With the recent rise of renewable energy, it’s not surprising that the solar business has quickly become one of the fastest growing industries in the US. More and more people are buying into the idea of clean, renewable energy, while also noticing the potential savings of going solar. 

Exciting as this may be, solar companies of all sizes are at risk of being left behind in this supply and demand surge. Using Shape Software such as Shape Solar CRM to manage your clientele will always be necessary, but don’t disregard the first step of the process—generating leads. With a growing number of competitors in the solar industry, the ability to identify qualified leads and work them through your sales funnel has become more important than ever. In this post, we’ll probe into the solar industry and the importance of using lead generation marketing to acquire qualified leads, as well as how to choose the best lead generation service for your target audience.

The Growing Solar Industry

Massive industry growth can be a double-edged sword for both small and large businesses alike. Since 2012, the number of solar related jobs more than doubled, crowding the market for both the purchase of solar panels and the hiring of solar installation. From the buyer’s perspective, this rapid increase in supply is fantastic. As solar businesses see more competition, consumers gain more options to choose from—leading to better products sold for less. This, in turn, also leads to more customers in the market.

From the company’s perspective, they see both an increase in buyers and an increase in competitors—hence the “double-edged sword”. Any solar company that remains static during this time is at risk of losing customers—both old and new—and falling behind in this solar energy gold rush. Intimidating as that sounds, companies that adapt to this growth can capitalize on this influx of new consumers, cementing themselves as a giant in the industry. 

So, besides having a good product, how does one take advantage of this situation? Put simply, you need to be actively gaining customers while also maintaining past ones. And the best way to do that? 

Acquire qualified leads by motivating potential customers to approach you through lead generation marketing.

The Importance of Lead Generation for Your Solar Businesses

Although you should be actively pursuing customers as well, getting consumers to reach out to your business is the ideal situation for any sales team. This is why lead generation marketing, commonly referred to as lead gen marketing, has become increasingly popular in not just solar marketing, but the industry as a whole.  

Before we address lead gen in the solar industry, let’s first look at some general statistics regarding the benefits of lead generation marketing:

• Only 18% of marketers believe outbound marketing methods produce quality leads 

• On average, cold calling only produces 1% of paying customers 

• Almost 80% of marketers noticed an increase in both leads and conversions when using automated marketing software

• Nurtured leads spend 47% more per purchase/contract compared to non-nurtured leads

Lead gen marketing eliminates the need for outbound marketing through the use of automated marketing software, which aids in the nurturing of new leads through your marketing funnels. 

There are various implementations of lead gen, however the general process revolves around potential consumers contacting you. Once a lead enters your marketing funnel, proper lead gen marketing should gently reinforce your product, guiding them to the end of your funnel and prompting them to contact your sales team. 

To better understand the idea of lead generation, here is a very simplified walkthrough of what goes on during the process:

1. The consumer discovers your brand or product (becomes a new lead) either through your marketing channel or the marketing channel of a hired agency. This includes exposure from social media accounts, posts from relevant blogs, and any visits to your websites, both organic and direct. 

2. The lead is then marketed at and directed through various mean towards some sort of call-to-action button (CTA), which is often an image, button, or link. When clicked, the CTA should send the consumer towards a landing page where they can learn more about your product or your industry, which in this case would be solar.

3. On the landing page, the visitor should be prompted to fill out a contact form to schedule a call/email. This page often has some sort of “deal”, further encouraging the visitor to fill out the form.

Again, this is an extremely simplified explanation, however this hopefully shows how the lead generation process emphasizes the nurturing of leads over time. Through constant exposure and communication, lead gen excels at turning someone from being interested in solar to committed to solar.

The Challenge of Generating New Leads in the Solar Industry

As mentioned, the beginning of most lead gen processes start by generating a new lead through some type of marketing channel. The difficulty of this step will vary depending on your industry and company size, but for solar specific lead gen this step is often the hardest. There are a couple different reasons for this, but the most notable and impactful is the oversaturation of solar suppliers in the market. 

Right now, the profit margin for solar suppliers and installers is through the roof, and people have taken note of this. The demand cannot keep up with the current supply, and leads are becoming scarce. Even industry giants such as SolarReviews and EnergySage—who spend millions each year on content and marketing—only generate a couple hundred new leads a day throughout the country. 

Of course, you could try running ads for your solar company yourself, however this is not advised. In general, new and inexperienced marketers with a small budget are essentially forced to spend more money per ad compared to companies like SolarReviews and EnergySage. The main reason behind this, put simply, is that social media platforms and search engines charge less per ad the more successful it is. Because of this, having more experience and a larger budget allows you to create, target, and A/B test your ads much more efficiently, reducing the cost of your ad over time.

Outside of marketing campaigns, a significant number of leads are produced through organic traffic to websites via search engines like Google. In general, larger companies such as SolarReviews and EnergySage have a much higher Google Domain Authority than smaller competitors, allowing them to rank higher for solar related searches. This means that when a potential lead searches “best solar companies” on Google, they will likely see SolarReviews or EnergySage on the first page of the results. Overall, appearing on the first page of any search result greatly increases organic traffic to your website, however this can be near impossible for smaller companies with poor search engine optimization.

Why You Should Hire Someone for Your Lead Generation Marketing

It should be clear by now why generating leads on your own can be challenging, and yet that is only the beginning of the lead gen process. Even if you manage to secure leads on your own, you still need an experienced team of marketers to manage the constant interactions and moving parts commonly seen in most lead gen strategies.

For example, popular lead gen agencies in the solar industry turn new leads into solar qualified leads by doing the following 24/7:

• Contacting leads as soon as they generate, including text messages, phone calls, and emails

• Nurturing leads for up to 6 months, assuring that no potential leads are lost or neglected

• Qualifying leads by presenting them valuable information about solar energy, while also asking clarifying questions to determine if solar installation can work for their home/business

• Booking on-site appointments for you sales team, allowing them to focus only on potential buyers with the highest chance of converting

If your marketing team is capable of generating the initial leads, large enough to handle this workload, and experienced enough to manage these interactions, then you may be able to perform this lead gen process without hiring an agency. But for those that don’t fulfill these requirements, outsourcing your lead generation to a marketing agency that specializes in solar leads is strongly recommended, as it will save you money, time, and effort.

Outsourcing Saves You Money

Ironically, outsourcing your lead gen marketing will often save your company money compared to developing an in-house team. To understand this, consider the costs of creating your own in-house lead gen team:

• Paying salary/wage for each team member, including benefits if they apply

• Paying for the training of new members

• Paying for necessary equipment, which could include software, computers, company phones

• Paying overhead costs such as rent for office space

These costs add up, as opposed to the singular cost of an outsourced agency.

Outsourcing Saves You Time

If you’ve never managed a marketing team before, there is a good chance you may fail to realize how much time and effort must be committed to ensure success.

For the marketers, a significant amount of time needs to be spent researching and strategizing their lead gen campaign. The amount of time needed for this can range from a few weeks to a couple months, depending on the experience of your team. This may seem unnecessary, but in marketing you often spend more time figuring out the correct approaches than anything else. 

Over time, this lead gen process should become much more efficient. Your team should accumulate experience dealing with solar lead gen, which ideally will translate to less time spent planning and analyzing their strategies. But this could take a while, and if your team has a high turnover rate this may never come to fruition. 

By outsourcing, you get access to an experienced team of marketers from the beginning, who already have knowledge about the solar industry.   

Spend Less Effort Managing 

The lead generation process is by no means simple, so you will definitely spend a significant amount of effort managing your in-house team. 

To start, you must undergo the hiring process, as well as supply training to those you hire. Then, because you are adding a new team to your business, you will most likely need to create or expand the HR department to accommodate the new hires. Lead generation generally uses some form of computer software, so you will need to provide and maintain the necessary equipment for your team. And last but not least, you will need to constantly monitor the results of their campaigns, which can be relatively complex compared to evaluating a single agency.

All of these hassles would be avoided by simply outsourcing your lead generation.

What to Look for When Choosing an Agency

For the solar industry, there are two main things you need to look for when choosing a marketing agency: the type of leads they provide and the space they target.

Understand Who They Target

First and foremost, make sure the agency specializes in solar lead gen. This should be obvious, but every lead gen company works in different fields. Once you found someone who focuses on solar leads, you then need to understand who they prefer to target. 

For solar companies, sales happen in one of two areas: residential or commercial. Residential sales happen more frequently than commercial, but commercial sales are generally much larger. Because of this distinct difference, some solar companies focus their marketing efforts on just one of those two groups—and the same can be said for marketing agencies. 

In marketing, there are two areas as well: B2B and B2C. B2B refers to marketing a product or service to another business, while B2C dictates marketing towards regular consumers. From the perspective of a solar business, B2B can be seen as “commercial” and B2C can be seen as “residential”. 

With this in mind, if your solar company specifically sells or installs solar panels for commercial use, an agency that specializes in B2B marketing should be who you hire, and vice versa. 

Getting the Correct Leads

In marketing, there are several different types of leads. New leads, working leads, nurturing leads, unqualified leads, and qualified leads are a few common types that marketing agencies often work with. Without going into too much detail about each individual lead type, just know that an ideal lead provider should be supplying your sales team with qualified leads.

When a lead becomes qualified, this essentially tells your sales team that there is a much higher chance of converting that lead into a sale (compared to others). These leads have either shown an interest in your niche (which in this case would be solar) or have interacted with your brand (social media, ads, website visits). 

As nice as a qualified lead sounds, each one requires a fair amount of effort to generate. Marketing agencies that rush through the lead generation process or buy bulk lists of solar leads from lead distributors should be avoided. They might supply your sales team with leads, however most of these will be a waste of time and money.

No marketing team is perfect, and not every lead you receive will be qualified. Just try to make sure whatever agency you choose operates with your best interest in mind.

If You Use CRM Software, Make Sure it Integrates with the Lead Gen Software

This should be obvious, but make sure your CRM software can integrate with the marketing software used by your lead gen agency. CRM software, such as Shape Solar CRM, work best when they have access to the most data/sales points. If the software your hired agency uses does not integrate with your CRM, you will be losing out on some of the benefits a CRM can provide. 

In general, most CRM’s should be designed to integrate with all types of marketing software, but it never hurts to make sure before you commit to an agency.

Best Solar Lead Gen Agencies 

Now that you have a general idea of what you should be looking for, here is a list of a few popular solar lead generation agencies available:

1. SolarExclusive.com

SolarExclusive provides lead generation marketing for solar businesses of all sizes. Because their entire focus is solar, they have accumulated a plethora of industry experience that contributes to their success in lead generation. SolarExclusive will both provide leads to your sales team and filter out unqualified leads, however they prioritize the supply of leads rather than the nurturing process.

One of the strong points of SolarExclusive is their emphasis on organization. They use a proprietary booking system synched with your calendar to schedule appointments between you and your qualified leads. These pre-set appointments give your sales team an ample amount of time to prepare for each lead, while also allowing SolarExclusive to ensure your potential buyer is fully educated about the solar industry. In general, this process helps your sales team stay organized and prepared for future leads.

Strengths:

• Entire focus is solar industry

• Leads are exclusive to you

• Scales well with a growing business

• Possess authentic and up-to-date homeowner information

• Filter out unqualified leads

2. CleanEneregyExperts.com

CleanEnergyExperts (CEE) is a lead generator focusing solely on the solar industry. In contrast with verse.io, CEE foregoes some of the nurturing process to concentrate almost entirely on generating the initial lead. To be clear, CEE does provide standard quality control with their leads, as they assure their clients only receive leads showing interest in either their business or the solar industry. Their strength, however, is in the number of leads they produce for your company, which they achieve by combining their brand recognition with their years of industry experience. Through the use of affiliate marketing and social media ad campaigns, CEE can cover a wide range of potential buyers while filtering location. From this, they determine which leads should go to your business depending on location, intent, and brand awareness.

