Want to reach millennial buyers?

Stop hiding and forget everything you know about them

By Contributor

22 May 2018

What I am about to share with you will likely shock you. Why?

Because the average loan officer is me, a 53 year old male who has been in the business for three decades. Wow, it hurts just seeing that in print.

We think about millennials constantly going online to transact just about every type of transaction possible – from having food delivered, to getting an Uber to work, to saving money on an app.

I have two millennial children of my own and they mostly avoid talking on the phone, preferring texting and using Facebook messenger to communicate with me. So it’s very normal for us to think they want to get their loan online as well.

That leads us to create Facebook ads and other online lead generation tools to reach them. If you have been using any of these methods than you already know that they continue to become more expensive and, in many cases, less effective.

But what if everything you "think" you know about millennials is wrong?

The reality I am about to share with you will shock you so I will provide actual evidence to support what you are about to learn.

The reality is very counterintuitive and maybe that’s why it works so well. If you want to reach millennials you should be sending them direct mail. No, that is not a typo; I did say direct mail.
Stop for a minute and think about it. Most of us in our 40s, 50s and 60s are used to being bombarded with direct mail solicitations most of our lives. But that is not true for millennials, who hardly ever get direct mail offers.

A survey by the U.S. Postal Service found that, on average, Millennials spend more than nine minutes per day sorting through their mail, more than any other generation. They also are more engaged with their mail than the average consumer, taking more time to scan, read and organize their mail. In fact, 50 percent of Millennials say they like to discover what the mail brings every day, and consider scanning their mail time well spent.

Though they prefer to pay bills online, 83 percent of Millennials still use hard copies for bill management. They’re also open to certain types of direct mail: 54 percent said that businesses in their neighborhood need to do a better job of using mail to keep them informed.

But I'm sure they prefer to just do their application online, right?

Once again, you would be incorrect. Millennials actually prefer to meet and/or speak with a live person so they can get educated on the process and have their questions answered.
According to a 2017 Borrower Insights Survey study by Ellie Mae, 57% of homeowners applied for and completed their mortgages fully in person, while 27% interacted with their loan officer both in person and online. Millennials were the biggest group who reported using this combined approach (30%), followed by Gen Xers (28%) and Baby Boomers (20%).

The bottom line

In order to succeed with Millennials you must be reaching out to them both on- and offline. You must make an effort to come out from behind your computer and speak with them by phone or meet with them in person.

Brian Sacks is a national mortgage expert with Homebridge Financial Services Inc. He has compiled over 30 years of mortgage experience and career closings of 8000 loans in excess of 1 billion. He is a recognized leader in the mortgage industry, and has appeared on NBC, CBS, and ABC stations. Brian is also a respected coach, and speaker and the founder of the Top Originator Mastermind. Watch his four-part Free Video Series on How To Close More Loans- Make More Money And Still Enjoy Life.