For brokers, growing their clienteles is a never-ending job
For brokers, growing their clienteles is a never-ending job—and, fortunately, some top brokers shared their secrets with MortgageBrokerNews.ca.
“For anyone to become successful in any business, you have to have credibility,” said Samantha Brookes, founder of Mortgages of Canada. “Self-branding on social media is important, and as you build yourself and make more money, reinvest it in your marketing. It also helps you stay in touch with your customers.”
Grind it out and remember to frequently touch base with clients. While it can be daunting, especially as a book grows, it is imperative to remain top of mind in clients’ minds.
“Touch base four to five times a year to stay front of mind with your customers,” said Brookes. “There will be times when you do lose them, but you want to ensure that you stay engaged with them throughout the year.”
Having what Brookes calls “infrastructure” will help with client engagement.
“It’s light CRM. Those types of tools work to stay engaged with the client. You have to simplify the process, and that’s important because the mortgage industry is changing. Other companies are coming into the country with new technology and there’s a lot of opportunity for them to make money, so we need to execute at our best efficiency to keep our customers.”
Real estate agents take great pains to grow personal, even team, brands, however, that seldom, if ever, occurs among mortgage brokers, says Daniel Johanis, a Rock Capital Investments broker. It’s just one way brokers could establish themselves as authorities.
Another, he says, is to become ingrained in the community.
“In the summer time, if you’re able to co-sponsor events or help out with open houses if you’re looking to break in with local realtors, I found that helps,” said Johanis. “Stop in at an open house and say ‘Hi.’ It takes more than one touch point to form a relationship with someone, so you have to stick at it.”
Not surprisingly, advertising through traditional channels is the best way to create brand awareness, but Brookes advises targeting specific segments of the borrowing public and then employing lead generation platforms.
“People still come to the website, but a lot of it is paid marketing,” she said. “It’s the inorganic stuff where you’re paying per click—that’s where the money is for me. It does become scalable when you know how many leads you’re getting. One campaign had a 42% conversion rate on leads. We run that one all over the internet.
“It really works because we talked about how the industry is changing, so we target bad credit, refinances and renewals. We target people having a difficult time getting mortgages.”
