Mortgage CRM software is a customer relationship management system designed and configured specifically for the mortgage business. If you do not have a good understanding of CRM software I would recommend reading our what is CRM article before continuing.
Many loan brokerages and mortgage companies are realizing that their traditional Loan Origination Software is more combersome than helpful. This is especially true for the their loan officers. If this is the situation you find yourself in, a mortgage CRM may be exactly what you need.
In this article I will explain in detail what Mortgage CRM is, what Mortgage CRM is not, the differences between a Mortgage CRM and a Loan Origination Software (LOS). I will also provide recommendations on the best Mortgage CRM systems available and the best prices.
What is Mortgage CRM?
Mortgage CRM software refers to a customer relationship management software that is built for mortgage companies. Unlike traditional CRM software that is intended and geared toward any business, Mortgage CRM systems come configured with the common mortgage fields, modules, workflows and general terminology any mortgage company requires.
Benefits of Mortgage CRM
For mortgage businesses there are many benefits to choose a Mortgage CRM over a traditional CRM. Primarily the customization is already done for you, as opposed to needing to spend time creating custom fields, modules, and workflows that all mortgage companies require.
Instead of wasting time doing this type of CRM configuration, the Mortgage CRM will come with all of this ready to go.
You can of course customize a Mortgage CRM just like you can any other CRM system, but the main bulk of the customization is already done for you.
The other benefits are not solely mortgage related but CRM related in general. CRM systems provide your organization with an efficient way to manage your business, sales process, customer and lead communication and more.
Part of what makes a CRM system unique is the sales automation functionality your sales team is able to take advantage of. There are so many routine and mundane steps sales people have to do each day, such as sending follow-up emails, making reminders for themselves to follow up with a potential borrower, keeping track of how far they are from reaching their quota, and so on.
These types of activities can be automated with a CRM software, which adds efficiency to any sales operation and will inevitably increase production.
Difference Between Mortgage CRM and Loan Origination Software (LOS)?
Loan Origination Software and Mortgage CRM's are not one in the same. You will not be able to replace your LOS completely with a Mortgage CRM.
Loan Origination Software (LOS)
Loan Origination Software refers to a system that handles the actual loan process after the borrower has been approved and the loan needs to be finalized. Some of the key features LOS systems manage include underwriting the borrower, running credit checks, and other compliance related obstacles.
Mortgage CRM Software
Mortgage CRM software handles everything prior to the loan origination process, including but not limited to automating the routing of incoming leads, automatically assigning leads to the correct sales people and loan officers, managing the sales workflow and sales pipeline.
CRM software for mortgage companies can also automate all of the email and sms communication you have with your potential borrowers, and even with your loan officers.
You can easily alert your loan officers by way of SMS message when a new lead arrives, or send an sms notification when a lead reaches the pre-qualification stage of the workflow.
Should I Use the LOS as a CRM?
Many mortgage companies try to utilize their LOS system as a CRM, and time and again it does not work. So many mortgage companies have told me this while helping them get their Mortgage CRM configured, and how they wished they didn't waste so much time trying to do this.
There is a good reason not to, because Loan Origination Software is not a CRM software. These two systems have completely different purposes. The Mortage CRM handles moving the borrower through the sales process, and the LOS system is used after the processors have all of the borrowers documents and other information ready to go.
Once your processing team reaches this point, they sync the borrower's record over to the LOS. Then they use the LOS system to continue verifying the documents already collected, performing the credit check and so on.
The important point is that your loan officers will have a difficult and cumbersome time closing loans if they are attempting to manage their sales pipeline from an LOS system. They are not designed nor built for sales work.
How Much Does Mortgage CRM Cost?
There are many Mortgage CRM software systems on the market today, and they can range in price from $60 per user per month to $200 per user per month. For example BNTouch starts at $148 per user per month, that is for one user.
Luckily Snapforce CRM has deployed hundreds of mortgage companies over the years, and only costs $12 per user per month. There are additional add-on's that are optional, which are also low cost in general. For example to add on the two-way mail sync feature it is an additional $5 per month, which doesn't really break the wallet.
You can learn more about the pricing on the CRM configuration page.
Final Thoughts
Mortgage CRM software is a newer carve out of the CRM space, and it is taking off. More and more mortgage companies realize that they are missing out on all that CRM has to offer.
The Mortgage CRM system should integrate with your LOS and make your sales process seamless. Especially now that there is a low cost option available it is worth investigating if this the right tool for your business.