Do You Have a Solid Follow-Up Strategy?

One of the most important things that loan officers have to keep track of when it comes to bringing in new clients is following up with prospects. There’s nothing worse than prequalifying a borrower and spending valuable time educating them only to find out months later that they bought a home and used someone else for their mortgage.?Ouch!?The only way to make sure that you’re staying on top of this is to create a strategy around it. Your follow-up strategy should put in place a framework that makes prospecting more efficient and more effective. Some loan officers already have a clear strategy in place, while others operate more casually with no formal structure. The danger with operating casually is that it becomes very easy for prospects to slip through the cracks. So, whether you want to strengthen your existing follow-up strategy or you need to create a strategy from scratch, here are a few key things to consider:

Be Specific

If you want your follow-up plan to be effective, it needs to be specific. How many times will you follow up with a prospect? And when? How much time will you wait between messages? Will you call or send an email? When you develop a structure for yourself, you clarify a key piece of your prospecting work. Of course, your follow-up efforts might differ a bit depending on the prospect, but having this strategy in place helps keep you on track and gives you a general cadence. Incorporating CRM software, if you’re not currently using it, to support these efforts is also a great idea. A database can strengthen your efforts and track the follow-up process for all of your prospects.

Be Persistent

It’s common for loan officers to reach a point in their prospecting work where they stop following up for fear of being pushy, but it often takes multiple outreach attempts before closing the deal. Persistence doesn’t mean pushy. And a well-structured follow-up strategy can help you define the line between persistent and pushy, so you don’t worry about crossing it. Obviously, sending multiple messages on the same day might be excessive, but if you have a follow-up plan that guides your process, you can create sufficient space between follow-ups. Persistence is crucial for loan officers working to grow their business, and a strong follow-up strategy will ensure that your persistence doesn’t cross the line into pushiness.

Provide Value

Sometimes a simple message saying ‘just following up’ or ‘just thinking of you’ is perfectly acceptable, but it’s often not the most effective way to go about the follow-up process. Instead, loan officers should think about how they can provide something of real value to their prospects. Maybe it’s just a useful article or online tool along with a message letting them know you’re available to meet. Not every message needs to contain something more in-depth, but it’s a good idea to make sure you’re adding value whenever appropriate. With a solid follow-up plan in place, you can have these resources on hand to quickly attach to your emails.

Streamline Whenever Possible

Just like having useful resources on hand to add value, loan officers can prepare other areas in advance to streamline their follow-up efforts as well. One terrific way to do this is by using email templates. You can create templates for each stage of your follow-up strategy. Then when it’s time to reach out to a prospect, you can personalize the template and you’re ready to send. This makes the process considerably more efficient, but still leaves room to make the communication feel personal.?Another effective tool is video e-mail with apps like BombBomb or CoVideo.?This is a great way to have your prospects really feel like they know and feel connected to you.

Staying connected with our prospects is absolutely necessary if we want to turn them into clients. It’s not enough to rely on memory or jot down a reminder in a notebook. If loan officers want to improve their prospecting, they need a follow-up strategy to support their efforts.

If you’d like to talk more about any of these ideas, or if you need help developing a follow-up strategy of your own, please reach out. I’m always happy to set aside some time to connect.