Customer relationship management tools are no longer just about managing existing clients — they’re also becoming integral to generating and qualifying new leads.
That’s the goal at Unify, which is collaborating with Experian to add a new PreQualified Prospects tool to its “business growth platform” for mortgage professionals. And since Unify was recently acquired by Propertybase, the prequal tool’s leads could soon be flowing to real estate agents as well.
The prequal tool kicks into action when consumers apply to get prequalified for a mortgage through Unify, authorizing a soft credit pull. Information from the consumer’s credit report enables prospects to get accurate rates without hurting their credit score.
But the credit pull — together with other information collected on the prequal application — also sheds considerable light on their finances and intentions, which can help lenders prioritize and automate their responses.
Scott Lidberg
“Now we’re not only delivering a high-intent lead, but attributes along with it like estimated income, debt-to-income ratio, and the trade lines they have out there,” Unify CEO Scott Lidberg told Inman. Mortgage professionals using Unify’s new tool, he said, “really know who that consumer is before they pick up the phone for the first time and talk to them.”
The leads come in through marketing channels that Unify helps lenders convert, while the deeper borrower insights are possible by making Experian’s venerable PowerCurve decision management solution available through Unify.
“With the integration, Unify clients can use our trusted PowerCurve decisioning capabilities to prequalify customers, reduce losses and respond better to regulatory changes,” Robert Boxberger, Experian’s President of Decision Analytics, North America, said in a statement.
In addition to customer relationship management (CRM), Unify provides lenders with services including marketing automation, task management, loan origination system (LOS) integrations, and a mobile app.
“We’ve historically done client retention,” Lidberg told Inman. “Now we’re on the client acquisition side with prequal.”
On the client retention side, Unify is now offering Mortgage Inquiry Alerts, which notify lenders when existing clients apply for a mortgage with a competitor, and also indicate whether the client is looking to refinance or buy a home.
Although Unify is a “mortgage-specific” platform, the company was acquired last year by Propertybase, a well-established provider of marketing, CRM and transaction management tools for real estate brokers and agents. As mortgage lenders shift their sights from refinancing to purchase loans, they’re looking for opportunities to collaborate with real estate agents, Propertybase Chief Product Officer Tim Fessenden said.
Lenders will often land prospects who are in the market for a purchase loan, but haven’t lined up an agent yet. In other cases, homebuyers will choose a real estate agent before shopping for a loan.
For now, Unify’s lender clients can use their existing relationships with real estate agents and brokers to share leads they generate. But with its recent acquisition of Unify, Propertybase is in a position to facilitate referrals in both directions — from lenders to real estate agents, and vice versa.
Watch for Propertybase to launch a new offering soon that builds on the company’s expertise serving real estate agents and brokers, while also leveraging its new acquisition in the mortgage space, Fessenden said.
