double POSITIVE Marketing Group, Inc.

Post By
Rich Dent

You guys know me – booth babe.

So last month at Leads-Con East, I am chatting with this guy who says he’s a big leads buyer.  He likes our LIVE Hot Transfer concept, and wants his enrollment officers to receive live, interested leads on the phone, but …

“Can’t you guys qualify them more?”

This comment shows how times have changed.  In the old days, companies were simply handing a fat pile of leads over to sales, and asking them to call them all.  It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

Then DoublePositive came along and found the needle in the hay stack.  We patented the LIVE Hot Transfer process, so that companies could receive phone calls from live consumers who were ready to talk with a salesperson.

Now this guy wanted to know if we could take it a step further and thread the needle for him.

“We do some simple qualifying,” I cautioned.  “But in my opinion, you should be careful what you ask for.  You might do yourself more harm than good.”

He said, “Why?  If I’m talking to people I can’t help, I want to filter those people out.”

“I understand,” I said.  “But you need to be careful who you filter out, or you will filter everybody out.”

“Not sure I follow,” he said.

I tried again.  “Think of it this way.  What if they have a family member you could help out? What if you discover there is another service or product you could provide?  You never know unless you talk to them.”

He shrugged.

“You are basically asking the call center agent to make that decision for you,” I said.  “That’s not wise.  What you should do is, let us eliminate those consumers who really had no interest of ever speaking to you about your product or service.  Let us take away that work for you.  And the rest?  Those who have raised their hand and said they want to talk to you?  You should take those calls as fast as I can transfer them to you.”

“I don’t know,” he said.  “There’s got to be an easier way.”

I gave him one of Sean’s great lines: “There’s nuggets of gold in the hills.  Finding them is the hard part – that’s our job.  It’s your job to work them.”

“Well, I need someone who will do all the work for me,” he said.

At this point I just had to laugh, shake his hand, and wish him luck.

So I’m writing this post to help folks understand.  There is a right way to use a LIVE hot transfer service and a wrong way.

If you want us to call your leads and transfer back only those that are ready to talk business, that’s the right way.

But you want us to call, qualify the lead, sell for you, close the deal and just send you the money …

Booth babe says, “Good luck.”

Post By
Rich Dent

Hey, everybody, it’s been a while, but I have a good reason for my absence.  I’m a new dad!  Wife and baby are doing just fine.  Thanks for all the nice notes we got.

Back to reality

Unfortunately, I came back to the reality of even more frustration for the mortgage industry.  As a former loan officer, I know a little bit about what those guys are going through.  That’s why I want to share the news that DoublePositive’s hot lead transfer service can help.

You guys know me – I’m not trying to sell anything.  But situations change.  Maybe more people may be able to hear me now.

Here’s the deal

There is still a struggle out there – what’s more important?  Having someone like DoublePositive call your Internet leads, or having your own reps call them?

In our economy, there aren’t a ton of interested, qualified consumers out there.  There are some, but not a lot.  By volume, there are far more uninterested, unqualified Internet leads to call on.

This leaves you with a decision.  Do you call the big pool of low quality leads, or receive calls from the small pool of high quality leads?

Does it really matter?

The impact of making a mistake is huge.  Companies are finding it more and more expensive to grow.  Hiring new sales professionals is a long process.  It requires a substantial investment in planning and training as well as employment costs before you can acquire a single new customer.

DoublePositive can get you that customer without all the time and expense.

How it works

Let’s say you want to 500 more leads per day, starting tomorrow.  Most organizations don’t have the ability to call on 500 potential new clients tomorrow.  For example, who will call?  It could take months and months to hire the people and get them up to speed to handle a surge like that.

Instead, DoublePostive will do the work for you.  We’ll send your sales force more consumers on the phone who are interested in talking to them.  Like a sports car running on high octane, your currently successful salespeople will only get better with higher quality leads.

