Mortgage Lending CRM Implementation: Timeline, Costs, and Best Practices
Brian Allen
Aug 9, 2024
8 mins read
Mortgage lending can be a juggling act of communication, deadlines, and mountains of paperwork. Missed calls, frustrated borrowers, and inefficient document management can quickly become the norm, turning the process into a nightmare.
But there is a solution! Enter Contact Relationship Management (CRM) systems, a crucial component of any successful customer relationship management strategy. While traditional CRM focuses on managing all customer interactions, a mortgage servicing CRM platform goes beyond. It streamlines your processes, helps strengthen borrower relationships, and brings order to the lending hustle and bustle.
So, are you considering a CRM but worried about costs and implementation? This guide is your roadmap to success. I’ll delve into the typical timeline for a mortgage servicing CRM implementation, explore strategies to save you money and share best practices for a smooth rollout.
Taking your mortgage servicing operation from mired-down to streamlined can feel like a marathon. But with this strategic CRM implementation plan, you can easily transform your processes and elevate your contact relationships, all within a defined timeframe.
So, here’s your roadmap, broken down into clear phases:
Here are a few things to consider that will help you land a perfect CRM for your mortgage lending services:
⩥ Define Your Servicing Goals: Identify the areas where your servicing needs the biggest boost. Is it streamlining payment processing or enhancing delinquency management? Setting a clear vision will guide you toward your CRM selection.
⩥ CRM Scouting Mission: Research cloud-based CRM solutions that cater specifically to mortgage servicing. Consider features, scalability, and budget. And don’t forget – a seamless integration with your existing loan servicing software will help you save a lot of time and effort. Additionally, look for a white-label solution to maintain your brand identity.
⩥ Shortlist and Scrutinize: Develop a selection criterion to compare potential vendors. Conduct demos, request references from other mortgage servicers, and leave no stone unturned.
After you’ve chosen the perfect CRM for your services, you need to prepare for data transfer and a smooth transition:
⩥ Sort Through the Data: Gather and organize all your existing borrower data. This can include loan information, contacts, and servicing documents.
⩥ Building the Secure Bridge: Develop a data migration plan to ensure a safe and secure transfer of your valuable contact data to the new CRM. Have a talk with your service provider to get personalized recommendations.
⩥ Customizing Your Servicing Workflow: Configure the CRM system with user roles specific to your servicing team (loan processors, customer service representatives). Set up automated workflows for tasks like late payment notifications or processing forbearance requests.
⩥ Dashboards for Actionable Insights: Customize dashboards and reports based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter to your servicing goals. For instance, you can work around the most common KPIs like on-time payment rates, customer satisfaction scores and identify areas for improvement.
Now that you have your vision board, develop an actionable strategy to better accommodate your firm with the new transition:
⩥ Equipping Your Team: Develop comprehensive training materials focused on using the CRM to accompany your servicing tasks. Equip your loan processors, customer service representatives, and the entire servicing team with the knowledge to thrive within the new system.
⩥ Training Sessions for Success: Conduct user training sessions to walk your team through CRM functionalities and best practices for servicing activities.
⩥ Going Live with Support: Provide ongoing support to your team and your borrowers during the initial go-live phase. Answer questions and ensure a smooth transition as your team starts using the CRM for day-to-day servicing operations.
The last phase is an ongoing one. To optimize your CRM adoption, you need to continuously learn and apply:
⩥ Monitoring Makes Perfect: Track system usage and identify areas for improvement in your servicing processes. You could analyze CRM data to identify patterns or trends and optimize your servicing efficiency.
⩥ Feedback Loop for Growth: Gather feedback from your team and use their insights to refine workflows and further enhance the CRM’s effectiveness in aiding your servicing tasks.
| Considering Costs? Contact Relationship Management vs Customer Relationship Management for Lenders The average price for a customer relationship management platform (starter plan) is approximately $99. These platforms often come with a suite of features. However, not all the features are utilized by small and mid-size lending organizations. In such cases, the entry-level price could seem expensive. |
Tired of bloated CRM fees that don’t address your specific servicing needs?
