Relationships are the name of the game when it comes to mortgage brokers. It all comes down to building a relationship of trust, mutual appreciation, and loyalty. And while it’s great to bring on new clients – no business can grow without them – it’s often overlooked how crucial it is to retain the clients you already have.
How do you retain your clients in a highly competitive environment where there is little variation between the products offered by you versus your competitors? Thanks to a CRM for mortgage broker: a Customer Relationship Management tool that understands the importance of maintaining strong relationships with your customers and partners.
What’s a CRM?
Every business, corporation or organization now appreciates the key role that the customer relationship holds in the development of professional activities. While it’s crucial to have productive teams, the use of digital solutions is also recommended for numerous reasons.
A CRM (acronym for Customer Relationship Management) addresses numerous issues related to this invaluable customer relationship.
What are the main functionalities to look for?
CRM software comes with many useful tools. Regardless of the nature of your business, corporation or organization, some functionalities are more helpful than others for properly managing your customer relationship.
Marketing
CRM software allows you to create online campaigns to maximize your return on investment by:
- Identifying the best textual content while analyzing the ideal periods for sending messages
- Integrating sales and analyses to target and convert every prospect
- Assisting in the creation and sending of messages based on specific channels that track target customers
Sales-related functionalities
The centralization of data naturally allows crucial information to be shared. Sales team members can then benefit from a comprehensive overview of the performance of a business, corporation or organization. Additionally, CRM software makes it easier to identify “good buyers” (customer relationship development). Lastly, the integration of artificial intelligence within CRM software allows professionals to identify ideal strategies and to implement them during the sales process.
Optimizing customer service
CRM software also serves to optimize customer service. This is evident in the following characteristics:
- Establishment of contact via your clients’ preferred equipment and channel
- Presentation of detailed analyses where cost reduction and service optimization are visible
- Decisive visibility of the clientele to guide your staff during proposals (personalization of proposals)
Optimal project management
To maximize the results of a business, corporation or organization, it’s essential to choose a CRM that includes project management functionalities. This way, you’ll be able to:
- Efficiently plan your projects and allocate resources
- Determine how time will be managed for each task
- Track billing and spending
- Generate reports
- Access a portal for collaborative purposes
Other equally essential features
Besides the above-mentioned functionalities, CRMs offer other digital tools that are useful for professionals.
The automation of manual and repetitive tasks is a perfect example. This functionality offers convenience while also limiting entry errors and improving the reliability of analyses for each department (this is especially true for the sales team).
Intelligent management of sensitive data is another functionality offered by some CRM software. The identification of critical information allows customized strategies to be reviewed and applied.
Depending on their profile, a business, corporation or organization may prioritize other functionalities. Again, choosing CRM software is a crucial step towards guaranteeing optimal results.
How can I benefit from using a CRM?
What can a CRM bring to my business, corporation or organization? This most pertinent question has many answers. The following is a non-exhaustive list of benefits linked to digital solutions that are now considered essential.
Better client management with CRM software
Your relationships with your prospects and clients are optimized thanks to information provided every time a client is contacted. By displaying complementary data, a CRM allows you to personalize your clientele and gain their trust, all while giving them greater responsibility during buying decisions.
A CRM centralizes your data and makes it easier to access information
The centralization of pertinent data naturally makes it easier to access this information. With a few clicks, each department can quickly find accurate data that’s updated in real-time.
Optimized overall management
Functionalities related to marketing, customer insight, field service and sales, as well as other essential elements for every business, corporation or organization improve your sales and your brand image.
An ideal solution for increasing productivity and agility
Besides the many functionalities previously discussed in this article, you could also ask yourself the following relevant question: What are the concrete benefits of a CRM for my business, corporation or organization? Again, several answers may be noted:
- Better communication between each department and your prospects/clients
- Significant amount of time saved thanks to the automation of repetitive tasks
- More efficient employees
Maximize your sales figures and benefits
As you can see, the many features of CRM software offer significant benefits. Deploying Customer Relationship Management software will quickly boost sales while ensuring that costs are properly managed.
What are the specificities of a CRM for mortgage broker?