This approach allows you to grow faster, without investing the money and time to hire and train people.  And you don’t have to wait until 3-6 months later if your new people are valuable to the organization.

Victory lap

That’s all I wanted to tell you guys today.  Don’t be afraid to trust a new source to transfer the calls to your existing sales team.  You can double your customers with the same amount of salespeople.  It happens every day.

Post By
Rich Dent

When you’re hot, you’re hot, and DoublePositive is definitely hot.

First, we’re growing at a torrid pace.  That’s why we decided to bring both our DP East and DP West teams to LeadsCon East in New York last week.  Hopefully you got a chance to meet more of our talented people who are setting the industry on fire.

Second, we were happy to be in a position to underwrite LeadsCon East as Lead Sponsor this year.  DoublePositive has had a hot hand, and this is one small way we were able to give back to the community.

Third, to really spice things up, we brought our own hot sauce to the event.  It was a special fiery concoction that was brewed just for us.  We passed out 250 bottles in New York.  Yes, that’s me on the label.  Hot stuff, I know.

Are you tough enough to take the heat?  Can you handle all that Live Hot Transfers flavor?  If you were one of the fortunate (or unfortunate!) ones to pick up a bottle, let us know if your tongue survived.  And check back soon because I expect to have a few more posts about LeadsCon.

Post By
Joey Liner

Given the sorry state of the mortgage industry, the big question is: What can we do?

The attitude out there is keep your head down, fight through it, be a tough guy. There’s no other way to survive. You have lived through hell the last five years, and you’re used to pessimism and the negative nature of the economy. You know you don’t have the answers. Your peers in the industry don’t have the answers. They are going to see if they can merge, roll up or fight through it and continue to operate on their own. But margins keep dropping, and it’s not a fun time. Not fun at all.

On the other hand, you talk to some big investors, and they see an opportunity, as the market continues to shrink, they want to get in and buy low. So there are some companies that are growing.

Lead quality drops

You guys know, I like to say I’m one of the most optimistic people out there. But this one of the most frustrating time in my mortgage leads lifetime.

At DoublePostive, we are seeing lead quality drop. This is happening because the re-fi market is drying up and the lead providers are beginning to be desperate to fulfill their client quotas. I can see lead providers dipping into affiliate marketplace leads, and this plays out in lower quality leads.

Quality has gone down over all. In response, we’re trying to optimize transfer rates as best as we can, via our normal process. Also we’ve added a lot of innovative tools to enhance speed-to-lead, features like call-backs, the ability to put our client’s name on the caller ID and email follow-ups on each lead.

Tightening the chin strap

My goal, assuming things continue to get worse before they get better, is to work with the folks who will survive, and partner up with the lead providers who are going to make it through it. I will continue to be a good service provider, and help the people that need to be helped.

For example, the big banks don’t have an outbound dialing culture. They don’t have the high-commissioned loan officers who are banking on a big commission, so they are not aggressive outbound dialers. This favors DoublePositive, in the long run. These big banks are paying low-level, inexperienced people, who are not aggressive outbound dialers, and that works for us. But what we really want to see is a period of healing for the smaller lenders.

The best medicine

Sometimes, when the stress is really, really bad, all you can do is laugh. That’s probably why I am reminded of Woody Allen as I wrap this series of updates. He said, “I want to leave you with a positive thought, but I can’t think of one. Would you take two negative thoughts?”

Here’s a positive thought. Just stay true to your vision, guys. Embrace the pain for the opportunities it offers. Do what you must do. Keep fighting, sell, roll up – but don’t give up. The adjustments you make now will build your company, and strengthen you to face whatever is coming next. I hope, in the long run, those who stuck it out will be rewarded.

So that’s my take on the state of the industry. My next update comes next quarter. Meantime, feel free to get in touch, or leave comments in the fields below.

Post By
Joey Liner

Only one quarter of the year has passed, but a whole lot has gone down since I blogged about the State of the Mortgage Industry – and unfortunately I do mean down.

