One of the questions I’m asked most frequently when talking with mortgage professionals is, “Why am I not generating any leads from my site?” The easiest way to discover why is to take a look at your website from a potential client’s perspective. However, getting into the mindset of a client is easier said than done. Most mortgage professionals I’ve talked with know their business inside and out. They know what questions to ask their potential borrowers, and how to communicate the task of getting a mortgage, but thinking like a person searching on the internet for a mortgage? That’s not so easy.
When a potential client finds a website through a search engine, they click on it, read the content, and they might navigate to other pages to find out more. But if the only way they can get in touch with you is to fill out a loan app, you’re going to have a hard time capturing information from a site visitor. They may be at lunch surfing on their smartphone, or at work using a work computer. Even worse, their significant other probably isn’t there, so would they really fill out a loan app without them knowing? My wife would kill me! I can hear her now, “You did what? You filled out a loan application without me?!” Borrowers who are referrals, or who you may have asked to fill out a loan application online, may be willing to fill out a 1003. However, people who stumbled across your site for the first time more than likely will navigate away without filling anything out.
There’s a simple solution to this that we provide through our lending websites: flexible lead capture forms throughout the site. The most effective strategy is to place short, easy to fill out forms on the most popular pages of your site. It’s best to keep the forms to just a few lines, like name, phone number, and e-mail address. It’s best not to get into the nitty-gritty details here, since a new visitor won’t want to fill out their social security number or other financial information the first time they visit a lending site. You can customize how your lead capture forms appear on your Pipeline ROI lending site, whether you’d like it to appear above or below your page content, or as a form that pops up after a visitor clicks several pages.
Another smart strategy for lead capture forms is to provide something in exchange for your visitor’s information. This is one of the basic principles of inbound marketing because it helps to prove your knowledge of the industry, while also giving you a topic of discussion for when you get in touch with your new lead. If you’re a current Pipeline ROI customer, we offer an easy solution for this through our eBook landing pages. Click here to find out how to quickly set up one of these pages on your site.
If you’re not a Pipeline ROI customer and would like to find out more, we’d be happy to show you around our lending products! Simply fill out the form below or give us a call at 866-300-1550.