Small to mid-sized mortgage lenders have many advantages over the industry giants. The #1 advantage is most of the people that are searching out their brand or loan officer online have a very high percentage of converting. Most of these online searches are very meaningful but the frustration sets in when your brand can not be located or your website is not easy to navigate.  

The industry giants such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Better, and Quicken have the advantage of brand recognition and an advertising budget larger than the GDP of some countries. 

As a small to medium sized mortgage lender you can leverage the advantages that keep you ahead of those industry giants. Make it a point to implement these strategies for 2022. 

1. Your Mortgage Rates Are Lower

As a small to mid-sized mortgage lender you have the advantage of offering lower rates than the big guys. The challenge is spreading the word to a large audience.  Focus on converting more of the people that already visit your website and providing fresh rate content to your past customer database. 

The best way to tell more people about your lower rates is to display your actual rates directly on your website. Find interesting ways to use website rate display which can include setting up CRM campaigns for prospects and past clients to "check rates" directly on your site.

Your website rate display should be interactive and provide value to the user. We recommend a rate comparison table that supports many different inputs and loan options to help with loan comparison

Bankingbridge supports Optimal Blue and Mortech pricing engine customers to provide a best in class rate table experience directly on your website.

2. Access to the Best Software

Ten years ago the industry giants held the advantage over small to mid-sized mortgage lenders when it came to innovation and technology spend. In today's mortgage industry the best technology is more affordable than ever. This allows all lenders to utilize world class software at a fraction of the cost from ten years ago.  

Take advantage of the latest technology available to get your company where you want it to go, faster!  Spending money to build and manage a technology does not make sense for most small to mid-sized lenders. Focus on what you do best, which is originating loans and providing a delightful customer experience. This is a pain point for many of the industry giants. 

We recommend buying a solution that meets 90% of your requirements vs spending time and energy building out the last 10% for a custom solution. 

3. The Process 

Consistently closing loans on time is the best way to separate from the industry giants. Keep laser focused on what matters most to your business and watch your business grow to the next level. Most small to mid-sized mortgage lenders have more control over the loan process and therefore create a delightful customer experience. This is where the industry giants continue to struggle. Invest in technology that enables the processing team to communicate with the customer and efficiently process more loans.  

Rates will go up and rates will go down. Past customer base will always give you a shot on the next deal if you keep them informed and provide a positive home loan experience. 

Focus on being great at what you do! Put the right technology in place and productivity will soon follow.  

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