The best leads don’t always show up at 10 o’clock on Wednesday morning. In fact, some of the most serious prospects are likely to make contact after hours or over the weekend. So what do you do when this happens? If you’re waiting until the beginning of the next workday to connect with these potential customers, you might be missing your chance to convert a great lead!
Many mortgage professionals assume prospects don’t want to be contacted after normal business hours. In reality, research shows that when a loan officer receives a lead outside of traditional work hours and quickly responds before the start of the next workday, prospects are 11% more likely to be converted. More specifically, the leads who receive a response between 7PM and 11PM are between 42% and 90% more likely to convert.
This same principle is true for the weekend. For loan officers who want to make the all-important first contact with a customer, immediately calling a lead they receive on a Saturday or Sunday is a key strategy for conversion. Studies show that weekend mortgage leads are 20% more likely to close than those contacted throughout the week. This makes sense when you consider that competition is seriously reduced over Saturday and Sunday. In fact, more than 60% of mortgage companies don’t even have a strategy in place for following-up with the leads they receive during the weekend. As a result, it takes them 71% longer to reach out to these customers. By the time they reach back out, that prospect is already doing business with a competitor.
While other sales teams are waiting until start of the business day, the originator who calls a lead outside of office hours has a huge advantage. When you put in a little extra time, you’ll see a serious increase in your production!
If you want to learn more strategies for connecting with prospects, sign up for LEAD CONVERSION, XINNIX’s program that equips loan officers with a proven sales process and precise techniques to dramatically increase the conversion of potential customers into sustainable business.