Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have come a long ways! There are now customized CRM systems for all industries and a lot of companies have moved towards online systems. I know Loan Toolbox sells an ACT template specifically for loan officers. While I do not have one from them, I do have a system in place provided by CTX Mortgage Company. My point here is not about the type of system you need but more specifically how your referrals get treated in other peoples CRM systems.
If you are a Realtor you need to be aware of how savvy your lender is in using a CRM system. Be aware it's not just the lender, if you refer out your clients to home inspectors, insurance agents, you need to know about their CRM capabilities. I believe there are many opportunities for you to grow your business if you partner with a lender with an effective CRM system. The insurance agent who works with my borrowers has a masterful CRM system and we stay in touch with eachother on how my referrals are doing. It's a tag team approach.
Every time I receive a loan application I always make a note of the referral source. As a side note, we always discuss the positives of the referral source and never under any circumstance make any negative remarks or comments. Linda Scanlan recently wrote on her AR blog about a loan officer who almost blew a deal she had referred.
Where does the CRM come in you ask. Well, through our system we run a 10 week e-mail drip campaign. I looked at our capture rate last year and it's almost 25%. So, as you can see it's very effective. For a Realtor this means that we're staying in touch with a buyer who may be on the fence. We make periodic contacts and stay in touch. I can't tell you how many times we've been in touch with a potential borrower and the Realtor had already lost touch with them.
After the transaction closes we stay in touch every month via postcard and quarterly newsletters. Additionally, we send a personalized e-newsletter every two months. This is my own creation, not a generic newsletter with generic information. It's very personalized and we write up our own articles. We usually get a very good response, as a lot of folks write back and comment on personal events. We also call on the loan anniversary for an annual loan evaluation. You can't imagine how many times they say they have never heard from the Realtor who sold them their home!
If we never end up doing a transaction with a referral we still stay in touch via e-newsletter and a quarterly newsletter. Additionally, at the one year mark we personally call them and speak with them. This is very important and has yielded us some nice loans! Remember it takes almost 9 touches before you make a sale (the reason why your mailbox is full of junk mail)
Now how does a Realtor benefit from this effort by the lender. Well, we know the referral source so if any trigger event occurs in the clients life then we get in touch with the Realtor. Recently we called up a borrower who we had taken an application from last year. In talking we discovered that while things hadn't worked out well for them during the year they were now in the process of finding a Realtor to purchase a home. Behold they had lost touch with their Realtor, (who was our referral source). We immediately got in touch with the Realtor and now he has a potential deal in the works! We never send a client to a different Reatlor. We consider them married!
Remember when working with a lender ask them about their CRM system and determine whether you'll benefit from it or lose from it! It's a tough market and you need every advantage you can get.
Next I'll talk about how to go about finding the right CRM system for your business.
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