Before I start, I want to be upfront about the realities we are facing. You guys know me – I try to be the most optimistic person in the room. But these last few months have been one of the most frustrating time periods in my leads lifetime. I wish I could have a positive outlook. The truth is, the negatives continue to overwhelm the positive in all the major trends.

1. Interest rates

Yes, interest rates have stayed low. That’s a plus. But low interest rates are only a small part of the equation in qualifying a buyer for a mortgage. You still need a good loan-to-value to qualify for a mortgage. Most consumers don’t have that – they are upside down. The banks are still very strict on their underwriting guidelines. That has been frustrating for folks in the space who are ready to lend to consumers who are ready to buy or refi, but can’t get qualified.

2. Regulation-Z

The loan officer compensation requirement, Reg-Z, has caused a major change in the space. In my last post, I commented that loan officers earning over $150K per year would become a thing of the past. Well, a lot of them are in a state of confusion and disarray right now. These are smart, competitive men and women. I think a lot of them assumed they’d make a transition and things would correct themselves. But, from the leads perspective, we’re seeing that it’s tougher and tougher for them to win. The game has changed.

Reg-Z changed the game. In the past, you could do a $100K loan and still make a good fee off of it, because there was no regulation on the percentage that you could make off that loan. Now compensation is based on the loan size. The only way loan officers can chase the same type of fee they used to make is by closing larger loans only. As a result, mortgage companies are only going after large loan amounts, of $250K or greater.

This change in philosophy by mortgage companies has created problems in the Internet lead space as well. Traditional lead buyers, who for years have been buying leads from LendingTree and LowerMyBills, are now only buying the $250K loan amount or higher. This leaves a huge market of consumers for loans under $250K that is not even being called on. Lead buyers don’t want them.

What will happen to these consumers? They will go directly to their banks. I expect we’ll continue to see that the bigger banks are going to win in the long run. They will do those loans because they don’t pay their loan officers commission (most are just salaried), whereas the regional banks, lenders, mortgage brokers won’t even touch anything below $250K.

This is a frustrating business case from the leads perspective, as well. The big 4 banks are not buying leads. They are talking about it, but not really going after it right now, because they are able to rely on walk-in traffic. They keep saying they are going to be big lead buyers, but they aren’t feeling the pain. And so this huge pool of leads remains untouched.

3. Comparison ads

When I’m wrong, I try to be the first to admit it. So I admit that I overestimated the extent to which comparison ads would be adopted. This is still a relatively new lead product and did not grow last quarter as I predicted. Not because lead buyers don’t love them – they do. Because they simply can’t get enough volume.

I have a lot more to say on the topic. I’ll pick it up again in my next post. Check back soon.

Post By
Brian Ocheltree

How to identify value while diversifying and increasing lead supply

Summary

• The value of aggregator leads – both shared and exclusive ­­– has changed
• After self-generated leads, the best option might be aggregator leads, not paid search
• Shared leads are often a better value than if the same leads were exclusive
• Lead-Buyers should also test exclusive leads to determine whether they convert better
• New quick connections allow Buyers to add more lead supply, from more diverse sources, without adding IT integration costs

A New Mix of Business Drivers

When planning the integration of Internet leads into the company’s sales and marketing efforts, Lead-Buyers need to check their assumptions about shared versus exclusive leads.  The market has changed.  Optimized properly, both lead types can be significant growth drivers.

The Problem of Shared versus Exclusive

There’s a misunderstanding about the value of the different types of leads today.  Because exclusive leads can be 2-3x the cost of shared leads, some Lead-Buyers think they are too expensive.  But are they?  Others think that because shared leads are shared, they are not worth the price.  Is that correct?  Could both be right?

Rather than guess at answers, DoublePositive recommends taking a step back and considering the facts.

