As a mortgage broker, you'll be pleased to know that we also showed many agents at the NAR Conference how all of our XSites — Mortgage, Agent, Appraiser and Home Inspector — were created to integrate with one another on the XSites Network, allowing the transaction to go as smoothly as possible and to provide a true paperless mortgage solution. 

Even more new themes
As we mentioned in the
last newsletter, we released 13 more themes this week for you to use on your XSites.  Ring in the holidays with new Thanksgiving, Hanukah and Memorial Day themes as well as five new agricultural themes in the Light Family.

This is the third major theme release for XSites this year, giving you 200 themes to choose from when building — or redesigning — your XSite to suit your business.  And, like all of our new releases and updates, it's absolutely free as part of your XSite.

To check out your new themes, simply go to Step 1 of your XSite's Wizard.

5,000 Mortgage XSites and counting
Mortgage XSites launched in July 2004 and, in just 17 months, has grown to more than 5,000 owners across the U.S. That’s roughly 300 mortgage brokers a month who have either launched a website with us or switched to us from a previous provider.

Although we’re proud of that number, we don’t plan to rest on our laurels. We’re still working hard to provide you with more tools and features throughout the year that will help you run your businesses more efficiently so you can make more money.  As always, if you have an idea, a tip or feedback on any of our products, feel free to
 e-mail us at info@alamode.com.

Pipeline integrates LOS with Mortgage XSites
In addition to our partnership with LoanBright, we also announced plans to integrate our Mortgage XSites with Pipeline Solution’s LOS via a custom interface last week's MBA Conference & Expo.

Through this integration, Pipeline users will get a Mortgage XSite and the ability to place orders to their appraisers, right through their LOS, into the appraisal form filling software that resides on their appraisers’ desktops. Appraisal assignment status updates will be pushed back to Pipeline users via the XSites Network. Appraisal reports will be delivered electronically back to the mortgage broker’s desktop upon completion.

According to Brad Eaton, our Vice President of Mortgage Products, plugging Pipeline’s LOS users into the XSites Network gives them a more efficient way to work with their appraisers.  Plus, Mortgage XSites’ online tracking and status allows them to provide their clients with better service throughout the loan process.

Stop by and say "Hi"
We'll be at the upcoming Western Regional Mortgage Brokers Conference in Las Vegas Nov. 13-15.

October 25, 2005
learn more about the Network you're already "in" Plus: On the go while on the job?  So is your XSite

September 29, 2005  Prepare for market changes by beefing up your prospect base with new XSite lead capture tools. Plus: More than $675,000 collected for Hurricane Katrina victims

September 9, 2005
New mortgage commentary tool helps you serve clients better. Plus: Go paperless today by using DirectFax.

August 23, 2005
Colorado mortgage broker scores new Corvette convertible in XSites giveaway. Plus: Big improvements in CertMail.

Full archives

For questions about this newsletter, contact the editor: Amanda@alamode.com

For sales inquiries, contact sales@alamode.com or call
1-800-ALAMODE.