Sunday, November 19, 2006
The Right Partnerships at the Right Time
Recently we announced a partnership with HouseValues (read the press release). It’s pretty exciting for us because we have an opportunity to really jump start our sales via their team of 35 sales people. What’s really cool, and the reason they are so fired up about the relationship, is that we’re doing as much for them as they’re doing for us. It’s a true win/win situation. We’re looking to expand our brand awareness and increase user base and they’re looking for a way to improve their value proposition. For HouseValues, being a one stop shop for great leads, solid coaching and best practices enforced via Leads360’s LeadManager, is the path to customer success. For Leads360, being as important as the telephone to mortgage companies is priority #1. This deal brings us one step closer to that goal.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Technology as a Tool in the Mortgage Space
Technology adoption within the mortgage industry is undoubtedly growing; small and middle market brokerages are engineering methods to compete for profits alongside industry leaders by utilizing similar tools. Be it an LOS, Document Management System or Appraisal Pricing Engine, technology tools, specifically software, levels the playing field. As this cycle matures however, companies are rightfully questioning the tenants of technology adoption: What tools do I need? How do I get the most out of them? And most importantly, how should I measure technology ROI?
First and foremost, technology alone is not a solution; it’s simply one tool among many in your toolbox for success. When considering using a new tool in your business, it’s critical that it be combined with proven best practices, a thought-out adoption strategy, benchmarking and regular evaluations of its effectiveness. Much of this process will be somewhat organic; you’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t throughout the lifecycle of adoption, but you must measure and correct. As our parents harped that there is no free lunch, there’s certainly no positive technology ROI without considerable hard-work, regardless of how pretty the tool looks and how many wiz-bang features it employs.
Ok, I need technology, which tool do I pick?
To provide some tangible answers, let’s base our discussion around Lead Management software, a technology tool rapidly adopted over the last few years. To use an analogy, the software business is akin to a Cold War era arms race; each company constantly building features for their tool that will outshine their competition. It is a fact that every tool provider, or vendor, will have something others don’t. How then do you pick a vendor, you ask? You have to look beyond the tool to a company that is not a technology vendor, rather a partner.
Vendors have customers; partners have clients. Vendors want to sell you a product; partners want to grow a value-based relationship. Rule #1 when choosing a Lead Management software provider is finding a partner that not only has a tool that you like to look at, but also one that has the experience to guide you through the long-term organic lifecycle of that technology within your organization.
I picked a partner, how do I get the most out of the technology and the relationship?
Technology adoption is about achieving business goals. In that regard, Lead Management software is the technology and increased profit is our goal.
Step #1:
Understand where you are today. Do you have a solution in place already? Where is it failing? Where is my business at this absolute point in time? This may be the most critical step in the process, as you can’t measure performance without realistic benchmarks. These may be hard to measure, undoubtedly because you’re looking for a tool to aid you in this, but you must have some handle on the present day to measure future performance.
Step #2:
Set realistic goals. There’s no point in setting a goal to increase your close ratio by 80% unless you truly believe it can happen and know deep down you have the spirit to improve your business. Goals should be short, medium and long term; they need constant review and dogged perseverance in their achievement. This is a great opportunity to leverage the expertise of your new technology partner, as they’ve most certainly gone through goal setting with many companies like yours. Use their knowledge, figure out what your competitors are achieving, and manage expectations. Your partner is going to have considerable input on how you should be using the software in order to achieve these business goals; that’s their job! Make them work for it.
Step #3:
Create an adoption plan. There’s no single killer of adoption like your employees. These people are your greatest asset, yet they are a delicate force that must be guided strategically. Business processes don’t change overnight; you have to sell the value proposition for adoption for any tool that will disrupt the way they go about their business. In the case of Lead Management, loan officers are used to having paper around, it’s a security blanket. Moving to a Web-based Lead Management system like Leads360 scares some people because they can’t touch it. It’s ok though, society can adapt to technology advancements, so can your employees, but there must be a payoff. Again, here is where you can leverage your technology partner. In the case of Lead Management, your partner should have proven best practices that you can implement for your specific business needs. Your partner can help sell the value proposition, as they already sold you on themselves.
What’s my ROI?