Strengths:

• Precise geo-filtering

• Real-time lead delivery

• Exclusive leads

• 24/7 availability

• Highly experienced in the solar industry

3. Verse.io

Verse.io is a marketing agency that can specialize in lead generation for the solar industry, although they also work in the mortgage and real estate field. Unlike the others on this list, verse.io does not offer any services that will generator leads for you. Instead, they focus solely on the nurturing aspect of lead generation, ensuring that any lead that comes to your sales team will be 100% qualified with a high chance of conversion. 

More so than anything else, verse.io emphasizes their ability to support 24/7 lead coverage with both AI and human communication. Most agencies that provide lead generation claim to cover leads 24/7, but they do this strictly through automated messaging systems and AI. Verse.io provides in-person lead coverage 24/7, which greatly increases the likelihood of a lead converting. In addition to this, verse.io also nurtures both responsive and unresponsive leads, while also supporting omnichannel communication depending on the preference of the lead.

So if you’re looking for an all-in-one lead provider for your solar business, verse.io probably isn’t for you, but for those who already have a proper marketing funnel, verse.io is highly recommended. 

Strengths:

• 24/7 lead coverage

• Use both human and AI

• Nurture both responsive and unresponsive leads

• Communicate however the lead wants to

• Great customer service

4. SolarReviews.com

As one of the heavyweights in the solar lead business, SolarReviews is a great option for directly purchasing solar leads. Although their service can be pricier than other lead gen agencies, their leads are high quality and often have the highest chance of converting into a sale. The key to SolarReviews’ lead gen is their use of organic traffic along with PPC advertising to generate leads. Not only are they experienced with solar lead advertising, but their website has a high Google Domain Authority in the solar industry, allowing their website to receive a large amount of organic search traffic every day. Then to make their lead gen even better, they also require phone number verification for every lead they receive and manually vet all leads that are eligible for being sold. All-in-all, SolarReviews ensures that their leads are qualified for the solar industry.

Strengths:

• Does not require any marketing from your company

• Leads are high quality

• Very informative website

• Highly experienced in the solar industry

• Will manually vet leads

5. RGRMarketing.com

With close to 20 years of experience with lead gen, RGRMarketing is a trusted lead generator in the solar industry. Similar to Verse.io, RGRMarketing focuses on the process of qualifying new leads produced by your marketing channel, as opposed to providing leads on their own. Although this may be a problem for those with underperforming marketing channels, RGRMarketing will help your business reform your marketing channels and get them producing new leads on their own. 

The lead qualifying process RGRMarketing uses starts with a lead capture forms integrated into your marketing channels. Once a lead fills out a form, it will automatically be reviewed by RGRMarketing software to determine whether it passes as a qualified lead. If the lead gets approved, it then is sent to your sales team for immediate follow-up. So far, this process is fairly industry standard. Where RGRMarketing breaks away from the rest is their review of leads that don’t pass the automatic review. Leads that aren’t spam yet still didn’t meet the requirements are manually reviewed by members of RGRMarketing, ensuring that no quality leads slip through their process. 

Strengths:

• Provide qualified leads

• Leads are unique to your business

• Improve your marketing channel

• Tailor leads to your business objectives

6. EnergySage.com

Technically speaking, EnergySage does not qualify as a lead generator in the same way the other companies on this list are. They are not a marketing agency for hire, but instead a website that allows potential solar buyers (leads) to receive quotes from a list of pre-screened solar installers. Essentially, EnergySage is a place for both solar installers and potential solar buyers to aggregate, which can produce leads for your business. 

Note: To be listed on EnergySage, you must meet their solar installer qualifications.  

Strengths:

• Leads come to you

• Leads are relatively cheap

• High volume

• Leads should be educated about solar

7. Modernize.com

Modernize is a well-respected lead generator specializing in home improvement leads, such as home remodels, roofing, HVAC, and solar installation. They produce your leads through their own digital marketing channels, using their wide-spread coverage of the home improvement niche to reach a far greater audience than other lead providers. The downside to this is that they don’t specialize exclusively in solar leads, however every lead they generate is fully qualified, so this should not be a major issue.

In terms of service, Modernize has everything a lead gen provider should offer. They emphasize seamless communication between them and their clients, as they provide each client a partner manager for easy 1-on-1 discussions. Their lead gen software is designed to integrate with CRM software, which helps the transfer of information from one side to another. For the leads, once qualified they are instantly delivered to your sales team, allowing for immediate follow-up for better conversion. Overall, Modernize is a solid choice for anyone looking for solar lead gen services.

Strengths:

• Flexible pricing plans

• 1-on-1 partner manager

• CRM integration

• Provides qualified leads

• Homeowner feedback

   

  Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/the-importance-of-crm-integration-with-encompass-los-6ff7y

Mortgage marketing is changing minute by minute and the pressure for brokers is on. Check out these key predictions from leading mortgage experts so you can generate and convert more leads now and in the future.

The mortgage business was never a cake walk. Brokers, loan officers and team leaders have always had to constantly find new ways to market and reinvent themselves in an often volatile and highly competitive environment.

But with recent demographic shifts and technology disruption, even the most tried-and-tested mortgage marketing simply won’t cut it anymore. 

This game is zero-sum. If your mortgage marketing ideas are not up-to-date, you may quickly find yourself struggling to keep your business afloat.

The good news is, there is a wealth of successful mortgage professionals who are able to keep themselves at the front of the pack, no matter what’s happening in the market. For these standout brokers, flexible tactics coupled with a consistent, systematic approach to marketing their mortgage business is what allows them to prosper no matter what.

We reached out to some of the mortgage industry’s top producers and experts to learn about the marketing strategies and tactics that can help you create a more resilient marketing plan for your mortgage business.

Table of Contents

• 5 Mortgage Marketing Ideas Straight from the Pros

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #1: Boost Your Online Presence with Neel Dhingra

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #2: Stand Out with an Attention-Grabbing Message with Christine Beckwith

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #3: Stop Selling to Your Sphere of Influence with Dale Vermillion

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #4: Teach Others While Creating More Demand with Brian Sacks

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #5: Stop Selling and Start Serving with Sean Herrero

5 Mortgage Marketing Ideas Straight from the Pros

Mortgage Marketing Idea #1: Boost Your Online Presence with Neel Dhingra

“If you don't exist online, you are losing opportunities and credibility.” 

— Neel Dhingra, mortgage banker and branch manager at All Western Mortgage

Even though Neel and his multi-state team have been in the top-tier in Nevada and Cali for at least a decade, he still managed to quadruple his success (and net income!) in just one year from 2018 to 2019—and for Neel and the team at All Western Mortgage, there are no signs of stopping.

With guests like Gary Vaynerchuk and Jerry West, Neel’s YouTube channel is growing by the second. For rainmakers like Neel, putting yourself out there is no longer about gaining a competitive edge. It’s fast becoming a minimum requirement for success in mortgage marketing.

And with 90.4% of millenials and 77.5% of Gen X active social media users, there’s plenty of data to back that up.

“I've gained significant market share in my market through content marketing,” says Neel, “And the overall pie did not grow. This means the additional business came at a competitors expense.”

So, yes. Online content is a requirement. But that doesn't mean you need to rush to create branded social media profiles on every major platform.

For experts like Neel, it’s less about being everywhere all the time and more about the strength of the content you put out there.

Here’s Neel on how to make sure your content works for you and not against you: “When thinking of what type of content to post online, regardless of the platform, you need to ask yourself:

"What would someone get from watching or reading this piece of content?"

“If your content marketing is helping others, then it will work,” Neel continues, “If the goal is solely to get yourself more business or make more sales, it won't work.”

It really is that simple.

Neel’s YouTube channel includes dozens of interviews with star guests from Tom Ferry to Ryan Serhant.

Mortgage Marketing Idea #2: Stand Out with an Attention-Grabbing Message with Christine Beckwith

“There needs to truly be a standout message to penetrate the masses. Or, a completely different marketing direction.” 

— Christine Beckwith, President, CCO & Master Coach at 20/20 Vision for Success

For experts like Christine Beckwith, truly stellar mortgage marketing starts with awareness—and before you do anything else, you really need to wrap your head around just how saturated the mortgage market has become. 

Because best practices quickly become the worst practices when everyone is doing the same thing over and over. 

Christine, an award-winning author, consultant, and an industry veteran with almost two decades of experience at top executive roles in the finance mortgage industry, believes now is a great time for every business who is brave enough to try new things.

And when it comes to marketing her business, this is one mortgage expert who’s not afraid to color outside the lines. She and her team have been having a ton of fun with their new lifestyle content on social media.

Christine isn’t afraid to be herself on social media. The 20/20 Vision for Success social channels are awesomely curated with relevant business and personal success tips as well some friendly content that’s just, well… fun.

“We had one post with a cute up-close pic of  cow with its head cocked sideways, the tag line said ‘Holy Cow, we have found the true path to Success’,” says Christine, “And one with a bee pollinating this enormous sunflower and said ‘Sometime the job can BEE overwhelming!’ People are really loving these ads.”

Christine takes comfort in the fact that there’s no such thing as a magic formula for marketing your mortgage business. These days, she’s all about innovating on the fly.

“With so many homeowners working from homea good old-fashioned mailer may hit the target far harder than it would have two months ago, and be far more sentimental and meaningful,” explains Christine. 

“We had begun doing this here at 20/20 VSC last year, and every 90 days our business partners and our clients receive something of value at home. We attach a note card with a cute tag line and an ask to share on social media.”

It’s a great way to take a multi-channel approach to the classic mortgage mailer.

“Marketers have to learn to stand on their heads and clap their feet. If you can’t keep the audience's attention, then that is the first obstacle that will defeat you.”

Mortgage Marketing Idea #3: Stop Selling to Your Sphere of Influence with Dale Vermillion

“Be relational, not transactional.”

— Dale Vermillion, mortgage expert, author and founder of Mortgage Champions

Having trained more than 1,000,000 loan originators over the last 23 years, Dale Vermillion is positive of one thing: 

Now more than ever, mortgage pros will find it extremely rewarding to reach out to their sphere of influence. 

“Organic is best,” shares Dale, a renowned mortgage expert, author, and founder of Mortgage Champions, the national best-in-class training program for mortgage professionals and organizations.

Applying for a loan is stressful enough for your customers, but doing it amidst a global crisis? That adds a whole new layer of overwhelm.

Long story short: Mortgage customers want to do business with someone they know. 

“No matter how you market (direct mail, media, internet, social, ads, etc.), the best is always mining past customers and turndowns and building repeat and referral business, both through your customers, connections and third-party sources (Realtors, builders, etc.),” says Dale.

Makes sense. But here’s the crucial part. According to experts like Dale, the trick to doing more business with your SOI is to: “Be relational, not transactional.”

In other words: “Don’t sell.” 

“Investigate and educate,” explains Dale. “Know your audience and focus on education that helps them where they are at. Don’t try to ‘sell’ them on you or your services. Focus on connection and compassion in communication.”

Mortgage Marketing Idea #4: Teach Others While Creating More Demand with Brian Sacks

“Your job is to create more demand for your services than you could possibly have time for.”

