Leadpile’s Blog

In recent months the debt vertical has become a very popular, yet challenging vertical to work with. Understanding reasons consumers have gotten into debt and the specifics that the lead buyers are looking for, has been something we have worked on to fully understand.
According to Bankrate.com there are 10 main reasons why consumers get buried in debt. Understanding more about debt allows consumers to be more educated and ultimately try and avoid these types of situations.

1. Reduced income, but same monthly expenses
2. Divorce
3. Poor money management
4. Underemployment
5. Gambling
6. Medical expenses
7. Not saving money or not saving enough money
8. No money communication skills
9. Spending money you don’t have yet
10. No understanding of money

These are all scenarios any consumer can be faced with, including myself. With the economy being very tough right now, many lead generation companies are focusing on the debt vertical. Fortunately, there are various types of debt help that the consumers can get, but most consumers do not know the difference between one another.
The main details that debt consolidation and debt settlement companies are looking for is the amount of unsecured debt. What is unsecured debt?
Unsecured debt is debt that is not secured by any collateral. For instance, credit card debt, medical bills, cell phone bills and other collection accounts. Most debt companies do not work with secured debt such as mortgages, tax debt, student loans and auto loans.
Leadpile Lead Exchange generates a lot of debt leads. Lead types such as debt consolidation, debt settlement, and credit repair are all types of leads we are generating that are there to assist the consumers with the debt/credit. We are connecting the consumers that need help, with those companies that can help them get out of debt.

I have had multiple calls these last few weeks, and one of the things I observed was that Loan Officers’ main focus is becoming the “credit repair”.  LO’s are looking at different avenues to assist their clients in need. We all know that a large percentage of consumers are having credit problems. Unless you have good or excellent credit, you won’t qualify to refinance your home. After Loan Officers are attempting fixing your credit, they are assisting the client to refinance their homes. 

That’s a smart move for LO’s.  First they charge to fix your credit, then they help you refinance.  Realistically speaking I think its a brilliant idea. It’s not coming fast, but do we have other options? Adapt to the new situations, look for what the consumers need, and you will be able to succeed, even in this market. 

The demand for credit repair in these last few days have gone up.  Finding new ways to make a living and to survive even when the economy is struggling is fabulous. 

Any thoughts on this?

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On a previous post I spoke about Lower My Bills (LMB) and some changes they were going through. However, I think I am seeing some changes going on again. Looking around on the net I saw some of those “dancing” people, yet the advertisement were about AUTO INSURANCE? Yeah, auto insurance! The ad was a LMB advertisement about lowering your auto insurance rates. So, is LMB RE-focusing on other industries besides JUST refinance? If you take a look at their website it talks about all sorts of lead types, however I guess we usually all know them for mortgage, NOT insurance. Maybe something new is in the works?

According to RUMORY.com, some companies could be experiencing some potential changes to adjust with the declining economy. Tough times right now for just about any industry. I will say Leadpile Lead Exchange is fortunately thriving while others are going through some tough times.
Will all the major online lead generation companies survive, and if they do what will their main focus for lead gen be in?

I just finished reading that The House is expected to pass a $300 billion housing rescue bill aimed at aiding homeowners in trouble and help them avoid foreclosure and supporting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If the Senate passes the bill and Bush signs it, thousands of borrowers will be able to refinance their unaffordable old mortgages into new, low-cost fixed-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.  

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 400,000 borrowers with $68 billion in loans may benefit from the program. The bill will only allow as many as 1 through 2 million borrowers to participate in the program.

Some of the qualifications for these loans are as followed:

• Prior loan issued during Jan 2005 – Jun 2007
• Have an up to date mortgage or in default
• Once loan is reissued you will not be able to take home equity from your home for 5 years unless used to pay for up keeps on home.

This will definitely help the mortgage industry.  More loans officers will start focusing on purchasing mortgage leads from lead exchanges as they will now be able to help the consumer. 
 

Looking over some posts myself and others have posted in the last few weeks, I see a common topic of conversation. A large amount of the Leadpile blog consists of some good postings from my peers about what is going on with the economy. The sad part about the troubling economy is it is affecting so many people in the world in a BAD way. However, did you ever think about the people that this struggling economy is benefiting? I mean really… one person’s failure is another person’s gain. So, who is gaining in this credit crunch and declining market?

1. Honda- the auto maker has struggled like all other auto makers with producing newly desired hybrid models. Honda will be rolling out 1 more hybrid variations in addition to it’s 2 models that are currently at Honda dealerships. However, consumers are looking for smaller more economical cars VS trucks and SUVs. Them not being a car maker that had been highly focused on trucks, has allowed them to be the only car maker to increase their sales numbers, and that was only 1%.

2. Public transportation- more and more people are now taking public transportation and now cities are even adding new routes to take care of all the additional people. Cities have wanted this for years- save the environment, cute down on pollution etc. Now they have what they wished for!

3. Credit repair and debt settlement companies- these companies could have seen some slower times with everyone going the refinance route. Loan officers were advising consumers to do a refinance to consolidate their debt, amongst other things, with the new found equity in their homes. The credit repair companies are now seeing consumers coming to them because they have no other options.