Your Most Valuable Leads

First, a word about your most valuable type of online lead, the self-generated branded lead.  These are the leads generated from your own website typically.  Generally, these leads are the highest quality because they are from highly motivated, proactive consumers who tend to be “in market” and are therefore the consumers most likely to convert.  In addition, self-generated leads are often very inexpensive since many come from free organic search traffic.

So, if self-generated branded leads are the best, and usually the cheapest, why do anything else?

In most cases, the volume of self-generated leads is not sufficient to hit required sales goals.  Increasing the volume is a slow process, and Lead-Buyers can’t simply “step on the gas” to generate more self-generated leads overnight.  You can use paid search to increase the volume quickly, but in most markets, this becomes cost prohibitive quickly due to brand advertisers bidding up the primary keywords to unrealistic prices.   Think of trying to compete with Geico and Progressive for the key phrase “Auto Insurance” to drive traffic to your website.  It doesn’t work.  So, to fill the gap between self-generated leads and sales goals, aggregator leads are one of your best options.  Both shared and exclusive should be considered and ideally tested since everyone’s situation is different.

Are Shared Leads a “Necessary Evil”?

Some Lead-Buyers have always believed that shared leads are bad.  We hear it all the time.  Shared leads are “a necessary evil”.

DoublePositive challenges our clients to look deeper before deciding whether that statement is true.  Some shared leads are bad, no doubt.  Perhaps most are.  But we have found that if a shared lead is bad, it probably isn’t because it’s shared, but rather more likely due to other reasons.  For example:

• The lead was generated from a low quality source
• The lead was sold too many times, or is aged
• A Lead-Buyer has abused the lead with unscrupulous dialing methods

Are Shared Leads Any Good?

A complaint I hear every day from our lead buying customers is that shared leads are no good because they are shared.  There is too much competition fighting over the consumer’s attention, they complain.

While it may be true that these leads would be better if they were not shared, they become less attractive when the price is adjusted appropriately.  Suppliers would have to charge 2-3x the price of a shared lead to make their economics work.  And I do not believe these leads would convert 2-3x higher if they were exclusive, which would be required to justify the higher price.  Keep in mind that if a consumer is truly “in-market” and motivated to buy, it is likely that they visited multiple supplier sites and submitted multiple forms, so even though you got an exclusive lead from one supplier, you probably aren’t the only sales organization calling that lead.

During a recent client visit, my client asked “How do the lead suppliers do it?  They only charge me $7 a lead, and it costs me $50 per lead to generate on my own through paid search.”  I was speechless.  This was the first time I had ever been asked that question, and usually it’s the opposite.  In my opinion, sharing the leads is a big reason the economics work for all of us.

What about Exclusive Leads?

If all else is equal (lead type, lead source, speed to lead, etc.), then an exclusive lead should convert higher than a shared lead simply because there are fewer companies pursuing the sale.  However, all else is rarely equal, and these other attributes contribute more to the likelihood to convert than the exclusivity attribute, I believe.

Just as with shared leads, some exclusive leads are good, and some are bad.  We believe the best plan is to include them in your testing and optimization process along with shared leads so that you can see which type and sources convert the best for your particular situation.  As long as all lead sources are optimized for Cost Per Sale Per Supply Source (see DoublePositive white paper “Tapping the Value of Supplier Leads” at http://bit.ly/lnjmaz), the more supply sources you have, the better.  For the clients whose lead supply we manage, we rarely see the cheapest lead source being the lowest cost per sale, or the highest priced lead source being the highest cost per sale.  It is different in almost every case, and it changes over time as each supply source adds new affiliates, and other lead sources to their offering.

Access to More Suppliers

As we have shown in previous white papers, there are compelling financial reasons for having as many supply sources as possible.

A supplier offering exclusive leads generated from search is just one example of the multiple lead sources available.  In our opinion, every Lead-Buyer should try out as many lead sellers as they can.  Especially since the greatest obstacles to connecting with these suppliers has been eliminated.

