Top Ideas for Turning Prospects into Clients

A top priority for loan officers is, of course, finding ways to attract new prospects. But that’s only the first step. Once you have a solid list of prospects, then you need to nurture them into leads, and later, into clients. The job of converting a long list of prospects into clients can sometimes feel overwhelming or elusive. Maybe you have interested prospects, but they seem to fall through the cracks. Some of it could be circumstantial, but there are a number of things that LOs can do to improve their lead-conversion rate. Here are a few ideas to improve your pipeline and convert more prospects into clients:

Content Marketing

One of the best strategies for LOs to gain new clients is by using content marketing. Content marketing enables you to provide interesting and valuable content (articles, videos, etc.) that attracts prospects and assists with converting them into clients. Before you begin creating and distributing content, you’ll want to do some research on who your prospects are. Learn about them through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter where you can find information on their demographic. By better understanding what they’re responding to online, you can add value to their feed and inbox through content that’s actually geared towards them, rather than sending general catch-all sales messages. Your content can answer questions, clarify the loan process, and motivate them to contact you.

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Think ‘Social Helping’ Rather Than ‘Social Selling’

Social selling is about developing relationships as part of the sales process, and it needs to be approached strategically to be effective with converting prospects into clients. Try to approach social selling as ‘social helping’— you’re here to provide solutions to your prospects’ problems. Using this method, you can create a genuine connection with prospects, so they see you as a trusted advisor rather than a self-promoting salesman. A good place to start is by joining LinkedIn and Facebook groups, where you can help answer questions and offer insight and solutions. But be sure to give back by sharing other people’s content with your own network. This underlines your commitment to the community and ensures you don’t come off as someone who’s solely pushing their own brand and agenda. Commenting on other’s posts, as well, boosts your reputation as an expert in the industry while also showing that you have a commitment to educating instead of just hunting for new sales opportunities.

Email Marketing

If we want to be top-of-mind with prospects, we need to keep in touch with them. Using email as a marketing tool can still be effective but you can’t blend in with the barrage of Spam messages they receive every day. Add a little creativity to stand out—spend time on the subject line, add real value, and make sure you have a clear call to action. Once you see what people are and are not responding to, you can do more of the former and less of the latter.

Video Marketing

Video marketing is a terrific tool to increase engagement. By sharing videos on your website, blog, and social-media sites, you can attract prospects looking for answers to their questions and to learn about the borrowing process before even contacting you. This takes care of some of the trust-building before you’ve even had personal contact. It can increase their comfort level, and it allows them to see you as knowledgeable and tech-savvy. The more videos you make (and post), the better your chances are at reaching new prospects that appreciate your accessible materials and know-how. Even emailing prospects directly with an entertaining or informative video can encourage them to get in touch and take the next step in working with you.

Create (Soft) Deadlines

Creating a sense of urgency is a time-proven sales tool. Sometimes you can do this by giving prospects an incentive to respond within a certain timeframe, but you should avoid ultimatums. For instance, threatening that this is your ‘final attempt’ at contact, or using any other flimsy pressure-tactics can do more harm than good. A well-conceived deadline can create the immediacy necessary to encourage prospects who are on the fence to get started with the loan process.

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By doing advance research on your target demographic, you will have an easier time reaching them and marketing to them. Putting some additional effort into your marketing messages will help you build trust and familiarity, and increase your opportunities for turning prospects into clients.

If you’d like to talk more about any of these ideas, or if there’s another issue I can be of assistance with, please reach out. I’m always happy to block off some time to connect.