As current market conditions negatively impact traditional agency lending, expansion into non-QM products may allow brokers to grow their business and reach a larger borrower pool. But what is the best way for brokers to market themselves to reach this wider audience outside of QM?
According to Hitz Mistry, chief marketing officer at Acra Lending, brokers offering non-QM products should market themselves as a solution provider and choose the right lender partner to help them achieve their goals.
Why a solution provider? Because “that’s effectively what a broker becomes when they enter the non-QM realm,” Mistry said. “When you take a borrower to an agency lender, the agency lender is trying to pigeonhole the borrower; If the borrower does not fit in the box, the borrower is rejected.”
“But with a non-QM lender, it’s more of a puzzle,” he continued. “Rather than trying to pigeonhole borrowers, non-QM lenders have a unique flexibility built into their underwriting policies that allows them to use alternative methods to find the right solution based on individual needs .” No box required.
Choosing the right credit partner
If you are a broker interested in expanding into non-QM and positioning yourself as a solution provider, what is the first step?
“If you want to get into non-QM, you need to work with the right lender,” Mistry said. “Most people will tell you that understanding underwriting guidelines is important, and it is, but I would say working with the right non-QM lender is more important.”
The right credit partner offers its brokers valuable resources, such as B. dedicated support, training and education on non-QM products. The best non-QM lenders guide brokers through every step of their non-QM process and even offer marketing materials they produce that brokers can use for their own white labeling purposes.
“Having a program without helping your agents market it [it] would be like selling you a phone without a manual.” Mistry said.
The expertise and opportunities that an experienced non-QM lender partner offers to new brokers is extremely beneficial to brokers entering and working in the non-QM space and, Mistry believes, is critical to a new broker’s success .
Marketing strategically
Aside from marketing yourself as a solution provider, the other piece of the non-QM puzzle for agents is effective, strategic marketing.
Flexibility is key – the non-QM market is constantly changing, as are rules, regulations and credit qualifications. Brokers must adapt and keep their marketing efforts fluid as changes are made to programs and services to meet the needs of investors and borrowers.
“Marketing techniques and strategies also need to be adaptable to changing borrower habits and expectations,” noted Mistry.
“Traditional marketing techniques – while still important – need to be complemented with new ways to reach your target audience and make information readily available,” he said.
As the use of technology increases in daily life, borrowers are also increasingly turning to social media to research credit information. To make the most of this new opportunity, brokers must be online, interactive and familiar with how to most effectively use these technologies to increase brand and program awareness.
Targeted campaigns with a multi-channel approach – ie print, email, social media etc. – can be extremely useful, but brokers should focus on the response to their messages and adapt accordingly to get the most out of targeted campaigns . To this end, brokers should note (i) the messaging used; (ii) the selected audience parameters; (iii) who will respond to the message and how; and (iv) adjust message and/or audience parameters to improve results to determine which types of messages are most successful. Matching what the data shows is key to getting the most out of targeted advertising.
Partnership with Acra Lending
For brokers interested in working with non-QM products, Acra Lending can serve as a valuable lender partner.
After signing Acra’s brokerage agreement, the first step Acra Lending takes when working with brokers is training – ensuring that brokers understand the program offerings and underwriting policies in order to identify the most suitable borrower for these lending programs.
“When we offer a program, we want you to understand it,” Mistry said.
Acra Lending is communicative when brokers have questions about programs or marketing and even offers white label marketing services for brokers to use. Acra will prepare the marketing materials based on Acra’s current non-QM program offerings and make such materials available to its broker partners for their marketing purposes. The collateral is easily accessible, up to date and can be customized to include the broker’s branding and contact details.
“If brokers haven’t already added non-QM to their program offerings, now is the time to start,” said Mistry. Contact Acra Lending today to get started as a non-QM broker.
More information about working with Acra Lending can be found here.