To understand technology ROI, let’s take a closer look at the inputs and outputs of our formula. The investment component is obviously more than just monetary. With regards to Lead Management, your monetary costs are the license fees, which depending on the company can range considerably. More importantly though is your investment in time, the disruption in your business and opportunity cost created by the need for you to seek out, deploy and adopt your new tool. Based on my experience, this is the least recognized and scrutinized investment aspect, yet it’s a business killer. This plays directly into your adoption plan, and you must have full commitment from yourself and your employees to complete this investment. Your return is more than profit margin; its improved efficiencies, attitude, confidence and refined business processes. ROI has to be about more than just dollars, it has to involve a belief that by adopting technology, you’re making yourself and your employees better at what you do, which will have significant tangential benefits.
As I’ve said before, technology is only a tool. Without proper planning, technology is not going to add value your company. Used properly though, in partnership with the right team of professionals and experts, technology can transform your business, I see it everyday with our clients.
First and foremost, technology alone is not a solution; it’s simply one tool among many in your toolbox for success. When considering using a new tool in your business, it’s critical that it be combined with proven best practices, a thought-out adoption strategy, benchmarking and regular evaluations of its effectiveness. Much of this process will be somewhat organic; you’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t throughout the lifecycle of adoption, but you must measure and correct. As our parents harped that there is no free lunch, there’s certainly no positive technology ROI without considerable hard-work, regardless of how pretty the tool looks and how many wiz-bang features it employs.
Ok, I need technology, which tool do I pick?
To provide some tangible answers, let’s base our discussion around Lead Management software, a technology tool rapidly adopted over the last few years. To use an analogy, the software business is akin to a Cold War era arms race; each company constantly building features for their tool that will outshine their competition. It is a fact that every tool provider, or vendor, will have something others don’t. How then do you pick a vendor, you ask? You have to look beyond the tool to a company that is not a technology vendor, rather a partner.
Vendors have customers; partners have clients. Vendors want to sell you a product; partners want to grow a value-based relationship. Rule #1 when choosing a Lead Management software provider is finding a partner that not only has a tool that you like to look at, but also one that has the experience to guide you through the long-term organic lifecycle of that technology within your organization.
I picked a partner, how do I get the most out of the technology and the relationship?
Technology adoption is about achieving business goals. In that regard, Lead Management software is the technology and increased profit is our goal.
Step #1:
Understand where you are today. Do you have a solution in place already? Where is it failing? Where is my business at this absolute point in time? This may be the most critical step in the process, as you can’t measure performance without realistic benchmarks. These may be hard to measure, undoubtedly because you’re looking for a tool to aid you in this, but you must have some handle on the present day to measure future performance.
Step #2:
Set realistic goals. There’s no point in setting a goal to increase your close ratio by 80% unless you truly believe it can happen and know deep down you have the spirit to improve your business. Goals should be short, medium and long term; they need constant review and dogged perseverance in their achievement. This is a great opportunity to leverage the expertise of your new technology partner, as they’ve most certainly gone through goal setting with many companies like yours. Use their knowledge, figure out what your competitors are achieving, and manage expectations. Your partner is going to have considerable input on how you should be using the software in order to achieve these business goals; that’s their job! Make them work for it.
Step #3:
Create an adoption plan. There’s no single killer of adoption like your employees. These people are your greatest asset, yet they are a delicate force that must be guided strategically. Business processes don’t change overnight; you have to sell the value proposition for adoption for any tool that will disrupt the way they go about their business. In the case of Lead Management, loan officers are used to having paper around, it’s a security blanket. Moving to a Web-based Lead Management system like Leads360 scares some people because they can’t touch it. It’s ok though, society can adapt to technology advancements, so can your employees, but there must be a payoff. Again, here is where you can leverage your technology partner. In the case of Lead Management, your partner should have proven best practices that you can implement for your specific business needs. Your partner can help sell the value proposition, as they already sold you on themselves.
What’s my ROI?
To understand technology ROI, let’s take a closer look at the inputs and outputs of our formula. The investment component is obviously more than just monetary. With regards to Lead Management, your monetary costs are the license fees, which depending on the company can range considerably. More importantly though is your investment in time, the disruption in your business and opportunity cost created by the need for you to seek out, deploy and adopt your new tool. Based on my experience, this is the least recognized and scrutinized investment aspect, yet it’s a business killer. This plays directly into your adoption plan, and you must have full commitment from yourself and your employees to complete this investment. Your return is more than profit margin; its improved efficiencies, attitude, confidence and refined business processes. ROI has to be about more than just dollars, it has to involve a belief that by adopting technology, you’re making yourself and your employees better at what you do, which will have significant tangential benefits.
As I’ve said before, technology is only a tool. Without proper planning, technology is not going to add value your company. Used properly though, in partnership with the right team of professionals and experts, technology can transform your business, I see it everyday with our clients.