Utilizing Third-Party Connectivity

In the past, the technical integration to connect to more suppliers was difficult and time consuming.  For many clients, getting connected to new suppliers could take months, if not a year or more, due to the technical and testing requirements with each data feed.  This level of complexity and cost prevented most companies from engaging with any but the largest of suppliers, at least initially, thus limiting their supply diversification.  It has been difficult to justify the effort for a small set of new suppliers.

Third-party connectivity platforms have eliminated this problem.  DoublePositive’s Lead Funnel, for example, facilitates and automates the physical connection to many lead sources automatically.  Lead-Buyers simply build one physical connection that is already connected to multiple supply sources.  This allows them to maintain a direct relationship with the supplier, without incurring technology integration costs.

Lead-Buyers with a Lead Funnel can turn the lead flow on and off for new suppliers, without any expense, and pay only for leads.  Let’s take another look at how it works:

In the above illustration, “You” are using a DoublePositive Lead Funnel to make a single data connection to multiple, diverse suppliers.  Our proprietary Translation Engine handles the entire custom data mapping per supply source.  By building one connection to the Lead Funnel, the company can be connected to virtually every supplier, large and small, quickly and efficiently.

Once the necessary connections are in place, Lead-Buyers can add and test new sources at the same time, filling the gap between self-generated leads and sales goals.

Review

What options are available for companies looking to leverage diversified lead types and drive growth?  Let’s review the facts.

1. Misconceptions about the value of shared versus exclusive leads can cause missed opportunities for today’s Lead-Buyer
2. A shared lead can be good or bad, depending on factors such as speed-to-lead, quality of lead, lead type, source, etc.
3. The best exclusive leads often are not exclusive, because a motivated buyer is likely to visit multiple “exclusive” supplier sites and submit multiple forms
4. Connecting to a Lead Funnel allows companies add more suppliers and test more shared and exclusive leads, without adding IT costs
5. Companies that pay only for the lead, and optimize their supply sources, can successfully use both shared and exclusive leads to reach sales goals

Post By
Rich Dent

Back in February, in my post How to Strengthen Contact Rates , I told you guys about the new inbound-outbound service DoublePositive had recently launched.

As I mentioned at the time, our contact rate is historically about 50% – but early this year, we saw that rate dipping.  We knew the problem had to do with smart phones and the personal firewall they create.  According to the most recent Nielsen report, as of December 2010, 31% of cell phone users in the United States are smartphone users.

Show of hands.  If I called you on your smart phone right now, and you didn’t recognize the number, would you answer?

Probably not.  Over 90% of consumers would ignore an unknown number, according to an informal survey I ran on Facebook.  But those same consumers said they probably would call back if the caller tried to reach them more than once.  Wouldn’t you?

Our new inbound call-back service was born.

So, are they calling us back?

It’s still very early, and so far, we’ve limited our test to mortgage leads.  But I can tell you definitively that we’ve seen a lot of call-backs.  And when they call, one of two things is happening.  Either they hang up right away (“Oh, it’s ABC Mortgage.  I don’t feel like talking to them right now”), or they stay on the phone because they are interested in speaking with a representative.  Those in the second category are transferring at 70%, a very high rate.

What does that mean to lead buyers and lead sellers?

It means we are improving the performance of your leads.  Keep in mind, those call-backs are consumers we previously never would have been able to contact.

As a result of this early success, we decided to roll out our call-back service across all verticals.  Our new test group is 80% of all the leads we are dialing on, and we are holding 20% back as a control group.  I will share the results as soon as comparative data becomes available.

Meantime, we’re still asking ourselves, what else can we do to get people to call us back?

Local versus 800

At LeadsCon in Vegas last month, DoublePositive partner Joey Liner spoke on a panel with Ken Krogue, President of InsideSales.com, a dialer manufacturer.  Ken confirmed what DoublePositive had long suspected.  He said that InsideSales.com had seen a nice uplift in performance by displaying local numbers to consumers, instead of 800 numbers.