— Brian Sacks, nationally-renowned mortgage expert and Mortgage Loan Originator, Homebridge

“Most loan originators believe that it’s their job to originate loan. It's not,” shares Brian Sacks, a nationally-renowned mortgage expert with over 5,325 mortgage transactions under his belt.“Your job is to create more demand for your services than you could possibly have time for.”

With decades of authoring courses for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, not to mention several dozens of high-profile media appearances on ABC, NBS, and CBS under his belt, Brian is not only a master of mortgage lending, he’s also a master of mortgage marketing.

Even after 35 years in the industry, Brian still finds new ways to push his marketing even further. “Most loan officers suffer from fear rather than prosperous thinking,” he shares.

By simply staying focused on generating demand (not deals), Brian closed 38 loans last month, his most successful month to date, and he did it amidst a global public health crisis.

For example, every mortgage professional knows about the immense value of partnerships with Realtors. Yet, many still struggle to attract enough business from their referral partners.

“The typical loan officer does things backwards. They ask real estate agents: ‘Please give me a loan, I’ll do a great job for you!” Brian doesn’t play that game.

“When people chase you, you have an advantage,” he explains.

The top-producing broker regularly teaches seminars, webinars and other courses to help real estate agents keep up with trends in the market—and boost his business in the process.

“Give agents value to help them grow a business,” Brian explains, “The title company I did webinars for exposed me to a whole list of contacts I didn’t know—and vice versa. We got to meet each other’s people.”

Brian uses a simple three-step process to help his coaching members replicate his success in mortgage marketing: 

“Pick a niche. Become an expert. And let everyone know about it.”

“People are asking me: ‘Should I use social media? Yes! ‘Should I use email or mail?’ Yes! Use both. These are not mutually exclusive,” he points out.

When it comes to demand generation, it’s less of the means and more about taking consistent action to market your mortgage business. You can learn more about Brian’s unique approach to demand creation in his Top Originator Formula Facebook group.

Mortgage Marketing Idea #5: Stop Selling and Start Serving with Sean Herrero

“Stop selling and start serving.”

— Sean Herrero, loan expert, branch manager & SVP of Mortgage Lending

“I would rather have someone explain to me how I can buy a home with less money down since I lost money in the markets during COVID 19, than have someone market to me that they are a top producer for 20 years,” shares Sean Herrero, branch manager and SVP of Mortgage Lending in Danville, California.

Ironically, Sean IS a top producer. In his third year as a full-time loan officer, he closed $75M and today he is on track to close $100M in 2021. 

But you wouldn’t know that from his marketing campaigns.

“You have to start off with understanding the difference between marketing, branding, and selling,” says Sean, “These are thought to be the same thing, when they are entirely different.”

Here’s how he sees it:

“People want to work with people they can relate to. Market in a way that you are solving people’s problems, not marketing yourself in a braggadocious way.”

“We are not sales people as mortgage advisors. Put people before yourself,” Sean adds.

He’s got a point. With changes in the market the rule, not the exception, the only constant in your prospects life is the value you do (or don’t) deliver to them.

“Rates are a commodity, so what are we selling? We are advisors. Give data and analysis to help people make educated decisions,” Sean continues.

For him, it’s simple. If you want to generate and convert more leads for your mortgage business you need to “Stop selling and start serving.”

Once you’re clear on that, Sean sees flexibility to be one of the key advantages in today’s market: “Be nimble. What was working yesterday may not work today.”

“Analyze your business, the market, and the current needs of the people you serve and be willing and able to turn on a dime.”

And whatever you do, keep moving forward.

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/mortgage-marketing-5-leading-brokers-on-how-to-close-more-business-in-2021-and-beyond

At a Glance

Shape’s mortgage CRM + POS has been a powerful tool for loan officers and originators looking to build efficient lending workflows, simplify their processes, and grow revenue. With our latest integration update, you can now leverage the power of Encompass LOS to shorten your lending cycle even more and drive more impact for prospects and clients alike. 

Why You Need This Combo

With the new Shape CRM + Encompass Bankers Edition LOS integration, loan originators get a seamless workflow that moves prospects from clear-to-close faster than ever before. This powerful combo simplifies your lending process by using smart automation to achieve incredible speed to contact + bi-directional tracking for an end-to-end process that is simple, easy-to-use and drives real impact for their bottom lines. 

With more borrowers than ever clamoring to take advantage of low interest rates, Shape + Encompass gives lenders a clear-cut advantage in the new digital mortgage landscape. 

How it Works

With Shape and Encompass working together, originators can now create new loans in Encompass directly from within Shape, migrate existing Encompass loan borrower contact records into Shape, instantly start a new Encompass loan file from within Shape, and synchronize borrower information between Shape and Encompass automatically. 

Benefits include:

• Effortlessly meet compliance requirements

• Create a seamless and automated lending workflow

• Eliminate wasted time on dual data entry and manual processes

• Increase your team’s efficiency 

• Shorten your lending cycle

Get the Package

Ready to take your mortgage business to the next level? Let us help you realize the impact Shape + Encompass can have on your mortgage business.

2020 has been a historic year on many different fronts, but for lenders, a flurry of new borrowers due to the lowest interest rates in 50 years has caught many off-guard. With an astounding influx of clients, loan officers have struggled to keep up with an immense amount of leads, finding it difficult to even contact most, let alone convert and keep them. Don’t take our word for it—the data doesn’t lie: just 2 of 10 borrowers will stick with the same lender after refinancing and lenders only retain 7% of their current customers in the market for a new mortgage, signaling a massive sea change is underway in the mortgage business. 

Borrowers want more flexibility, freedom, and personalization, but they also have more choices than ever before. With the traditional lending workflow and timelines flipped on their head in the wake of COVID-19, lenders need to meet the new digital mortgage challenges head-on if they’re looking to outsmart the competition to win borrower trust, loyalty, and their business. 

Let’s take a closer look at why now is the perfect time for LOs to retool their tech stacks to better manage leads, nurture and build better relationships, and optimize the lending workflow for enhanced speed-to-contact, conversions, and higher client satisfaction. 

#1 Improve Loan Officer Capacity

Even just a year ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a scenario where banks are losing enormous sums of money because loan officers cannot properly keep up with record borrower demand. Like many industries across the country, COVID-19 has profoundly impacted how lenders are doing business. Despite the current economic climate suggesting a huge opportunity for lenders to drive more business, many are drowning in a sea of inquiries (low-quality ones, too) and can’t process loans fast enough—let alone screen applicants to see if they qualify. 

To improve these capacity issues, loan officers must find the right clients at the right time.

When we say “the right clients,” we mean only accepting applicants who have already been pre-screened with a lead scoring and AI technology to save time and wasted effort. You must stop investing your valuable time, energy, and team resources into applicants who are a bad fit for your business. By using this kind of “screening” technology, lenders can expect to save 70-minutes per applicant!

With proper screening in place, you don’t need to chase down applicants and clients who have abandoned their online applications or aren’t considering refinancing their current mortgage. Reducing pipeline fall-out improves lead to fund rates and improves process efficiency. In one case study using AI technology, a large lender improved its lead-to-fund rate by 5%.

#2 Give Clients a Way to Self-Service with a Dash of Personalization—They Want It!

Your clients need to know that you wish to inform, guide, help, solve problems, add value to their lives, and that working with you is more of a relationship—you don’t bother them or reach out in ways that only read as transactional.

We’ve just talked about capacity and how lenders are busier than ever, but apart from smart AI to help source leads, you can leverage technology to help build and nurture your client relationships in a customized way that not only engenders loyal and repeat business, but sets you apart in a crowded field of competition. 

Customer Self-Service Information Access

A key pain point for many lenders comes about when applicants seek information and aren’t able to find it themselves. A recent J.D. Power survey showed that nearly half of all customers who need general loan information have to speak to someone over the phone to get it. In today’s digital mortgage era, this isn’t just costing you business—it’s borderline business malpractice. 

Provide a Client Portal

One of the easiest and most proven ways to boost personalization and enable more of a “self-service” model is to provide a client portal. Portals can be beneficial for managing the necessary admin that ties up your team’s time, but can also empower your borrowers to take action on their applications, submit documents when and where they need to, and help them keep tabs on their applications in real-time—which all add up to far less of your time being spent on data entry and management. 

# 3. Use a CRM to Streamline Your Entire Workflow

One of the single most impactful tools any lender can leverage to take advantage of an influx of borrowers is a CRM that connects directly with your POS and the rest of your lending workflow. Connecting all your information in one centralized hub is key for organizing and scaling your business. 

In addition to keeping your communications and client documents stored securely in one place, a CRM built for lenders will enable you to track your pipeline, launch marketing campaigns, manage and engage with new leads, keep track of your team’s tasks, and much more.

CRMs help loan officers become more efficient with leads by boosting lead pull-through rates and dropping total lead generation costs—proven to increase revenue by 27%. They also help simplify and organize everyday admin, freeing up time you need to focus on what matters: their business. By automating routine tasks, lenders can save up to 55% of the time employees spend on non-selling activities like emails and simple tasks.

The 1-2-3 Combo Every Lender Needs in 2020—and Beyond

How can lenders create a seamless and efficient system that not only manages an influx of new leads but also simplifies the lending workflow and drives more conversion? By adopting these three proven tools:

1. AI powered lead scoring and management

2. Self-service tools like a client portal and personalized borrower education

3. A CRM designed for lenders of all sizes

Sign Up for a Free Demo and Start Saving

Sign up for a free demo of this powerful duo and you could earn up to $100 off of Shape + waive your onboarding fees with Home Captain when you start a new account with Shape and Home Captain.*

Article Source:-  https://setshape.com/blog/3-ways-lenders-can-retool-their-tech-stack-to-capitalize-on-record-low-rates

It's getting harder to meet the expectations of modern borrowers. 

For starters, today’s mortgage customers want their loans to be processed much faster. For example, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the average loan processing time has decreased by 10 days since 2010, and keeps getting shorter.

At the same time, borrowers want an entirely online loan application experience with as little hassle as possible. In fact, research also shows that some 66% of homebuyers want a fully digital mortgage process, while 50% of borrowers chose their lender based on whether or not they had an online application portal.

And as the demand for faster loan processing grows, the bar for customer satisfaction is also rising. According to the 2019 Ellie Mae Borrower’s survey, millennials are 6X more likely than previous generations to feel that their lender didn’t reach out enough.

Suffice to say, the digital revolution is real—even when it comes to applying for a home loan. 

Luckily, there are ways for modern originators to meet the demands of today’s super savvy borrowers, without hitting pause on business growth.

In this article, we’ll reveal the benefits of a robust mortgage portal and share step-by-step insights for how to integrate an automated client portal to close more loans in less time, while keeping your borrowers satisfied. 

Let’s dive in!

The Top 3 Benefits Of an Automated Mortgage Portal

We’ve already established that today’s homebuyers are all about doing their business online, but with a million and one AI tools, chatbots and other shiny new automation systems on the market today, how do you know an automated client portal is the right tool for your business?

Here are the three main reasons to invest in an online client portal for your mortgage business. Take a minute to review each one and decide for yourself if a client portal makes sense for you.

Benefit #1: Close More Loans, Faster

More and more borrowers want to go online with their mortgage applications. Investing in an online portal allows mortgage professionals to scale toward higher volume and bigger clientele simply by meeting clients where they are. 

But another reason client portals help you grow your business is simply because they allow you to process loans faster. 

Without spending your and client’s precious time buried under an avalanche of paperwork, or tracking a dozen different documents from various file folders and inboxes, an automated client portal streamlines the whole process from start to finish by integrating with the other tools in your tech stack.

Here’s how an online portal allows mortgage professionals to close more loans in less time:

• Offer an entirely online experience. Borrowers follow the entire process online, with no wasted time commuting to the office or signing stacks of paperwork.

