double POSITIVE Marketing Group, Inc.

We were thrilled to be honored by the LeadsCouncil this month when they announced the first series of winners for their LEADER Awards. DoublePositive was voted Best Hot Transfers Company by lead sellers and Best Hot Transfers Company in the Lending Category by lead buyers.

In my opinion, there is no greater tribute than to be recognized by your clients and peers as the best. Especially now, at such an exciting time in the mortgage industry, where the challenge for lenders is not dealing with a lack of opportunities, but knowing how to capitalize on the abundant opportunities out there.

Why are there so many opportunities in mortgage right now? My colleague, DoublePositive partner Joey Liner, did a great job in his white paper (http://bit.ly/hjwf5W) spelling out the factors that are contributing to the win-win-win climate we are experiencing. To summarize Joey’s main points:

• Mortgage Lead prices are near all-time lows
• Low interest rate environments continue, creating higher lead volumes
• Simply buying more leads will not increase productivity
• Adding LIVE Hot Transfers and a Lead Management System (LMS) maximizes higher conversions and sells more units

Need proof? Check this out:

Graph provided by, Tim Watts, DoublePositive Director of Data Analytics

This graph shows that, just within the past year, DoublePositive has seen the demand for live transfers grow rapidly. Mortgage companies are coming back to us saying, “We need more transfers.” We tell them that the only way to do that is to buy more leads. This works because of how well industry giants Lending Tree, LowerMyBills and Adchemy, and others, have been doing in generating leads. We’ve been very impressed by their ability to increase the quantity of leads, without negatively affecting quality. As a result, mortgage companies will continue increasing their marketing budget and buying more leads.

That’s what I’d call a perfect storm. The lead aggregators are winning because they are able to sell more leads. DoublePositive is winning because we are able to call more leads. And the mortgage companies are winning because they are able to receive more inbound calls from consumers who are interesting in refinancing their homes.

There are many benefits to mortgage firms using hot transfers, which Joey talks about in his white paper. Probably the most significant is that the mortgage firms are able to grow at a strategic pace, using hot transfers. They don’t have to overwhelm their loan officers with calling every raw lead, or rush to hire more loan officers. Using hot transfers allows them to steadily turn up the quantity of leads without suffering from a loss of quality or straining resources.

There’s a whole lot more to share about taking advantage of this perfect storm. I will be out West next week, meeting with some great companies about how to win using hot transfers. When I get back, I’ll share with you guys some interesting data about the disposition of mortgage leads that don’t transfer, which will help you make decisions as a lead buyer or lead seller.

California, here we come!