How do you build and maintain long-term relationships with your clients? This is the question posed to originators (with consumers) and lead providers (with originators).

If there is a constant flow of leads coming to loan officers — if they are “drinking from the fire hose of leads” — then there is little or no incentive for them to try to build long-term relationships. One way brokers can try to encourage this is to make their LO’s realize that they are essentially self-employed. Some even go as far as to have their LO’s put some skin in the game by having them pay for their own leads.

(On a related note, this is the reason why I wish more of DoublePositive’s clients would see the value of new purchase leads. There is a lot of value there if you consider the life-time value of those relationships).

Lead buyers are spending a lot of money to contact consumers, but too many spend little or nothing to keep the relationship going. Even so, aren’t consumers who failed to convert the first time just likely to go to the Internet and start their process again, even if they receive tickler emails and postcards from a broker?

See Also: LenderFlex’s on Sales Approaches