• Reduce documentation. No more chasing clients for key documents. With everyone in one central online hub, borrowers no longer need to spend days collecting paper documents.

• Leverage automation. With the right automation, the majority of tasks and document checks can be performed without human input.

• Track loan application status in real time. Integrate your client portal with your CRM and track every stage of a loan application, helping borrowers keep their momentum from A to Z.

Benefit #2: Lower Loan Processing Costs

So now you know how a client portal can help you increase your volume, but did you also know it can help you reduce your loan processing costs?

Here’s how an automated client portal and document management system helps lower the cost of processing every loan:

• Fewer errors. The data clients provide through the portal can be automatically screened for typos, errors and other costly mistakes. Because it reduces the need for human input, it also reduces the margin of error and lowers the likelihood of unnecessary rework. 

• No administrators needed. With all your documents in one structured and centralized system, there’s no need to spend time and money hiring and training an administrator to navigate all that paperwork.

Benefit #3: Greater Transparency for the New Generation of Borrowers

According to the 2019 Ellie Mae Borrower Insights survey, it’s not just millennials who love a good online experience. In fact, the number one reason Baby Boomers liked the online mortgage process is because it was simple. 

And in this business, simple matters.

Online mortgage portals with a user-friendly interface can help to demystify the loan application process and guide borrowers to success using interactive hints and automated checks.

But beware: The survey also found that up to 60% of borrowers will drop an online application if the process is ‘too complicated’, so make sure you choose a client portal with an easy-to-use interface.

Why Choose Shape’s Client Portal?

Shape’s Client Portal makes it easy for you to connect and collaborate with borrowers and help them complete the mortgage loan process in an effective and secure manner from clear to close.

The portal allows loan originators to easily upload and eSign documents, monitor status updates and approval requests, and create automated workflows that maximize your online conversions and reduce the time it takes to process each and every loan.

Below are the main benefits of Shape’s Client Portal, along with a few tips for how the portal can help you convert more loans while ensuring an unforgettable customer experience. 

Millennial-friendly Marketing Automation

With a little help from mortgage automation [link to mortgage automation piece when it’s published], originators can streamline their entire marketing to application operation to consistently grow their business, without dropping the ball on their customers.Shape’s Client Portal is directly integrated with our sales platform, allowing users to streamline almost every aspect of the loan application process from start to finish:

• Be more responsive. Get instantly notified when borrowers start their online application process to provide them with real-time tips and encourage them to take the next step.

• Eliminate duplicate entries. Shape automatically synchronizes portal customer details with your sales database so that you always have the latest information in front of you and can avoid making embarrassing mistakes.

• Create automated verification workflows. Automate income, employment, and credit verification processes to save time and resources and qualify online leads faster. 

Better UI, Better Completion Rates

According to the same Ellie Mae report, almost 70% of borrowers didn’t complete their online application process in one sitting, or abandoned the process altogether. Yikes.

For your average borrower, online loan applications are about as fun to work on as a high school algebra equation. Shape’s Client Portal reduces client overwhelm by offering a user-friendly interface designed to make the entire process as easy and intuitive as completing any other online form. 

Because UI is a simple, yet crucial factor that can have a massive impact on your completion rates.

And just to keep things extra streamlined, the Client Portal also offers custom branding so that the user experience is directly tied to your unique business.

Make Remote Loan Processing Business As Usual

With fully streamlined e-Signature, you can completely eliminate the need for borrowers to meet in-person. Now, they can complete the entire loan application process from the comfort and safety of their own home.

The eSignature module is directly integrated within Shape’s Client Portal and CRM, saving you countless dollars on 3rd party e-signature software.

Shorten The Path To Key Milestones

According to the Borrowers Survey, millennials were contacted 11 times on average by their lenders—and still felt that it wasn't enough.

The way we see it, this is a clear indication that timing is everything. 

After all, it’s always nice to get a check in call to see how things are going, but if you can solve the right problem at the right time, you become a hero for life. That’s why it’s crucial to make contact at the moment your customers need it most.

Using the Client Portal, you can automatically synchronize important tasks, dates, and reminders to put low-stakes communication on autopilot and save your bandwidth for when you need to be ready to jump in and save the day.

Here are some of the core communication workflows you’ll find in Shape’s Client Portal:

• In-app group messaging. Millennials and Gen X borrowers were 3X more likely to communicate with their lenders using online chat, which makes this channel a perfect, futureproof option for communicating with mortgage clients.

• Personalized email templates. Automatically send email notifications and follow up sequences pre-filled with key info from a customer’s unique loan application journey. No more navigating multiple files and screens just to write one simple email.

• Instant loan status alerts. Shape integrates with your favorite loan origination software so that you can trigger specific email or text sequences and keep the communication consistent, even after the online application is completed.

Safe and Secure

When it comes to mortgage compliance, we always go the extra mile. 

When you use Shape’s Client Portal, you can rest assured that the loan application process you’re offering your customers is not only smooth and pleasant, but also completely secure.

Your client's data will be hosted on one of the most secure facilities available, guarded 24/7, using the most advanced network security protocols, and including regular comprehensive security and privacy audits. 

More Client Love In One Simple Hub

With an easily organized document hub you can quickly request, review, and approve documents from borrowers—all from one simple system.

Coupled with advanced security and automation features, the entire workflow of loan application processing and document management suddenly becomes quick and painless from the very first contact. So, what are you waiting for?

Try Shape’s new Client Portal for free and start offering a better borrower experience today!

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/mortgage-pos-customer-portal

Automation has changed the solar industry for good. But is it for the better?

As a solar business owner actively closing jobs in 2020, you know there are some things on the backend you could probably be handling better—but who really has time to plan, execute and update their existing workflows?

For better or worse, automation does take time… at least, in the beginning. But there is good news, with the right systems in place, you can multiply the number of customers you serve, raise the quality of your services, and close jobs faster without hiring additional staff. 

And the best part? Setting up just one effective automation process today, will continue to help grow your business for years to come. 

But there is a catch: the solar industry can be a zero-sum game. If someone else grabs more customers with automation, someone else lands less.

That’s why it’s paramount to invest in workflows that are truly the best fit for your business—and it’s critical to do it now, before the competition catches on.

In this article, we’ll cover the main benefits of automating your solar business processes, as well as the specific workflows you can use to 10X your business.

What Is Solar Automation?

In a nutshell, solar automation allows you to run parts of your solar business on autopilot. Using the right combination of automated tools, workflows and software, you can help more customers in less time.

But the real power of automation is that it can be applied to many different aspects of your business. 

Are you struggling to consistently follow up on your customers? Set up automated email and SMS campaigns so that no new solar lead in your database is left unnurtured. 

Recipients not opening emails? Automated drip campaigns can boost your open rates by up to 80%

Is your team spending too much time on repetitive admin that doesn’t grow sales? Automate routine tasks and save up to 55% of the time employers spend on non-selling activities. 

And that’s just the beginning. Let’s take a closer look at some of the core benefits of automating your solar business, piece by piece.

Top 5 Benefits Of Solar Automation You’ll Actually Use

Benefit #1. Reduce Speed to Lead to Seconds

According to the Harvard Business Review, chances of qualifying a lead when responding within the first five minutes are 21 times higherthan when responding within 30 minutes. Yet only 26% of companies manage to respond within 5 minutes. 

You can easily outpace the competition by setting up simple automated onboarding emails and texts to instantly greet every new lead as soon as they share their contact details. 

If you have a team, automation will also help you distribute incoming leads between them so that the team member that are the most qualified are aligned with the right prospects.

Benefit #2. Consistently Nurture Your Leads

The money is in the follow up. In fact, some studies suggest that 80% of sales occur after at least five follow-ups with a prospect.

The good news is, almost every follow-up can be automated. For example, you can send highly-personalized email and text drips to your leads with a predefined cadence. This allows you to nurture relationships and build trust with customers, even before they decide to do business with you.

Automation helps you easily segment leads based on their solar needs, location, last action, or areas of interest so with the right system you can follow up with the best offer for a particular customer. 

Benefit #3. Streamline Your Process

Manual processes and endless admin add up to wasted time and less revenue. With a CRM that leverages smart automation and powerful integrations, you can accomplish more in less time: 

Google Maps Integration

View properties in real time with Shape’s Google Maps integration. Search for a location, zoom in, and see the roof from an aerial view to ensure optimal placement - all from the comfort of your office.

Site Surveys

Make sure every property has been properly inspected to prevent any pitfalls. Our responsive mobile application means even out in the field you’ll have client data and can report back to the system at any time.

Construction Tracking

Doing construction in-house? Track the progress of the job site from design to installation. Referring the project out? Track your referrals and commissions. Shape does it all!

Checklists

Use Shape’s checklist feature to build to-do lists, from the sales process to PTO, to ensure streamlined compliance and a great client experience. 

Benefit #4. Increase Your Amount Of Referrals

Ramping up referrals is one of the most powerful lead generation tactics you can employ.

But when you’re focused on construction, site surveys, marketing, and other items, keeping in touch with past customers often becomes an afterthought.

And yet60% of customer referrals happen within the first six months after the job is completed. 

Automated referral campaigns allow you to stay in touch with your past clients and increase your referrals, without lifting a finger. After a loan is closed, simply set up an automated series of post-loan emails designed to keep the client relationship strong and help you stay top of mind. 

Benefit #5. Easily Scale Your Solar Business

It’s pretty difficult to scale a solar business that has many manual workflows—and the last thing you want to do is scale your messy and chaotic systems. People make mistakes, and unfortunately, without the right system in place these mistakes will only multiply as your lead count grows. 

In other words, when there are cracks in your systems, you can expect at least some of your leads to slip through them.

On the flip side, when critical aspects of your business are automated, there’s really no limit to how many leads you can work with at the same time. 

Even if you decide to invest in new marketing channels or lead databases, you can rest easy knowing that smart automation has your back. If you want to turn your lead flow on full blast, you can easily and automatically qualify and nurture every lead.

The Power Of Smart Automation

The solar industry is changing fast.  These days, it’s all about the system and service. 

Clearly, the role of automation in separating the best from the rest will be crucial. And yes, automation does take time and effort upfront. But after you set your processes in place, it’s only a matter of making small adjustments that make a very big impact for your customers and your business as an expert people can trust.

Ready to see for yourself? Find out how an automated marketing and sales platform can remove the bottlenecks from your solar business pipeline and help you consistently generate more leads and revenue.

Sign up for your free trial of Shape today!

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/how-to-automate-your-solar-business-to-win-back-more-time

They say nothing in life is free, but when it comes to software for your solar business, we’ve gotta disagree. No matter what stage your business is in, the number one tool or “hack” that is going to save you tons of time and money is CRM software to make you more efficient.

In fact, a recent study from Nucleus Research shows that for companies that use a CRM, the average return on their technology investment is $8.71 for each dollar spent. 

Not yet using a CRM? That kind of return on investment is like printing money for your business. 

This how-to guide will dive deep on the automation essentials for solar business, how the right solar software will pay for itself, and what the ideal features you need in your next CRM.

CRM Automation is Your Solar Business’s Secret Weapon

Whether it’s streamlining your process workflow, integrating all the tools you use into one central place, automating customer follow-up and marketing, or anything in between, the benefits of automation software for solar business owners are simply staggering.

