The goal of boosting your loan volume without increasing your payroll may seem like an impossible task, but you’re closer to achieving it than you realize. With a few strategic pivots –some in behavior and some involving adding mortgage software — you’ll be able to massively increase your loan volume without so much as adding an intern. 

Seem too good to be true? Read on to find out how close you are…

How To Increase Loan Volume Without Increasing Your Staff

Revamp Your Business Model

In modern lending, the market moves fast and change is constant. Ensuring that your business is agile enough to keep up with the shifts is vital to scaling your volume. That said, has your business model changed since the beginning of 2020? Are you stuck in the mindset of making do until things go “back to normal?” Are you or is your remote team struggling to find harmony in workflow? 

If you find that your loan volume growth is stagnant, the positive buzz about your business has grown silent, and your top producers are jumping ship, then it’s time to revamp your business model. Here are areas to focus on:

• Evaluate your business processes –really drill down on the loan cycle every step it takes to acquire, nurture, and close a loan.
• Revisit your key partnerships.
• Consider your target prospect –have you lost touch with who they are and what their buying habits are?
• Reassess the business values and goals. How can you better align your business to match those points?
• Reevaluate your lead generation strategy – Digital marketing for mortgage businesses is an ever-evolving practice and requires regular updates to your mortgage marketing strategy.
• Freshen up your branding to help boost interest from prospects and reignite enthusiasm from your employees.

Improve Operational Efficiency

One strategy that consistently leads to dramatic growth is improving operational efficiency. It’s estimated that most organizations bleed about 20% of their potential profits due to time mismanagement and an organization’s poor implementation of technology –both of which add up to operational deficiency.  

Now, when we say time mismanagement, understand that we’re not talking about staff scrolling through Instagram when they should be following up on leads. Rather, we’re talking about bigger time-suckers like remedial manual tasks like data entry or changing a document from one format to another before submitting. There’s also the huge mistake of having loan officers do your mortgage marketing, pulling their time and attention away from processing loans. We talked in-depth about that folly in a previous article.

When it comes to poor implementation of technology, there are several areas that you can improve on to 10x your loan volume. Consider the following critical areas:

• Refine the process -Assess whether you currently have the digital tools required to operate at a higher volume level. Examine how efficient your day-to-day operations are well as look for any gaps in the workflow.
• Automate repeatable tasks – Like mentioned above, weeding out work-intensive processes by reducing unnecessary data entry means your mortgage team gets more done with less effort. In addition to increasing their intake, mortgage automation also speeds up the closing timeline. 
• Consolidate communication –Communication is essential to operate efficiently but often too much time is devoted to answering emails, making phone calls, and attending meetings when the same can be achieved with less active effort. Instead, make use of software like a mortgage POS with a client portal. With a mortgage POS acting as a hub of operations, the assigned mortgage team can access the information and documentation they need. Notifications alert you of any changes to the loan file and communications from email and instant messaging are automatically archived and organized for easy retrieval. 

Elevate Your Borrower Experience

Increasing the number of leads is worth nothing if they don’t translate to more loans, and that’s where improving your borrower experience can make all the difference. McKinsey’s insights found that, on average, organizations that work on bettering their customer experience increase their revenue by 10-15% while simultaneously lowering their costs by 15-20%. These higher rates ring especially true in financial services. 

Thanks to technology, a remarkable experience doesn’t require building a whole new customer service department. Do the following to elevate your borrower experience:

• Be proactive –Have an omnichannel digital presence. That way wherever the consumer is on the web and whatever stage they are in the borrower journey, there’s a touchpoint that leads them back to you.
• Have open communication –While consumers readily embrace a digital mortgage, the lack of a human element can leave them feeling unsettled. Remove this barrier by providing multiple channels of communication such as in-app or website instant messaging, group chats, video calls, SMS reminders, and the like.
• User-friendly tech –Delicate processes like online loan applications can overwhelm and frustrate even the most tech-savvy consumer. Eliminate this stress by using mortgage tech that has a dynamic and modern interface. Bonus points if it’s branded too!

It’s entirely possible to 10x your loan volume and grow your business without hiring new staff. By looking for ways to maximize your current team, update your business structure, reallocate your time, and implement technology, you’ll find that taking your business to the next level without increasing your payroll is achievable.