Q. How do I know if my
home area/county is currently generating enough data to support
mailing?
A. Obviously this is a question that most times gets asked over the
telephone during our first conversation and during that phone call
we're able to check the status of your desired territory to find
out if it's capable of supporting a mailing. In some cases we talk
to agents who live, or have an office, in an area where they're
within reasonable driving distance of multiple counties. When this
is the case, you can opt to spread your mailing out within multiple
counties or you can choose to only mail in the county where you
feel like you're going to get the best return. We'll work with you
over the telephone before we get you going to help you design an
optimal returning territory.
Q. What parameters will be
utilized to draw the coverage area of my mailings; will we be
mailing "countywide", within 3 digit zip codes, 5 digit zip codes,
by city code, etc.?
A. Most of the time we mail countywide. In order to generate a
strong return, we need to have enough available records to mail.
Usually the only way to get an adequate number is by pulling
information for the entire county. Most of the counties we're
currently mailing are large enough to provide sufficient data and
at the same time are "coverable" by the agent. Another reason for
mailing countywide is that it's much faster and easier to compile
the available data.
Q. What if my county is
extremely large or very economically diverse?
A. Every now and then we run into this situation.
Sometimes the only way to mail an area and get a half decent return
is to do what we call a "Spot Mail". Spot Mailing is the term that
we use to describe mailing in smaller blocks within a particular
county. For example, mailing by 3 digit zips, 5 digit zips or city
codes. We certainly have the ability to Spot Mail and we're quite
good at it. However, it can be extremely time consuming to compile
the information and it's not uncommon for us to run into shortages
of available data. But, there are cases where we just don't have
any other choice. We review these situations on a case by case
basis and we'll ultimately do whatever is necessary to mail with an
acceptable return and to generate the highest quality lead
possible.
Q. Does A.M.S. set minimum
and maximum loan amount ranges when mailing?
A. Yes! We usually set the minimum loan amount for nothing under
$50,000 to avoid mailing regarding someone's $25,000 swimming pool
loan. The $50,000 minimum just about always means that were mailing
someone's first/primary mortgage. As far as maximums are concerned,
sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. It just depends on the
area. For example, we set $400,000 maximums in certain parts of
California to ensure that we don't waste mail on million dollar
mortgages. People in million dollar homes aren't our target for
mailings for obvious reasons.
Q. What is A.M.S.' average
return nationally for mortgage mailings?
A. Our average is currently between 2-3%. However, just keep in
mind that returns fluctuate. Industry trends show that returns run
higher during certain times of the year and they also cycle
downward during other times of the year in general. On top of that,
each individual mailing territory goes through it's own cycles.
But, for the most part, by the time that everything is said and
done, our returns in nearly all of our mailing territories remain
consistent.
Q. How long does it
usually take to start receiving leads once my order goes
out?
A. It usually takes approximately 10-15 days to start seeing leads
from an order sent out on the Western half of the country and 15-20
days from an order sent to the Eastern half of the country.
However, those are just approximates. It's actually a pretty quick
turn around. We DO NOT sit on orders. We get the mail out promptly
and we get you the leads as soon as they come in.
Q. Does A.M.S. ask for
production reports?
A. Absolutely not! One of the great things about getting your leads
through us is that you answer to yourself the way it should be. We
don't pressure to order, we don't ask you to report, we don't ask
for you to contract through us, we don't make you sell our
products, and so on. Mailing with A.M.S. means NO HEADACHES!
Q. What is the minimum
number of pieces that I must mail each time I place an order?
A. Our current minimum is 1,000 pieces per order.
Agents Mailing Services