Consider a recent study by Instapage around the various benefits of automating different areas of your business with software:

Closing Deals

• Automation is proven to boost sales productivity by 14.5% and reduce marketing overheads by 12.2%

• CRMs can lead to a 30% increase in deal closures, an 18% reduction in sales cycle, and a 14% reduction in sales administration time

Marketing

• 90% higher customer retention rates can come from marketing automation

• 80% of marketing automation users see increased leads, and 77% see increased conversions

• 60% of users say marketing automation has increased the quantity and quality of the leads that get passed to sales

Productivity

• 40% of productivity is lost to multitasking and task-switching

• Lost productivity and poorly managed leads cost companies over $1 trillion annually, some of which could be saved with automation software

Customer communication

• Automated emails have a 70.5% higher open rate and 152% higher click-through rate than generic email newsletter

• Businesses using marketing automation software are 2x more effective in lead generation than those using only blast email software

• Automating lead nurturing with well-timed emails and offers has been proven to generate a 10% or greater increase in revenue

How a CRM Will Transform Your Solar Business

We’ve already established that smart business owners and teams know that to stay competitive you’ve got to keep up with the latest trends and technology. We’ve evaluated dozens of solar software tools on the market and collected the top 5 reasons why you need to be using a CRM right now to transform your business into a money making machine:

1 – Save hours on administrative work every day.

Business owners are responsible for a variety of paperwork, tasks, and client interactions at any given moment. These procedures are often both complex and dynamic. A paper and pencil system no longer makes sense.

Not only does it make sense to adopt a modern, upgraded business management system - it’s what your customers have come to expect. Use a CRM to automate your daily to-do list and spend more time helping your clients.

2 – Strengthen relationships with prospects and customers.

Relationship building used to require a lot of time and energy. Thanks to marketing automation software included in CRMs like Shape, creating or improving relationships can be automated, authentic, and successful. Send perfectly-timed emails, helpful project status updates, and follow-ups to you need to get the job installed and completed on time. 

3 – Automate follow ups.

Fact: Following up with prospects helps you win more business. About 80% of sales require five follow up touch points. For busy solar professionals, following up with every lead that many times isn’t sustainable.

At least not without the right software. A proper solar software system can send perfectly timed follow-ups at any stage of the sales lifecycle. Customizable templates and automated email delivery triggers make those five follow ups a snap.

4 – Improve your intake process.

The hope most people have when they first adopt solar business software is that the program will cut down the time they spend on everyday tasks. The intake and evaluation process can be time consuming when done manually. But it’s one of your most powerful customer service tools. Automate the process with e-Signature capabilities, reminders, and status updates sent for you.

Solar businesses who automate parts of their onboarding see turnaround times shrink from weeks to hours.

5 – Score your leads by quality.

What if you could have a system that seamlessly reviewed every new inquiry, assess their needs, and generate a score based on their interest and urgency?

The right CRM will automatically score your leads based on essential data points from your company as well as any specific parameters you can set and manage at any time. Once your leads are scored you can concentrate your efforts on reaching out to those with the highest ROIs first or even automatically assign them to marketing campaigns.  

Get a custom consultation

Our solar software specialists can help you make sense of all the CRMs out there.

The Top Solar CRM Features You Need (and how they help you)

Everyone wants the biggest, baddest, most robust software that money can buy. But when considering a solar CRM, it’s most important to understand how essential certain software features are to your daily business. 

Do you get a lot of inbound leads and have trouble keeping up with inquiries? Do you use other software tools that you need to integrate with? Are you wanting to score and assign your leads to your team quickly and automatically? 

Depending on how you answer, you can start to get a fuller picture of your needs and which software systems will be the best bang for your buck. We’ve reviewed dozens of solar CRMs on the market and spoken to top firms about the most essential features you need on a day-to-day basis. 

Solar CRM Feature: Lead intake and follow ups

Why you want it: Lead intake allows you to properly collect, store, and act on leads in your database without losing track of important details you need for installation. The right intake tool will automatically follow up with new leads, create custom triggers, and send online proposals that include Shape's built-in eSignature.

Solar CRM Feature: Marketing automation

Why you want it: Whether you are managing inbound or paid leads, you want a CRM that has tons of tools to help you close more deals. You should have the ability to build and send automated drip campaigns, newsletters, SMS, and more to engage with your prospects at the right time.

Solar CRM Feature: Lead management

Why you want it: There is no worse feeling than realizing you left new leads unworked and discover they went to a competitor. With lead management tools you don’t need to worry that an influx of new leads will drag your team down. Look for a system that can auto-assign leads based on your parameters so that even when you’re on-site or with a customer, you don’t need to worry about the future of your business. 

Solar CRM Feature: Calendar integration

Why you want it: Double bookings and missed appointments can destroy your business’s credibility and lead to awful online reviews. Instead, opt for a system that offers calendar integration with seamless appointment scheduling so you can view and manage site surveys or client meetings in just a click of a button. 

Solar CRM Feature: Google Maps Integration

Why you want it: Some solar businesses really don’t understand the power of integrations. With a seamless Google Maps integration in your CRM you can view properties in real time,  search for a location, zoom in, and see the roof from an aerial view to ensure optimal placement - all from the comfort of your office.

Solar CRM Feature: Site Surveys

Why you want it: This is a CRM must have for solar businesses. Site surveys will allow you to  ensure every property has been properly inspected to prevent any pitfalls. Opt for a system with a responsive mobile application so that even out in the field you’ll have client data and can report back to your CRM at any time. 

Solar CRM Feature: Construction Tracking

Why you want it: Doing construction in-house? You need to have this feature to track the progress of the job site from design to installation. Referring the project out? You’ll also need a way to track your referrals and commissions. 

Solar CRM Feature: Reporting

Why you want it: We’ve known way too many solar business owners who do zero to analyze where their prospects come from, how much their marketing ROI is, how well their team converts, and so on. Not having data is a huge liability to your business. Your CRM must 100% include reporting and analytics tools to help you make more informed business decisions.

Solar CRM Feature: Email Automation 

Why you want it: Still manually sending every email? Get out of the 1990’s and join the wave of solar business owners saving tons of time using email automation. Send perfectly timed follow ups, build nurturing drip campaigns, automate status updates, and more. Email automation does more than just free up valuable time - it keeps your process consistent!

Solar CRM Feature: Advanced Security

Why you want it: With the latest legislation on consumer privacy making the rounds, it’s absolutely critical your team is abiding by data best practices and security measures. Choose a CRM that has cutting-edge encryption, data storage policies, and customer privacy.

Solar CRM Feature: Price

Why you want it: We saved the best and most important for last - price is always big when it comes to choosing a software tool you may be using for years and years to come. We highly recommend avoiding CRMs that offer gated services for a price or enforce long-term contracts. You want a tool that will grow with you, not hold you back, and often locking in a year-long commitment can be detrimental to a team. 

Ready to take it to the next level?

Is your solar business weighing a new CRM? We’ve got all the answers to your burning questions.

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/solar-crm-software-that-will-pay-for-itself

Enrollment rates on the decline? Don’t put your school’s revenue at risk. Here’s everything you need to know to take your enrollment marketing to the next level and secure more students for your privately owned college or trade school.

“If higher education marketers aren’t paying attention to enrollment issues, they are not paying attention to job one.” 

That no holds-barred quote is from Terry Flannery, vice president for communications at American University and CASE Treasurer. And while it may sound a little harsh at first, we think Terry hit the nail right on the mark.

Enrollment marketing is one of the biggest areas for improvement among colleges, trade schools and privately-owned universities, with only 34% of institutions reporting to have met their enrollment goals in 2017.

And while the recent crisis means that trade schools and private colleges will likely see a surge of interest from potential students, the competition will be fiercer than ever. 

Let’s take a closer look at what works in enrollment marketing today by examining the leading student recruitment strategies, ideas and enrollment marketing platforms. We’ll also examine case studies from three different universities that were able to successfully reverse declining enrollment rates using a super smart enrollment marketing strategy.

Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• 8 Marketing Strategies to Increase Student Enrollment

  • #1. Know Your Students

  • #2. Use Social Media to Market Your College The Right Way

  • #3. Stay Ahead of the Enrollment Marketing Curve with Video

  • #4. Optimize Your School’s Content Marketing Strategy

  • #5. Go Mobile with Your Enrollment Marketing

  • #6. Don’t Underestimate Email

  • #7. Know Your Enrollment Marketing Numbers

  • #8. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment with Your Enrollment Marketing

• Want to Be the Next Enrollment Marketing Success Story?

8 Marketing Strategies to Increase Student Enrollment at Your Higher Ed Organization

We won’t sugarcoat it: Higher education is an industry in flux. 

Prior to the coronavirus epidemic, the average age for online students was 32 years old, and 68% of online students were experienced professionals. According to higher ed expert Seth Odell, this is set to change. “It is highly likely that we will see a dramatic increase in demand for fully online offerings from Gen Z,” says Seth.

But the rise of online isn’t the only change today’s enrollment leaders need to keep up with.

Increasing financial pressure, paired with the rising cost of digital advertising means protecting your tuition revenue is now more important than ever. 

Today’s recruitment directors and admission heads must take new, innovative and calculated measures with their enrollment marketing to ensure every penny spent is effective in bringing you the right students.

#1. Know Your Students

Before you do anything else with your enrollment and student recruitment marketing, it’s crucial to learn as much as possible about your current students so you can understand who has the best chances of succeeding at your college.

Based on this research you can develop student personas. These are fictional representations of groups of students for you to target in your recruiting and enrollment marketing.

A well thought out student persona helps you:

• Create targeted marketing campaigns for better ROI. 78% of marketers say the impact of personalization is “strong” or “extremely strong.” And it just makes sense.  For example, sending a personalized curriculum is always going to be more powerful than sending a generic welcome email.

• Know exactly where to find your prospects. By taking the time to develop a customer persona for your ideal target students you also learn which platforms potential prospects use the most. Now you can allocate marketing resources more effectively and eliminate wasting time and money due to unnecessary guesswork.

• Increase graduation rates and referrals. One of the smartest ways to bring your enrollment strategy full circle is to integrate your SIS with a CRM platform designed to maximize revenues from both new and existing students. 

With a deep SIS and CRM integration, you can see the direct connection between your most successful students, and how you recruited them in the past. Remember, the more successful students you have today, the more referrals you’ll have tomorrow.

If you’re a Shape user, you can easily give your admissions team access to key information from your SIS in real-time. Here’s how the integration works:

Enrollment Marketing Case Study: The Power of Customer Personas at Mount Mary

Problem: An all-women university, Mount Mary was struggling with declining enrollment rates and looking for ways to reach a very specific target demographic: Gen Z women. 

Solution: A thorough analysis helped Mount Mary identify a target customer persona, a young (18-24) woman living in the local area with Snapchat and Instagram as preferred social media platforms and mobile as their preferred device.

The school’s marketing team then crafted a targeted brand message that was later broadcasted to the select audience via their preferred platforms.

Results: Within a matter of months, the enrollment marketing campaign accumulated 2.9 million impressions on SnapChat and 90,947 unique user views on Instagram.

#2. Use Social Media to Market Your College The Right Way

Every article on education marketing will tell you to use social media to attract students. This is hardly surprising: 

70% of social media users hit the sweet spot for college student demographics.

But there’s an important distinction between colleges that boast high traffic and engagement on social, and those that struggle to keep up.

If you’re in the latter camp, you should know it’s not your fault. 

Many of us did not grow up with social media as part of the equation and it’s easy to want to simply rush to create a branded account on every platform, post once or twice a month, and call it a day. 

But when it comes to enrollment marketing, the default approaches to social media just won’t cut it. 

