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Kelli Gallant • February 6, 2021

Answer Questions from Homebuyers Proactively

It happens to you all the time, whether you know it or not. It’s those emails that you cut and paste. It’s those conversations that have become second nature that they roll off your tongue without even thinking about it. 

Though every mortgage client is unique, there are typical questions that get asked throughout the process. You may think you’ve figured it out by invoking the timesaving cut-and-paste technique. Or maybe you’ve gone a step further and have a saved draft email or copied a paragraph that you pull out just for these instances. 

That is definitely  leaps and bounds ahead of typing a unique response or picking up the phone to explain property tax adjustments. Again. 
 
Instead of responding to those calls and emails that can take you away from other important deals, why not answer them proactively with a properly-timed automated email that goes out right before most clients come to you with the same question. 

If you’re still not quite sure what those questions are, then try this: 


Create a new word document on your computer or grab a pen and paper; for the next week, write down every question a client texts, emails or asks you on the phone that MIGHT be useful for this purpose. The following week, keep writing those questions down. If they ask the same questions, put a checkmark next to it. Two questions asked and answered would indicate that your clients need some increased understanding in this area. 


Keep in mind that these are only the clients that are asking you. Many more have googled it and found the answer on another broker’s blog and wondered if they may have chosen the wrong broker to work with. You don’t want that to be the case. 


Now take those questions and answer them, like you’re explaining it to a teenager. I’m not saying your clients have the mortgage literacy and understanding of a teenager, but some may struggle with the concepts. Using mortgage and financial jargon causes the average person to glaze over and start wondering what they’ll have for dinner.


Keep the messaging simple and ditch the terminology. Think about it from your client’s perspective. 


Most clients don’t need to know how Interest Rate Differentials are calculated (does anybody really know, anyway). But they need to understand that the penalty depends on the homeowners’ situation and that the difference could be thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. 


Now that you have your client’s burning questions and your answers go through your CRM and find the ideal place to send client’s the information. 


I can hear what you’re thinking. “But I send a closing cost expectations list when client’s submit their application.” 


Yes, but the homebuyer didn’t care then and didn’t have enough understanding of what might pertain to them in the future. They glazed through your email, looking for what they needed to do or understand at that moment. 


Like they say, ‘Timing is Everything.’ 


Take those answers and add it to existing templates or emails that already go out. If you’re concerned about throwing too much at them at once, automate the delivery of a new email. Send it between 2 and 24 hours after the email that prompts the questions: a Lender Commitment, for example. 


For Bonus points, add Video. Video is the preferred medium of communication for most clients now, not just Millennials. You can say more in a 30 second video and it’s better retained and understood by clients, especially if you add visuals! 


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