In our experience, this seemed true.  Prior the conference, we had conducted another informal survey on Facebook.  We asked, would you be more likely to answer the phone if the caller was a local number versus an 800 number?  Again, over 90% of consumers told us they would be more likely to answer a local number, because it might be someone they know.

DoublePositive decided to test this theory.  We reached out to one of our key clients in the mortgage industry, and will perform a test on the leads we dial on their behalf.  The expectation is that using local numbers will increase our contact and transfer rates.  We’ll let you know how it goes.

Needs evolve.  Buying habits change.  The important thing for all of us is to keep innovating.  Stay ahead of the curve, and you’ll be ready for where the market takes you next.

Your turn.  What are you doing to get consumers to call you back?

Post By
Rich Dent

I have been silent for a few weeks, but for good reasons. March was just a crazy month for us at DoublePositive. We had our best month with respect to Hot transfers.  We had LeadsCon 2011, the Lending Tree Summit, March Madness and Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles!  I am back and have some good stuff I want to share with everyone.

This year in Vegas was my 4^th LeadsCon, and I must say, the growth of this event has been nothing short of amazing.  At 2500 participants, word has clearly gotten out.  More lead buyers from more verticals are realizing how important it is to attend the pioneering conference for the online lead generation industry.  And why not?  They get a valuable take-away: Information that can revolutionize their sales function.

My role at LeadsCon this year was “booth babe” – I didn’t spend a lot of time in break-out sessions but stayed out on the floor where I could talk directly with hundreds of lead buyers and take a pulse on what’s really happening out there.  Here are some things I heard:

The pain is spreading

Problems that used to affect only the mortgage industry have spread other lead-buying sectors as well (for-profit education, insurance, home services, automotive, real estate, etc.).  I even met some great people from the 2^nd largest supplier of diabetic equipment in the country, who said they purchased thousands of leads per month.  They told me, “It may take us an hour or two to get back to a lead – and by then it’s too late.”  Sound familiar?

The pain is deepening

I also spoke with a lot of companies that were afraid to expand their businesses.  They knew that simply buying more leads wouldn’t work, because then they would have to invest heavily in recruiting, hiring, training to expand the sales floor – all of which could take months, whereas they needed results immediately.  Have you been there?

The solution is working

And then there were the dozens of folks I spoke with who were already fully aware of the value of LIVE hot transfers.  I got to spend quality time among friends who had successfully leveraged our process and grown their businesses.  Here are some of the success stories I heard:

• “I know I can start buying more leads tomorrow and send them to my top guys, increasing lead flow overnight without missing a beat.”
• “We are talking to interested consumers within minutes, not hours.”
• “We were able to ramp up without hiring.”
• “We love how flexible hot transfers are.  Now we can speed up or slow down the lead flow at a moment’s notice, unlike call centers, which put us on the hook for a certain amount of leads per month, even when we can’t handle them.”

One great thing about meeting people in new verticals is that our service is plug-and-play.  It makes no difference to us if they are in mortgage, for-profit education, insurance, or even diabetic equipment.  We make their phone ring with live, qualified consumers who are interested in talking with a sales professional.  Everyone can win.

I have more to share about LeadsCon, so check back soon.  Meantime, drop me a note in the comments section below – what issues did you hear people dealing with?

Post By
Joey Liner

Continued from http://www.doublepositive.com/2011/03/28/the-state-of-the-mortgage-industry-%e2%80%93-part-i/

In my last post, I talked about how the new mandated loan officer compensation structure, coupled with the new comparison Internet advertising structure, are causing the entire mortgage industry to hit the brakes.  Smart people honestly don’t know what to do.  You may not even have a comp plan in place yet, and we’re already coming to the end of the first quarter.  My goal today is to offer some thoughts on how to structure your sales floor to maximize the opportunities, and stay in full growth mode.

