Successful Loan Officers Are Embracing Technology

There’s no getting around it: all markets are digital now. No industry is immune to our increasingly online world, and whenever someone wants something, they start their search online – even when it comes to their mortgage.

Loan officers who want to compete with apps like Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans need to embrace the way that people shop for mortgage lenders in today’s market: online.

Not Your Mother’s Home Buyer

The largest growing demographic of home buyers in today’s real estate market is millennials. Millennials grew up learning to use the internet to find the answers to all their questions: questions like, how does a mortgage work or what are the best mortgage rates in my area?

Armed with information, millennials are also much more likely than the generations before them to shop around for the best rates. On average, millennial home buyers obtain 6 quotes from lenders before choosing a lender. Even the older generations are catching on: 75% of buyers from 35 to 54 years old and 55% of 55 years old and up are shopping around for the best mortgage rate, compared to 86% of millennials.

Think about it: 90% of prospective home buyers use the internet to research homes and the mortgage process before even speaking with a real estate agent or mortgage lender. According to a 2017 report from the National Association of REALTORS®, only 7% of prospective buyers started their search by contacting a bank or mortgage lender first. So, unless you are only interested in that 7% of the market, you’re going to need to develop an internet presence to find customers.

Online Marketing is a Must for Mortgage Lenders

If most potential customers are looking online for their mortgage needs, then that’s where a successful mortgage loan officer sets up shop – and a website is the best way to make sure customers can find you. Whether you design your own or pay professionals to design your website, you need a place where customers can easily find you.

A website is only the beginning. If you want to draw in more customers, you need to advertise. By using targeted online ads, you can find leads faster. Wherever you choose to advertise, one thing is for sure: when they click that ad, they are going to have to land somewhere. That’s where the “landing page” comes in.

What’s a Landing Page?

A landing page is the first thing your customer sees when they click that link. It’s a webpage that is designed with one thing in mind: to convince the visitor to take a specific action. For mortgage lenders, this might be filling out an inquiry form or contacting you to start the pre-qualification process. Whatever you want that potential customer to do, your landing page is created to make it happen.

Isn’t it Just a Home Page?

A successful landing page is typically much more specialized than a home page. While your home page may serve multiple purposes, the landing page is designed to do just one thing: convert leads.

Your website’s home page might lead to multiple resources that provide information about your business, or offer education tools about mortgage loans, such as these seamless embeds from BankingBridge that help customers estimate their rates or figure out how much home they can afford.

Your landing page should have limited navigational options and a clear call to action, compelling visitors to fill out a form for a free quote or contact a loan officer to get the process started. So, while your full website might contain all kinds of useful information for potential borrowers, your landing page needs to be targeted and streamlined solely for the purpose of bringing in customers.

Do I Really Need One?

If you want to increase your conversion rates and get the most out of your marketing budget, then yes, you need a landing page. Let’s take a look at what makes landing pages successful.

Landing Page 101

Imagine a potential borrower sees your ad and decides to click through to your landing page. What catches their eye? How long do they stay? Do they fill out the form for a free quote or contact your office for more information?

That all depends on your goals and execution.

6 Features of a Landing Page that Works

A Headline that Hooks

Every landing page needs an attention-grabbing headline that lets the reader know exactly what you are offering. It should be the first thing that the reader’s eyes are drawn to when they open the page.

https://better.com/

Here, it’s clear what’s being offered: a better mortgage. The text is bold and easily readable. It’s OK to be clever, but opt for a simple and explanatory headline over something witty but not confusing. In the few seconds it takes to figure out what you are talking about, your visitor may have moved on already!

If your headline needs a little more explanation, consider a quick sub-header like the one above to further explain what it is that you’re offering.

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Some advertising gurus call it the “hero shot.” Whatever you want to call it, it needs to be big, high quality, and relevant.

https://app.bankingbridge.com/

For mortgage lenders, this probably means an image related to the home, like the landing page featured above. Saving money and better rates are huge selling points, but don’t make for a compelling image. Ultimately, your customers want to own their own home and pay an affordable mortgage. Choose an image that speaks to that, and avoid bland stock photos or low-resolution images.

Why Choose You

Show the reader what benefits they will get from working with you as opposed to other loan officers. Do you offer free quotes or seminars on mortgage lending? Are your closing times faster than other lenders? Are your customers happy with your service? Don’t bog down your landing page with heavy blocks of text, but give the reader easy-to-digest snippets that convince them you’re the loan officer of their dreams.

Social Proof

Millennials are over 70% more likely to buy something because it was highly recommended online.

Any testimonials from previous customers, especially if accompanied by names or headshots, are effective in showing visitors that you know what you’re doing. Any impressive statistics about customer satisfaction or closing quickly can be included here as well; just don’t drown out your headline or call to action.

A Compelling Call to Action

This is arguably the most important element of your landing page. The call to action is what you want visitors to actually do once they’re on your landing page, such as Call Today or Get Your Free Quote.

Bestselling author and marketing expert Neil Patel lists these keys to an effective call to action:

• Keep it clear and simple
• Use only one call to action
• Display the call to action as an obvious button that visitors can click on to get started
• Design the landing page to draw attention to the call to action
• If your landing page is longer and scrolls down, repeat the call to action so that it’s always visible wherever the visitor is on the page

Don’t skimp when it comes to the call to action! Make it a big, bold button with just a few words to entice the reader to click. Avoid stale filler words like Submit.

Make It Mobile-Friendly

More and more people are using their smart phones and tablets to start their search, so it’s important to make sure that your landing page is easily viewed on a mobile device as well as on a computer.

If you are looking for a mobile-friendly mortgage calculator or want to show your rates in real time, BankingBridge has an app for that! Our custom embeds integrate seamlessly into your landing page to help convert visitors into customers.

Example of BankingBridge embeds

Let BankingBridge Help

Figuring out your landing page can be hard work filled with trial and error, but we’re here to help. We offer more than generic digital marketing tools – BankingBridge software is designed specifically for loan officers and mortgage lenders, so you know you’re getting relevant content that will change the way you do business for the better.

• Build the ideal landing page with our easy-to-use embeds like customized rate calculators and call to action buttons
• Capture more leads with less mess using our pre-qualification workflow to replace overly complicated and out-of-date forms that deter potential customers
• Reduce false leads with built-in lead verification tools that keep your team from chasing dead ends
• Mobile-friendly design ensures that potential customers can access your landing page and website on any device
• Easily insert your own logos, headshots, and contact information into your website, landing page, or even a realtor partner’s page for better branding

Request a demo at https://bankingbridge.com/products/ and launch your landing page today!