December 10, 2019 – While the current year might be coming to a close, we are happy to report our new vendor partner pipeline continues to charge ahead. Today we announce multiple fantastic partnerships, adding nearly 30 more individual vendor listings (services) to our search engine, Vendor Surf. Additionally, we have numerous other in-process partnerships in the final agreement stage, likely to be announced by end of month.
We are also honored and proud to be celebrating our 2-year anniversary this month. Visitor traffic and new vendor listings are at all-time highs as we head into 2020 – where something HUGE is brewing for 1Q’20. Can’t wait to deploy and announce.
Here is the impact of adding value-added vendor partners for 2-years now:
- Social media used to be our biggest source for traffic to the platform, with our 30K+ followers
- In mid-2019, ‘organic searches’ (keyword searches on Google, Bing, Yahoo and similar internet search engines far-surpassed all other referral sources to Vendor Surf. Translation – Our platform is so content-rich (hundreds of listings, 3,000+ filters, hundreds of calendar events, blogs & articles, etc.) these internet search engines constantly improve our page rankings, causing 54% of our visitor traffic in the past 90-days to come from these organic search referrals. This ‘earned media’ is the Holy Grail for all online businesses. Our vendor partners benefit tremendously, without having to spend a dime on Google Ads (and similar). Riding the Surf!
Here is a high-level overview of our four newest vendor partners.
One of the more diverse and large vendor partners, heavily vested in multiple mortgage disciplines from top-tier brands such as: Property Solutions; Specialized Loan Servicing; Capital Markets Cooperative; LenderLive.
Comprehensive suite of services and solutions spanning the end-to-end mortgage life cycle:
- Loan Fulfillment & Components
- Appraisal; Title
- HOA Services
- Audit, Analytics, QC, Due Diligence (including Secondary Markets)
- Outsourcing (Business Process)
- Servicing (Performing) & Special / Default Servicing
- Cooperatives (the many benefits of membership)
- Acquisition and Sale of Assets
- Trading Platforms & TOOLS
- MSR Valuation & Sales
- Property Preservation & Management
- REO Asset Management, and Inspections
Our Advice: Pay particular attention to the Computershare set of companies, as they continue to invest in strategic businesses and leaders. Per their 2019 annual report, their US Loan Services business results are very impressive, with new highs on pre-tax profit margins. Excellence in execution! We have spent time with some key leaders in recent weeks and they appear to be focused and formidable.
A venture capital backed fintech that enables secure financial transactions through a cloud-based technology platform for wire/ACH transfer validation and closing agent management, founded by industry veteran Regina Lowrie, a former chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). They use proprietary technology to streamline the 6-steps lenders must take to prevent wire fraud, including:
- Confirm routing number
- Confirm banking account number
- Confirm bank account owners
- Consider bank account activity and email risk indicators
- Confirm closing agent bank account is an escrow or trust account
- Confirm wire/ACH instructions match confirmed bank account exactly
Wire fraud is epic, with no lack of staggering stats on its meteoric rise – always top of mind in newspapers, online, network and cable TV… everywhere. “When the consumer goes to the closing table and all the money isn’t there, they lose their down payment and lose the ability to complete the home purchase. It’s really a travesty,” Lowrie said. “I’m bound and determined to make a difference in our industry to protect both lenders and consumers.”
Beyond the technology, the Dytrix team also works with clients to build a better closing process, such as: a) Develop closing agent policies and procedures; b) Help create internal communication plans; c) Qualify and develop closing agent databases; d) Set up and train users.
Oh, and those of you returning readers, you know we love the fact Dytrix is SOC2-compliant.
Rarely does a service provider come along causing us to create a new vendor category, MUCH LESS TWO of them! Sales Boomerang is ALL THAT – and much more.
They are an intelligent system for mortgage professionals, generating alerts the moment a previously unqualified lead becomes qualified. Examples:
- MORTGAGE INQUIRIES; If anyone in your database (lead, prospect, turn down or customer) is in the market for a mortgage, you will know
- CREDIT SCORE IMPROVEMENT; Now you can know when your prospects or customers have fixed their credit before they even know
- HOME JUST LISTED for sale; Get them pre-qualified for their next home
- EQUITY WATCH / notice; Ideal for MI reduction opportunities, cash outs, debt consolidations, and other equity related loans.
- LIFE EVENTS & Milestones (Loan Impacting); Marriage, birth, divorce, death or an empty nest scenario
- A TARGET RATE for a borrower; Set the target rate for each prospect, lead or past customer
Sales Boomerang is exactly the kind of service provider driving creativity and innovation in our industry, helping to push us to new and improved places. Why spend so much time and money looking for new / fresh leads when your existing database is a literal gold mine?!?!
Our favorite quote from Sales Boomerang: “What you don’t know could destroy you.” HERE is a very good white paper on the related debate: "Acquisition vs. Retention: Where Should Brands Focus?"
Over 70-years in business, another well-known brand with a robust set of comprehensive solutions, such as: Mortgage Risk Solutions, Identity Verifications, Credit Reports, Lead Gen, Technology and more.
The main goal of Informative Research is to simplify the loan process via technology and a straightforward customer service model. And, they hold THREE security certifications, an impressive commitment to protecting client data.
In May 2019, they announced a new Data Solutions subsidiary, which uses big data analytics and business intelligence that improve consumer targeting and retention strategies for lenders. The new business unit incorporates a unique blend of credit, public record, property and marketing data sets.
A few industry friends of ours have recently joined Informative Research, so we have gotten to know them much better than ever. Our Conclusion – They too will be one to watch in 2020 and beyond.
CONCLUSION:
The common threads that I see across these four partners:
- Adept at seeing gaps in the ecosystem
- Designing and deploying requisite solutions (many of which also help borrowers directly)
- And they have the capital and expertise to deliver, repeatedly
Check them out today.
Thanks for reading.
Co-Founder
