Lessons in Lead Generation and Marketing Automation

Geoff Zimpfer and Michael McAllister discuss the evolution of lead generation for loan officers, the difference between traditional referral business and consumer-direct strategies, and how marketing automation (specifically Go High Level) bridges the gap. They also announce their partnership merging myAgent Classes with Empower LO's tech infrastructure. Best for LOs curious about diversifying beyond agent referrals into consumer-direct or paid lead channels.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Before investing in any new lead source (paid ads, Facebook groups, etc.), find one concrete piece of evidence that it works for someone like you — then commit fully and cut off the option of quitting for at least 120-150 days.
• If you pursue paid internet leads, expect to need 100-120 leads to close 3 deals (vs. ~12 agent referrals). Build your CRM and pipeline tracking system before you buy your first lead — not after.
• Set a break-even benchmark at month four for any paid lead program. If you haven't closed or have a deal in-contract by then, diagnose your follow-up sequence and phone skills before spending more.
• To generate consumer-direct business without buying leads, pick 3-5 local Facebook community or neighborhood groups, join them, and for 90 days post helpful content and comment on others' posts with zero call-to-action. Let your bio do the selling.
• If you use Go High Level (or any CRM), load pre-built ringless voicemail, text, and email sequences that fire automatically when a new lead enters — so your follow-up is instant and doesn't depend on your schedule.
• Schedule a demo at empowerelo.com/myagentclasses to see the combined myAgent Classes + Go High Level platform, which includes pre-loaded nurture campaigns, agent outreach sequences, and a done-for-you database of 200 local agents who closed 8-50 transactions in the last 12 months.

The playbook

1. 1. Choose ONE consumer-direct or lead-gen channel and find proof it works before committing.
2. 2. Set up your marketing automation platform (e.g., Go High Level) with pre-built sequences BEFORE launching any lead campaign.
3. 3. When a new internet lead enters, trigger an immediate automated sequence: ringless voicemail + text + email, stopping when they respond.
4. 4. Get on the phone and mirror the lead's communication style (disc/mirroring) to compensate for the missing agent trust transfer.
5. 5. Track every lead in a pipeline view; expect 100-120 leads per 3 closings and plan your volume accordingly.
6. 6. Measure results at the 120-day mark; if not at break-even, adjust phone script and follow-up cadence before adding spend.

Worth quoting

“We have no shortage of methods of generating business. We have a shortage of commitment to a couple regular and consistent practices.”

“I would never suggest somebody touch internet leads without having a system like this in place.”

Best for

LOs who want to add a consumer-direct or paid lead channel but have wasted money on programs they quit too early due to no automation or tracking system.

Links from the show notes

• Learn More About High Level
• Learn More About myAgent Classes