Mortgage technology and beyond: The quest for the perfect databaseJohn D. SvirskyMortgage Quest, database management, letter writing
ACT!, Goldmine, Mortgage Quest...which database to use? We all
know the importance of mining our database. By now, we all know how
much more effective and efficient it is to maintain a customer for
life, rather than having to continually search for new ones. There
have been many studies showing the dramatic savings in repeat
business versus developing a new client. In my business, I have
found that I need to do both. As I've stated in previous articles,
the majority of my business comes from repeat business, referrals,
and recommendations. I have found that over the past 19 years, this
is the most efficient way to go. When I meet with a client who has
been referred to me by a previously satisfied customer or one whom
I have helped before, the resistance level is much lower. I don't
have to prove to them how good I am.
So...how do you get clients to keep coming back? One very
successful Mortgage Broker from Washington State told me that in
his quest to keep clients for life, he sends gifts and letters to
all his clients bi-annually. What surprised him was that even
clients who were his worst nightmare returned, and when asked why,
they said it was because he kept in contact with them on a regular
basis. Another secret to his success is that he would call four
previous clients each morning just to say hello, see what was going
on, and ask if he could be of service. What a great concepta
Mortgage Broker who cares and follows up. That is why Stephen
Marshall is one of the best of the best in our field today, and I
hope he inspires you as he has me.
For those of you who are waiting for the answer as to which
database to use, I am not going to answer that. The reason is that
it's so personal, depending on your style, computer literacy,
whether you have an Information Technology department, or do it all
by yourself. ACT!, Goldmine, and Mortgage Quest are all good.
However, Mortgage Quest offers something that the others do nota
phenomenal letter writing and follow-up campaign. Mortgage Quest is
more than a database system; it is a database marketing system and
an excellent one at that. Mortgage Quest provides the mortgage
specific letters and the marketing automation to get them to the
target market.
For those of you who use ACT! and are happy with it and don't
want to change databases, Mortgage Quest has an ACT! interface. I
strongly recommend that you use Mortgage Quest for its marketing
campaigns while using ACT! as well, as they are compatible. It's
also compatible with Calyx's POINT for Windows, which is important
to me.
Market Focus, Inc. markets Mortgage Quest, and in their
literature, they state that you can increase your sales 20 to 30
percent annually by using this program. I think that is a
conservative estimate. It's created specifically for the mortgage
industry, and the fields are already done the way Mortgage Brokers
are going to want them. In ACT! or Goldmine, we have to create the
fields that we want. For example, in the borrower fields section,
instead of having to configure them yourself, there are drop-down
menus for client status, mortgage type, refinance options, and
other criteria. The program also asks about lead source and
referral information. What a luxury it is that someone else took
the time to figure out the important fields and created them for
us.
Mortgage Quest sends letters out to your prospects, pre-close
clients, and closed clients on a regular basis. In addition,
Mortgage Quest includes referral thank you letters, shopping
letters for both purchasers and refinances, and letters to
builders, realtors, and attorneys. It provides status letters to
your referral sources, 3-,6-, and 12-month follow-up letters asking
for referral letters from previous customers, and follow-up letters
to borrowers for up to three years. The average life span of a
mortgage is four years, so you can see how important the follow-up
is. Imagine...walking into your office on a Monday morning and your
follow-up letters are ready and set to go. Thats what automation is
all aboutmaking our lives easier.
If you are like me, I often start out with the best of
intentions, but I just don't get around to writing those letters.
Mortgage Quest provides the letters; I personalize them for my
operation. I just have to be diligent about entering the contacts
into the database.
Here are some new features since I reviewed Mortgage Quest in
1998:
*I have found the program much more user-friendly;
*I can access the toolbar from all of the screens within the
borrower and contact databases;
*they have added new fields based on feedback from brokers telling
them what those of us in the industry needed most;
*they have added an automatic "add and remove" to the campaigns, so
if a prospect becomes a client, Mortgage Quest automatically takes
the specific action;
*Rate Watch notifies you when a borrower's desired interest rate is
greater than the current interest rate (I look forward to me being
able to use that feature when rates come down again);
*of course, it prints the labels for when you are sending your
newsletters (what I like is that the labels match the order you
print the letters in); and
*they have really improved the online help systemsimply type the
question and relevant topics are displayed.
The big change is that the program is now Internet savvy.
Mortgage Quest has formed a strategic alliance with Myers Internet
Service and will have a module to provide E- marketing
capabilities, which will allow you to track incoming requests for
information from prospects and follow-up. The module allows you to
E-mail letters to your prospects, clients, and others, and contains
78 E-mail letters permitting you to send E-mail to prospects who
are purchasing or refinancing, send any loan cycle letters, create
timed E- mail broadcast campaigns, and E-mail referral thank you
letters. This can save both a lot of stamps and trees.
Mortgage Quest is completely integrated with Microsoft Word (all
the letters are written in Word). It also imports information from
other popular mortgage software providers such as Byte, Calyx,
Contour, and Genesis 2000, among others. In summary, Mortgage Quest
is a program that is simple enough for the novice Mortgage Broker
and sophisticated enough for the seasoned professional. Depending
on your company's needs, it's sold for personal, team, office, and
workgroup systems. Speak directly to the company to see which
option is right for you. Of course, there is a money- back
guarantee. After all, in this market, who would complain about
increasing their business 20 to 30 percent? Mortgage Quest will
help.
Product information
What it is: A Database and Marketing System that actually works and
was created for Mortgage Brokers.
System Requirements: PC using 486 or higher, 15 MB of hard disk
space, 16 MB RAM or higher, Word 97 or 2000, Winfax Pro 8.0 or
higher, Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT or higher, Novell 3.2
How to Order: Call (800) 708-9715 or visit on the Internet at www.marfocus.com
Price: $395 for single user. Visit the company's Web site to see
other pricing variables.
John D. Svirsky is a former Director and Technology
Chairperson of the NYAMB, a volunteer firefighter, gardener, avid
cigar enthusiast, and has been in business for himself for 18
years. John may be reached at (914) 424-3388 or
[email protected].