Here are three crucial tips to help you use social media to enroll more students:

1. Study every social media platform. Every platform is a world of its own. What works on Facebook won’t work on Snapchat. If you’re new to this, we recommend picking no more than two social platforms to start with so that you can give each one your full focus.

2. Be ready to keep up with frequent changes and updates. Social platforms release new features every month, bringing new opportunities for engaging future students. But be warned, there will be a learning curve with every new change or update.

3. Ensure the highest quality of content. This one is a deal-breaker. Stock photos and boilerplate memes don’t offer any real value to prospective students. Remember, you’re competing for your prospect’s attention and not just against other schools but also against content from influencers, brands, mainstream media, friends and more.

So, how the heck are you going to attract new students amid all the noise?

Start by learning everything you can about the kind of content that works on each platform—then consistently build your audience from there. 

Which social media platforms should I use for my college’s enrollment marketing?

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter which platforms you decide to start marketing with first. The only thing that matters is how consistently you’re able to show up on that platform with quality content for your audience. 

For example, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has over 116,000 Instagram followers. 

The school actively uses hashtag #TARgram to let students share their own stories about life on campus. This is a great way to redistribute some of the burden of content creation and let your students market your college for you in a way that feels more authentic for prospects.

But it’s not all about the ‘gram. The University of Michigan uses Pinterest to share research, program updates, and student life content, generating more than 1.2 million views every month, while Harvard’s Twitter account has more than 1 million followers.

Remember, there’s no one social media platform that is perfect for every university. Find the ones that work for your organization, and stick to it.

Already a Shape user? You can automatically trigger a personalized email to go out to any incoming inquiries from prospective students coming to your website from social media or other marketing channels.

#3. Stay Ahead of the Enrollment Marketing Curve with Video 

If you’re not using video content as a part of your enrollment marketing strategy, you’re missing out.

According to a report by Wyzowl, a whopping 68% of people prefer to learn about a product or service by watching a short video—which is probably just one of the reasons why, according to Dartmouth University, some 86% of colleges and universities have a presence on YouTube.

No matter which way you cut it, video marketing is one enrollment strategy that’s not going away anytime soon.

Video content provides two key benefits for private colleges and higher ed orgs. 

1. It’s easy to create and repurpose - College webinars, presentations, lessons, and interviews can all be easily repurposed into bite-sized content for further distribution across all your marketing channels. For example, simply record a video lecture, create a quick highlights reel and boom. Now, you have an Instagram story or Facebook video ad ready to go.

2. Video content brings in high ROI -  According to the Wyzowl report, 83% of marketers say video provides them with good ROI, and 81% claim video helped them generate leads.

And that ROI rate soars even higher when you use video in conjunction with other engagement tools, like email.

In fact, emails that contain video can increase your click-through rates by up to 300% and have a 96% higher click-through rate than plain-text emails.

If there is a segment of your database that hasn’t engaged in a while, a quick video email could be a great way to bring those conversations back to life.

In Shape you can easily integrate with video marketing tools like BombBomb to seamlessly add videos to your emails or even to your SMS messages, in just two clicks.

#4. Optimize Your School’s Content Marketing Strategy

Even though teens prefer consuming video content on social media, you may be surprised to learn that on college websites, 64% of college prospects would rather consume content through text and articles.

Your website, ebooks, blog posts and other written resources must be top-of-the-line to win the hearts and minds of future students.

Here are three core areas to focus on to take your content marketing efforts to the next level:

• SEO - If you're a trade school or privately owned university, optimizing for local searches could be a powerful way to attract prospects. For example, searchers looking for ‘best trade schools in Austin’ are probably likely to enroll soon.

• Website user experience - Make sure your website is as intuitive and easy to navigate as possible so potential students won’t have a hard time finding more information or knowing exactly what to do to take the next steps. If you’re not sure which parts of your website need work, use a free or low-cost usability tool to test it.

• Conversion rates - Whether deliberately or not, your website is a conversion tool. Optimize your CTAs and track bounce rates to make sure you’re converting as many visitors as possible.

Enrollment Marketing Case Study: Using Content Marketing to Grow Applications by 106% at North American Trade School

Problem: North American Trade School (NATS) faced eroding ROI from traditional media marketing campaigns and was looking for new ways to attract student prospects.

Solution: After implementing an SEO audit, the NATS’s marketing agency upgraded a large portion of the school’s website content, including both blogs and landing pages. They also added clear CTAs and testimonials to raise the authority of every page and encourage visitors to take the next step.

Results: Organic visits increased by 66%, while the amount of completed applications on key pages increased by 106%.

#5. Go Mobile with Your Enrollment Marketing

Almost 75% of Gen Z’ers use smartphones more frequently than any other device and nearly 50% of all web pages on the internet are viewed via a mobile phone. 

With hundreds of intuitive apps and website builders that make mobile optimization as easy as ABC, there’s no longer any excuse for a poor mobile experience.

Already got a mobile-optimized website for your school? Cool!

Here's what you can do to instantly connect with potential students as they browse your school’s website:

• First, optimize your website for mobile experience. If you haven’t done so already, make sure your website is responsive across all mobile devices.

• Double down on text marketing. SMS messages have a whooping 98% open rate. Once prospects opt into receiving messages from your organization, use a well-timed automated text message contact strategy to help move them toward the next step.

In Shape, you can easily track all your phone and SMS outreach in one simple place. Just head to your Phone Settings dashboard to enable your SMS settings.

#6. Don’t Underestimate Email

Email may sound a little dated after all this talk about social media and video ads, but when it comes to enrollment marketing for your private college, trade school or university, email still matters.

In fact, 76% of high school students say they prefer to hear from universities via email, rather than messaging apps, phone calls, or direct mail.

With a simple (but powerful) combination of email messages and phone calls, online education provider Stafford Global turned their website into a high-performance admissions machine, increasing the number web leads by 50%, while shortening their conversion time by 58%. 

Want to replicate those results?

Here are the few tips higher ed orgs can use to get the most out of email marketing:

• Send personalized emails. Even a small personalization in your subject line can increase open rates by 50%. With a smart higher ed sales platform, you can take it a step forward and personalize entire sections of your emails based on prospect data such as study areas of interest, in-state vs. out-of-state, etc.

• Prevent emails from going to spam. Don’t overload your SMTP provider by sending thousands of emails using the same mail server. Make sure your CRM system allows you to stay compliant and distributes the workload between multiple servers.

• Automate your email campaigns. With smart automation you can send hyper-personalized email messages throughout all stages of the student recruitment and application process, making sure your university is in constant contact with every prospect at every step of the enrollment journey.

Not sure you’re working with the right enrollment tools? Check out our Complete Buyer's Guide for Choosing a Higher Education CRM.

Shape users can easily customize, schedule and send emails based on the status of each and every prospect in your database. Or, you can customize a done-for-you email from our rich library of over 100+ proven email templates.

#7. Know Your Enrollment Marketing Numbers

Enrollment marketing is no longer a game of chance.

According to the Cost of Recruiting an Undergraduate Student Report by educational enrollment agency RNL, the median cost of recruiting an undergraduate in 2018 was $2,357. 

And every ineffective marketing decision pushes that number higher.

To secure cost-effective tuition revenue, you need to know which marketing channels work best so you can keep your recruitment efforts focused and efficient. With the right data at your fingertips, you’ll always know who your ideal students are, where to find them, and how to effectively recruit them without breaking the budget.

Here are a few ways to make sure your enrollment marketing decisions are data-driven:

• Analyze your website traffic. Learn about your most effective sources of traffic to scale successful online marketing campaigns and drop the ineffective ones.

• Focus on the right metrics. It’s easy to get lost in the amount of data you can track. Focus on conversion and enrollment rates, not Facebook likes.

• Use a higher ed CRM system. The right CRM system will show you in one place all the data you need to effectively convert prospects into students and constantly improve the efficiency of your recruiters.

The right higher ed CRM will let you instantly visualize your student enrollment success across marketing channels so you know how to make the most of your recruitment budget.

#8. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment with Your Enrollment Marketing

AI, virtual reality, chatbots—higher ed marketing innovation may seem like an overwhelming or costly thing to break into. But in reality, there are many platforms that will do the heavy lifting for you.

Here are just a few ways to take your enrollment marketing up a notch:

• Live streaming

• Virtual reality

• Augmented reality

• Interactive videos

• Chat bots

In one standout example, the Savannah College of Art and Design let students explore the campus virtually using Google Cardboard headsets, which led to a 26% increase in admissions. 

And using AI-powered chatbots, Georgia State University was able to boost graduation rates by 23%, while Bethel University increases retention rates by 4%. 

Enrollment Marketing Case Study: The Power of Using a CRM at Hawkeye Community College

Problem: Hawkeye Community College at Iowa wanted to reverse an ongoing trend of declining student enrollment that had lasted several semesters. 

Solution: As part of several enrollment marketing initiatives, the college invested in a CRM system, which allowed their admissions team to keep all the recruitment data in one place and communicate more effectively with interested prospects. 

Results: Hawkeye reversed a multi-year enrollment decline, saw a nearly 5% increase in headcount and a 1.2% increase in credit hours, all within just one year. 

Want to Be the Next Enrollment Marketing Success Story?

It’s hard to keep up with the constantly changing trends in marketing, higher education, and student lifestyle, and the truth is what worked mere months ago may no longer work tomorrow.

Don’t let it overwhelm you.

With the right enrollment marketing foundation in place, you can arm your admissions team with the tools they need to attract and engage more students, regardless of future shifts in marketing and learning trends.

There are hundreds of mortgage CRMs on the market. And they all claim to be the best. 

But once you move past the sales pitch, you’ll quickly notice that there’s a whole lot more that goes into a robust mortgage CRM software than just clever marketing. 

For starters, the mortgage market is constantly changing. What works now, won’t work 5 years from now. Second, mortgage professionals are reallybusy people (like, really busy). They don’t have time to rip and replace their existing systems so they can test drive new software every week. 

To save you weeks (maybe even months) on trialing the hundreds of various mortgage CRMs, we’ve prepared this handy guide to help you cut to the chase and find the best CRM to help you grow your business, starting now. 

You’ll learn exactly how a robust CRM can drive your business forward, the must-ask questions to think about when considering any CRM, and the must-have features to look for in your next high-octane system.

Want to see how the best mortgage CRMs stack up?
Download the free Comparison Chart now!

What is a mortgage CRM?

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools can do many things for your business. But if you want to boil it down to one simple accomplishment, a CRM system can help you grow your mortgage business and attract more customers in the most organized and efficient manner possible.

Simply put, a CRM eliminates the chaos from your lead management activities, letting you attract, nurture, and close more deals in less time. 

The right CRM will integrate with your other business processes, from pre-loan through post-close, leveraging the power of mortgage-specific workflows to help you attract more borrowers, while keeping your conversion rates as high as possible. 

But the advantages don't end there. Let’s review the main benefits that the best mortgage CRM can bring to your business.

"Shape keeps everything organized for me and saves me hours worth of work each day. It makes the job easier and more manageable. I find myself and my entire workforce more productive."

– Jedd Lara, Assent Mortgage

The top 4 benefits of a mortgage CRM

Mortgage CRM Benefit #1: Attract More Borrowers

As a loan officer or mortgage broker, your window of opportunity is small. 

According to the PwC home lending report, 46% of purchase borrowers consider only one lender during their search and not only that—the majority of borrowers won’t switch the lender they chose. 

That means that for most mortgage professionals, the opportunity is lost before it even begins. Bottom line? You need to be proactive. Luckily, the right mortgage CRM can help you double your lead gen efforts and build a healthy pipeline for your business.

