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Lead management continues to pick up steam in marketing and sales circles. As more and more consumers move online for their mortgage and debt relief research smart businesses are adjusting.

Why do you need to adjust? Because when mortgage and debt customers go online they behave differently.

The Good Old Days

In the good old days customer found you because of a post card, the yellow pages, an attractive storefront, or a referral from a friend–today, they Google you. So, why are things so different?

In the old days there was a tendency for you to get contact right when the customer was ready to do business. For example, they already had a house picked out, they had made the decision to refinance, or they were at a breaking point with creditor harassment. Google and the simplicity of the Internet has changed this timing.

Now people search Google just out of curiosity or interest. As a result they come across information about mortgages and debt settlement that makes them wonder, “Should I be looking into these things?”

By the way, this is why aged mortgage or debt leads can be so powerful. People that don’t get this change in consumer behavior are dropping these leads on the floor. And you are getting them for pennies on the dollar.

Sales Cycle is Longer

The obvious result is that you are going to get prospective customers into your sales pipeline a lot earlier. This is great. Or is it?

There are many missed opportunities because of this shifting and lengthening of the sales cycles. That is unless you have a process to manage it. This is where lead management can be a competitive advantage.

Loading in leads into my lead management system can put my follow-up on autopilot-sending emails, reminders to call, or responding to task items. Unlike spreadsheets, sticky notes, and legal pads lead management is like a virtual assistant. It keeps me top of mind with all my clients.

Loyalty is Harder to Gain

Another important factor to consider is that relationships, real relationships, are harder to form with the rise of the Internet. Sure you probably have hundreds of people on you email list, Facebook, or Twitter but none of them touch the customers you used to meet at their kitchen table.

One of the ways to combat this distance is using lead management to give them a more frequent and personal feeling. Again, with the ticklers and emails that remind you to just check-in and say, “hi!” will get you to a real relationship faster.

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