Reeling in the Green – March 2019 Newsletter
6 Inspiring Influences to Consider when Integrating Technology into your Mortgage Business
More Revenue/ Sales
Adding various technology platforms to your business can increase your sales by implementing tools which result in faster approval times. In a US mortgage industry white paper written by Boston Consulting Group [BCG] named, How Digital Mortgage solutions can help win war against margin compression, various benefits of technology are demonstrated along with the substantial influences it possesses for some of the nation’s top lenders.
The article explains how “new third-party data sources will enable faster underwriting, closing and funding, ultimately making it almost instantaneous for a prospective borrow to obtain a loan.” This is partially due to the ability for the customer to complete their application in an online platform with less physical documents and digital signatures. Further into the study, is reassurance that “faster does not equate higher risk” since advancements in technology are designed to measure accordingly, as well as being finalized by a licensed employee.
The effects of these advanced technologies are changing the decade’s face for mortgage companies and will have you turning and burning leads as each year concludes.
Marketing/Advertising
Social media, search engine optimization and email marketing are all tech avenues to consider when becoming a mortgage broker or mortgage lender. When obtaining a mortgage broker license in a new state, these technological advances in your mortgage business structure could definitely keep you above the rest.
Borrowers from all over the nation will be able to discover your expansion through direct marketing campaigns and other tools you choose for your company. These marketing strategies can help a family in Arkansas find your mortgage company through a simple search such as: “VA loans for families traveling from Little Rock to Los Angeles”.
Customer Satisfaction
Ratifying technological changes in your mortgage company will effectively improve the quality of your customer satisfaction. An article, released by Forbes.com, mentions the influences of a growing population of tech-savvy millennials entering the home-buying market. With mortgage interest rates on the rise, and successions of increase predicted to appear, the new generation of homebuyers are captivated by mortgage lenders with sophisticated usability to better suit the convenience of their evolving technological culture.
The Forbes.com article also states,” a monthly survey of home loans from mortgage software provider ‘Ellie Mae’ found that it took an average 41 days to close a mortgage.” Technological advancement in mortgage loan software has the potential to close loans within 30 days. Enhancing the ability to save time on loan approvals elevates your mortgage company to the next level of mortgage lending.
Employee Efficiency and Consistency
Micah Jindal, Billy Hart, and Nate Levin mention the struggle of compressing margins for originators due to rising origination costs, in their article with BCG. “A 68% decline in net production income per loan during [this] period…. In addition to declining revenue and margins, originators have had to face intensifying market competition since the financial crisis.” Whether mortgage rates stay stagnant or slightly increase in 2019, based on the patterns studied in the articles, origination volumes are not expecting much change; “Originators will need to find new ways to maintain growth.”
The scare of technology replacing humans is a common consideration for business owners and mortgage loan originators as the development of digital solutions excels. Weaving these technological improvements into the structure of your daily operations will reassure your employees and serve as a new foundation for the enhancement of your mortgage lending experience.
Staying at the top of your Market
The financial services industry is a significantly competitive, yet ever-evolving industry. Although the feeling of swimming in a school of other eager professionals may weigh heavily on your shoulders throughout your fiscal year, digital advances in your business structure will reel in the anchor of the pressure to sustain, and elevate your lending potential.
“You must lose a fly to catch a trout.” – George Herbert
Fear is the enemy. It’s a subjective distortion on practical realities. Creating something from nothing is a much greater risk than sacrificing for greater results. The ability to create transparent communication with your borrowers significantly increases your opportunity to be above your competitors. One small change, such as the implementation of digital customer relationship management [CRM] will make the communication between your staff and your potential clients quick, efficient, and crystal clear. Features such as follow up reminders with your leads, and updates on the status of their loan via email, mobile platforms and other communication options, will develop a new stage for the growth of your mortgage business. Take the risk you deserve!
“Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.” – Paul Tillich
Keeping Records
By protecting your borrowers, you are also protecting your business. There is a plethora of data entering platforms to store data. With all the regulations enforced to protect borrowers from predatory lending and to protect lenders from fraud, a virtual storage space to back up data gathered from your processes is an excellent way to save time, energy, and money. This digital space frees up boxes of old dusty paper work. It also serves as a ‘rolo-tech’, so to speak, when recovering data records of loan history and inactive clientele.
Another benefit to storing data gathered from your borrowers is the opportunity to discover hidden correlations between your leads and your products. This can result in additional segments to your marketing and even inspire a creative wheel to embark on new products for your mortgage business!
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What are your thoughts? Are you considering the use of technological advances for your mortgage company? Let us know is a comment! We’d love to hear your feedback!