Helping brokers generate leads: Lessons from Lead Generation Bootcamp 2024

In May, The Adviser’s inaugural Lead Gen Bootcamp provided an audience of highly engaged brokers with tools and strategies to jump-start their lead generation activity and convert these leads into new business.

With the support of principal partner CoreLogic, the event travelled to Melbourne and Sydney to showcase the lead generation solutions that deliver the most effective return on marketing investment for brokerages of all sizes.

Speaking following the event, CoreLogic’s head of broker Chris Wagner said it was encouraging to see such a healthy level of engagement.

“It was amazing,” Wagner said. “Everyone was there to see a potentially new way of doing things within their business.”

Quality v quantity

The program commenced with video marketing sessions from Trusted Finance founder and director Rob ‘Robbo’ Roper, also known by his social media moniker: Robbo, the Aussie mortgage guy.

Roper explained how social media videos can be used to build a quality lead generation funnel and shared tactics for turning a captive audience from TikTok and Instagram into quality leads.

“A lead will not contact you if they’ve left a video feeling like home ownership is not an option for them in the near future,” Roper said.

“To generate leads, tell home buyers that you have the solution for their problems. Don’t forget to include a call to action so that your leads contact you straight away.”

Harnessing AI

Captr founder and CEO Steve Cachia touched on a similar theme during the next session, explaining how video widgets – videos embedded on a web page – made with artificial intelligence (AI) tools can ease a lead through a marketing funnel.

Before the event, Cachia said that this type of video can be an excellent way for brokers to foster a strong connection with leads.

“Video forms are a good way for brokers to showcase their personality and connect with clients,” Cachia said.

“We want mortgage brokers to insert videos of themselves into the form process to explain each step of filling the form to potential leads so it’s like you’re talking to them directly.”

Build and engage

The next session also touched on AI. Bluewire Media CEO Adam Franklin encouraged brokers to use platforms such as LinkedIn to identify their niche, then use AI tools to create marketing ideas and content that best connects with them.

“Brokers rely heavily on word of mouth and referrals to grow their business but this means they’re often at the mercy of factors outside their control,” Franklin said. “The beauty of building a marketing engine, however, is you regain some control and visibility over your pipeline.”

CoreLogic’s Wagner rounded out the pre-lunch sessions with a presentation on the power of customer engagement solutions, touching on prospecting, automation, and retention.

“Mortgage brokers have the face to face nailed,” Wagner said. “Clients know that and they understand the value that that adds. But I think there’s an area of opportunity here for a digital presence in the mortgage broker’s world,” he said, flagging that CoreLogic offers brokers a range of digital property reports and customer engagement tools to create close relationships with their clients with minimal effort on their part.

Accelerating lead gen

After a break for lunch and networking, LoanOptions.ai founder and CEO Julian Fayad joined Effi founder and CEO Mandeep Sodhi to talk about how brokers can harness new technologies, such as AI-powered SMS bot systems, for efficient lead generation.

Prior to the event, Sodhi explained that by using its platforms, brokers could make better use of the leads already around them rather than having to buy a list every time they needed new business.

“Currently, brokers spend valuable time on back-and-forth calls with leads who may not be interested, or requesting availability to book an appointment,” Sodhi said.

“With our SMS Bot, brokers can now focus their efforts on having meaningful conversations regarding home loans, while the bot takes care of appointment scheduling.

Similarly, Fayad said that its white labelled tool can be embedded onto a broker’s website to help a broker capture more leads and convert hem.

“When people land on a broker’s website, they see our technology in the hero section, which includes a call to action. We ask clients a series of questions to pre-qualify them, such as whether home buyers are looking for owner-occupied or investment property, and how much they want to borrow,” Fayad said.

“They’re then asked to complete the SMS verification so we know it’s not a fake lead.”

Organic and aggregator-sourced leads

Cost-effective lead generation strategies were also unpacked through the Lead Generation Bootcamp, through both organic and aggregator-sourced leads.

Your Client Matters managing director Deena Janes shared her secret to finding the gems in existing databases and the clever techniques, such as surveys, which extract them.

The next presentation, led by REA Group senior franchise marketing manager Kristina Kanaris and Mortgage Choice general manager distribution Aaron Slater, examined leads generated by aggregators and how they can complement a broker’s efforts.

Converting the quality

Broker Essentials founder and director Jason Back was then joined by Prospa BDMs to showcase how the SME lender equips brokers with marketing plans, bespoke content, and positioning assets.

Back returned to the stage for the final session revealing how brokers can put all of this education into action. He dissected the pros and cons of brokers building their own lead generation infrastructure and explained how partnering with an external vendor and how combining both strategies could benefit some brokers.

And every broker went home with a compact, actionable one-page guide for initiating their lead gen journey and tailored sales tactics to enhance conversion.

“The industry has fallen into the habit of talking about interest rates, offset accounts, and redraw facilities in their marketing material,” Back said.

“But this is too generic. There’s too much advertising going on and it’s getting lost in a crowded marketplace. We need to be more creative with our marketing.”

Time to write

Summarising the event following the roadshow, CoreLogic’s Wagner said it was encouraging to see such a full and engaged room, a sign many brokers are willing to put the work in on the road to better lead generation.

“I think the biggest takeaway for me was there isn’t a golden ticket. If you expect something to come along and really fix all the lead generation problems in your business with no effort on your behalf, it really doesn’t exist,” Wagner said.

“You need to invest and think about how you can connect with your clients and engage outside of that normal loan processing process, and how you can keep them engaged with your business along the way for various methods (social media, EDM etc) and connecting with them to make sure that your business is front of mind when they come back.”

Thank you to our speakers and partners who joined our Lead Generation Bootcamp 2024.

You can hear more about the Lead Gen Bootcamp 2024 and how CoreLogic is supporting brokers with their lead generation and customer engagement on the Mortgage Business Spotlight podcast.

Tune in to the episode with Chris Wagner here: