If you offer services online, your mortgage lending institution has done a lot to respond to consumer preferences. You’re providing potential borrowers with resources and processes ready at their fingertips and at their convenience. 

That makes it extra frustrating, then, when you see a website drop-off from leads. 

This takes a lot of different forms. Maybe someone gets partway through a lead workflow, but leaves when you prompt them to input their contact information. Maybe they get a few steps into your online mortgage application and realize they need more information — but never circle back once they have it. Maybe they fill out a contact form but then ghost your loan officer. 

However mortgage lead drop-off occurs, it’s a challenge. If the prospective lead disappears before you can collect their contact information, there’s not much your team can do. It’s almost worse, though, when they’ve already engaged with a loan officer. Then, their drop-off means all the energy team members put into that mortgage lead conversion was essentially wasted. 

If your mortgage lending institution can solve the drop-off problem, it stands to become a lot more profitable. So let’s take a closer look at why leads fall out of your processes. Then, we’ll talk about how mortgage rate tools can help. 

Why mortgage website drop-off situations happen

Some website drop-off situations are out of your hands. Maybe the potential homebuyer thought they had the means to buy. Once they start crunching the numbers, though, they realize they need to save more. Maybe they had thought about up- or downsizing but ultimately decided against it. You can’t control the goings-on of a lead’s personal life.

You can absolutely do something about their experience with your company, though. Oftentimes, if a lead leaves because of something pertaining to your company, it’s because your website triggered one of the following:

#1: Impatience

Today’s consumer wants information at their fingertips, but they don’t want to have to give up too much to get it. That’s particularly true when it comes to their time. Consider that the average time a consumer spends on a financial services webpage is less than 60 seconds. 

If you make your lead workflows too long or you require too much info to personalize a rate table, that lead might get impatient and look elsewhere. You want to keep things quick and easy for all of your mortgage rate tools. 

Think in terms of seconds here. The easier you can make it for people to input what’s needed to personalize a rate quote, the less likely you are to see a website drop-off. 

#2: Confusion

Many people are daunted by the process to buy a home and secure the financing they need for that purchase. Confusion breeds frustration. Do everything you can to make your mortgage rate tools as simple and user-friendly as possible. 

Take the topic of interest rates vs. annual percentage rates (APRs) as an example here. Plenty of people think those two rates are one and the same. If you have the interest rate listed one place and the APR another, they might not understand why they aren’t identical. That confusion might be enough for them to click out of your site, adding one more website drop-off to your list. 

If you want to see higher mortgage lead conversion, take off your mortgage pro hat. Look at your website as if you were an eighth grader. How much of the language would be confusing? Would you be able to get the information you wanted, or would you feel like you’re navigating unknown territory? 

Stay away from industry jargon as much as possible. When you deploy mortgage rate tools, make them as simple as you possibly can. 

#3: Distrust 

When people seek out a mortgage lender, they’re looking for a partner with whom they’ll undertake one of the biggest financial steps of their life. Trust is key. 

If, then, you advertise one rate to them, you want that to match the rate you can actually offer. Any disconnect there can damage their opinion of your lending institution. 

Positioning your team as people they can trust means being transparent about your services and rates. It also means informing them about each step of the process. Telling them you’re going to do a soft credit pull but explaining that it won’t hurt their score, for example, can help to build trust — and, in turn, support mortgage lead conversion. 

What better rate displays do for the mortgage lead drop-off problem

If your company has been struggling with the website drop-off problem, one of your mortgage rate tools could be a major contributor. Specifically, less-than-ideal rate tables can turn would-be leads into visitors who click away and find someone else. 

To prove this point, let’s look at the way rate tables contribute to drop-offs:

• Impatience: Usually, website drop-off metrics in this category come from the lack of a rate table altogether. Visitors want the information they want quickly and easily. A lack of rate transparency triggers impatience. 
• Confusion. If rate tables don’t make it clear what the would-be borrower qualifies, they might get confused. Similarly, if the table doesn’t make it easy to see the difference between the base interest rate and the APR, you risk losing that lead. Confused leads will go source information from websites that make it clear what’s on offer to them. 
• Distrust. A generic rate table breeds distrust. If you advertise one rate but the consumer gets a personalized quote for a higher one, they might feel like your company is taking them for a ride. 

To prevent impatience, confusion, and distrust, your website needs to clearly display personalized interest rates. Connecting that table to your product pricing engine (PPE) means you can always showcase the latest rates, and always tailor them to the lead. With a strong, clear, user-friendly rate table, you should see website drop-off numbers tick down and mortgage lead conversion rates go up. 

Plus, we can help you deploy a rate table that quickly and automatically delivers accurate, personalized rates. We offer a rate table solution and other mortgage rate tools to help your team generate and close more leads. To learn more, book a demo with us today. 

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