What realty agents need to know about trigger leads

Maybe this has happened to you. Just hours after applying for a mortgage, the phone calls start rolling in. "Hello Mr. Carpenter, This is Joe Sleezeball with Undistinctive Mortgage Company. I'm calling because I see that you are applying for a new mortgage. The credit bureau company sent this information to me because they felt I might be able to provide a more competitive rate on the mortgage you are applying for. Sir, if you will tell me what your mortgage company is offering you, I can do a cost & credit analysis to see If I can beat it. Do you know what interest rate they are charging you?"

What's happening here is the result of Trigger Leads. The Washington Post covers this new scheme in detail, but basically it works like this:

1. Borrower applies for a mortgage.
2. Mortgage Company orders a credit report.
3. Credit Report Bureau sells the customer's name, phone number, approximate credit score, and the fact that they are applying for a mortgage to just about anyone.
4. Lead companies buy this information and sell it to other mortgage companies.
5. New mortgage companies call borrowers.

Okay, so maybe you are thinking, "Todd is just bitter that these companies are underbidding him. Competition is good." Well, competition is good. But the reality is that the offers these companies promise are often broken. Think about who you want your customer to be dealing with. Is it the loan officer who calls on your office, always answers or returns your phone calls, and gets the mortgage to closing on time and as promised? Or, is it the telemarketer who's never made a sales call to a real estate agent's office in his life, a guy whom you don't know from Adam, and a guy who has to buy his leads instead of earning them through referrals?

Competition is a good thing. I'm never offended if an agent wants to refer their clients to more than one loan officer. I know I'm playing on a level field because the agent has staked part of their own reputation on recommending each loan officer. As much as you want your client to get the best deal, it also has to be a deal that results in a closed sale, on time, and at the promised rate & fee.

Before you refer your client off to your favorite loan officer, you'll be doing them and yourself a big favor if you take a minute to explain how trigger leads work, and just who it is that might be calling them.

--Todd Carpenter, Lenderama

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