We’ve been talking a lot lately about what sets LodeStar apart from other fee providers in the mortgage lending technology industry.

We’ve talked about our Data Team’s commitment to data integrity and the accuracy of your disclosures. We’ve talked about our Customer Success team’s commitment to providing clarity to lenders and thoroughly addressing each client’s unique needs and dilemmas.

But what makes LodeStar’s sales and marketing operation unique?

For starters, LodeStar’s sales and marketing teams function as one single department, the Revenue Team, under a single Director, the indefatigable Alayna Gardner, AMP. Sure, the marketing folks aren’t giving demos, and the sales team aren’t drawing comics—but each shares a single goal: to quantifiably drive revenue for LodeStar.

So, how? Let’s start with marketing.

Originality in Marketing

One of the key advantages of being a small, privately-owned companyis that we can pivot on a dime, change with the market, and leverage unique, non-industry-standard skills among our staff to make original, timely content.

In fact, content marketing is one of the pillars of LodeStar’s market-facing identity. We are the fee experts. We do closing costs. We’ll let you in on a little secret, though… transfer taxes and recording fees aren’t that interesting… I mean, we like to nerd out about the specifics of the Washington Foreclosure Fee, or the Peconic Bay Tax, but most people don’t…

Which is why we do a podcast, we publish articles like this, we draw a comic strip, we send out fun newsletters, and we set up fun booths at conferences.

The sum of all those (sometimes goofy) parts is a company culture that isn’t all data and hard sales pitches. Heaven forbid the mortgage industry be interesting and fun. Also—when you really think about it—the mortgage industry is, first and foremost, about the people.

People moving into a new, or maybe their first, home. People trying to navigate the challenges of mortgage loan production. People meeting at industry events to network, have fun, and leverage their experience.

People.

At the end of the day, that is what differentiates LodeStar’s marketing. Real people who make time and space to try out interesting, original ideas in content marketing. Not faceless AI chatbots. Not unapproachable headshots of multi-billion dollar CEOs. Real humans, working hard to build a great company.

Human-First Sales

So, how about sales?

Again, it’s all about the people. At LodeStar, we don’t treat either leads or current clients as numbers. Not only is it a bad use of a salesperson’s time to cold call into the void, day after day, it isn’t a great way to make connections.

If what LodeStar’s aiming to be is (as we claim) a partner in fee management with our clients, we can’t just grab people by the collar and fast-track them to contract. We need to listen to lenders. We need to spend time learning and truly understanding what challenges they face.

(Which is why our entire pricing structure for our Closing Cost Calculator is built around meeting different kinds of needs for different kinds of lenders.)

Not only does this person-first approach to sales make for more valuable and interesting demos, more efficient use of industry conference time, and more enthusiastic clients when they sign, it forges long-term partnerships based on trust. People know that we’re listening to them, every step of the way.

It’s the opposite of ramrodding people through a sales pipeline. It’s harder. It takes more time. But it’s worth it, both for our salespeople and our clients.

We’ll leave you with a question, one we think about a lot: what’s the point of being a small company, if you can’t be personable, nimble, and original? That goes for sales and marketing as much as anything else.

Plus—and here’s the true secret to LodeStar’s approach—it’s just way more fun to be one-of-a-kind.