Divide and Conquer Your Leadflow

First, I recommend that you change your thinking about the Internet lead market.  See it as being made up of two separate silos: 1) traditional Internet aggregator leads and 2) comparison rate-table leads.

This is a new concept.  When LeadsCouncil and Leads360 recently looked at conversion performance in selecting their 2010 award winners, they blended them all together, which yielded and apples to oranges comparison.  The reason why they are different is obvious.  Rate-table leads will have higher conversions.  The consumer clicks on a rate, and you honor the rate.  Easier sale – but, as I said previously, the margins are thinner.  Conversely, aggregator leads have fatter margins, but there’s a limitation of scale.  That’s why you have to do both to stay in full growth mode.  I am confident that Leads360 and LeadsCouncil will now report those separately in their next set of reports/awards.

Make no mistake.  This new product is a game-changer.  I estimate that marketing budgets are split 75/25 toward aggregator/comparison leads today.  I predict that by 2012, almost half the Internet inventory will be comparison ads, and half will be aggregators.  LendingTree, Quinstreet, and all the aggregators have had to adjust.  In fact, at the LT Summit earlier this month, LendingTree announced that they are bringing out their own comparison rate product, called Loan Explorer.  They knew that they would lose market share if they did not come out with their own product.  Likewise for your company, if you ignore comparison leads, you will limit your scale in your Internet division.

Divide and Conquer Your Sales Culture

Second, I recommend that you break out your sales floor.  You still need folks who are in that aggressive sales mentality every day to handle the traditional aggregator leads.  And now you need a new breed of loan officer, order-takers, to handle rate table leads.  Break up your sales floor to handle the two separately.  Don’t try to bleed them together on the sales floor.  They are two different types of sales, requiring two different sales mentalities.

To me, the most interesting aspect of the rate table product is that it empowers the consumer.  Comparison ads are giving them more control, and making them feel better about the experience.  By accepting these new leads, and fielding them with efficient order-takers, companies can double their loan officer production.  Top performers who traditionally closed eight aggregator leads per month may be able to close 20+ comparison leads per month.

More Efficiencies Available

As I said in my last post, companies looking to stay in full growth mode have an opportunity to trim some fat.  Lay-offs may be inevitable, and some employees will leave voluntarily – especially the aggressive sales professionals who are used to earning high commissions on each sale.  From an operating perspective, companies may be able to reduce overhead by as much as 25% by weeding out low performers, both in sales and operations.

The More Things Change …

One thing to keep in mind.  The industry has not flipped onto is head entirely.  There will always be a place for both traditional Internet lead-buying and comparison advertising, just as there will always be a place for both traditional sales and order-taking.  The companies that separate the two will be the most successful for the rest of 2011, going into 2012.

There is, however, some modicum of normality.  Nobody has a crystal ball, but we can probably expect rates to stay low for a while.  The economy still hasn’t recovered.  It’s true that the re-fi market is drying up, but there are still people are refi-ing every day.  This is the time to be more efficient.

Keep Your Head Up

I want to leave you on a positive note.  A lot is going on in our industry right now.  Some is in your control, and some is not.  We need to see how it all plays out.  But, whatever happens, I know you can handle it.  You have lived through hell the last couple years, fought hard and kept your head up.  I applaud your courage and determination.

At the  Summit earlier this month, I thought LendingTree picked the perfect keynote speaker to wrap-up.  Coach Kush from Boys Town (http://kush.boystown.org/Pages/default.aspx) told the story of how he fielded a team of 28 underprivileged kids, who had never played football, and took them all the way to the state championships.  His motivational speech lit a fire in me that’s still burning.

For all of us, the thing to do now is embrace opportunity.  Grow now, even though it hurts.  Fight now, even though you are tired.  Make adjustments now, and position yourself to win for years to come.