There are few feelings more rewarding than hearing from a prospect “So-and-so highly recommends you.” That’s because it’s earned. We all work hard to earn our living and build our brands. We all think very carefully before spending that hard-earned revenue. We judge our partners and vendors critically. Nobody wants to waste their money.

Growth at LodeStar

We put a lot of thought into our marketing here at LodeStar Let’s face it. We’re best known for our closing cost calculator. More than a few out there consider that to be a function of mortgage compliance, specifically, TRID requirements for lenders. Lenders—in fact, most of us—don’t often enjoy thinking about things like compliance or regulation (or enforcement). It’s not fun for most. The fact that ours is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the entire economy doesn’t help, either.

And yet, we meet a need. We do it well. And, as a result, we’ve been growing. A lot. But to get someone’s attention about something they don’t really like thinking about, you’ve got to do thoughtful, consistent and effective marketing. 

We’re very proud of the positive attention we’ve been able to earn in the past two or three years. We’ve launched a relatively successful (and growing) podcast. We’ve put in our two cents on industry issues like clarity and community by way of conference appearances, guest spots on industry podcasts and contributed articles in many of the trade publications serving our industry. We’ve worked hard to get the market’s attention and have tried to use that to do a little good as well.

The Value of a Referral

However, all of this time and effort is really geared toward earning what remains the highest compliment any business can give another business: a referral. 

We’ve been getting and giving more and more referrals recently. There’s no award that can replicate that feeling. And for those of our friends and clients out there who have recently recommended us to another business, please accept our heartfelt thanks. And to those services we can recommend to our clients, keep up the great work. Because, while marketing and sales are a necessary ingredient to success, they’re really an effort designed to mimic the referral process. Make people aware of your brand or solution; make them aware you provide that solution; then earn their trust to the point they’re willing to make an expenditure on your product. Trust can be hard to come by in any business environment, and the mortgage industry is no exception. Moreover, getting a business that generally considers TRID to be a nuisance to spend money on a technology to guarantee compliance with the rule can be a bit of a challenge at times. After all, wouldn’t we all rather spend 100% of our time working on increased revenue?

So, when a client or partner is willing to make that investment in our product, brand and people and then, go a step further to recommend that same step to their contacts, we are humbled. Each and every time. Call this industry “conservative,” or “old-fashioned.” Tell folks we tend to be “traditional.” There’s some good and bad in that disposition, to be sure. But as an “old-fashioned industry,” we do take our peers’ and friends’ word for it when it comes to new investments. We head for our contacts list rather than Google when it comes to researching a new solution. And we consider the referral to be one of the highest, most trustworthy forms of compliment that can be given.

For all those of you who have put your own reputations on the line by referring or recommending LodeStar the past few years, a sincere Thank You.

Got an idea for a future Deeper Thoughts or LLL? Let me know at jpaolino@lssoftwaresolutions.com.