Over the years, I’ve observed many private lending companies struggling with marketing. Some lenders face challenges in developing a successful marketing strategy, while others have a strategy but struggle with execution. Hiring or retaining marketing personnel is another common pain point. Marketing is undeniably complex. With so many strategies and options available, it requires a significant investment. Most private lending companies are small, often with fewer than ten employees, which makes hiring a full-time marketing professional less feasible.
Every company needs someone to oversee marketing efforts. This role is critical to the success of any lending business because someone must ensure the phone keeps ringing and loan requests come in consistently. It’s perfectly acceptable for the CEO, sales team leader, or operations manager to oversee marketing efforts, as long as someone is responsible for the marketing strategy. If there is a marketing manager, their role is to coordinate all marketing and advertising initiatives. The strategy and execution, however, can often be outsourced to third-party contractors who specialize in marketing.
Third-Party Agencies
For small lending companies, I recommend hiring a marketing consultant or agency to handle high-level strategy and implementation. Pair this with a virtual assistant (VA) for daily tasks, like graphic design and social media management. While hiring a marketing consultant or agency can seem expensive at first, consider it an investment. The initial costs may be higher in the first 6-12 months, but as the strategy matures and takes hold, ongoing costs will likely decrease. The consultant or agency should remain involved to provide oversight and fine-tuning. It’s difficult to predict the exact cost, as it depends on the scope of your marketing and advertising plans.
Finding a marketing consultant or agency with experience in private lending can be challenging, but it’s worth the effort. Fortunately, there is a growing number of marketing professionals who have transitioned into consulting after working for larger lending institutions. This is a great opportunity for smaller lenders to tap into the expertise of their larger competitors. Alternatively, you can ask friendly competitors about their marketing partners or reach out to industry vendors for suggestions. Private lending trade associations are also excellent resources.
If you decide to hire a virtual assistant for graphic design or simpler tasks, expect to pay between $7 to $12 per hour. This means you can spend anywhere from $500 to $2,000 per month for a dedicated VA. Numerous companies specialize in matching businesses with VAs in locations like the Philippines, India, Mexico, and Colombia. We’ve had success working with Scale Virtually (scalevirtually.com), based in Chicago. Other companies in our industry use MOVE (moveyourbiz.com). While you can hire VAs directly through platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, using a VA staffing agency offers many benefits, such as ongoing support, management, and quality control.
The approach outlined above is best suited for smaller companies with two to ten employees. As your business grows, it becomes increasingly important to hire a full-time marketing manager. While it might work as a part-time role for a smaller team, having someone fully dedicated to marketing is essential for growth.
In House Marketing
For larger lending companies with over 50 employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in loans closed annually, building an in-house marketing team, including a chief marketing officer (CMO), is a logical step. These companies may not need to hire external consultants but could still benefit from using virtual assistants for certain tasks.
No matter the size of your company, having someone dedicated to the marketing manager role is essential. It’s crucial to the survival, growth, and long-term success of every private lending company.
