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It’s safe to say the world has changed this year. I was on a call with a well established mortgage broker this week. His company has been originating loans for over 30 years. They have a big database, operate on almost exclusively on referrals, and do not run ads.

On the call he said to me, “I need a website because my borrower’s ask me why we don’t have one.” 

He also said, “We used to be listed in the Yellow Pages. Today Google is the new Yellow Pages. You have to be on Google.”

There are two paths clients in every service based business like the mortgage business use the web for. 

  1. Discovery: If someone is looking for a mortgage broker and doesn’t have a referral they can simply go to their phone and type: “mortgage broker near me” or “ mortgage broker colorado springs” like the example below. And a list of options comes up. The best thing about Google is that they can get information and make their decision without getting crushed with sales calls like they would if they used a lender matching service. They can look at reviews, their website, see videos of each company if they have them. It’s a “discover first” process that keeps the control of the buying decision in the hands of the buyer or borrower in your case.
  2. Validation: Have you ever been referred to a company for a service you needed? I am going to assume the answer the ‘yes’. What was the next thing you did? For most of us the answer is: “I googled them.” And if you are not a Googler I just want to stress that most of your prospects are. They are Googling you for third party validation and to do their own self discovery. We have to ask ourselves. “If someone ‘Googles’ me or my business, what do they find?” and if the answer is “nothing” you have to decide if that is the best result for your business and it’s longevity. The gentlemen I spoke with this week with over 30 years of experience identified this on his own (nice work!). He realized that the 30 years of experience is more relevant if it can be validated and if people can find him when they are looking for his services. 

So, ditch the office if you have to, but get and/or improve your website to adequately represent your offline expertise; online.

In the new normal, people don’t really care if you have an office anymore. The office doesn’t carry the same “validation” weight as it is did when I had my mortgage company. We had a battleship sized corporate office that created comfort and trust that we were a real business for our borrowers and validated the company for our employees and team members. Today your web presence has replaced that as the foundation of your marketing efforts and your validation.

Below is a shameless plug of a Google Search for “mortgage broker colorado springs”. The circled company that shows up in the local results and 2 of the first 3 first mortgage companies on page one in the organic search are Vonk Digital clients. 

If you would like to explore how we can help you with a web platform that will serve as the foundation of your business growth for “discovery” and “validation” please fill out our short pre-call form and book a time to connect with us here. https://www.vonkdigital.com/schedule-demo/

 

 

I have spent the last 15 years in the mortgage industry. In 2006 I opened a small brokerage with a few friends that we were able to grow from a 4 person brokerage to a multi state mortgage lender that made the Inc 500 list, Inc 5000 List, and was the San Diego Business Journal's #1 Fastest Growing company one year. In 2017 we made Entrepreneur Magazine's Entrepreneur 360 list of the 360 Most Entrepreneurial companies in the country. In 2018 we sold the company and I stayed on for over a year working on and with the executive team to help successfully merge the two companies.

I am now focusing my time with Vonk Digital which is a SAAS website and marketing platform that helps originators get found online, build authority, and control their personal brand.

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