We turn away business every day. Every day. Frankly, it drives the younger sales people crazy. They’d love to take on every lender who is impressed and amazed by our loan origination software and mortgage banking solution – but we don’t let them. We explain that it has nothing to do with manpower, or expertise, or even that we have too much business. We’d like to think it’s because we’re great humanitarians – but it’s not. It’s simply smart business.
It’s a bit tricky as a company’s size and number of loans funded factors largely into it, but its only one part of it. We know who is right for our software, but just as importantly we know who is not. Didn’t think that software vendors care about that? Smart ones do as unhappy customers spread their dissatisfaction quickly. One bad review will impact a vendor’s future sales more significantly than ten great ones. In actuality, if you’re displeased with software it’s often not that the software was “bad” or inferior; it was the wrong fit and therefore didn’t do an acceptable job. But that’s difficult to determine particularly since most of the purchasing decision for software often falls into the lap of those untrained in information technology. So look for vendors who won’t take your business and ask them why. The point is certain lending software is better for certain lenders, which is why performing a needs analysis is so vital. A vendor should be able to tell you who would not be a viable prospect. Here’s another way to pose the question: “If price isn’t an issue and your software was free, should every lender use it?”
Not every mortgage product is right for every borrower, right? So just because you do mortgages doesn’t mean every mortgage software that says is right for your company is right for your company. Every loan origination software provides a 1003 for example, how they present it to the originator is different. Just like selling the Soccer Mom a two-seater sports car or the high end real estate agent a beat up clunker, we know certain clients would simply not be happy “driving” our software regardless of how it dazzles them. I’m reminded of the great line by comedian Groucho Marx who said “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member.” You’re a lender and you’re unique.