Here’s how the best mortgage CRM will help you attract more leads:

• Get full control over your lead sources. With the right mortgage CRM, you’ll get to know your marketing channels inside and out. Invest in the marketing activities that give you the best results, and drop the rest.

• No more wasted cold calling. With a smart mortgage CRM you no longer have to guess who to call or what to say. Consider the phrase “Hey, it looks like you’re interested in lower refinancing rates, correct?” vs. “Hey I’m with ABC lender.” Your CRM should make your conversations better.

• Automate your marketing wins. With tailored drip campaigns and templates, your mortgage CRM should help you attract new prospects on autopilot. Personalized newsletters with info about homes, loans and refinancing options, combined with smart lead prioritization ensures that everyone in your database gets the right info at the right time. 

“If you don't exist online, you are losing opportunities and credibility.” 

— Neel Dhingra, mortgage banker and branch manager at All Western Mortgage>

Mortgage CRM Benefit #2: Close More Loans

In the mortgage business, there are two crucial metrics that separate the best from the rest: 

1. Speed to lead 

2. Customer satisfaction

With 80% of borrowers expecting a response from their loan officer within one day, and 40% within one hour, you know you have to be fast.

Plus, millennial consumers now dominate the mortgage market. They expect excellent service and ongoing communication—millennials literally wantto be contacted more often. Don’t let them down.

Here’s how the right mortgage CRM can help you close more deals in less time:

• Reduce your speed to lead to seconds (not minutes). An agile mortgage CRM automatically distributes the right leads to the right reps so that your team is always ready to act on every incoming request.

• Prioritize your leads the smart way. Mortgage CRM systems with smart lead prioritization ensure that you’re focusing your efforts on the leads with the highest chance of converting. And the best part? It does this automatically so that all you and your team sees is a list of pre-prioritized contacts ready for your call. 

• Ensure ongoing communication across all channels. With all text, emails and phone interactions stored in one central place you can effortlessly pick up any conversation right where it left off.

“Be relational, not transactional.”

— Dale Vermillion, mortgage expert, author and founder of Mortgage Champions

Mortgage CRM Benefit #3: Increase Your Productivity

Most employees waste up to 55% of their time on administrative tasks, and loan officers are no exception. Preparing financial documents, qualifying borrowers, or reviewing loan agreements takes a lot of time, and generating new business only adds to an already full plate. 

Here’s how a well-optimized mortgage CRM system drives productivity across the team:

• Smart automation. A smart mortgage CRM can help you automate your most repetitive and mundane tasks so you can spend more time creating real relationships with your leads, customers and referral network.

• Integration with your favorite tools. The best mortgage CRM system can integrate with your other systems so you never have to waste time switching between screens or wondering where to find the data you need.

• Team productivity reports. The right mortgage CRM ensures that your business is data-driven, and not chance-driven. Real-time performance reports help you see which of your loan officers are performing at 100% and who needs some coaching to get back on track.

CRM ROI = (Gain from Investment into CRM – Cost of investment) ÷ Cost of Investment

Mortgage CRM Benefit #4: Get More Referrals

The majority of loan officers agree that referrals are one of the best sources of new business. 

There are two major ways mortgage professionals obtain referrals: 

1. Previous clients

2. Current referral partners

And these partners both value very different things in the originators they choose to work with.

Here’s how a well-balanced mortgage CRM can help you acquire more referrals from both groups:

• Get more referrals from past clients. A mortgage CRM allows you to constantly stay in touch with all your clients during and after the loan process. Armed with a system to alleviate the admin and provide personalized closing experiences, a CRM increases your odds of bringing in new referrals simply by providing stellar service.

• Boost referrals from Realtors and partners. Realtors value speed, efficiency and authenticity in their mortgage partners. With smart automation and ongoing communication, your partners will eagerly recommend you to their clients.

“You should have a company ‘referral plan’ but it should be created to support your individual loan officers and their referral generation efforts.”

— Stacey Brown Randall, coach and best-selling author of “Generating Business Referrals Without Asking”

Ready to find out if your CRM is bringing you a healthy ROI?

These simple formulas will help you find out fast.

The Best Mortgage CRM Software: How To Choose The Right One For You

The thing most mortgage software shoppers don’t realize is that not all mortgage CRMs are created equal. While there are many types of mortgage CRM systems to choose from, each one will typically fall into one of three main categories.

Category #1: All-In-One Mortgage CRMs

In a nutshell, all-in-one CRM systems are a generalized version of a CRM system—they have all the basic functionality you need to attract and nurture leads, but lack specific functionalities for core mortgage business workflows.

For example, they might have unlimited emailing but lack mortgage-specific templates, offer no integration with loan origination software, and don’t fully support your intake workflows. 

Pro: All-in-one CRMs are created with larger, or enterprise-scale, companies in mind so they typically have a good infrastructure and UX. 

Con: The main drawback with this type of CRM is that it doesn't offer done-for-you workflows for your mortgage business. Another common complaint is that all-in-one CRMs often feature extra functionality that loan officers don’t necessarily need, but still have to pay for.

Category #2: Built-In Mortgage CRMs

Loan officers typically use loan origination software (LOS) to manage every stage of the loan process, such as pre-qualification, risk assessment, or compliance checking.

Although LOS systems are not designed to nurture leads, coordinate team efforts, or grow a mortgage business, they do offer some CRM functionality that can come in handy.

Pro: Some LOS platforms may allow loan officers to contact clients, others may even offer some lead management reporting features. 

Con: Unfortunately, any CRM functionality built into a system that was created for the purpose of loan origination will be limited. If you need to process a large or growing volume of leads, you’ll probably outgrow this type of system fast.

Category #3: Best of Breed Mortgage CRM

A devoted mortgage CRM has all the features lenders need to grow their mortgage business.

They have features to grow the customer database and at the same time seamlessly automate the core mortgage workflows, so that you can focus on growing your business.

Here are three main reasons why you may want to choose a best of breed system:

• Done-for-you mortgage workflows. For example, in Shape you can calculate payment amortization to boost client satisfaction and at the same time optimize turnaround times.

• Seamless integration with other loan processing tools. When integrated with your LOS, the right mortgage CRM can help loan officers streamline the entire loan process and create the end-to-end solution to expand the business. 

• Great value out of box. Given its strong focus on the mortgage industry, the best of breed mortgage CRM system doesn’t require complex adjustments and can provide immense value to loan professionals even with little customization.

Ready for a CRM that won’t lock you down? Try Shape today

What Is The Best CRM Software For Mortgage Brokers? Here’s What To Look For

How do you choose the best mortgage CRM system? Here are the critical aspects that will help you make the right choice.

Automatic Lead Prioritization

The current problem with mortgage leads isn’t quantity. It’s quality. 

With digital marketing and plenty of lead distributors to choose from, loan operators can quickly fill up their databases with hundreds and thousands of prospects.

But what good is a large database if you can’t physically contact everyone in it?

This is where a great mortgage CRM system comes in. With smart prioritization in place, your loan officers never have to guess who to call next. Shape includes a deep prioritization algorithm that automatically organizes and ranks leads based on more than 28 indicators, such as time zone, status, activity, and more.

Full Compliance

The mortgage industry is notorious for its red tape. There are hundreds of laws and regulations every broker must follow, not to mention a growing number of telemarketing laws and guidelines to stay on top of.

Unfortunately, some CRM systems just aren’t equipped for those kinds of compliance demands.

With promises of unlimited text messages, omni-channel calling, and extensive broadcasting features, many mortgage CRMs forget to mention that these kinds of practices may result in devastating fines and legal fees.

The best mortgage CRM will help you grow your business, without putting it at risk. For example, Shape will automatically notify your team members when they exceed the daily limit of email sends so that your network provider doesn’t label your emails as ‘spam’.

Open Architecture

A futureproof mortgage CRM will integrate with a wide range of LOS systems and other loan processing tools.

Look for a CRM that offers bi-directional syncing with your LOS so you can automate the time-sucking admin tasks and engage with your prospects every stage of the process. 

For example, when a client moves from the pre-approval to the loan application stage, your CRM should be able to update the status in your LOS in real time and automatically send an email, launch a personalized drip campaign, or alert your team to contact the client. 

Smart Automation

We’ve already discussed how automatic lead prioritization can help you close more business, but what about your other workflows?

When choosing a mortgage CRM, it’s important to think about the key workflows that keep your business moving today, while leaving room to change and adjust to whatever happens in your business tomorrow.

What if you decide to open a new branch in another city? What if you need to hire more team members, or increase marketing budgets and attract more leads? 

Does your CRM make growth easy or painful?

With the right mortgage CRM, you scale your revenue—not errors and inefficient processes. 

The Right Integrations

You shouldn’t have to stop using the tools you already know and love, just so you can have the CRM you want.

Make sure your mortgage CRM offers deep integration with key mortgage systems, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Lendingpad

• Encompass

• Mailchimp

• BombBomb

• Zillow 

• Leadpops

• And more

If you’re not sure a CRM integrates with a certain tool you and your team already rely on, be sure to ask. The last thing you want to end up doing is completely rewiring your entire business system just to keep your lead streams flowing.

Mobile-friendly

The mortgage business is anything but sedentary and with today’s borrowers wanting to be contacted more than 11 times on average by their lenders, responsiveness is key to getting ahead.

Choose a mortgage CRM that offers a robust mobile app. No matter where you are, you need to be able to help move clients from A to B—even if you're standing in line for coffee.

Ease of Use

The goal of a CRM system is to help you save time, not add more to the chaos. 

Unfortunately, some mortgage CRM systems boast dozens of intricate features, but are almost impossible to navigate. If you constantly have to contact technical support to perform even basic functions, it’s time to find a better CRM.

Here’s why your mortgage CRM MUST be easy to use:

• You will be using the CRM system to its full potential.Mortgage professionals often neglect certain CRM features if they’re too complicated or take up lots of their time to use. With an intuitive mortgage CRM they get the best ROI for their dollar. 

• New loan officers can learn how to use it quickly. Save time training new reps with an easy to use system that empowers them to add value to the team from day one.

• You are a reflection of your systems. If you’re constantly disgruntled with your CRM, sooner or laters this dissatisfaction may project out onto customers, taking a serious toll on your number of deals.

We realize that trying new software, or changing your existing system, is a daunting task—but it doesn’t have to be. 

Here’s a simple test. Try a mortgage CRM for a brief period and see for yourself if it meets your criteria. Don’t let the CRM vendor dictate the demo. Get your own hands-on experience with the mortgage CRM system as soon as possible so you can see how it really fits into your business (or not).

At Shape, we offer a free 14-day trial that includes all the features you need to start growing your mortgage business today.

Ready for a CRM you can trust?

Mortgage CRM: The Complete Feature Checklist

Use this list to quickly assess whether a mortgage CRM has all the features you need to optimize and expand your mortgage activities:

Attracting new borrowers

• Email & SMS integration and automation

• Inquiry tracking

• Inquiry management

• Prospect routing & interactive voice response

• Contact management

• Referral tracking

• Inbound & outbound calling

• Status tracking

• Call recording & call scripts

• Integrated dialer

Increase team productivity

• Prospect filtration

• Duplication management

• Customizable reporting and analytics

• Support chat & intra-company chat

• Automated tasks & actions

• Role-based permissions

• Customizable user permissions

• Invoicing

Improve borrowers’ and lenders’ experience:

• Automated borrower status updates

• Automated drip campaigns

• Fannie Mae 3.2 File export

• Bi-directional LOS integrationIntake forms

• Team chat

• Calendar and email syncing

• Payment amortization calculators

• Mobile support

• eSignatures

• API support

Why Choose Shape?

