The Difference Between Mortgage Technology Vendors & Partners

Identifying the right mortgage automation software can often come down to the credibility and authority of the company supplying it to you. Automation should always serve business processes, not the other way around.   

Mortgage technology companies that approach the market with a partner-forward strategy are best positioned to form meaningful, long-term relationships with your team and are typically more seasoned in consultative and design services.

Mortgage technology vendors typically give you what you want, but mortgage technology partners give you what you need. Let’s break that down.

Mortgage lending can often feel like more of a network than a business. If you and your Real Estate partners aren’t moving in sync, your customer experience suffers, and that’s always bad for the team’s bottom line.

When bringing other parties into the mix, like mortgage technology companies, it goes without saying that the best return comes with a shared goal. If your experience with these companies feels transactional, you’re working with vendors. If your experience with these companies feels like a mutually beneficial relationship, you’re working with partners. What sounds better for your business?

In our opinion, here are the top two most important differentiators between vendors and partners:

• Vendors are fairly removed from your ecosystem post-launch. Partners stay in communication, hear your feedback, include you in their product roadmap plans, and support your business initiatives regularly.
• Vendors perform a service that’s backed with a 1-800 number and buy-up training and support options. Partners consider your success their success and include top-tier training and support for every client they’re working with.

"Okay, but how do I find the right mortgage automation partner?" Thanks for asking. 

Here are a few tips we think may help:

1. Ask for References: Seriously, regardless of the size of the company. If the proof is in the pudding, they'll happily put you in touch with other companies they're working with. "How was communication with the partner? Was onboarding simple? How is your user adoption?"  
   
   
2. Ask about Implementation Fees: It makes sense that most solutions have custom pricing to fit the size and needs of each lender. But those sneaky upfront fees are typically pretty static. Some partners don't charge anything upfront, and some do.  
   
   
3. Request Multiple Demos: Sometimes, you just want to check something out for yourself. And it turns out to be amazing. So you want to show your team, your branch managers, your compliance department, and your tech team - logically. Making sure you have buy-in will ultimately reflect in your user adoption. 
   
   
4. Explore Customization Options: Will the partner accommodate changing workflows? Your brand, business processes, and objectives will evolve. A strong mortgage partner will work with you to ensure your solutions change as you do. 
   
   
5. Evaluate Their Service & Support: Do they offer set service hours or around-the-clock availability? Do they have a support form/email? What's their average turnaround time to respond? Will you work with a designated customer success representative? These are also great questions to ask their references if the information is not available on their website. 

We Also Recommend That You Refer to Client Testimonials for Proof 

The great part about testimonials and reviews is that you often get a good bit of user insight. Perhaps your references above were decision makers who don't use the product day in and day out but value what it has done for the company at large. The added layer of user feedback will best inform the solutions' ease-of-use and value to referral partners. Pro tip: Google reviews are a good place to start. It's the first place people go when they aren't happy. 

At LenderLogix, we like to consider ourselves mortgage technology partners. And we're proud to say that our enterprise clients would agree.

In the Spring of 2022, we surveyed several hundred of the institutions we're partnered with and the responses were incredible! We wound up with a Net Promoter Score of 86, falling into the World Class category.

Interested in reading some of the feedback we received? Check out our compilation of client testimonials on our learning center. Or visit our Google page for some user reviews. 

An excerpt of this article was originally published on the PROGRESS in Lending Association™ blog.