4. Payday loan industry-consumers have an ability to take out a payday cash advance loan as a last resort for a really hard time. However, are there now more consumers that normally are not taking out a payday loan, having to consider it to pay that next mortgage payment or other outstanding bill?
How about car warranty providers, gas companies, loan modification companies, bankruptcy attorneys, and home buyers looking for a good deal? All these types of companies should be feeling an increase in business.
There are some more that are benefiting from this downturn in the economy, and we really have to say hats off to them. Some of these companies like Toyota have been in the shadow of other auto makers and now it is their turn to shine!
With regards to lead generation companies and lead exchanges, how are we going to adjust to this change, and satisfy any new demand for different products and services? Why not look at the economy in a positive light, that there are some out there that are not going through any economic hardship? Glass half full VS half empty: YOUR choice.

According to Bloomberg,  Mortgage applications in the U.S. declined last week, led by a slump in refinancing as borrowing costs surged.  Sales will probably remain depressed as lenders restrict credit, and concern over inflation boosts mortgage rates. The highest mortgage rates in a year may have precipitated the slump in demand. The average rate on a 30 year  fixed-rate loan rose to 6.57, the highest level since June 2007, from 6.24 percent. 

So what are Mortgage Companies to do? 

They have one of two choices… Go big in a downturn, get small and ride it out, or close their doors.

What does a Lead Marketplace do for Mortgage Companies right now? Do what they have always done…Let the demand drives the lead…simple and easy.

We ALL know those lovely dancing people in the Lower My Bills advertisements. Unique online advertising that promotes consumers to click on their animated banners. Anyone in the mortgage world who has ever bought leads, has probably at some point or another purchased leads from this company. In recent weeks, I have been writing some various posts about different aspects of our economy and how it seems to be affecting different online companies.
Who would have ever thought there would be an affect on such a large company as Lower My Bills.  It appears that it has.
LMB it seems is now getting into remarketing through email campaigns?  They weren’t doing this already? From what I read they were not.  So what could be the reasoning behind something like this? Was there never a need to remarket because the payouts on selling leads multiple times was enough to satisfy them? Has business slowed down so much that they need to remarket their database to generate new online activity (new leads, clicks, better EPL etc)? Maybe the cost for online marketing is too costly for them, and they need to come up with lower cost ways to generate leads?
No matter what the reason is, there seems to be not one industry or company that is not some how affected by what is going on in our economy.
Companies must start thinking outside the box in order to come up with more efficient ways to generate business at a lower cost.  Email marketing seems to be the answer for Lower My Bills, so what are other companies going to do to adjust and stay afloat?
I HOPE THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE DANCING PEOPLE BANNERS ARE GOING TO GO BYE BYE……..

Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages edged up to 6.09 percent from 6.08 percent last week, Freddie Mac reported in its nationwide survey. It was the highest mark for 30-year mortgages since the rates hit 6.13 percent the week of March 16. The survey also showed that other types of mortgage rates declined. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.65 percent from 5.66 percent. The five-year, adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 5.51 percent from 5.62 percent. The rate on a one-year, adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 5.06 percent from 5.22 percent.

What does this mean to buyers of Mortgage Leads? Simply put, it looks like the supply will be going down in the short term. Only those mortgage Companies with excellent “sales cycles” will be able to monetize Internet lead sin a meaningful way!

Mortgage Companies…Get you closers on the line! They need to close better than ever!

Purchasing a car has always been something that was a necessity, but also potentially enjoyable for consumers.  However, alot of consumers used to get new cars from money they took out on their home equity loans.  With less home equity loans/refinances happening, this is affecting the auto finance industry.  In addition, those consumers that were doing a direct loan with the auto lender,  are having a harder time getting approved for that auto loan.  ABC consumer who used to be approved for a subprime auto finance loan is now having to jump through more hoops to get that loan.  This is ultimately affecting the lead generation industry, because less leads are as “attractive” because lead buyers are having to increase their minimum requirements.  Consumers with outstanding car loans are also affecting this industry because these same consumers are falling past due on their mortgages, paying $4 a gallon gas and therefore not able to pay the car note….or go out and get a new car.  So then what?  Those cars have to be repossesed and everntually sold at an auto auction for pennies on the dollar.

When will this get take a turn for the better?

Let’s take a minute and talk about Co-Registered leads.  Do they work? Absolutely!  Do you want to know what is the secret?  Well, I will share that with you. 

See, our Co-registration leads are simply a secondary request made by the consumer that is expressing a genuine interest in a specific targeted service.  We don’t incentivize the leads.  The consumer is knowingly submitting a request to be contacted in addition to their primary request. 

Do you have sales force that needs leads to call? Co Registration leads are what you need!  Still thinking… well let me make it easy for you!  You go into the grocery store for a gallon of milk, right?  On the way down the hall you see some tasting pastries.  What would most people do? Take the pastries along with the milk. Do you understand it better now.  Let’s use credit services for example,  a consumer fills out a request to refinance their home.  Guess what? Without good credit their application will not be approved! At the end of the mortgage application they have the option to also submit a request to be contacted for a credit repair solution! Amazing, isn’t it! Now, the consumer can repair their credit and qualify for a mortgage.

The fact is, that most consumers need assistance for more than once service! CoReg leads are just that! Assisting a client for an additional service.