If you’re like any ambitious broker, you want to make sure that for every dollar you put into your mortgage CRM, you get at least ten in return. We get it.

With seamless LOS integration, smart lead management, and a beautifully simple user interface, Shape gives you repeatable workflows to grow your mortgage business. And with full compliance features, you won’t have to worry about stacking up fines on your way to your dream business. 

If you’re looking for a flexible, best-of-breed mortgage CRM, you’ve found it. Try Shape for free for 14 days and find out how a powerful mortgage CRM solution can help you grow your business.

It’s official—Shape Mortgage now integrates with video platform BombBomb to make all your prospect and client communications more personal than ever before. Built on top of the powerful Shape Software platform you know and love, the seamless BombBomb integration allows you to add videos to your outbound emails and SMS in just a click. 

Are you struggling to break through the noise in the digital mortgage era?
Finding it hard to differentiate yourself or your services in a crowded marketplace?
Want to kick off client relationships on the right foot—and keep them that way?

The Shape + BombBomb integration can do all that, and more!

With this update, all Shape Mortgage users can now:

1. Seamlessly create and send captivating video messages via email or SMS directly through Shape with the click of a button

2. Add a more personal touch to your client communications to build stronger relationships

3. Stay in touch with clients and prospects, even when you can't meet in-person

4. Show off your brand personality to create more consistency and add back in a human element to digital communications

It’s time to leverage the personalization of BombBomb and the power of Shape Software to drive and close more deals than ever before.

Ready to take your client communications to the next level?

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/bombbomb

Mortgage marketing is changing minute by minute and the pressure for brokers is on. Check out these key predictions from leading mortgage experts so you can generate and convert more leads now and in the future.

The mortgage business was never a cake walk. Brokers, loan officers and team leaders have always had to constantly find new ways to market and reinvent themselves in an often volatile and highly competitive environment.

But with recent demographic shifts and technology disruption, even the most tried-and-tested mortgage marketing simply won’t cut it anymore. 

This game is zero-sum. If your mortgage marketing ideas are not up-to-date, you may quickly find yourself struggling to keep your business afloat.

The good news is, there is a wealth of successful mortgage professionals who are able to keep themselves at the front of the pack, no matter what’s happening in the market. For these standout brokers, flexible tactics coupled with a consistent, systematic approach to marketing their mortgage business is what allows them to prosper no matter what.

We reached out to some of the mortgage industry’s top producers and experts to learn about the marketing strategies and tactics that can help you create a more resilient marketing plan for your mortgage business.

Table of Contents

• 5 Mortgage Marketing Ideas Straight from the Pros

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #1: Boost Your Online Presence with Neel Dhingra

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #2: Stand Out with an Attention-Grabbing Message with Christine Beckwith

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #3: Stop Selling to Your Sphere of Influence with Dale Vermillion

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #4: Teach Others While Creating More Demand with Brian Sacks

• Mortgage Marketing Idea #5: Stop Selling and Start Serving with Sean Herrero

5 Mortgage Marketing Ideas Straight from the Pros

Mortgage Marketing Idea #1: Boost Your Online Presence with Neel Dhingra

“If you don't exist online, you are losing opportunities and credibility.” 

— Neel Dhingra, mortgage banker and branch manager at All Western Mortgage

Even though Neel and his multi-state team have been in the top-tier in Nevada and Cali for at least a decade, he still managed to quadruple his success (and net income!) in just one year from 2018 to 2019—and for Neel and the team at All Western Mortgage, there are no signs of stopping.

With guests like Gary Vaynerchuk and Jerry West, Neel’s YouTube channel is growing by the second. For rainmakers like Neel, putting yourself out there is no longer about gaining a competitive edge. It’s fast becoming a minimum requirement for success in mortgage marketing.

And with 90.4% of millenials and 77.5% of Gen X active social media users, there’s plenty of data to back that up.

“I've gained significant market share in my market through content marketing,” says Neel, “And the overall pie did not grow. This means the additional business came at a competitors expense.”

So, yes. Online content is a requirement. But that doesn't mean you need to rush to create branded social media profiles on every major platform.

For experts like Neel, it’s less about being everywhere all the time and more about the strength of the content you put out there.

Here’s Neel on how to make sure your content works for you and not against you: “When thinking of what type of content to post online, regardless of the platform, you need to ask yourself:

"What would someone get from watching or reading this piece of content?"

“If your content marketing is helping others, then it will work,” Neel continues, “If the goal is solely to get yourself more business or make more sales, it won't work.”

It really is that simple.

Neel’s YouTube channel includes dozens of interviews with star guests from Tom Ferry to Ryan Serhant.

Mortgage Marketing Idea #2: Stand Out with an Attention-Grabbing Message with Christine Beckwith

“There needs to truly be a standout message to penetrate the masses. Or, a completely different marketing direction.” 

— Christine Beckwith, President, CCO & Master Coach at 20/20 Vision for Success

For experts like Christine Beckwith, truly stellar mortgage marketing starts with awareness—and before you do anything else, you really need to wrap your head around just how saturated the mortgage market has become. 

Because best practices quickly become the worst practices when everyone is doing the same thing over and over. 

Christine, an award-winning author, consultant, and an industry veteran with almost two decades of experience at top executive roles in the finance mortgage industry, believes now is a great time for every business who is brave enough to try new things.

And when it comes to marketing her business, this is one mortgage expert who’s not afraid to color outside the lines. She and her team have been having a ton of fun with their new lifestyle content on social media.

Christine isn’t afraid to be herself on social media. The 20/20 Vision for Success social channels are awesomely curated with relevant business and personal success tips as well some friendly content that’s just, well… fun.

“We had one post with a cute up-close pic of  cow with its head cocked sideways, the tag line said ‘Holy Cow, we have found the true path to Success’,” says Christine, “And one with a bee pollinating this enormous sunflower and said ‘Sometime the job can BEE overwhelming!’ People are really loving these ads.”

Christine takes comfort in the fact that there’s no such thing as a magic formula for marketing your mortgage business. These days, she’s all about innovating on the fly.

“With so many homeowners working from homea good old-fashioned mailer may hit the target far harder than it would have two months ago, and be far more sentimental and meaningful,” explains Christine. 

“We had begun doing this here at 20/20 VSC last year, and every 90 days our business partners and our clients receive something of value at home. We attach a note card with a cute tag line and an ask to share on social media.”

It’s a great way to take a multi-channel approach to the classic mortgage mailer.

“Marketers have to learn to stand on their heads and clap their feet. If you can’t keep the audience's attention, then that is the first obstacle that will defeat you.”

Mortgage Marketing Idea #3: Stop Selling to Your Sphere of Influence with Dale Vermillion

“Be relational, not transactional.”

— Dale Vermillion, mortgage expert, author and founder of Mortgage Champions

Having trained more than 1,000,000 loan originators over the last 23 years, Dale Vermillion is positive of one thing: 

Now more than ever, mortgage pros will find it extremely rewarding to reach out to their sphere of influence. 

“Organic is best,” shares Dale, a renowned mortgage expert, author, and founder of Mortgage Champions, the national best-in-class training program for mortgage professionals and organizations.

Applying for a loan is stressful enough for your customers, but doing it amidst a global crisis? That adds a whole new layer of overwhelm.

Long story short: Mortgage customers want to do business with someone they know. 

“No matter how you market (direct mail, media, internet, social, ads, etc.), the best is always mining past customers and turndowns and building repeat and referral business, both through your customers, connections and third-party sources (Realtors, builders, etc.),” says Dale.

Makes sense. But here’s the crucial part. According to experts like Dale, the trick to doing more business with your SOI is to: “Be relational, not transactional.”

In other words: “Don’t sell.” 

“Investigate and educate,” explains Dale. “Know your audience and focus on education that helps them where they are at. Don’t try to ‘sell’ them on you or your services. Focus on connection and compassion in communication.”

Mortgage Marketing Idea #4: Teach Others While Creating More Demand with Brian Sacks

“Your job is to create more demand for your services than you could possibly have time for.”

— Brian Sacks, nationally-renowned mortgage expert and Mortgage Loan Originator, Homebridge

“Most loan originators believe that it’s their job to originate loan. It's not,” shares Brian Sacks, a nationally-renowned mortgage expert with over 5,325 mortgage transactions under his belt.“Your job is to create more demand for your services than you could possibly have time for.”

With decades of authoring courses for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, not to mention several dozens of high-profile media appearances on ABC, NBS, and CBS under his belt, Brian is not only a master of mortgage lending, he’s also a master of mortgage marketing.

Even after 35 years in the industry, Brian still finds new ways to push his marketing even further. “Most loan officers suffer from fear rather than prosperous thinking,” he shares.

By simply staying focused on generating demand (not deals), Brian closed 38 loans last month, his most successful month to date, and he did it amidst a global public health crisis.

For example, every mortgage professional knows about the immense value of partnerships with Realtors. Yet, many still struggle to attract enough business from their referral partners.

“The typical loan officer does things backwards. They ask real estate agents: ‘Please give me a loan, I’ll do a great job for you!” Brian doesn’t play that game.

“When people chase you, you have an advantage,” he explains.

The top-producing broker regularly teaches seminars, webinars and other courses to help real estate agents keep up with trends in the market—and boost his business in the process.

“Give agents value to help them grow a business,” Brian explains, “The title company I did webinars for exposed me to a whole list of contacts I didn’t know—and vice versa. We got to meet each other’s people.”

Brian uses a simple three-step process to help his coaching members replicate his success in mortgage marketing: 

“Pick a niche. Become an expert. And let everyone know about it.”

“People are asking me: ‘Should I use social media? Yes! ‘Should I use email or mail?’ Yes! Use both. These are not mutually exclusive,” he points out.

When it comes to demand generation, it’s less of the means and more about taking consistent action to market your mortgage business. You can learn more about Brian’s unique approach to demand creation in his Top Originator Formula Facebook group.

Mortgage Marketing Idea #5: Stop Selling and Start Serving with Sean Herrero

“Stop selling and start serving.”

— Sean Herrero, loan expert, branch manager & SVP of Mortgage Lending

“I would rather have someone explain to me how I can buy a home with less money down since I lost money in the markets during COVID 19, than have someone market to me that they are a top producer for 20 years,” shares Sean Herrero, branch manager and SVP of Mortgage Lending in Danville, California.

Ironically, Sean IS a top producer. In his third year as a full-time loan officer, he closed $75M and today he is on track to close $100M in 2020. 

But you wouldn’t know that from his marketing campaigns.

“You have to start off with understanding the difference between marketing, branding, and selling,” says Sean, “These are thought to be the same thing, when they are entirely different.”

Here’s how he sees it:

“People want to work with people they can relate to. Market in a way that you are solving people’s problems, not marketing yourself in a braggadocious way.”

“We are not sales people as mortgage advisors. Put people before yourself,” Sean adds.

He’s got a point. With changes in the market the rule, not the exception, the only constant in your prospects life is the value you do (or don’t) deliver to them.

“Rates are a commodity, so what are we selling? We are advisors. Give data and analysis to help people make educated decisions,” Sean continues.

For him, it’s simple. If you want to generate and convert more leads for your mortgage business you need to “Stop selling and start serving.”

Once you’re clear on that, Sean sees flexibility to be one of the key advantages in today’s market: “Be nimble. What was working yesterday may not work today.”

“Analyze your business, the market, and the current needs of the people you serve and be willing and able to turn on a dime.”

And whatever you do, keep moving forward.

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/mortgage-marketing-5-leading-brokers-on-how-to-close-more-business-in-2020-and-beyond