Bryt Software understands.
Our modular Contact Relationship Manager is designed for mortgage servicers, offering a cost-effective solution that skips the extra bells and whistles and keeps the price tag attractive. Here’s how we do it:
Bryt Software’s modular system lets you choose the components that directly impact your servicing tasks, like loan payment processing, escrow analysis, and delinquency management. This lowers upfront costs and simplifies implementation by focusing solely on functionalities that enhance your servicing efficiency.
Migrating data can be a complex and costly hurdle with traditional on-premise or paper-based CRMs. Bryt Software’s cloud-based solution offers a smoother, more affordable approach. Our team assists you in securely transferring your existing customer data (loan information, contacts and servicing documents) into the new CRM, minimizing disruption and associated costs.
Many CRMs charge extra to tailor functionalities to your specific needs. Bryt Software eliminates this burden. With our “pay for what you get” model, you won’t be charged for features unrelated to mortgage servicing.
Expensive external training is a thing of the past. Bryt Software provides a comprehensive suite of self-directed learning resources designed for your servicing team. These resources include:
Most CRM providers charge ongoing fees for maintenance and technical support. Bryt Software breaks the mold with unlimited free support, ensuring your servicing operations run smoothly. This includes:
Implementing a CRM for your mortgage servicing operation can be a game-changer. However, without a strategic approach, it can also become a frustrating hurdle. Here are a list of best practices I recommend to ensure a smooth rollout and maximize the benefits of your new CRM system:
⩥ Focus on Goals, Not Gadgets
Don’t get lost in features. Define clear objectives for your CRM implementation and stick to them. Aligning your CRM needs with your servicing strategy ensures you choose the right tools and don’t overpay.
⩥ Get Everyone Onboard
Collaborating headfirst can help you immensely. Involve key players from the start – loan processors, customer service reps, and management. Getting everyone on board will also give you a boost during user adoption. If your team understands the benefits and feels comfortable using the CRM, it becomes a weapon, not a burden, in their daily routines.
⩥ Clean Data is King
“Garbage in, garbage out” applies to CRMs as well. Ensure accurate and complete borrower data migration during the implementation phase. This includes loan information, contacts, and servicing documents. Clean data lets you leverage the CRM’s functionalities to their full potential, leading to better decision-making and improved customer experiences.
⩥ Training that Doesn’t Train-wreck
Don’t expect your team to become masters overnight; give them a few months to adapt. To aid this process, utilize those free training lessons on using the CRM to aid your servicing tasks. Use online tutorials, interactive sessions, or ongoing support from the service provider for this. The more comfortable your team is navigating the CRM, the faster they’ll see the value and start using it effectively with borrowers.
⩥ Monitor, Analyze, Optimize (& Repeat)
Your CRM implementation isn’t a one-time thing. Regularly monitor system usage and identify roadblocks in your servicing processes. Analyze CRM data to spot trends and find ways to streamline workflows. Remember, the CRM is a tool, and like any tool, it needs continuous adaptation to maximize efficiency and deliver exceptional customer service.
By following these best practices, you can ensure your mortgage servicing CRM implementation is a success story.
Are you ready to ditch the communication chaos and paperwork avalanche? Use a mortgage servicing CRM to streamline your servicing operations.
This guide must have equipped you for a smooth CRM transitioning and implementation by outlining timelines and cost-saving strategies with Bryt Software’s modular approach. But here’s the real win that you get with this implementation:
⩥ Stronger relationships: Foster trust with borrowers through improved and organized communication channels.
⩥ Boosted efficiency: Streamline workflows and free up your team’s time for more important tasks.
⩥ Data-driven decisions: Make strategic choices backed by CRM insights.
⩥ Enhanced compliance: Ensure data security with Microsoft Azure’s compliance offerings.
Ready for the transformation?
Experience the power firsthand. Book a free trial of Bryt Software today!
Or contact Bryt Software Sales for a consultation tailored to your specific needs. So, don’t wait – take control of your servicing efficiency now!
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