The contact's credit has improved to meet your credit minimums and is showing no open mortgage on their credit, likely a first-time home buyer.
Alert Background:
This contact credit has improved in the last 30 days and now meets the minimum credit criteria set by your organization. For example, if your fico minimum in MonitorBase is set at 620, the score may have increased from 610 to 635. No open mortgage is reported on their credit, so they are likely a first-time home buyer. The borrower might not even know at this point that they could credit qualify, so a call to congratulate them on improving their credit could be a great conversation starter. Most lenders that turn down a client will never speak to them again because they don't follow up at the right time. If they wanted to buy a home then, they would still want to buy a home now. If you follow up, they will be thankful that you are trying to take care of them.
Script Example:
This script is one example; feel free to make it your own and communicate the message in your own words.
"Hi (First Name),
It's (Your Name)"
Make the Connection: At this point, you want to remind them of how you know each other. This will change the tone of the conversation from a cold call to a warm call. For example, if they talked to you two years ago about a purchase, bring that up. If this is a contact that an agent provided to you, let the client know the connection, for example:
"We worked together six months ago when you were looking at buying a home..."
OR
"I work closely with (Agent Name)'s clients; we spoke a couple of years ago..."
OR
"We met at the home buyer seminar I held a year ago." (you get the picture, right?)
Now that the conversation has relevance, it's time to start talking about them...
"You may have seen the letter or email from me recently; my system periodically prequalifies and reaches out to clients whose credit has recently improved, and your name popped up, so I thought I would just give you a quick call and catch up."
Let them talk, and ask follow-up questions that will get them talking about their plans, for example...
"Are you still interested in buying a home?"
"Has anyone told you about your area's 100% financing option?"
"Would you like me to update you on the local purchase market?"
Give Value: Let the conversation continue from here, with you asking questions about them. Let them tell you how you could help them. People don't want mortgages; they want homes. The more value you can give, in the form of insight or answering questions, the more likely they will open up and have a meaningful discussion. Tip: Most first-time buyers want to hear about 100% financing or down payment assistance programs. Even if that isn't their route, surveys have shown that most first-time buyers assume they will buy their first home without a down payment.
Differentiate Yourself: Talking about rates and terms will put them to sleep. Rates and Terms will sound very similar from one lender to the next. Tell them how unique you are compared to other lenders and focus on your programs compared to the standard products available.
Possible Next Steps:
The homeowner is interested in buying in the next six months:
- Ask questions about the home they want, their area, and their dreams! Focus on what they want first, a house, then talk about mortgage terms after. They want to know you can get them where they want to be before they start an app and pull credit.
- Ask if they would like an introduction to a good agent you know and trust.
- Make an email introduction to the Agent so that they know the referral came from you.
The homeowner isn't interested at this time:
- Send them an email thanking them for their time, and let them know you are standing by whenever they are ready.
- Set a reminder to follow up in 30 days to check-in. They will ultimately work with someone trying to solve their problems.
- Add them to your value-driven nurture campaign in your CRM.