Lawson & Associates Customizes Salesforce CRM for Mortgage Industry Niche; Anticipates 165 Percent Boost in Loan Volume

Challenge

• Lawson & Associates, a full-service mortgage brokerage company, required a sophisticated CRM solution to manage business growth.
• An existing ACT! database failed to support the company’s expansion goals in terms of connectivity from multiple locations, reporting, and information sharing.
• Given its unique industry niche, customizability ranked high on the list of criteria.
• Compliance laws required that the company adopt stringent security measures.
• Mortgage planners requested a system with remote access.

Solution

• Impressed by the on-demand model, Lawson implemented Salesforce CRM Professional Edition in 45 days to 27 users; a subsequent upgrade to Salesforce CRM Enterprise Edition for 33 total users followed.
• Lawson customized the Salesforce CRM customer portal to create a secure, self-service portal where realtors and tax attorneys gain 24/7 access to useful information such as loan status and other tools.
• The company created an internal database of 400 searchable lender products.
• Dashboards help the company track each mortgage planner’s sales activities.
• Customizable tabs and objects tailor Salesforce CRM to Lawson’s business practices (e.g. Opportunities, Cases, and Solutions were renamed Loans, Partner Portal, and Lender Database).
• Workflow-driven updates provide seamless communications and data transfer between support staff and the sales team.
• Plans to integrate an app that pre-qualifies leads will further weave Salesforce CRM into the fabric of the company.

Results

• Since deploying Salesforce CRM, the company is on track to increase loan volume by 165 percent in one year.
• By unifying information, communications, and processes across a broad spectrum of its business, Salesforce CRM has reinforced the company dictum: “Integrity, Service, and Technology”.
• The partner portal boosts loyalty among realtors, positioning the company a notch above the competition.
• The flexibility inherent in the cloud-computing solution enables each user to leverage Salesforce CRM as he or she needs.
• Web-based access allows the sales team to work on the road, at home, or on vacation.
• Bulletproof Salesforce CRM security ensures compliance with an identify theft law, eliminating the need to update multiple systems with security software.
• Cost savings are attributed to eliminated server and maintenance costs.