As we said earlier in this blog, relationships are the name of the game when it comes to mortgage brokers and it is crucial to be able to retain the clients you already have. Existing clients are a source of future business, but more importantly, satisfied clients are the best form of marketing you can get: word of mouth. Why the best? Because you’ve already done the work to build the relationship. Your client takes care of marketing for you! What are the specificities of a CRM software for mortgage broker and how they help you to create better relationships with your clients?
How does a CRM for mortgage broker integrate with a LOS?
You already use a Loan Origination Software (LOS) and now everybody is talking about CRMs. How do the two fit together? A LOS improves and simplifies the application and approval of loans by automating the whole loan process. But the thing is, the LOS is not necessarily designed for customers. It was designed for loan originators, processors and underwriters.
A CRM for mortgage broker serves to bridge the gap between the LOS and your customer. The CRM works with the LOS to give customers an easy way to access loan reports, upload documents and sign paperwork.
How does a CRM for mortgage broker improve relationships?
The CRM for mortgage broker helps you stay in contact with your clients through automated, yet personalized, emails. It helps you create better content, build email templates for brand consistency, and save time through automatic email sending.
By automating your emails, you’ll free up time to use on other endeavors and you’ll avoid lost opportunities. Your CRM will always remember clients’ birthdays and special occasions, it will automatically send reminders and follow-up emails, and it will allow you to stay top-of-mind when it matters most. By nurturing your relationship with your customers, you’ll make them feel valued. When the opportunity arises for them to recommend a mortgage broker, the CRM for mortgage broker helps to ensure they’ll think of you first and foremost.
How does a CRM for mortgage broker help you understand your clients?
Everybody wants to feel understood, and we hold on to people who make us feel that way. The CRM for mortgage broker collects, organizes and analyzes client data to help you extract the insights you need to help your clients feel understood and taken care of.
The artificial intelligence (AI) inside the CRM for mortgage broker uses client data to make recommendations for the best products or services for you to propose. The system allows you to anticipate your client’s needs so that you can offer the right product, to the right person, at the right time.
How does a CRM for mortgage broker improve processes?
You’ve been doing this a long time and you have your own processes in place. A CRM doesn’t ask you to change anything – only enhance what already works well. The CRM for mortgage broker takes manual and repetitive tasks off your hands by automating them so that you can concentrate on the higher-value tasks that need your full attention.
How can I choose the best CRM for my business, corporation or organization?
Without any specific knowledge, selecting CRM software that’s customized for a business, corporation or organization can turn into a complex process. Therefore, it’s worth highlighting several characteristics that will help you decide.
Personalization
To achieve the best results, you should have the option of personalizing every “detail” and feature of CRM software. While some solutions come with restrictive limitations, others properly fulfill this requirement (the Microsoft solution offered on our (Gestisoft’s) website is a perfect example).
Choose extensible CRM software
Dealing with deployments via the cloud or on-site can satisfy certain needs that are particular to a given business, corporation or organization. Additionally, a CRM must be compatible with other platforms and software, such as your architecture software, your ERP software, etc.
Set security levels for each user
An effective CRM system allows you to set security levels for each user. By assigning them a specific “role”, you are authorizing the user to access, integrate or modify centralized information, or denying them these permissions.
Choose a scalable solution
Expanding a business, corporation or organization is obviously a major priority for professionals. Your current needs may therefore change. Effective CRM software will assist you as you scale up your professional activities while also allowing you to streamline every process on a daily basis.
The CRM ecosystem
The CRM ecosystem (or stack) consists of the set of tools that are directly (or indirectly) connected. For optimal results, this set-up should evidently be constructed gradually. Safeguarding client data (and prospects’ data) is essential to fully benefit from a CRM stack. Again, a CRM ecosystem will be shaped by your choice of software.
Entrust Gestisoft with implementing your CRM
When you’re ready to choose a CRM, keep in mind that you’re making a long-term investment for your office. Your choice of software needs to be a well-informed decision. At Gestisoft, we make this easy with our team of CRM and ERP experts who will guide you in making your purchase and support you in implementing your software. To learn more about what a CRM for mortgage broker can do for your business, contact our specialists for a consultation.
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August 17, 2020 by Frédéric Charest by Frédéric Charest VP of Marketing
Data-driven Growth Marketer with a Passion for SEO - Driving Results through Analytics and Optimization